Short Book Reviews // Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson

I finished Tress of the Emerald Sea, a young adult fantasy adventure/romance by American author Brandon Sanderson. The book is about Tress, a window washer who lives on an island called the Rock in the middle of an ocean of emerald spores.

When I acquired the book, I didn't pay attention to the fact that it's a young adult novel. I've nothing against those, but it became evident pretty quickly that I don't belong to the targeted audience. Nonetheless, I finished the book and found it enjoyable enough. 

The world Sanderson builds is intriguing. It's not a fantasy world I'd go for if I investigated the books I intend to read before purchasing them, but I don't. For instance, I never read any reviews of the book beforehand. And as often as not, I also skip the blurb. Yet, it turned out to be a world into which I wouldn't mind taking another peek. In short, the story takes place in a universe divided into several oceans of spores, each ruled by a moon of its own. The occupants live on islands, leaving which is difficult because the spores are dangerous.

The heroine of Tress of the Emerald Sea does leave her home island, however, to rescue her beloved, Charlie, who's been captured by the Sorceress of the Midnight Sea. Her voyage across the Verdant and Crimson Seas is captivating even for an adult reader, regardless of the plot being somewhat predictable and the characters being one-dimensional. As could be expected, the characters are either Good or Bad; there's not much of a middle ground. If this were an adult fantasy book, I would consider that a major failure, but as TotES is a young adult book, I'll just skimp over it. 

All in all, I liked Tress of the Emerald Sea. It's an entertaining, easy-to-read story. Not something that'll dwell in your head for years, or even weeks, but worth considering if you're looking for a light-weight adventure sprinkled with the hints of a romance.

As a curiosity, this is the first Sanderson book I've read. Would I read more from him based on TotES? Yes. What's funny about it is that if I were me back in the day, when I was a young adult, I would've given up on the book when the talking rat made his entry and condemned the story as childish and the author as someone whose work I won't be wasting more time on. The boundaries of my imagination have, fortunately, widened since then, allowing me to find a talking rat an asset rather than an annoyance.

Short Book Reviews: The Kingkiller Chronicle Books 1 and 2 by Patrick Rothfuss

The Kingkiller Chronicle is a planned trilogy by an American author Patrick Rothfuss whose independent work The Slow Regard of Silent Things is one of my favourite fantasy books. As the third book is still pending, I suppose I should review the two existing ones individually but as it's also likely the trilogy will never be completed, and I don't really have that much to say about The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear, I decided to bundle them together.

The Kingkiller Chronicle is about Kvothe, a famous musician and adventurer who has retired to a desolate village where no one knows him to work as an innkeeper. The perspective shifts between the third and the first person. The "present-day" parts are told in the third person whereas Kvothe's legend which he rehearses to the Chronicler, is in the first person.

I listened to The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear as audiobooks, and a good thing that I did for I don't think I could've finished even the first book had I chosen to read it. I'm not saying TNOTW and TWMF are bad books -well, The Wise Man's Fear is partially, if not bad, at least highly frustrating- but they are slow-paced to the point of tediousness. Also, the MC has too many similarities with Harry Potter (loses his family, enters a school of magic, makes an enemy of a well-off fellow student and so on) to make me take him seriously.

Yet, I kind of enjoyed The Name of the Wind. It hooked me with its deep insight into humanity. I might've loved it if the set-up was different and the story-telling a little faster-paced. The Wise Man's Fear, however... I still can't figure out why I finished listening to it. Mainly because I had paid for it and didn't have anything more intriguing on my TBR list at the moment, I suppose. 

In the second book, Kvothe becomes even more burdensome a character than he is in TNOTW, making me suspect his fame is largely a soap bubble. His stubborn devotion to his flimsy school-time sweetheart Denna made me want to hit something, and the elongated description of his visit to the fairyland would work better an an independent publication. In the end, Bast, Kvothe's non-human servant/friend became my favourite character of whom I would've loved to learn more.

The Kingkiller Chronicle is one of the fantasy series whose popularity and high overall rating remain a mystery to me. I would give The Name of the Wind three stars out of five, and The Wise Man's Fear not even that many. However, you don't need to take my word for it. Read or listen to the books for yourself and form your opinion based on them.

(Also, I am willing to admit that my opinion might change if the third book was published. It could yet salvage the series.)

Giving a Much-Hyped Book a Go

Everyone was rambling about ACOTAR, so I decided to determine whether it's worth the fuss.  Turned out, it isn't. Had I chosen to read the book instead of listening to it, I would've given up on it after the first couple of chapters. Even listening to it until the end was a challenge.

Why? Because the plot is tedious and predictable. And that's all I've got to say about it.

The development of the main character made me want to tear my hair off. In the first chapters, she seems like my type of female character, strong, independent... All in all a girl who goes her own way. Soon enough she shrinks into a typical female lead of a romantic story, becoming but a groupie for the male lead. The book doesn't offer an explanation for why she loses herself like that. Is it because of sheer love, or does Tamlin put her under a spell? If it's the latter, her trajectory would be acceptable.

I could rant on and on about how disappointed I was in this book, but I believe, I've made my point already. It's not for me, and wasting time reading the sequels hasn't even crossed my mind. However, this is only my personal opinion, and I do encourage everyone to form their own by reading the book themselves, instead of taking my word for that one could figure out many a less frustrating way to spend their time.

Short Book Reviews: The Slow Regard of Silent Things

I listened to this little book by Patrick Rothfuss as an audiobook (read by the author) a couple of years ago and was blown away by its loveliness. Even though the book has no plot in the traditional sense of the word, it's definitely worth your time.

The Slow Regard of Silent Things is about Auri, one of the characters in The Kingkiller Chronicle. She lives below the University, in a world no one else knows about, dedicating her time to taking care of abandoned things.

The book is sort of sad, yet I smiled all the while listening to it. It is beautifully written, heartfelt, an all-around comforting story. A perfect book to read/listen to in bed before going to sleep.

A word of warning is required here though: if you've read The Kingkiller Chronicle and expect The Slow Regard of Silent Things to be something similar, you'll be disappointed. This book is as different from the series as a nightingale from an oriole. However, if you're looking for something simply sweet and undemanding, The Slow Regard of Silent Things should be your next read.