Skip to main content

Brandon Sanderson: Tress of the Emerald Sea

 This is one of Brandon Sanderson's "secret projects" that he wrote during the lockdowns in 2020. I've been really excited to read it!

Tress of the Emerald Sea is the story of Tress who lives on a planet made up of tiny islands and seas made from falling spores from the 12 moons. Tress lives on the Rock, a small island where they have to force people to stay. Tress loves her island, her cups (which she collects), and the duke's son: Charlie. Once the duke finds out about their relationship, he marches Charlie from the Rock and takes him to find a wife. Charlie swears to Tress that he'll resist, and sends a cup and letter at each stop. Then suddenly, the packages stop. It's announced that the duke is returning with his son and new daughter in law. When the ship arrives, the heartbroken Tress realizes that the duke's son is not Charlie. Indeed, the crew of the ship confirms that Charlie was sent to the evil Sorceress in the Midnight Sea and replaced with the duke's nephew instead. Immediately, Tress begins to come up with a plan that will force her from her comfort zone and on a wild adventure far from the Rock to rescue Charlie.

I loved this book! This is a totally different type of Brandon Sanderson novel. He says himself that he wrote it for his wife, and it was something he wrote when he had no expectations from his fans to fulfill, and that definitely shows. The narrator of the story is Hoid, who appears in nearly every Cosmere novel (you may know him as Wit from Stormlight, but he also shows up in Warbreaker, and Mistborn and I'm sure more of them, but those are the ones I've noticed so far). The storytelling is entirely in Hoid's voice, which was incredibly entertaining. The style is more whimsical and humorously toned than most of Sanderson's other works. I don't know what it is, but I've been really in to whimsy stories lately. I was delighted to no end to have a Sanderson novel to fulfill this. I've never been able to pinpoint my love of these kinds of stories, but maybe it was The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo (someday I'll reread it!)

This story doesn't really have a magic system, which I thought was interesting for a Sanderson novel. The Sorceress can curse people, and you have Hoid who must possess some kind of magic, but Tress? She was a regular person who wasn't afraid of the naturally occurring spores on her planet. I felt that this story was less about magic and more about technology and utilizing the spores. There seemed to be some sort of magic involved with the Midnight Spores, but it wasn't central to the story. It didn't matter to me, I loved it.

This book was full of tantalizing mentions of the magic systems in other Cosmere worlds. Sanderson briefly talks about Awakening (Warbreaker), and Hoid uses Aons from Elantris at one point, and a small mention of Allomancy (Pushing and Pulling). While this was great, and I loved the ties to other Cosmere novels, it felt out of place. I understand that Hoid is supposed to be an expert of sorts on all of these magic systems, I wanted a little more explanation about some of them. For instance, Hoid mentions Awakening when talking about Ulaam, but never explains the connection. I found myself a little frustrated, because I felt like I was supposed to be making connections that I wasn't making. This is probably my one major complaint.

The characters in this book were so decidedly ordinary that it was delightful. I've just come off of reading Mistborn, where Vin is so unusually powerful, and The Emperor's Soul where Shei is the best Forger. It was a nice break to have Tress, who for all intents and purposes, feels like a regular girl who got very lucky. It was a nice change. I loved Tress's character, and the development she undergoes on her adventure. I love the way she finally outwits Crow, and that she becomes the captain of a ship. I loved Charlie and his innocent humor as well. Really, Sanderson made me fall in love with each of the characters, and I even ended up liking Laggart at the end. I loved the story of a crew who somewhat unwillingly became pirates and then deadrunners.

This story was another testament of Sanderson's ability to plot a page turner. I loved the twists at the end of the novel. I found that this book was a little slow at the start, but it definitely picked up. I practically devoured the last 100 pages or so in one sitting. It was so enjoyable to read.

I rate this book ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

PG



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Markus Zusak: The Book Thief

 This is a book that I read for the first time around four years ago when I first started teaching. This novel is one that I have loved ever since then. The Book Thief  by Markus Zusak takes place in World War II in Nazi Germany. Liesel Meminger is not quite an orphan, but she is placed in foster care because her mother can't provide for her. Liesel goes to live with Rosa and Hans Hubermann, and they completely change Liesel's life. On her way to the Hubermann's, Liesel's younger brother dies on the train. In the graveyard where he was buried is where Liesel steals her first book: The Grave Digger's Handbook. Hans teaches her to read it, and inspires her love of the written word. The Hubermann's will then hide a Jew in their basement for a time. What will become of that hidden Jew? What will become of Liesel? What will become of Himmel Street, her friends, and her family in the wake of a violent and terrible war? This book is probably one of my all-time favorite...
Post a Comment
Read more

Brene Brown: Daring Greatly

Brene Brown is one of my favorite TED speakers of all time. I have listened to her TED talks numerous times and used them in my classroom each year. I love her message: that we can't have success, innovation, change, and creativity without first having vulnerability. I love that she is seeking to demystify vulnerability and teach what shame is and how it destroys our ability to accept ourselves and others. I am not normally into the self-help kind of books, but of the books I've read this year, this is one of my favorites! Daring Greatly  by Brene Brown discusses the concepts of shame and vulnerability and how we need vulnerability, but not shame. She gives strategies for combating shame and becoming "shame resilient." She gives strategies to use as parents, teachers, friends, and spouses. For one thing, I love Dr. Brown's Texan accent (she narrates the audiobook herself! 💗). Her voice and personality are all throughout this book. She is not afraid to use persona...
Post a Comment
Read more

Brandon Sanderson: Mitosis - The Reckoners Book 1.5

 I read Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson years ago, and it's a series that I'd love to finish at some point. It's also one that I find students enjoy. Mitosis  takes place soon after the end of Steelheart . The Reckoners have set up a government in Newcago and are welcoming people into the steel city. David and Abraham go to greet some of these newcomers, only to be faced by an Epic: Mitosis. Mitosis can make copies of himself, and begins to do so, spreading them throughout the city. His target? David, nicknamed Steelslayer. Will David be able to outwit this Epic as well? This short novella (only five chapters) was well-written, and for some reason, I feel that it has Brandon all over it. I can practically hear his voice coming through David's character, which I found interesting. I thought that this was a clever interlude in between Steelheart and Firefight , and I'm wondering if it leads into Firefight ? Since I have finished the original trilogy, I'm excited t...
Post a Comment
Read more