3.25 ⭐ Honestly, this was gonna be a 2.50 until the last 30%. First of all, and something I did not expect, it that this reads, especially the beginning, like a sci-fi rather than a fantasy. You have a narrative split between two characters, each in their own world with their own rules, one full of ground too hot to touch, floating trees, floating pretty much everything actually, and one with a modern feel, a city surrounded by constant darkness and illuminated by a odd/magical neon lights system, from street light to tv screens. It also has that "well this is what you would call X but obviously that's not what it's called in THIS world" sci-fi vibe which doesn't tend to be my favourite (although the narrative voice, who straight up addresses the reader like that was quite fun). Now, that's a me thing and if you like sci-fi, I'm sure that wouldn't take you aback as much as it did me. And obviously, it's Sanderson so it is really original and well thought out.

My problem was that I wasn't feeling emotionally invested throughout the story. I understood why the characters were behaving the way they were, but that doesn't mean I didn't find them infuriating. Yumi particularly.

So characters. We have Yumi, who, in her world, has been chosen by the "spirits" of her land, and has therefore been raised since childhood to dedicate her entire life to the service of her community. That looks like her having absolutely no life of her own or individuality. She can not eat, bath, or dress herself, doesn't speak to the attendants who do it for her, and is generally denied any action, speech or -more incidious and self inflicted- thought that would "shame her position" by "distracting her from her role". And we have Nikaro, a nightmare painter, who, literally, paints the nightmares that take physical form to hunt the population of his city to force them into the shape he paints them as. He is one of many who take on that important role but is very much a social outcast, with a big inferiority complex, who desperately wishes he was more important and needed than he is. The two somehow find themselves linked and pull each other into their own world, and body, everytime one falls asleep. So we have Nikaro pulled inside Yumi's body into her world while she exists as a sort of ghost, able to be seen by and speak with Nikaro but insivible to everyone else, and we have Yumi pulled into Nikaro's world but with her own body, while Nikaro is similarly in ghost form. And from there they try to understand what happened, why this is happening to them specifically and how to fix it.

Considering all of that, it makes sense that Yumi is stern to a fault and unbending and self-important (not in a "I'm better than anyone" way, in a "I'm different and so I can't allow myself any liberties therefore so shouldn't you because you're technically me rn"), because it's anchored in her but gods did it make it hard to read at times. It's heartbreaking to see so much trauma in someone to the point that the behavior is so internalised it's naturally reproduced, but the need to reach into the book and shake her was STRONG.

I really was pushing myself to finish it and kept considering a DNF but things started to get moving by the 70% mark and the last 30% were a lot more interesting, and the last few chapters were straight up lovely. I loved the commentary about art, particularly important with the rise of AI, who has it's own on-page character equivalent; art, beauty, intention, and innate humanity of it all. Enough to push it past the 3⭐ mark but not enough to make me forget about the slog that was those first 60%.