Clare L. Deming

While everyone else was working from home and social distancing during COVID, fantasy author Brandon Sanderson was writing at a superhuman pace. In fact, he was so cut off from his regular appearances and activities, that he wrote four new stand-alone novels, announcing them in this Kickstarter that broke records for the platform.

Even though I’m only a sometimes fan of Sanderson, it was hard not to take notice of this feat. Of course I contributed to the Kickstarter. This review is for the first of those books, Tress of the Emerald Sea (paid link).

Here is the 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?

This book had a promising start with a sympathetic protagonist who is forbidden to leave her homeland. When Tress’s friend, Charlie, doesn’t return from his voyage, she dares to break the rules and go in search of him. The set up was wonderful and I was instantly engaged with the story.

Once Tress leaves home, we learn more about the unique worldbuilding (a noted feature of Sanderson’s work). The Emerald Sea of the title isn’t green water, but a vast expanse of spores that react when they contact moisture. The world has several different seas, each with different species of spores and different effects. The book treats these effects partly as magic since the results of adding moisture to spores are often dangerous, unpredictable, and feared by laypersons. At the same time, it is actually a science that follows rules and those who understand it can use the spores to create weapons, engineering feats, and spy tools.

The Kickstarter e-book edition contained some illustrations which fit perfectly with the vision of the scenes that I had in my head.

I wish that the ending has been more satisfying. It felt too much like a deus ex machina and also seemed rushed to me. I don’t want to say more to avoid spoilers. Overall I did enjoy this book and I’d love to read more stories set in this corner of Sanderson’s Cosmere.

Did you contribute to the Kickstarter? Have you read any of the books? Which one should I read next? Let me know in the comments (above).

Find more of my reviews here.