Tress of the Emerald Sea

There is something very comforting about Brandon Sanderson's writing style. TotES takes that general coziness and dials it up to 11. This is definitely the most whimsical Cosmere book I have read before, and I know that was deliberate seeing as this was written specifically for his wife. And the whole thing wears its influences decidedly on its sleeve. The Princess Bride rides strongly through this both in theming and literary styling, with some of the extra Pratchett and Gaiman whimsy thrown in for good measure. Having the whole thing structured as a tale told by Hoid allows for that whimsy to work in the setting though.

Sanderson's big strength has always been his well realised worlds and Lumar, the setting for this novel, is no exception. Every Cosmere planet has its own unique expression and Lumar is its spore seas. Each sea has a different colour spore and each colour spore has a different property. The spores all react with water to cause certain effects - the verdant spores of the Emerald Sea violently sprout vines, azure spores violently explode on contact with water. A series of clever mechanical devices are able to use these properties to create different weapons and tools. Everything here works and makes sense. And the fact that water is the main catalyst creates a brilliant sense of danger - most living things excrete significant quantities of water!

The characters here are also excellent. The growth seen feels properly earnt. This is essentially a coming of age story so that growth is so important. The characters are just engaging, the ships crew have that excellent found family element and the self deprecation that Hoid uses helps balance out having a super powerful immortal hiding in the story.

Considering this story was written as a bonus secret thing for his wife this is hugely impressive and probably one of the best things to come out COVID... Extra bonus stories should not be allowed to be this good.

This is Brandon Sanderson 1st of 4 secret novels

This book is set in the greater Cosmere of Brandon Sanderson but on a new world which we have not yet visited until this book.

This story is told in hoids voice and has a much more YA feel that other cosmere books and as Sanderson has said was inspired by Princess Bride and it certainly has that feel.

This books magic system is certainly different based around these spore seas but feels more like the natural biology of the world more than magic but still having that magical feel to it, its kind of hard to explaine lol. A very magical feeling world without alot of magic

Throughout this book there are numerous cosmere referneces to other worlds, lifeforms, magic systems and technology. I would argue that this is a great introduction to the cosmere, Fans will recognized the references and new readers to the cosmere don't need to know the references

Overall I really enjoyed this book and loved it but falls short of a 5 star review for me personally

only a few complains really. Mainly that there a few references to things that just would not be in the Cosmere including things from Earth, a non cosmere world but also HP Lovecraft references which while cool and awesome as I do like HP Lovecraft, Lovecraft does not fit in with the cosmere. And I don't think Hoid our narrator would know HP Lovecraft

Full reivew coming soon to my youtube channel, will updated review with link when that goes live

Loved this book, really liked the cozy, kinda fairy tale vibe. Great characters, loved them all, especially the main character, she was so relatable and fun to read about. I also really enjoyed the narrator I didn't know what I was getting into, so discovering Hoid is telling the story was so much fun!. Really excited to get the hardcover soon and reread it!

10/10. A very well written, visually gorgeous book, I've ever had the pleasure of reading. Feeling a bit distraught to leave Lumar and return back to reality, but my solace is I'll be visiting the planet multiple times over the course of years.

Seriously so good. Seriously.

I read this because it was a book club pick. This is not my genre. I understand that this was crowdfunded, and that the fans love it. I 100% get that, but it wasn't for me. It annoyed the crap out of me. It takes place on a planet where the oceans are spores and not water. I did not want to learn imaginary spore science. The narrator was also very self-satisfied with how funny he thought he was.

This had the possibility to be my first Brandon Sanderson book. But I chose a book about souls and music instead. Glad after reading a big portion of the cosmere to finally finally have read it. It was a fun journey!

Sanderson remains a very hit or miss author for me. Unfortunately, Tress of the Emerald Sea was a big miss.

I was constantly on the edge of dnf'ing, but kept going out of curiosity for the ending and the intriguing worldbuilding. However, my patience wasn’t rewarded. The humor didn’t work for me, and not once did I find the characters or story arcs believable.

The pacing felt odd, but—as usual—Sanderson’s prose kept the story moving and flowing.

What a magical standalone from Brandon Sanderson. Tress is a different style of character from his usual personalities but feels natural and lovable. Her determination, grit, ingenuity, care for others and self-declared normalcy make you root for her from the beginning.

Readers who know Wit from Sanderson's Stormlight archive will enjoy his irreverent narration. If you find Sanderson's usual expansive style of epic fantasy slow, you'll enjoy this well-paced modern fairytale with its whimsical magical system of spores and moons.

I deeply enjoyed most of the aspects of this book. The characters are quirky but relatable, the world building well paced and based on a very original concept. I don't know any other books in this universe but I didn't feel like I'm missing any important details. It's definitely a feelgood read, perfect before bed or for a lazy sunday. Overall story progress is fun and intertwined with bits of narrator's commentary and own thoughts. Pretty fun to explore it from that perspective.

One other thing about this book is that some jokes just didn't land. As if the author was trying too hard (or perhaps my own sense of humor didn't align). It didn't stop me from enjoying all other things about this book. Highly recommend!

A really fun, unexpectedly piratey read with a ton of small tidbits of cosmere goodness if you know what you are looking for

Sanderson cited The Princess Bride as an inspiration for this novel and I could feel it. Lovely, whimsical, enchanting

4.25

It's a cozy, comforting read. <3 There are no villains, no antagonists, just vibes. I love it.

Whimsical, Sweet and witty , this was my introduction to the cosmere
The narrative voice is very unique and pleasant and the main reason why it's so high score , alongside the great , rather excellent, worldbuilding in my opinion , I love how this planet is constructed , and .... that thing was a spaceship ? Got me to pause a second
My fav is Hoid wich I've been told appear often , he seem interesting , who am kidding I love him , love his personality and narration
The plot wasn't complicated , simple and pleasant to read and follow .
The charachters
Love how he called everyone DOUGS , am I a doug ?
Tress is loveable , I found her sometimes a lil bland , but a genuinely purely kind charachter is very sweet to see in a literary landscape that appear to want to showcase more and more grimdrak we are all evil stories
The mouse dude was forgettable
I love HOID did I told you thar
The sorceress seem cool , I wonder where she is from

Great characters and lovely romance. Sadly could see the ending a mile away.

Charming like a fairytale if you can let go of the anachronisms that come with Sanderson's world-building. (Personally, I just roll with it.)

Hoid is not nearly as clever or charming a narrator as he believes himself to be and that took me out of the story at some points. Also I hated the character illustrations so much.

I must admit, Sanderson is not the best writer technically speaking, but he is exceedingly good at one-liners. His work feels like the Marvel Studios of the fantasy world, not necessarily a diss. He's enjoyable and fun where it counts.

That is to say it was a good simple read and exactly that I needed to take my mind off THAT book.

Ainda bem que não me meti mais cedo no universo do Sanderson e apanhei um vídeo do próprio a recomendar esta lenga lenga para crescidos como um dos melhores pontos de entrada. Zero notas. Quero mais.

A whimsical adventure that surprisingly carries a lot of character heart. I finally dive into the Secret Projects from Brandon Sanderson over 2 years since their announcement, and over a year since they were released. A few things stand out to me from this first project: this is a much lighter Sanderson novel than I am accustomed to. Compared to Mistborn and especially the Stormlight Archive, I feel that this world was very much designed for a one-off novel and story.

This doesn't discredit the worldbuilding at all! Lumar is a wonderful location, with a truly otherwordly feel due to the oceans of spores dropping from twelve moons. Sanderson's cited inspiration of a proactive female twist upon The Princess Bride can be felt, and TotES has all the trappings of a classic fantasy adventure novel. There's a prince, sorceress, talking rats and even a dragon. Alongside Sanderson's trademark magic that is treated like a science, in the form of Sprouters and spores.

The narration was hilarious, as Hoid goes from cameo to full-blown storyteller in this story. This means there's fun references to the rest of the Cosmere. Some of the magic of Lumar is lost by this interconnectivity, and the modern technological references sprinkled throughout. It also however means there's an element of meta-fiction, which surprisingly adds to the emotional depth of the novel. Whilst Hoid is trapped in a comical state during the novel, Tress undergoes deep character growth and I found myself really going through the journey with her in a surprisingly emotional manner. This is really her novel (with the Dougs), but Hoid drops gems in his narration, some of which are in the quotes below.

There's also an unexpected link to Dawnshard, in that this mostly becomes a novel set on the seas. The story felt light and plot points seemed to whizz by, but this was also a result of shorter chapters and Parts 1-4 being much shorter than Parts 5 and 6. I will say my interest grew greatly after the first act, and the ending was a typical Sanderlanche with some "smack your face" reveals that had me smiling. I loved the simple Chapter titles, and the artwork was fantastic with the cover and endpapers in particular being stunning. Yet I can't help but feel that this was a fun interlude for Sanderson, not the meat of his more developed stories, and it's not just due to the pagecount. With how he was able to write these novels in secret, I am expecting similar depths from the coming 3 novels (plus 1 that was completed after the others, and is yet to be released).

Sanderson said he wrote this for his wife, and I feel now that Hoid is the closest character to the author himself - a worldly and well-traveled thinker, humorous but deeply empathetic, and with a perchant for telling captivating stories. It also made me think of Thom the gleeman from the Wheel of Time series. I look forward to seeing where the next Secret Projects take me, and the stunning visuals they provide.

Would say it's unlike any other book I've read. Good story, kinda slow paced

Un cuento dulce y humorístico narrado por el mejor cuentacuentos posible para ello

WONDERFUL! WHIMSICAL! W-AMAZING!!!

What a fun and enjoyable little story this was!!! Self contained but full of cosmere references, the light tone was so easy to read too. Forgot how great Sanderson is!!!

9.25/10 (?)

May edit when home

WONDERFUL! WHIMSICAL! W-AMAZING!!!

What a fun and enjoyable little story this was!!! Self contained but full of cosmere references, the light tone was so easy to read too. Forgot how great Sanderson is!!!

9.25/10 (?)

May edit when home

While some books get you with the banter between characters, this one gets you by bantering with YOU. The unique first person narration and philosophical spiels were fun. Not only did I get a story but also some self reflection on what it means to live and be a main character/hero in your own life. Some interesting plot twists but in some ways it felt a bit rushed at the end.

Tress, a young window washer, lives on The Rock off of the Emerald Sea. No one is allowed to leave the Rock, but something propels her to escape and an adventure follows. I found this to be as delightful as the folks hyping this up say it is. It was easy to read, easy to fall in love with Tress and I was consumed with wanting to know what was going to happen chapter after chapter. I do recommend for folks who are maybe having a rough time, who want to feel some empowerment and be a little inspired to do more. If you're looking for found family too.

My first Brandon Sanderson book ever and I'm truly in love. Tress is everything I wanted it to be.