/lit/ - Literature

>>22260820
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, Cosmere - Brandon Sanderson (2023)

Yumi and the Nightmare painter is different from almost all of Sanderson's other work, as these secret projects have all been, in that it's romance-oriented. I'd specifically describe this novel as a romantic comedy with dramatic elements featuring an atypical body swap that results in a stranger in a strange land scenario, though they stay together. Sanderson explicitly states his inspirations in the postscript. The starting idea came from the manga, Hikaru no Go, though he cites Your Name, Final Fantasy X, and a story he can't remember the name of as influences. I'd also throw Loop Hero in there as well, mostly as a joke. The influences are decidedly Southeast Asian and so is this new setting, as it's based on South Korea (where he served as a missionary) and Japan. The interior art is by Aliya Chen, which in combination with everything else previously mentioned really gives this a feel of being a Western light novel in everything but name.

The two main characters are Yumi and Nikaro. Hoid is the narrator and almost nothing else. Yumi is a priestess of the spirits who has been raised in a very traditional, orthodox, and conservative manner that's filled with with rituals and abnegation of the self. Most of the story is her coming to realize she's her own person. It could be described as her Rumspringa. Nikaro, the Nightmare Painter, is almost always referred to as Painter. To paraphrase Hoid, he's a essential frontline worker who is underpaid and feels unappreciated. As a Nightmare Painter, he, along with his many colleagues, prevent incursions from literal manifestations of living darkness. Although this is basically a romance, it's still Sanderson, so the most they do is some light touching and a single kiss. However, because it's also influenced by manga tropes, it has a few awkward situations of them being nude together, including at a hot springs. The mutual nudity is part of the interior art, though nothing sensitive is shown.

I don't have much to say about the worldbuilding. It suffices. Nikaro/Painter is in a near contemporary setting that somehow has developed to that level despite the entire world being shrouded in darkness and the population seeming to be relatively minimal. The main gimmick is the Hion, which serves as their magic as technology, though in a rather mundane way. Yumi's setting is a harsh wasteland of flying foliage, burning ground, geysers, and a dependence on spirits to be technology. Both settings are rather inhospitable in their own ways. As for the story itself, which seems to take place rather deep into the Cosmere timeline, it's about them trying to figure out why they body swap and how to resolve that. Through the course of doing so they learn more about themselves, each other, and where they're from. The story probably isn't that important by comparison to them just being together.

Rating: 3/5