Book Review: Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson

A subjective literary analysis of Tress of the Emerald Sea.

Overview

adventurous, emotional, hopeful, inspiring, lighthearted

Pacing? Medium
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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?

Review (4/5 stars)

The worldbuilding in this novel was phenomenal. It was really fun and interesting to imagine a series of spore oceans guided and affected by their own moons. I loved the concept of a Sprouter, how the best Sprouters form symbotic connections with the spores. It was fun to follow along with Tress as she formed her own relationships and stepped out of her comfort zone, becoming less terrified of the spores and more intrigued and mesmerized by them. There was so much character growth in this novel, it was inspiring and actually made logical sense. It was all very fairytale-esque, a comfort read, and gave me warm fuzzy feelings as I was following along with the story.

Unfortunately, I guessed that Huck was Charlie about 35% into the book. I don’t think this is particularly a bad thing — in fact, it’s probably a tell-tale sign of a good story, the fact that you can read between the lines and come to a conclusion of what would make the most sense. The main reason I guessed it was because Huck went on long winded explanations and stories, which was basically Charlie’s only personality trait. Also, as the story progressed, the goal of finding Charlie (a symbol of the past who had not been present for 90% of the story) seemed kind of fruitless. All things, by the way, the book addressed.

Something I didn’t like about this book was the narrator. I get that Hoid is a character from Brandon Sanderson’s other books, but as a first time reader of Sanderson’s work, it was jarring and almost felt grammatically incorrect to constantly switch between third and first person. It was strange that the narrator was an actual solution in the story, and I had the sense that I was supposed to know some of the important characters involved (the main antagonist the Sorceress, for example). But I didn’t know them, or understand what they were referencing, so it was just confusing.

Also, Sanderson’s prose. While wonderfully descriptive and detailed in some aspects, it threw me out of the story every time the word “lore” was mentioned. “Your planet’s lore.” It sounds so fourth-wall breaking. I understand that this is because of the cosmere, and lots of advid Sanderson readers probably appreciated this writing style, but as someone who hasn’t read any other Sanderson books — it felt almost juvenile. It also made me feel separate. I felt like I wasn’t the target audience for this story, despite loving many of the characters and the themes, because of all the seemingly unrelated cosmere jargon. Almost like I had to be part of a secret club to enjoy the story to its fullest.

4/5 stars.

Character(s)

Tress was definitely the most fleshed-out character in the story. Her character growth was outstanding and inspiring. She went from constantly worrying about what others think and not wanting to impose, to being very imposing once she thinks she has deserved the help of others. Her story was one of self worth.

I would say Huck, or Charlie, is second to her when it comes to character development. Although I can’t quite identify what his character change was. I guess you could say he was scared to stand up to his father, but I think the main reason Charlie stands out is because the plot was almost wholeheartedly intertwined with him.

The rest of the characters had their own unique quirks — but I would say they weren’t nearly as strong as Tress. I wouldn’t have been terribly sad or affected if something happened to any of them.

Moral Argument

I think the moral argument of this story was that it’s okay to impose on people as long as you have earned it. As stated by Tress: “it’s alright to need help, so long as you’ve lived your life as the kind of person who deserves to be rescued.” Even Tress’s father is described as the kind of man who is very generous and does all kinds of things for people; so when he asks for a favour (a very rare thing), everyone responds quickly to make it happen.

There were also lots of smaller moral themes in this book. Tress was so used to her simple, homely life on the Rock, why would she ever consider changing as a person when she is surrounded by everything she thinks she needs? It’s only when the life she’s used to is disrupted does she set out to put it back to the way it used to be — only to realize that there was so much more to life than the home she used to know. There is even a quote in the book that sums this up nicely. I can’t find the exact quote, but it’s something like: “I wonder how many musical geniuses were lost to the world because they never had the chance to pick up an instrument.”

Story World

The story world was so creative and interesting. It’s pirate life, but on the seas of a spore-infested planet, where the oceans are actually spores from their dedicated moons. And the spores aren’t entirely thoughtless — they almost have minds, they seek water, they make bargains and trades. Tress learns to control the spores essentially by forming relationships with them.

Symbolic Development

A huge symbol in this book is definitely the cup with the butterfly on it. At first, Tress thinks the butterfly is stupid, or was forced over the seas against its will, and will inevitably die. But later, Tress sees that the butterfly was determined.

I would say another symbol in this book is the spores themselves. Tress originally is terrified by them, but the more she steps outside her comfort zone, the more relationships she makes with other people, the more of a connection she creates with the spores and the less terrifying they seem.

Plot

The plot was slow at times, especially when the mechanics of things were being discussed. I think a big hinderance of this book was the fact that it took place almost entirely on a singular ship. The plot relied on the drama to keep it interesting, which it sometimes lacked, favouring long bouts of studying on Tress’s part, deep thinking, and witty remarks instead. I do still think that it successfully hit all the story beats that keep a book engaging.

The only thing that didn’t make sense was Tress lying about things. Sometimes I wasn’t even sure why she was lying. It served her no purpose.

Prose

Sanderson’s prose in this book is unique. It’s witty and charming, while being descriptive when it needs to be. He delves into the mechanics of things a little more than what I was interested in hearing — but I can still admire it for what it was. Through the prose, this book definitely felt like, at heart, it was more about the worldbuilding than it was about the characters.

Story Structure

Hero: Tress

Weaknesses: Cares a lot about what other people think, very self-monitoring.

Psychological Need: She needs to see herself as worthy of other people’s attention.

Moral Need: She needs to impose herself on others more and ask for help.

Problem: Her love, Charlie, has been kidnapped by an evil sorceress.

Desire: She wants to cross the seas and save him.

Opponent(s): Captain Crow, the Sorceress

Plan: She doesn’t have a concrete plan, and her plan changes often. Originally it’s to convince the king to pay Charlie’s ransom. Then it’s to overthrow the ship. Then it’s to break into the Sorceress’s castle.

Battle: The end battle in this story is Tress’s encounter with the Sorceress. She is kidnapped and taken to Charlie, where she sees through the Sorceress’s ruse and is held captive. Her friends come and rescue her, like she’s a trapped princess in a fairytale.

Psychological Self-Revelation: She realizes she is an intelligent, kind person worthy of reaching out to others.

Moral Self-Revelation: She realizes it’s okay to ask for help from others as long as you’ve lived the kind of life that makes you deserving of rescuing.

Moral Choice: She agrees to let her friends rescue her and orders them to save her.

New Equilibrium and World Change: Tress, Charlie and the crew sail the seas with their curses broken and start a new adventurous life for themselves.

Notable Quotes

“One of the great tragedies of life is knowing how many people in the world are made to soar, paint, sing, or steer — except they never get the chance to find out.”

I’ve discovered that it’s all right to need help. So long as you’ve lived your life as the kind of person who deserves to be rescued.

Empathy is an emotional loss leader. It pays for itself eventually.

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death