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A review by bklassen
Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-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
4.0
This is my first Brandon Sanderson book – I know he’s a powerhouse name in the fantasy world (a genre I have dipped my toe in), and I was a little disappointed to learn that this is his not his normal style of writing. That is not to say that his writing is bad or that I wouldn’t like it, but I loved the omniscient narrator that had a delightful sense of humor that greatly reminded me of Terry Pratchett or Neil Gaiman. It should not come as a surprise then that in the post script, Sanderson mentions that William Goldman’s tone in The Princess Bride was the one he was trying to emulate, with Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman being a second close comparison.
I love Good Omens. Seriously, if you have read Tress of the Emerald Sea but not Good Omens, drop everything and pick up that book, because it’s amazing. It’s hilarious, fascinating, and has a compelling story and unforgettable characters.
From what I could tell, this book definitely feels like an introduction to fantasy book, and not only because it is a standalone. It felt a little like “cozy fantasy” in the sense that there isn’t really any talk of sex, there’s no swearing, and while there is some violence, it’s pretty minimal compared to other fantasy I’ve read, which is again, quite limited, so take this whole review with a grain of salt. I know Sanderson is considered pretty clean, and a clean book or lack of sex/violence/swearing does not preclude fantastic fantasy, or a compelling and well-written story. I suppose a book that involved so much piracy and a truly heinous and villainous pirate captain did not go to the places I expected it to. Maybe that just gives you some insight into my biases or assumptions.
But beyond the psychotic Captain Crow, all the other pirates on board fall in love with her. I think it’s that the book lacks grit and cynicism, because being kind and thoughtful and generous wins the day here. Again, I’d like to reiterate, this is not a bad thing. I like books that believe in the goodness of humankind and that you don’t have to be cutthroat, cruel, or cynical to achieve your goals or “win”. But it definitely does set the tone for the book, and I am a firm believer in understanding the tone of a book before you read it more than anything else (I guess the exception is sensitive material), because understanding of tone allows you to set your expectations reasonably.
It's all highly likely that this just a “me” thing. Carry on.
Similarly, it felt like there were some slight plot holes. There are so many moments that felt like a character didn’t ask the oh-so-obvious question, like Huck avoiding questions about curses (or something similar – I just remember telling the book “Huck is clearly cursed; he’s avoiding the question as they’re talking about curses!” . Or maybe I’m just being too harsh and expecting every author to be a mega genius that’s always 15 steps ahead of the reader. It is nice to have foreshadowing or irony that pays off later.
Finally, my last qualm is that there are some highly suspenseful and intense moments that seemed to lack, for lack of a better word, payoff. For instance, Captain Crow is set up as this badass pirate who is not only bloodthirsty and unkillable, but also just able to hurt others and beat others into submission without even relying on her seed eater status that makes her unkillable. She single-handedly takes down 4 of the best and toughest crew members and removes any sense of hope they have in a mutiny. It’s truly an incredible scene and at that moment, I hated Captain Crow in the best of ways.
But when we get to a major moment in the book, the penultimate crux that the book has been leading toward and the defeat of a major villain and hinderance to Tress’ journey, it felt like a letdown. We meet this awesome dragon who lives under the spore sea who will take Tress as a servant forever to remove the captain’s terminal condition.
How does it resolve? Tress and the captain exchange reasons why the other would be a better servant, and for most of that exchange, Tress is obviously the better choice as someone who is generous, smart, good at cooking, hard working, humble, and meeker than the captain. But Tress is clever and fearless, so how does she use her quick thinking to tip the scales in her favor? She passionately cries that she will always try to escape so that she can go save her true love from the Sorceress. And the dragon just accepts it, gags Captain Crow to shut her up, and lets Tress go with some gifts. It has that fairy tale for children quality, except that the scene beforehand of Captain Crow mercilessly beating up the mutinous group and cold-heartedly shooting her helmswoman in the leg really lent a lot of suspense and high stakes, only to be so easily resolved with a passionate speech that didn’t feel like it held up against this badass scene beforehand.
Again, a counterpoint is that Sanderson copied Goldman or Gaiman/Pratchett in these built-up climaxes that, mostly for comedy’s sake, turns out to be an easy fix by a simple solution or talking up the villain/powerful being. Like in the Princess Bride, the trio of Fezzick, Wesley, and Inigo scaring away the massive group of guards with a wheelbarrow, a torch, and a cloak. Or even Wesley being brought back to life with a miracle pill. I think my expectations were a bit out of whack, because it’s not like the tone of the book isn’t cheeky or sweet or sincere. I’m starting to think it’s the so-close juxtaposition of this cutthroat captain fight scene against a simple exchange of words. Your mileage may vary.
But when we get to a major moment in the book, the penultimate crux that the book has been leading toward and the defeat of a major villain and hinderance to Tress’ journey, it felt like a letdown. We meet this awesome dragon who lives under the spore sea who will take Tress as a servant forever to remove the captain’s terminal condition.
How does it resolve? Tress and the captain exchange reasons why the other would be a better servant, and for most of that exchange, Tress is obviously the better choice as someone who is generous, smart, good at cooking, hard working, humble, and meeker than the captain. But Tress is clever and fearless, so how does she use her quick thinking to tip the scales in her favor? She passionately cries that she will always try to escape so that she can go save her true love from the Sorceress. And the dragon just accepts it, gags Captain Crow to shut her up, and lets Tress go with some gifts. It has that fairy tale for children quality, except that the scene beforehand of Captain Crow mercilessly beating up the mutinous group and cold-heartedly shooting her helmswoman in the leg really lent a lot of suspense and high stakes, only to be so easily resolved with a passionate speech that didn’t feel like it held up against this badass scene beforehand.
Again, a counterpoint is that Sanderson copied Goldman or Gaiman/Pratchett in these built-up climaxes that, mostly for comedy’s sake, turns out to be an easy fix by a simple solution or talking up the villain/powerful being. Like in the Princess Bride, the trio of Fezzick, Wesley, and Inigo scaring away the massive group of guards with a wheelbarrow, a torch, and a cloak. Or even Wesley being brought back to life with a miracle pill. I think my expectations were a bit out of whack, because it’s not like the tone of the book isn’t cheeky or sweet or sincere. I’m starting to think it’s the so-close juxtaposition of this cutthroat captain fight scene against a simple exchange of words. Your mileage may vary.
Reading this, you may think that I didn’t actually like the book, which isn’t true! I really enjoyed it! I loved the setting, the pirate ship, and the characters. Tress is a fantastic character that grows quite a bit during her time on the pirate ship and finds something that she’s passionate about. She’s level-headed, reasonable, intelligent, kind, practical, and tenacious. It’s funny when the narrator, Hoid, mentions the thwarting of a miscommunication or plot advancement by a character’s assumptions when Tress decides to pause and think of alternate reasons or options instead of jumping ahead. It’s a nice subversion of a trope or “cheap” plot advancement (not always cheap, but easily can be considered cheap in a great many books).
The world building and magic system feel second to none – the descriptions and complexity are top notch and highly vivid and thought out, which reminds me a bit of the world building in Locke Lamora. Another thing I know about Sanderson is that his magic systems and world building are complex and highly examined; no hand waving away explanations from him. It felt like a union between science and magic, which is cool.
I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again – this book is really funny. I am a huge fan of Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, Monty Python, and other tongue-in-cheek artists (which usually seem to be British – is that just my perception or is it the dry or absurdist British humor?) Sanderson nails that tone and I remarked multiple times that the tone and writing absolutely were in the same vein as Terry Pratchett or Douglas Adams.