'Tress of the Emerald Sea' by Brandon Sanderson | Secret Project #1 (A Cosmere Novel) | Book Review | The Book Physician
A deep dive into the first of Brandon Sanderson's standalone "Secret Projects" set in his Cosmere universe.
With a few tips, he wasn’t so boring after all. Secretly, I’ll tell you that you aren’t either. Anyone who tells you otherwise is trying to lower your value. Don’t trust them. They know they can’t afford you otherwise.
Rating: 4.5/5.
Review:
'Tress of the Emerald Sea', also dubbed as Secret Project #1, marks the beginning of the Year of the Sanderson. Although I knew its name, I had refrained from reading the preview chapters when Sanderson released them earlier last year. I went in blind and was pleasantly surprised with what the book had to offer.
This book feels as if it is the lovechild of 'The Princess Bride' and 'Stardust'. It starts a bit like The Princess Bride but then undergoes a role reversal, which Sanderson confesses in the postscript to be his intention while writing this story. It has been years since I last read or watches Stardust, but the whimsical nature of this story greatly reminded me of it. I have been on a Discworld binge recently, and I could see some glimpses of Pratchett-Esque humor in the story. In fact, the narrator's funny quips usually interjected within brackets reminded me greatly of the footnotes in the Discworld books.
While the book has Brandon's hallmark key strengths, we get to see him tackle a different side of prose than the one we usually see him using for most of his stories. Narrated by Hoid, a character well-known for his storytelling acumen, the book just reaches a new high with his witty humor, personal interjections, and the ability to use whimsy to tell a story to keep the audience gripped. There are many moments where Hoid gets a chance to deliver some poignant messages to the audience that spoke to me in a way I wasn't expecting, and this is from a book that has its fair share of poop jokes and crass humor typical of Hoid.
Creating a unique and rules-based magic system has always been Brandon's specialty, and he delivers again on that front in this book as well. Although not the actual home planet of the aethers, Lumar has seas of aether spores rather than actual seas. Although it is still a hard magic system with well-defined rules, the incorporation of the explanation of the magic system felt much more in place as compared to his other books where it feels like you are seriously attending a science lecture. I was also amazed at how Brandon seamlessly ties in the aether-based magic system into his majestic world-building in this small package of a book.
The character work was great as well. Tress, Charlie, Fort, Ann, Salay, Hoid, Huck, and the Dougs, all of these won over my heart in one way or another. Tress' love for Charlie is the driving point of the narrator, but romance is not at the forefront of the story, the book was more so about Tress finding her place in the world and her budding relationship with her found family, that is, her crew mates. Although some might classify it as a Young Adult tale, and I do see where they are coming from, I'm more in favor of terming this as a whimsical adult fairy tale.
The book isn't wholly perfect though. The narrative stagnates to some extent in the middle but gets going soon as the pacing picks up. Personally, I preferred the end of the Crimson Sea and Xisis arc over that of the Midnight Sea and Sorceress arc. The ending felt a tad rushed, and a bit of elaboration would have helped greatly. And despite its imperfections, there are numerous heartwarming moments toward the end that made me like the book more than I should have. A delightful journey with a touching conclusion, reading this book was quite a splendid experience!
A standalone tale set in the Cosmere, 'Tress of the Emerald Sea' might serve as an alternative entry point to those new to Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere. Facilitated by Hoid's narration, there are plenty of Cosmere easter eggs, but these aren't front and central to the narrative like in 'The Lost Metal'. If you, like me, are a hardcover Cosmere buff, this story has added value in terms of Cosmere references if you have read all the previously published Cosmere works before this. However, I do reiterate that this story can be enjoyed as a standalone tale with no prior knowledge of the Cosmere elements.
'Tress of the Emerald Sea' was my first read of 2023, and I'm glad to start this year on such a strong note. Another fantastic entry by Sanderson, it was a delight reading this whimsical coming-of-age tale. I can't wait for what more Sanderson has to offer in his next three Secret Projects scheduled later this year.
PS: Oh, I forgot to comment on the illustrations in my review above. The artwork is exquisite. The design for the chapter numbers varies along with Tress' voyages and is different for the different seas. That was subtle, yet brilliantly done. I was lucky to get the digital copy via Kickstarter, but I greatly envy all those who have ordered the premium hardcover editions.
Sometimes the moments in our life pile up and become an unstoppable force that makes us change. But at other times they become a mountain impossible to surmount.
Everyone misses shots now and then. But if you become known as the person who misses—if you internalize it—well, suddenly every miss becomes another rock in that pile. While every hit gets ignored.
Wohooo, I am excited to read this now!!