Tress of the

Emerald Sea

Tress of the Emerald Sea is an epic fantasy novel written by American author Brandon Sanderson. It is
part of the Cosmere fictional universe and the first book of Sanderson's "Secret Projects" Kickstarter
campaign. It was exclusively released on January 1, 2023, by Dragonsteel Entertainment to Kickstarter
backers, released online as an ebook, epub, and pdf on January 10, 2023, and officially published on April
4, 2023, by Tor Books.
 Tress of the Emerald Sea

Tor Books edition cover

Author Brandon Sanderson

Cover artist Howard Lyon

(Dragonsteel)
Carlos Guimerà (Tor)

Country United States

Language English

Series Cosmere

Genre High fantasy

Published January 1, 2023
(Dragonsteel; available
to Kickstarters)
January 10, 2023
(Dragonsteel; available
to all)
April 4, 2023 (Tor)

Publisher Dragonsteel
Entertainment
Tor Books

Media type Print (hardcover and

paperback), audiobook,
e-book

Pages 384 pp

ISBN 978-1-25-089965-1
Plot
Tress grew up on The Rock, an isolated island in the Emerald Sea. She spent her days collecting cups
from passing sailors, forming an impressive collection. One day, Tress visited her friend Charlie, the Duke's
son, but their bonding was cut short by the Duke's disapproval.

The next morning, the Duke announced his family would be leaving for an arranged royal marriage. Before
departing, Charlie promised Tress he would return unmarried and bring her a special cup. A year passed,
and the Duke's family returned - but Charlie was missing. Tress learned he had been captured by the
Sorceress after being exiled to the treacherous Midnight Seas by a furious King. Determined to save
Charlie, Tress set out on a perilous journey. She boarded the smuggler ship Oot's Dream, where she
befriended a talking rat named Huck. When the ship was ambushed by pirates, Tress and Huck escaped
and joined the crew of the notorious Crow's Song.

Tress quickly endeared herself to the fearful, cursedrewn crew, including the quartermaster Fort, carpenter
Ann, and helmsman Salay. She discovered the captain, Crow, was a "spore eater" who used her abilities to
terrorize other ships. Tress sabotaged the Crow's Song's attacks to avoid casualties, while also secretly
planning a mutiny with the crew. As they neared the Crimson Sea, Tress learned Crow sought a cure for
her illness from the dragon Xisis. Tress convinced Crow to take her along, hoping Xisis could also help
free Charlie from the Sorceress' clutches. With the crew's support, Tress set out on quest to stop the
Sorceress' dark plans.

Three days later, Tress enacts her plan to leave the ship and continue her mission to rescue Charlie.
However, Crow undermines Tress' efforts and warns her of the dangers of the Crimson and Midnight
Seas. With Huck's encouragement, Tress invents a flare gun that summons the spores. Huck then informs
Tress about the Sorceress' lair and the perils she is unprepared for. To confront the Sorceress, Tress
must overcome three trials: the Midnight Essences, giant golden statues, and a fortified tower. As two
storms approach, Tress uses spore-infused water to conjure a giant protective tree for the ship. Tress,
Fort, Ann, and Salay plan to remove Crow, but he exposes their scheme using midnight spores. Crow's
cannon master Laggart ambushes them, injuring Salay. Crow then takes Fort and Salay hostage to force
Tress' compliance. In Xisis' lair, Tress outsmarts Crow, convincing the dragon to free her. With Crow
removed, the crew elects Tress as their captain, supporting her mission to the Midnight Sea.

Tress introduces Huck as her valet, revealing the Midnight spores that can disable the Sorceress'
monsters. However, the paranoid Huck secretly sabotages the ship's food using Hoid's magic, causing
Tress to distrust and imprison him. Tress plans to take Hoid to the Sorceress' lair, but the Midnight
Essences ambush her. Huck then admits he serves the Sorceress, taking Tress captive. At the Sorceress'
island, Tress realizes the Sorceress has cursed Charlie, now revealed as Huck. As Tress and Charlie
embrace, the Crow's Song crew attacks the island. Fort controls the Midnight Essences, and Hoid halts the
Sorceress' curse, forcing her surrender. Five months later, Tress, Charlie, and the crew depart the island
and sail off towards other adventures.

Characters

Tress: The story's main protagonist and

heroine. Her actual name is Glorf, which she
considers to be a very unfortunate name.
Everyone in the story calls her Tress, after
her unruly hair. She is fond of cups and has
a small collection (courtesy of Charlie and
his many expeditions as the duke’s son)
which she carries around everywhere she
goes.
Captain Crow: The ruthless ship captain of
the Crow's Song. She has a symbiotic
relationship with Verdant Spores (a condition
colloquially known as being a “spore eater”)
in which the spores protect her from harm
in exchange for increasing amounts of
water. This condition is fatal, but she has
already lived past her expiration date,
making her nihilistic and overconfident, and
therefore dangerous.
The Sorceress/Riina: the main antagonist of
the story. She came to Lumar because she
believed it to be the most vulnerable planet
in the Cosmere. She then cursed anyone
she met, making hers a very feared name
indeed. In the story we meet two people she
cursed, one being Hoid (expanded upon in
Hoid’s entry) and the other being Charlie
(expanded upon in Charlie’s entry)
Ann: The ship's carpenter. She loves guns,
but has horrendous aim, to the point of
comedy.
Salay: The ship’s helmswoman. Her goal is
to find her father.
Fort: A deaf quartermaster who uses a
Nathian board for translation. He was the
first member of the crew to be nice to
Tress.
Charlie: The Duke's son. He is most fond of
stories and adventures. He is Tress' love
interest. His curse from Riina turned him into
a rat.
Ulaam: A Kandra from Scadrial who was
called to Lumar by Hoid (presumably before
Hoid got cursed). After seeing Hoid’s state,
Ulaam chose to remain with Hoid to keep an
eye on him. He now spends his days as the
ship’s surgeon.
Hoid: A Worldhopper and storyteller, the
narrator of this story. Known as Wit, the
Drifter, Cephandrius and a myriad other
names, Hoid is known have a major role in
the overarching story of the Cosmere. He
appears in every Cosmere book, nudging
the main characters in the right direction.
This was not one of his brightest moments,
as he was pretty much incapacitated for
most of the story due to Riina’s curse, which
made him lose his Wits. He wasn’t even
capable of forming coherent sentences. In
rare moments of lucidity he still tried to help
Tress and nudge her in the right direction.
Publication
In spring 2022, Brandon Sanderson announced a Kickstarter campaign of "Secret Projects" to publish four
secret and brand-new novels written during the COVID-19 pandemic. The campaign reached its goal
within a day, and accumulated a total of $41.7 million.[1][2] Tress of the Emerald Sea is the first of the
Secret Projects and is part of Sanderson's fictional Cosmere universe.[1] The novel is inspired by William
Goldman’s 1973 novel The Princess Bride and is narrated by Hoid, a recurring character who had
appeared in multiple Cosmere series novels and whom Sanderson always wanted to have a book
centered on.[3][4]

Kickstarter campaign backers received premium editions of the novel published by Dragonsteel
Entertainment on January 1, 2023, and a standard hardback edition published by Tor Books was officially
released on April 4, 2023.[1][5]

Reception
Kirkus Reviews called the novel "a fantasy adventure with a sometimes-biting wit", and praising it for the
engrossing worldbuilding, appealing characters and sense of humor.[6]

Lyndsey Luther of Tor.com called the novel "fascinating and completely unlike anything I’ve seen in any
other fantasy novel". She described the novel as "a fairy-tale Cosmere adventure filled with fun characters"
and said "Sanderson’s gift for creating unique settings really shines".[7]

David Wiley of Open Letters Review praised the novel for its "punchy pacing, witty humor, vibrant
characters, and fascinating magic systems", yet he criticized the narrative and too many Cosmere-related
subtleties added to the plot.[8]
References

1. "Brandon Sanderson's Tress of the Emerald

Sea Will Release in Bookstores on April 4th" (h
ttps://www.tor.com/2023/02/01/tress-of-the-
emerald-sea-tor-cover-and-release/) .
Tor.com. February 1, 2023. Archived (https://
web.archive.org/web/20230203185153/http
s://www.tor.com/2023/02/01/tress-of-the-e
merald-sea-tor-cover-and-release/) from the
original on February 3, 2023. Retrieved
April 22, 2023.
2. McGill, William (April 1, 2023). "Top 10 Science
Fiction Novels coming out in 2023" (https://w
ww.ibtimes.co.uk/top-10-science-fiction-novel
s-coming-out-2023-1710783) . International
Business Times. Archived (https://web.archiv
e.org/web/20230112125556/https://www.ibti
 mes.co.uk/top-10-science-fiction-novels-comi
ng-out-2023-1710783) from the original on
January 12, 2023. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
3. Roman, Daniel (March 26, 2023). "8 stories
from Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere we need
adapted onscreen" (https://winteriscoming.ne
t/2023/03/26/brandon-sandersons-cosmere-
every-story-we-want-adapted-ranked-by-hyp
e/) . FanSided. winteriscoming.net. Archived (h
ttps://web.archive.org/web/2023033019565
4/https://winteriscoming.net/2023/03/26/bra
ndon-sandersons-cosmere-every-story-we-w
ant-adapted-ranked-by-hype/) from the
original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved April 22,
2023.
4. Armstrong, Vanessa (April 1, 2022). "Here's
What Brandon Sanderson's Four Kickstarter
Books Are About" (https://www.tor.com/202
 2/04/01/heres-what-brandon-sandersons-fou
r-kickstarter-books-are-about/) . Tor.com.
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20230
112091514/https://www.tor.com/2022/04/0
1/heres-what-brandon-sandersons-four-kickst
arter-books-are-about/) from the original on
January 12, 2023. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
5. Morgan, Adam (March 29, 2023). "Welcome to
Brandon Sanderson's Fantasy Empire" (http
s://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/a
43438119/brandon-sanderson-profile/) .
Esquire. Archived (https://web.archive.org/we
b/20230420004249/https://www.esquire.co
m/entertainment/books/a43438119/brandon-
sanderson-profile/) from the original on April
20, 2023. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
6. "TRESS OF THE EMERALD SEA" (https://ww
w.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/brandon-s
 anderson/tress-of-the-emerald-sea/) . Kirkus
Reviews. April 12, 2023. Archived (https://we
b.archive.org/web/20230419003256/https://
www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/brando
n-sanderson/tress-of-the-emerald-sea/)
from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved
April 22, 2023.
7. Luther, Lyndsey (April 4, 2023). "Pirates and
Worldhoppers Ahoy! Brandon Sanderson's
Tress of the Emerald Sea" (https://www.tor.co
m/2023/04/04/book-review-and-discussion-b
randon-sanderson-tress-of-the-emerald-sea/c
omment-page-1/) . Tor.com. Archived (http
s://web.archive.org/web/20230417000340/ht
tps://www.tor.com/2023/04/04/book-review-
and-discussion-brandon-sanderson-tress-of-t
he-emerald-sea/comment-page-1/) from the
 original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 22,
2023.
8. Wiley, David (March 4, 2023). "Tress of the
Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson" (https://
openlettersreview.com/posts/tress-of-the-em
erald-sea-by-brandon-sanderson) . Open
Letters Review. Archived (https://web.archive.
org/web/20230422095851/https://openletter
sreview.com/posts/tress-of-the-emerald-sea-
by-brandon-sanderson) from the original on
April 22, 2023. Retrieved April 22, 2023.

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