First Published : Jan 2023

Genre : Fiction, High Fantasy

My Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Introduction

Finding a standalone fantasy novel is becoming difficult these days with every other story having a Part II and some more. For a person like me who is absolutely not ready to commit to any series (emotionally and financially), I have been keeping my hands off of fantasy for some time.  In my quest to find more standalone (or even a good duology) to read, I found quite a lot of people mentioning Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson. It is part of his Secret Project series (and is set in Cosmere) but is still very much a standalone story. 

Cosmere Newbie Tag

Right, I am a Cosmere newbie. I haven’t read any of Sanderson’s work before. I also do not claim to know a lot about the Secret Project apart from what little I read to decide whether I can start with Tress directly. So my opinions are just based on this book alone.

And just based on one book I can say Cosmere feels like a fascinating world. In Tress we are on planet Lumar and the whole premise of the spore sea is genuinely fantastic. 

After reading Tress, do I now have an understanding of Cosmere? No, not really. But that did not stop me from enjoying the planet of Lumar. I liked the gradual world building where you get to explore the world slowly along with our protagonist.

In short, no prior ‘Cosmere’ knowledge was required to enjoy the place the story was set in.

The Protagonist and The Plot

Our main protagonist is (ofcourse)Tress. She lived a very isolated life on a small island in the Emerald Sea, along with a small number of people. The author makes Tress seem like a genuinely nice person without spelling it out. Based on the way she reacts, what she says and her actions she gives a wholesomeness that we all need sometimes. Even her relationship with the crew is not forced but formed through her genuineness. 

But there is a bit of character inconsistency though. It is said multiple times that Tress is smart, but then she goes out to sea without thinking how she will survive without knowing anything about the destination or in fact not even trying to know about it first. I can take it that she is a quick learner but it boggles me that she was never curious about her own planet. 

I also could not get behind the fact that she does a lot for a love which seemed like just attraction at that point. She is eighteen! There is connection yes, but not enough to warrant a rescue mission which she was totally unprepared for.

But what I did like – she was no damsel in distress. She takes every chance she gets to ensure she and others survive. She is constantly thinking through her options and tries her best in every given situation and becoming confident along the way.

The journey was interesting enough but I felt the ending was rushed. Certain plot points were not fully explained but I couldn’t find myself curious enough to want to learn more.

The Writing

Full points for creating a world way beyond my expectation. Mostly the writing is great, sometimes genuinely funny and sometimes certain descriptions just felt unnecessary.

In the same page we have: 

“While a healthy measure of foolhardiness drove our ancestors toward discovery, fear kept them alive. If bravery is the wind that makes us soar like kites, fear is the string that keeps us from going too far. We need it, but the thing is, our heritage taught us to fear some of the wrong things.”

“Well, it’s as natural as nipples, but nearly as vestigial as the male variety.”

Anyways it was my first Brandon Sanderson book. I liked the writing here but I would definitely read more to see whether I truly like his style. 

In Conclusion 

Saying your favourite genre is fantasy and not having read any (and I mean not a single one) written by Brandon Sanderson felt like a crime.

A good fantasy, with great world building, adventure and little to no romance would have been right up my alley, yet it was tough to keep going and felt relieved when I finally reached the end.

Tress of the Emerald Sea would be a good book for young adults. I did go in with very high expectations but honestly this wasn’t the right one for me to start my Sanderson journey.