Tress of the Emerald Sea

A whimsical adventure that surprisingly carries a lot of character heart. I finally dive into the Secret Projects from Brandon Sanderson over 2 years since their announcement, and over a year since they were released. A few things stand out to me from this first project: this is a much lighter Sanderson novel than I am accustomed to. Compared to Mistborn and especially the Stormlight Archive, I feel that this world was very much designed for a one-off novel and story.

This doesn't discredit the worldbuilding at all! Lumar is a wonderful location, with a truly otherwordly feel due to the oceans of spores dropping from twelve moons. Sanderson's cited inspiration of a proactive female twist upon The Princess Bride can be felt, and TotES has all the trappings of a classic fantasy adventure novel. There's a prince, sorceress, talking rats and even a dragon. Alongside Sanderson's trademark magic that is treated like a science, in the form of Sprouters and spores.

The narration was hilarious, as Hoid goes from cameo to full-blown storyteller in this story. This means there's fun references to the rest of the Cosmere. Some of the magic of Lumar is lost by this interconnectivity, and the modern technological references sprinkled throughout. It also however means there's an element of meta-fiction, which surprisingly adds to the emotional depth of the novel. Whilst Hoid is trapped in a comical state during the novel, Tress undergoes deep character growth and I found myself really going through the journey with her in a surprisingly emotional manner. This is really her novel (with the Dougs), but Hoid drops gems in his narration, some of which are in the quotes below.

There's also an unexpected link to Dawnshard, in that this mostly becomes a novel set on the seas. The story felt light and plot points seemed to whizz by, but this was also a result of shorter chapters and Parts 1-4 being much shorter than Parts 5 and 6. I will say my interest grew greatly after the first act, and the ending was a typical Sanderlanche with some "smack your face" reveals that had me smiling. I loved the simple Chapter titles, and the artwork was fantastic with the cover and endpapers in particular being stunning. Yet I can't help but feel that this was a fun interlude for Sanderson, not the meat of his more developed stories, and it's not just due to the pagecount. With how he was able to write these novels in secret, I am expecting similar depths from the coming 3 novels (plus 1 that was completed after the others, and is yet to be released).

Sanderson said he wrote this for his wife, and I feel now that Hoid is the closest character to the author himself - a worldly and well-traveled thinker, humorous but deeply empathetic, and with a perchant for telling captivating stories. It also made me think of Thom the gleeman from the Wheel of Time series. I look forward to seeing where the next Secret Projects take me, and the stunning visuals they provide.