Jennifer ~ TarHeelReader's Reviews > Sea of Tranquility

10 stars!

What a gift to readers bestowed by Emily St. John Mandel. In the last two weeks, I’ve had a marathon reading session of Station Eleven, The Glass Hotel, and Sea of Tranquility (shoutout to my friend, Debbie, for the suggestion). Also, I rarely binge books, but this author is completely binge-worthy. While not a series, there are character cameos and stories that come together between the three books. My reviews of Station Eleven and The Glass Hotel are on @goodreads.

Of the three, this is probably the most challenging to describe, so I’m going to use the teaser here: “A novel of art, time, love, and plague that takes the reader from Vancouver Island in 1912 to a dark colony on the moon three hundred years later, unfurling a story of humanity across centuries and space.”

Yes, this book involves time travel, and it’s done in such a realistic way. Every aspect of the story feels real and plausible. What will life be like centuries down the road? Wow, was this a captivating glimpse. St. John Mandel is skilled at the perfect balance between plot and characters. So much plot. Such well-developed, strong characters. So much intrigue and tension. So thoughtful.

Where Station Eleven made me anxious over pandemics while still living in the midst of one, there was hope in the end, and Sea of Tranquility offered some further philosophical hope I was not expecting.

There’s so much here I’m not even touching on because it’s all part of the mesmerizing journey. I hope you’ll give all three books a read, in order, because I can’t imagine reading them any other way.

I received a gifted copy.

Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader