Scan barcode
A review by izzalice
Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Tress of the Emerald Sea is one of Brandon Sanderson's secret project novels and is a standalone story set in the Cosmere universe. This novel was born when Sanderson introduced his family to the film The Princess Bride during lockdown. His wife expressed dissatisfaction with Buttercup's passive attitude and so Sanderson thought- what if Buttercup had gone after Westley instead?
This book is brilliant fun and despite being heavily inspired by The Princess Bride, Sanderson's unique spin makes it feel so fresh. In Tress of the Emerald Sea, the sea is not actually made of water but rather alien spores that drift down from the multiple moons across the planet. The spores react when touched by water so rain can be deadly and they react differently depending on which moon they come from.
While keeping the humorous element that The Princess Bride has, the plot and general tone to this novel is a lot more gritty and I really liked that aspect. The danger felt a lot closer to the characters and in many parts, it was impossible to put down! There's an excellent cast of characters here too that you can't help but love.
The pacing did slow a little during the third quarter but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book as a whole and I can happily say that my first venture into Brandon Sanderson has been a hit!
This book is brilliant fun and despite being heavily inspired by The Princess Bride, Sanderson's unique spin makes it feel so fresh. In Tress of the Emerald Sea, the sea is not actually made of water but rather alien spores that drift down from the multiple moons across the planet. The spores react when touched by water so rain can be deadly and they react differently depending on which moon they come from.
While keeping the humorous element that The Princess Bride has, the plot and general tone to this novel is a lot more gritty and I really liked that aspect. The danger felt a lot closer to the characters and in many parts, it was impossible to put down! There's an excellent cast of characters here too that you can't help but love.
The pacing did slow a little during the third quarter but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book as a whole and I can happily say that my first venture into Brandon Sanderson has been a hit!