Tress of the Emerald Sea

  

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 the 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?

Loved

• The whimsy. I've read many of Brandon Sanderson's books and they are all fabulous, intricate, incredibly well-written, and many other things . . . but whimsical is certainly not the word I would use to describe them. However, Tress is a refreshing blend of the whimsy of a fairytale, refined by the characteristically detailed and genius world-building and plot Sanderson delivers in his other books. This story feels much lighter and more light-hearted than Stormlight and Mistborn because the stakes are much lower (high for Tress, but not affecting the whole world), the world building is much less expansive, and it's a standalone- so everything wraps up nicely and is not developed as much as it would be if it were 5,087 pages long (that's exactly how long the Stormlight books are so far, I just looked it up ;)

• Tress. Unlike other of Sanderson's heroines, Tress is not bold, violent, conflicted, haughty, sarcastic, or born with any particular talent. Tress is a regular girl from an insignificant island who just wants a little adventure and wants to save her boyfriend, who is also ordinary and quirky. This heroine is refreshing because she becomes who she needs to be to overcome each challenge, but she does it through her resourceful brain, love for her friends, and many times just desperation. She feels much more relatable and more endearing than other heroines because she's sweet, apologetic, unimposing, and always thinks of others before herself.

• The crew. This is a literal crew- the crew of the Crow's Song, and they are the best. Brandon Sanderson just has such a magic way of making characters come alive by giving them quirks, interests, and flaws that make them so real. Tress's interactions with the crew and watching them all develop together is one of the most rewarding aspects of the story.

• Hoid's perspective. We all know and love Hoid-- if you've read Sanderson's other books. But we've never had a story narrated by him before, and he is very entertaining. Hoid's perspective is a very distinct voice than we are used to with Sanderson, but gives more freedom for wit, sarcasm, bias, and straight up goofy-ness. (Tiny spoiler: Hoid is cursed throughout this whole story to not be able to say anything that makes sense, so it's quite wild and bizarre).

• Other things to love: adventure, fun plot twists, a talking rat sidekick/best friend, detailed world-building, and pirate vibes.

Didn't Love

• My only complaint is that the time Tress spends on the ship did feel a little slow, but that have been because I read it while moving, so it took me a while to read it :)

Content

• Language: 
• A few uses of "damn."

• Sexual content: 
• A few sweet kisses.

• Violence
• People are killed by spores, some of the deaths are gruesomely described.
• Crew member is killed by a spike of spores, injuries somewhat described.
• Pirates take down another ship and shoot some members of their crew.

Overall Thoughts

I love all of Brandon Sanderson's books- he truly is the J.R.R. Tolkien of our time, in my opinion. Tress was very refreshing as it stayed true to Sanderson's usual intricate world-building, flawless writing, and lively characters, but added a touch of whimsy and light-heartedness we don't see in his other books. Tress is an endearing, lovable heroine whose unimposing selflessness was a nice break from other bold and violent heroines. Sanderson also creates a unique setting with the pirate vibes- except the pirates sail on seas of spores, instead of water. If a drop of water touches the spores, you're dead-- which adds lots of exciting tension :) With a lovable heroine, a loyal crew, and a prince to rescue-- this is not an adventure to be missed!