Bryan Redeagle reviewed Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
A Weird, Enjoyable Book
5 stars
I picked this up because it was described as something akin to The Princess Bride. I don't agree, and the only similarity is the narration feels similar-ish to how the movie was presented. And even then, it's a stretch. However, that's not a mark against the book, and more against the marketing.
The book, honestly, felt like a Pratchett book. I wouldn't call the writing as good as Pratchett (that's a high bar), but the feel of the book was right. It definitely kept me reading. The world is complete, thoughtful, and consistent. The narrator has a kind of colorful commentary that I enjoyed. And, most importantly, it took a lot of ideas on how things should be and sort of made poked fun at how that's not how things work. I really like Tress, and how she interacted with the world. She was a take charge kind of person …
I picked this up because it was described as something akin to The Princess Bride. I don't agree, and the only similarity is the narration feels similar-ish to how the movie was presented. And even then, it's a stretch. However, that's not a mark against the book, and more against the marketing.
The book, honestly, felt like a Pratchett book. I wouldn't call the writing as good as Pratchett (that's a high bar), but the feel of the book was right. It definitely kept me reading. The world is complete, thoughtful, and consistent. The narrator has a kind of colorful commentary that I enjoyed. And, most importantly, it took a lot of ideas on how things should be and sort of made poked fun at how that's not how things work. I really like Tress, and how she interacted with the world. She was a take charge kind of person that didn't realize she was a take charge kind of person. Which made for fun moments to read.
I kind of saw the twist at the end coming, but that didn't keep the story from being an enjoyable read and a moving ending.
