Tress is a lower-class girl on Diggen’s Point, a tiny rock that barely qualifies as an island, but whose industry – salt mining – is too vitally important to the kingdom’s safety to allow anyone to immigrate elsewhere. Salt, in fact, is one of the few things (alongside silver) that keep people safe from the spores that fall from the moons and make up the seas that cover the world. Tress is a window washer, a collector of cups from faraway places, an adept bargainer, and in love with Charlie, the son of the Duke. But the Duke doesn’t want his son to marry a commoner, and so takes Charlie away on a voyage to find a suitable wife. Charlie promises Tress that he will not marry, and that he will send her cups from every port to prove his love and loyalty. But then the cups stop coming, and the Duke returns with a “son” who clearly isn’t Charlie. And then Tress discovers that the real Charlie angered the king and was sent to spy on a terrifying sorceress, who curses or kills everyone she encounters. Determined to rescue her beloved, Tress plots and schemes and manages to escape Diggen’s Point, only for her ship to be attacked by pirates. And that’s just the beginning.
Through Tress’ adventures she’ll encounter a talking rat named Huck, a man named Hoid who was cursed by the sorceress to lose his wits (and who is apparently a recurring character in the Cosmere novels), and a crew of pirates who don’t actually want to be pirates but don’t also really have a choice. Tress will learn more about the spores and how to wrangle them, plan a mutiny, outwit a dragon, and face a sorceress head on, all the while doing her best to be a good person and get to Charlie. This is the kind of book that doesn’t slow down, but also doesn’t feel rushed, and every new adventure is fun in a different way.
Tress of the Emerald Sea was my first Sanderson novel, and I adored it. Excellent world building, a fun and engaging plot, and asides that regularly made me snort-laugh in public, so thanks for that Sanderson. I’ll definitely read more of his works in the future, so if anyone has recs of their favorite Sanderson novels, send them my way.
