Brandon Sanderson rescues classic tales with a new voice in Braid of the Emerald Sea
Those of you who have been in La Casa de EL for a while will know that we have a predilection for Brandon Sanderson, or at least a server, which is usually the one that writes about this author. For years Sanderson has become the referent of modern fantasy, or at least at its spearhead. It is curious that over the years things are taken for granted about the author, such as his ability to build worlds like no other, super elaborate magic systems with many rules or that he is going to write an epic adventure. In Braid of the Emerald Sea I have discovered a Brandon Sanderson totally unknown to me and I was delighted to meet him.
Braid is not the chosen girl
When we read a fantasy book, we immediately locate its protagonist because he has some ability, power, or even a marked destiny. Well, it is true that it does not happen in everyone, but it is a characteristic that usually responds to the majority tendency. In our case the protagonist is Braid, a girl who lives on a very small island and is dedicated to cleaning windows. The only remarkable quality about her is that she is an ordinary girl who likes to bake cakes. In the first pages we realize that she is in love with the duke’s son, a boy with a remarkable inventiveness for stories who tries to hide her ancestry, but Braid has an eye on him.
The story of this book is triggered when the duke decides to take his son to marry some highborn girl, although Charlie, the boy, promises Braid that he will do everything possible to avoid it. During the first months he receives several cups (Braid collects mugs…) and some letters where she explains how she manages to bore her suitors, although there comes a time when she stops receiving them, which makes her embark on an adventure that will change her forever.
The seas of this world do not contain water, but spores
The hero’s journey that awaits Trenza takes place in the seasalthough they are not like the ones you and I know, but are full of spores that fall from the 12 (or 13…) moons that the planet has. The dangerous thing about navigating between spores is that upon contact with any liquid they “explode” in some way. Those of the emerald sea, for example, they become plants that they catch whatever is close to them, although if you swallow them… well, you can get used to the idea. I am not going to reveal more types of spores, because part of the fun of the book is to discover what each one of them does.
Braid’s mission is impossible, but she is not a hero to use. She is not the bravest, she is not the smartest or the most tenacious, but she is thoughtful. This makes her see the world in a different way and can think about how to approach the different difficulties that arise. On the pirate ship where she is dragged she will meet colleagues and new friends who, although they do not stand out for her originality, do They give off an exceptional charisma.
Brandon Sanderson’s new voice is called Hoid
Speaking of originality, don’t expect an innovative storywell It’s a classic pirate tale. with some interesting twists. It is not a criticism of the book, but it is true that I went with expectations that have made me not enjoy the first pages as I have done after approximately 20%. The book is different from Mistborn, from The Stormlight Archive. or any other of his stories and it shows from the first chapter thanks to his new voice.
The book is narrated by Hoid, a character that many of you will already know, although do not fear if not, then we will go to if it is necessary to have read something from Cosmere previously. This story, although centered on Braid, is told by Hoid, who appears in the book as a secondary character. The reason for this decision makes a lot of sense as you progress through the book, but I’ll leave that up to you to discover. This new voice suits this story wonderfully, makes it feel even more like a story; The jokes that spice up the story or the off-the-record comments that provide an external vision of the facts are a novel formula in the author that suits him wonderfully.
Braid of the emerald sea has the Cosmere very present
The question one always asks when a new Cosmere book by Brandon Sanderson comes out is: when is the best time to read it? For those uninitiated in Cosmere, it can be said that the bulk of Brandon Sanderson’s novels take place in the same universe, although their connections at the beginning are sporadic and very hidden, but as you read further, the references are direct and very important. In this case we are faced with a curious case, since Emerald Sea Braid is a very good book to get started with the author and at the same time contains many references to his other works.
These references go largely unnoticed by the untrained eye, although it is true that a couple of scenes at the end you may not fully understand some of the things that are happening. In case you want to catch all the interconnected pieces of information in this universe of Brandon Sanderson, my recommendation is that you have read before Elantris (the 10th anniversary edition), Breath of the Gods and the first 4 Mistborn books, Well, they are the ones that have, perhaps, more direct mentions.
The art of Emerald Sea Braid is fairytale
It is not good to judge a book by its cover, but in this case you should. Although the English version of the physical book has not yet arrived, we have already seen the Spanish version and it is a true work of art. Hardcover without dust jackets with emerald tones. In addition to the cover, the interior art is made by Howard Lyonwell known for his illustrations for Magic: The Gathering.
Although I have read the book in an ebook, the illustrations that have been seen in color are breathtaking (an intentional joke for those of you who have been at Cosmere for a while). It had been a long time since an illustration in a book had managed to provoke that sense of wonder in me. that the genre of fantasy evokes so much. Some of those illustrations are in full color, 4 if I’m not mistaken, while the others don’t have as many inks.
You can find the book from January 19 in Spanish stores thanks to Nova, who publishes it in hardcover, in audiobook and ebook. The physical book has 560 pages and is translated by Manu Viciano, the usual translator for Brandon Sanderson. This review is made from the Kickstarter ebook, therefore, in English, so I’m not going to talk about the translation. Remember that if you pre-purchase the book in Lektu you will get a print whose design has been revealed by Cosmere.es.
Brandon Sanderson has managed to surprise me with this first novel of the secret projects. The second installment will take place in April, although it will not be part of the Cosmere, so my interest is less a priori, although later it is possible that it surprises me as it has happened to me with Braid of the emerald sea. Before the end of the year we will still have two more stories from this Kickstarter, one scheduled for August and the other in December.
To conclude this review that has ended up being very long, I just want to reiterate that Braid of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson is a story for adults, a return to the stories that we loved so much as children but with the look of now. It is a reflection on our own decisions, on maturity, change and the way to reach the goal. I say goodbye to this book with a smile and without any regret, because I know that I will return, on several occasions, to go through the same pages.
Preliminary covers of the secret projects
