Book of the Week
By Milly the Bookie
Contributor
Tress of The Emerald Sea
Brandon Sanderson
5 stars
The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England
Brandon Sanderson
5 stars
We got two books this week, both by one of my all-time favourite authors, Brandon Sanderson. He’s more of a recent discovery of mine, so I haven’t read that much of his work, but these are my two precious babies. If you like pretty books, you’ll love these ones! (especially Tress of the Emerald Sea; that book is a text block sandwiched between two paintings)
One may have noticed that I have rated both of these books five stars. I wouldn’t say that I give out top ratings easily, but you really cannot compare Brandon Sanderson to anything else. What makes him so special? Oh, I’ll tell you! His secret collection is a not-so-secret collection of four books that were written for his wife and his wife alone. You just know this guy is an amazing author because he can write four books without any intention of publishing them (not to mention such a good husband). Eventually, his wife convinced him to release these books as his secret collection, for which I thank her so very much!
Often fantasy books are described as having different worlds; these could either be super interactive, creative and well-described, or cliché boring and confusing. The worlds that Brandon Sanderson constructs will leave you flabbergasted (I’m pulling out the big words, that’s how good he is). Trying to explain what you are reading to someone else is impossible because there’s so much to every little aspect of these creations, but reading the book makes it so easy to picture these impossible images.
An advantage of writing these exclusively for his wife is that there was no deadline. This shows in the incredibly written story and characters, which combine complicated with simple, relatable, and understanding—absolutely anything and everything you could ever want from a book! It’s clear that a character is near perfect and connected to the reader when, in a certain situation, the reader can guess what the character will do or say because you know them and you can feel their motivation. THAT is what Brandon Sanderson does.
Okay, you’ll want to read Tress of the Emerald Sea during the summer (if you’re one of those seasonal readers) because it’s a cozy romance fantasy with cartoonish characters that are just so fun! (and if you want the full experience, listen to Shostakovich string quartet no.8) TFWHFSME is more of an any-season book; it’s a cool mix of science-fiction and fantasy. That’s all you need to know, blind is best, GO READ IT! (oh, and just btw, Brandon Sanderson books can be a bit pricey, so keep that in mind. If that does not work, I have plenty of other recommendations in previous editions and coming up)
Spoilers (I didn’t do spoilers last time, I’m sorry): So I’d say Tress of the Emerald Sea broke my brain and set my standards through the roof for world-building. There are like seven oceans made of spores that rain down from different moons. Each spore reacts differently to water by sprouting vines, turning to crystals, becoming thorns etc. It’s crazy! The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook to Surviving Medieval England has such a unique time travel mechanism that is simultaneously a dimension-hopping mechanic (and yes that title is stupid long).