Reviews with content warning for Grief - Tress of the Emerald Sea

It felt a bit different from Sanderson’s typical work, with Hoid being the narrator. I of course loved seeing this different, magical world through one of the most beloved character’s eyes. It made for deep discussions and no shortage of humor. The pace for me felt a bit off, otherwise I loved it.

Fantasy, Found Family, Romance subplot

“One of the great tragedies of life is knowing how many people in the world are made to soar, paint, sing, or steer—except they never get a chance to find out.”

“‘Doesn’t it seem like things were better when you were younger?’ Huck asked. ‘Did life make more sense then?’”

“‘I remember thinking I understood how my life would go.’”

“‘And because we couldn’t see the troubles,’ Huck agreed. ‘Maybe we didn’t want to see them. When you’re young, there’s always someone else to deal with the problem.’”

“What else would she have never known about herself, if she hadn’t left her home island? Worse, how many people like her lived in ignorance, lacking the experience to fully explore their own existence?”

“When one abandons certain fears and assumptions, the whole world opens up.”

“We make of our memories the gods which judge our current lives.”

“We must take care not to let the bliss of the present fade when compared to supposedly better days. We’re happy, sure, but were we more happy then? If we let it, memory can make shadows of the now, as nothing can match the buttressed legends of our past.”

“Those memories aren’t alive. You are.”

“She… didn’t need to do this all on her own. That shouldn’t have been such a revelation for her. But after spending ages walking around with everyone piling bricks in your arms, it can throw you off balance when some one removes a brick to carry for you.”

“She had gone not because she assumed she would succeed, but because something had to be done.”

Content Warnings

tinyelfarcanist's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

An outstanding start for The Year of Sanderson.

Tress is one of the most sensible heroines you'll find in YA. She seeks help, talks openly with her parents, and admits when she's scared. She also goes on a suicidal mission for the man she loves, but that's love for you.

This book features beautiful relationships (romantic or otherwise), tons of adventure, and FEELINGS. Even deaths that should have been insubstantial pack a punch. Also, as expected from Sanderson's fantasy novels, a fascinating and innovative magic system. You may need to have read other of his books (The Way of Kings, Elantris) to appreciate it fully.

I LOVED the fairytale vibes. It's no coincidence that it was inspired by one of my favourite books of all time: The Princess Bride. This book has some of the most beautiful prose I've ever read. It's funny, it's witty, and full of insightful lessons. I kept highlighting passage after passage. I hope Sanderson keeps exploring this narrator.

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kaziaroo's review against another edition

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adventurous funny inspiring lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

I've only read Brandon Sanderson's early works (Elantris, Mistborn era 1 and Warbreaker), so I wasn't sure what to expect – but it was actually great. You could definitely tell he had fun writing this, and the inspiration from William Golding and Terry Pratchett was obvious from the start. Unfortunately I'm not a huge fan of comedic books and did find the whimsical narrative style tiring after a while, but I still enjoyed it on the whole.

As expected of Brandon Sanderson, the magic system was fascinating and complex, and the world was interesting. I liked the characters, although I found that again the narration style and identity of the narrator were a barrier to me actually connecting with them emotionally. The book doesn't really have any quiet moments where you see the characters just being themselves and bonding together – everything happens in action with the purpose of either revealing the world and/or furthering the plot. While I love Brandon Sanderson's complex magic systems and clever plots and mysteries, I miss the intricate characters and deep introspection from authors such as Robin Hobb and Samantha Shannon.

One area where Sanderson has definitely improved, is his sensitivity and approach to minorities and their representation. I really respect him for listening to his audience. Until this one, all of his books I'd read were dominated by men, even when the main character was a woman, and somehow the only significant female character(s) always ended up outnumbered by a group of older men influencing and guiding her. Pairing this with the incessant use of male pronouns when referring to abstract concepts (e.g. the men of the city are in danger, a wise man never leaves his sword behind, etc (not direct quotes, just examples – seriously, what's wrong with "people" or "they/them"?)), and his problematic portrayal of an autistic-coded character in Elantris, I didn't have a high opinion of Brandon Sanderson's ability to write about characters who weren't straight, white, middle-aged, non-disabled, clever, men. But Tress of the Emerald Sea showed a lot of improvement and promise in this area, and I was very glad to see that he hired a sensitivity reader for a deaf character.

In summary, I liked this book and it's made me much more interested in exploring the Cosmere and looking forward to the author's future works.

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