Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
*Don’t feel like reading all that? Watch the video!
Synopsis
Tress of the Emerald sea is the story of a simple girl who courageously sets off on a mission by herself to save a dear friend.
This book is a part of the Cosmere, but you can read it without having read other Cosmere books. That being said, some things will make more sense, if you’re familiar with other books.
Plot
This book was a lot simpler than most of Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere books. There was one consistent perspective, and only a few simultaneous plots weaving together, as opposed to Sanderson’s typical five hundred. While I enjoy the complexity of books like The Stormlight Archive, I found Tress to be very refreshing in its simplicity.
Writing
While I feel it’s ridiculous to have to point out that Brandon Sanderson is a genius writer, it is worth mentioning that this book is written differently than his other books. Since there is only one perspective, we have one consistent narrator. The narrator is actually a side character in the story and is none other than the irrepressible Hoid. It is written as though Hoid is telling someone a story in a moment of need (as he often does), but on a much grander scale. Hoid’s narrating style was very fun to read, especially considering he is also in the story himself.
Characters
I loved Tress! Part of her charm was how normal she was. Now, by “normal” I don’t mean the opposite of weird. She has her own little quirks, like her interesting cup collection. She is, however, normal in that she isn’t a “chosen one” type of character, endowed with unearthly power to defeat the evil villain. Nope! She’s just a quiet teenage girl that made a choice to do something impossible to save her friend, even if she has no idea how she’s going to do it. The other characters she meets along the way are also very interesting and endearing.
Overall
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun little escape with endearing characters and strange adventures!