Yumi and the Nightmare Painter

A Cosmere Novel

By: Brandon Sanderson

Narrated by: Kate Reading, Michael Kramer

Length: 14 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

From the #1 Kickstarter campaign of all time—#1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson adds to his Cosmere universe shared by Mistborn and The Stormlight Archive with a new standalone novel especially for fans of fantasy romances. Narrated by Kate Reading and Michael Kramer.

There is a world. One of endless night, surrounded by an even deeper darkness. Filled with nightmares come to life, twisted shapes that slink to windows and ease open doors, sliding across floors to look down on helpless faces.

There is another world. A bright world, so bright it burns. Filled with stacked stones that call forth miracles, raised by callused hands that tremble in their work, drained with each stone lifted, settled, lifted again.

Between these worlds two souls connect. Collide. Entwine.

A bridge. A path.

A road to both worlds changing forever.

Yumi has spent her entire life in strict obedience, granting her the power to summon the spirits that bestow vital aid upon her society—but she longs for even a single day as a normal person. Painter patrols the dark streets dreaming of being a hero—a goal that has led to nothing but heartache and isolation, leaving him always on the outside looking in. In their own ways, both of them face the world alone.

Suddenly flung together, Yumi and Painter must strive to right the wrongs in both their lives, reconciling their past and present while maintaining the precarious balance of each of their worlds. If they cannot unravel the mystery of what brought them together before it’s too late, they risk forever losing not only the bond growing between them, but the very worlds they’ve always struggled to protect.

Note from Brandon:

Even for a compulsive planner like me, sometimes a story emerges like magic. Unexpected, unprompted. You build an outline in days, craft worlds during a compulsive daydream, and develop characters with a burst of imagination like the brief flash of a firework.

That was Yumi and the Nightmare Painter for me. The unanticipated story of two people who find one another.

May your dreams live as mine sometimes do.

©2023 Dragonsteel, LLC (P)2023 Dragonsteel, LLC

unexpected delight

while this isn't normally the type of book I like to read, this did an excellent job at making me want more of these types of books

top notch

I've been a fan of Sanderson's work for many years. Own and read just about every Cosmere book. This one here is easily in the top 3 for me.

Beautiful story

A tale of love and heroism told in a unique world by a character named Hoid and I love it.

love the narrative. amazing idea and I wasn't ready for the twist. Amazing romance story.

I want a sequel. I'm sad it ended so quickly. huge fan of all the Sanderson Consmere books, but this one is one of my all time favorites.

the ending

loved the story loved the ending very good everything wraps up good very cool story love the plot twist

One of Sanderson’s Best

Secret Project 3 demonstrates the beauty of out of the box fantasy in all of the best ways. I was skeptical of how Sanderson would manage to write a love letter to Final Fantasy X since FFX is a unique story put simply but he managed it with flying colors.

The sorry is fresh

Love Sanderson as always, way to show Amazon that he doesn’t need their monopoly to publish books.

The wonderful characters.

One of my favorite of Sandersons work. I love that it is a self contained story with all the great things we've come to expect from Sanderson. Any fan of Sandersons will love this one. Also, can't forget to mention the great job the narrators have done the classic duo is back and as good as ever.

A vibrant, colorful work

Yet another master class illustration in worldbuilding from Brandon Sanderson, I loved that Hoid was the narrator, albeit as a background character on the same level as, say, an inanimate object, he persists in being my favorite character amidst the vast Cosmere for many reasons, and he apparently gave his spren Design a face now!?
But I digress, this was well worth getting and I thoroughly enjoyed the eastern influence circa FFX et al.
There has yet to be a cosmere story I have not devoured with the same level of fervency as Odium when it comes to devouring the investiture of the other shards!

A great story, can't wait to get more from the Cosmere

A warm little read as we wait

Loved it, laughed a bit (not as much as other BS books), perfect amount of romance in an unusual and creative setting we all love. The author notes, as usual, make this read even better after it’s over. Thank you Brandon and all the behind the scenes people!