Title: Tress of the Emerald SeaAuthor: Brandon Sanderson, Howard Lyon
Series: The Cosmere #
First Published: January 1, 2023
Publisher: Dragonsteel Entertainment
Pages: 483
Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Science Fiction
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased
Rating:
Synopsis:
The only life Tress has known on her island home in an emerald-green ocean has been a simple one, with the simple pleasures of collecting cups brought by sailors from faraway lands and listening to stories told by her friend Charlie. But when his father takes him on a voyage to find a bride and disaster strikes, Tress must stow away on a ship and seek the Sorceress of the deadly Midnight Sea. Amid the spore oceans where pirates abound, can Tress leave her simple life behind and make her own place sailing a sea where a single drop of water can mean instant death?
Buy the Book: Amazon, AuthorReview
I have to admit, I’ve been intimidated by the fantasy genre for a while. I have a serious fear of big books and long series and I know that it is irrational. Standalones are easier for me to approach, and the comparison to The Princess Bride was just too irresistible for me, I had to read this book. Glad I am that I did too because Tress of the Emerald Sea blew me away!
This story is a whimsical adult fairy tale full of adventure and magic – and it was so funny! The witty narration style felt familiar to me, and there was a good balance between serious scenes and humorous ones. I loved all of the characters, even the Dougs, a joke I personally found hilarious because I am an assistant to a kindly professor who also happens to be named Doug. The humor just hit right for me and it made the entire reading experience so fun.
The world-building was fascinating and I wanted so much more of Tress’ world and learn more about the spores. I don’t even like pirate stories, but I adored this one, every crew member was wonderful and I enjoyed the found family feel of the novel. I came to learn after reading about the crossover characters from Sanderson’s other series and it has made me extremely curious to explore other books in the Cosmere. I particularly liked Ulaam, and I think I chose right with making this my first Sanderson novel because of Hoid. I had the pleasure of knowing absolutely nothing about Hoid before starting this book and now that I know better, I’m glad this was my first experience with this character.
Tress of the Emerald Sea has been the biggest surprise for me of the year, I fell head over heels in love with this book and it’s made me an instant Brandon Sanderson fan. It has honestly reignited my love of high fantasy and I absolutely cannot wait to get my hands on the other secret project books! I had ordered the physical edition of the novel in the hope that I’d love the book and it is a bet that has paid off. I’m waiting on my copy to come in and had read the ebook to participate in a buddy read, and I can’t wait to have this treasure of a novel on my shelves to re-read again and enjoy the illustrations in full color.
Quote
“It’s beautiful in a way only something so terrifying can inspire, and terrifying in a way that only something so beautiful can demand.”
Content Warnings
View Spoiler »About the Author
About Brandon Sanderson
Brandon’s major books for the second half of 2016 are The Dark Talent, the final volume in Alcatraz Smedry’s autobiographical account of his battle against the Evil Librarians who secretly rule our world, and Arcanum Unbounded, the collection of short fiction in the Cosmere universe that includes the Mistborn series and the Stormlight
Archive, among others. This collection features The Emperor’s Soul, Mistborn: Secret History, and a brand-new Stormlight Archive novella, Edgedancer.
Earlier this year he released Calamity, the finale of the #1 New York Times bestselling Reckoners trilogy that began with Steelheart .
Brandon Sanderson was born in 1975 in Lincoln, Nebraska. As a child Brandon enjoyed reading, but he lost interest in the types of titles often suggested to him, and by junior high he never cracked a book if he could help it. This changed when an eighth grade teacher gave him Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly.
Brandon was working on his thirteenth novel when Moshe Feder at Tor Books bought the sixth he had written. Tor has published Elantris, the Mistborn trilogy and its followup The Alloy of Law, Warbreaker, and The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance, the first two in the planned ten-volume series The Stormlight Archive. He was chosen to complete Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series; 2009’s The Gathering Storm and 2010’s Towers of Midnight were followed by the final book in the series, A Memory of Light, in January 2013. Four books in his middle-grade Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians series have been released in new editions by Starscape, and his novella Infinity Blade Awakening was an ebook bestseller for Epic Games accompanying their acclaimed Infinity Blade iOS video game series. Two more novellas, Legion and The Emperor’s Soul, were released by Subterranean Press and Tachyon Publications in 2012, and 2013 brought two young adult novels, The Rithmatist from Tor and Steelheart from Delacorte.
The only author to make the short list for the David Gemmell Legend Award six times in four years, Brandon won that award in 2011 for The Way of Kings. The Emperor’s Soul won the 2013 Hugo Award for Best Novella. He has appeared on the New York Times Best-Seller List multiple times, with five novels hitting the #1 spot.
Currently living in Utah with his wife and children, Brandon teaches creative writing at Brigham Young University.
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