Yumi and the Nightmare Painter

Romantasy is definitely very much in the zeitgeist at the moment and I am really not sure what to make of it. It is far from my favourite sub-genre. That being said I certainly was intrigued to see what the Sanderson could bring to it so I was intrigued by this latest Cosmere entry. And ultimately I am not disappointed - this was definitely one of the better attempts at this trope, and whilst I would not call it his best it certainly far from his worst work.

As the title suggests, we are following two MCs - Yumi and Painter. When some spiritual connection links the two together they are thrust into each others radically different worlds, bringing one of the classic romance tropes into play with this forced connection. The differences between these worlds are fascinating, with Painter existing in a semi-modern world driven by some mysterious power source, but where the world is veiled in permanent darkness. His job is to fend off nightmares, painting them so that his will confines them to non-threatening things. Yumi comes from a more primitive world, where she is revered as a link to the spiritual - she summons spirits who are bound to tools to allow the world to exist. Her world is one of a hot bright sun and floating plants.

This kind on yin/yang pairing is quite central to the story. Everything here is a study in contrasts. As always, Sanderson's world building is top class. This is another story told through the voice of Wit, so there is also a fun voicing to the story with a decent level of humour. There are some clever links to current issues in play here as well. The idea of a machine replacing a human to create art feels very current with the current discourse on AI art (perhaps there is a good parable to the hubris around this at the moment).

The prose is eminently readable as always, the book definitely flowed well for me. There is some quite nice art as well included in this, which I definitely appreciate. Of the secret project books released so far this is solidly in the middle for me.