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aely's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Body horror, Child abuse, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
jolineliest's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Confinement, Death, and Blood
Minor: Gun violence, Sexism, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
maddie_can_read's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
- Whimsical
- Fairytale adjacent without being very young
- Writing/ storytelling style
- Humour and the random tangents (reminded me of Hitchhiker's)
- Characterization
- World-building
- Lots of well developed female characters
- Disability inclusion, they had a Deaf sensitivity/ representation reader, so cool!
What I didn't love:
- I didn't find the actual story that compelling after about chapter 8.
When I realized Tress was staying on the ship the entire novel and the story was going to go pretty predictably - she's obviously going to go get Charlie and have some form of happily ever after - Lack of tension
- Felt the pace could've been faster/ the pace was a little inconsistent/ slogged a bit after chapter 8
This was my first Sanderson novel so I'm definitely going to check out some more as I've heard they vary a lot in tone.
We want to imagine that people are consistent, steady, stable. We define who they are, create descriptions to lock them on a page, divide them up by their likes, talents, beliefs. Then we pretend some—perhaps most—are better than we are, because they stick to their definitions, while we never quite fit ours. Truth is, people are as fluid as time is. We adapt to our situation like water in a strangely shaped jug, though it might take us a little while to ooze into all the little nooks. Because we adapt, we sometimes don’t recognize how twisted, uncomfortable, or downright wrong the container is that we’ve been told to inhabit.
Graphic: Gore, Blood, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Slavery, Vomit, Murder, and Classism
Minor: Body horror and Gore
asearl's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Tone: It is funny and lighthearted while not sacrificing stakes or depth. It also knows when it needs to be serious.
Main Character: I like this character because she’s not your typical female protagonist… she seems like she could be a real person. She is meticulous, thoughtful, polite, she’s not a fighter (looking at you, Kaladin), she’s exceedingly practical and sane (looking at you, Shallan). It’s been a long time since I’ve read about a character and thought “oh, I can actually relate to her.” And she goes through a wonderful arc which I’ll let you discover for yourself.
Caution: this is a Cosmere book, which generally doesn’t affect much until the very end. It would be helpful to have at least a cursory understanding of how the universe works and be familiar with some of the other magic systems. Otherwise some things will feel like they come out of nowhere and don’t fit into this story at all (when I assure you they do). I don’t think it will affect your understanding of what the characters are going through but it will definitely help understand some of the plot beats and overt references at the end.
That’s the only prerequisite for reading this book. Otherwise, I highly recommend this book to everyone!
Minor: Blood, Excrement, and Vomit
00phantom's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Body horror
Minor: Vomit
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
I loved the vibes of this book, a bit of Princess Bride set at sea. But the sea isn't what you think it is. Sanderson is truly creative with his worlds, and the world building is fascinating and so well done. Will it spur me to read more Sanderson in the future? Only time will tell.
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Confinement, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Slavery, Vomit, and War
takarakei's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Unfortunately me knowing going into this that Sanderson was inspired by The Princess Bride was a detriment for me, because it's one of my all time fav movies, so I couldn't help compare too closely. I recognize that's unfair and my own issue. He says he wrote it as "if Buttercup had gone searching for Westley" - I personally read it as if Tress was Westley when he goes away and becomes the Dread Pirate Robert.
I did grow to love the cast of characters on the ship. There was great deaf representation! The world building is really interesting and unique. This is my first Sanderson book, and I've been assured it's very different from his other books. I plan to start the Stormlight series this year and look forward to what I'm hoping is a more straightforward epic high fantasy series.
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Confinement, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Gore, Slavery, and Vomit
kylaeduff's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Moderate: Bullying, Blood, and Excrement
Minor: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, and Murder
danajoy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death and Vomit
Minor: Excrement and Cannibalism
spootilious's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Title: Tress of the Emerald Sea
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Genre: Adult Fantasy
Rating: 4/5
Review:
Quotes:
Minor: Confinement, Death, Self harm, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Murder, War, and Classism