If you’ve ever thought to yourself: “You know what I have a distinct lack of in my life? Fantasy books about pirates. But not just pirates. Pirates sailing on a series of oceans of increasingly dangerous spores instead of water. And you know what else I’m looking for? Just hankering for…? A lady protagonist who loves collecting cups. No, not jeweled chalices. Not precious metals or fancy enameled porcelain interlaced with gold. Just… cups. Any cups—wooden cups, clay cups, pretty glazed cups. That’d be just grand. Oh! Oh, and you know what would be the icing on this pirate cake? The proverbial cherry on this sundae (served to me, naturally, in a cup)? If it was all intrinsically connected to Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere. You know what? Let’s go hog wild here and just have a worldhopper narrate it! Mmm. Yeah. Now THAT would be brilliant.”
If you’ve traveled on this admittedly very specific train of thought, or if it perhaps tickled your fancy, then boy oh boy… do I have the book for you.
Tress of the Emerald Sea is the first of four novels Sanderson wrote over the course of the pandemic, and then announced in particularly flashy style with what turned out to be the biggest Kickstarter of all time. These four books—titled at the time “Secret Projects 1-4”—were made available to Kickstarter backers at the beginning of the year. But now, the first of these books is being published in physical copies and made available to the general public, available wherever books are sold.
Buy the Book
Tress of the Emerald Sea
I’ll attempt to keep this review as spoiler-free as possible. Everything in that intro paragraph you’ll learn in chapter one or by reading the blurb on the back cover, and I’ll attempt not to include any details from further in the book than that. (But please note that this will probably not be the case in the comments below, so proceed with caution.) But if you’d rather go into this book with absolutely no further details, then I’ll just say that this book is well worth the read, in this reviewer’s humble opinion. It has all the hallmarks of Sanderson’s works nicely summed up in a standalone novel; a compelling main character, an action-packed plot, an absolutely fascinating and unique setting for a fantasy world, an avalanche of a climax, and dialogue that’s both fun and realistic.
What you won’t find is swearing, lots of blood and gore, explicit sex, and intricate word-smithing. For some of you, these things are benefits. For others, they’re negatives. If the lack of these elements is a dealbreaker for you, then this book may not be your cup of tea. But if you’ve liked any of Sanderson’s other works, particularly Warbreaker or The Emperor’s Soul, then it’s a pretty sure bet to say that you’ll like Tress of the Emerald Sea too.
With that out of the way…
Arr, ye be sailin’ into spoiler-territory from here on out, me mateys! Don’t be sayin’ I didn’t warn ye!
…are ye still here? Well, pull up a barrel o’ rum to sit on, matey, and let’s have us a palaver. Savvy?
Let’s start with a look at the aforementioned cover blurb:
The only life Tress has known on her island home in an emerald-green ocean has been a simple one, with the simple pleasures of collecting cups brought by sailors from faraway lands and listening to stories told by her friend Charlie. But when his father takes him on a voyage to find a bride and disaster strikes, Tress must stow away on a ship and seek the Sorceress of the deadly Midnight Sea. Amid the spore oceans where pirates abound, can Tress leave her simple life behind and make her own place sailing a sea where a single drop of water can mean instant death?
All right, I admit it: I’ve always been a huge fan of lady pirates. (I bet you never would have guessed this based on this review so far, huh?) It was one of the things I loved most about Scott Lynch’s Red Seas Under Red Skies, so I’m predisposed to love this novel. The pirate crew is likable and hard not to root for, the antagonists suitably menacing (if not quite as hate-able as some of Sanderson’s other villains), and the adventure itself feels quite a lot like a traditional fairy-tale.
Normal, everyday girl living a normal, ho-hum life? Check.
Friend abducted in a classic “Inciting Incident?” Check.
Harrowing adventure, complete with mentors, friends, and goofy animal sidekicks? Check.
But here’s where Sanderson’s gift for creating unique settings really shines. This world is absolutely fascinating and completely unlike anything I’ve seen in any other fantasy novel. There are shades of Dragonriders of Pern, but really only a little. It’s fresh and original, even for those of us who have been burying ourselves in fantasy books for upwards of thirty years. Oceans made of spores, where the introduction of water causes some rather explosive effects, depending on which ocean you’re on? It’s wild, and wild in the best possible way.
Lastly, I would be remiss not to mention the Cosmere connections in this book. If you’re unfamiliar, the Cosmere is Sanderson’s connected universe, in which most of his novels take place (you can read his brief explanation here). There are people in the universe who travel from world to world, and there are deep connections between all the varied magic systems called Investiture. And if you’re a fan of the Cosmere, you’re really not going to want to sit this one out. Sanderson announced at Dragonsteel 2022 that he’s taking off the gloves in regards to inter-connectivity between his books. Up until now, he’d been cautioned against this, due to concerns over the possibility of losing readers who may not have read everything in the catalog and hence getting confused. So up until recently, he’s tried to keep the connections limited to “easter eggs,” making them more subtle. But if there’s one thing that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has taught us, Sanderson said, it was that people—geeks in particular—are very willing to actively pursue these links and connections between stories. And so, what was once considered to be a detriment is now becoming an asset. This book, much like The Lost Metal before it, makes no secret of its Cosmere connections. You’ll see familiar characters (including someone you’ll likely know very well), familiar magic systems, and Investiture in many forms.
Will this tighter, more connective style prove to be a barrier to newer fans, who haven’t pored over all of his published (and unpublished) works, the various “Words of Brandon” and countless interviews and Reddit comments? I suppose only time will tell. I do think the Cosmere Scholars outnumber the new fans, and the newbies will always have the earlier books to fall back on (until they eventually become Cosmere Scholars themselves). It’s an interesting experiment, to be sure. Stephen King dabbled in this concept a bit with the Dark Tower, but not nearly to the extent that Sanderson’s attempting. The Marvel Cinematic Universe really does seem to be the closest analogue, and that was wildly successful, so… It will be very interesting to see what the critical review of this will be on a wider scale. I would not recommend this as your very first foray into Sanderson’s works, though, for this very reason—if you’ve never read anything he’s written, do yourself a favor and start off with The Emperor’s Soul instead.
In closing, I will say that this reviewer (who is also, admittedly, a committed Cosmere scholar) was absolutely entranced by this novel, from beginning to end. I may have seen a twist or two coming, but it’s very rare for narrative curveballs to truly sneak up and surprise me anymore. So, if you’re looking for a fairy-tale Cosmere adventure filled with fun characters, a spell-binding world, and–of course–pirates, then you don’t want to miss this one.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a ship to board and booty to plunder.
Tress of the Emerald Sea is available from Tor Books
Brandon Sanderson’s”Secret Project” novels are available for pre-order
Lyndsey lives in Connecticut and makes magic wands for a living, as well as costuming two of her local Renaissance Faires and acting at several more. If you enjoy queer protagonists, snarky humor, and don’t mind some salty language, check out book 1 of her fantasy series. Follow her on Facebook or TikTok!
