I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Forever Sea Series: The Forever Sea #1 Published by Daw Books on January 19 2021
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 464
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: A unique seafaring story set in a brilliantly inventive world and populated with interesting characters, The Forever Sea was a feast for the senses.
Never has a book surprised me as much as The Forever Sea. What started as a slog through heavily detailed worldbuilding and a slow moving plot suddenly made a 180 at about the halfway point. I’m not sure what happened, but I’m so glad I decided to push through. I think it took half the book to get used to Johnson’s style, which I really didn’t like in the beginning, but something clicked for me, and I ended up loving the second half of the book. This book isn’t perfect by any means, which I’ll explain below. But I can’t deny the sheer brilliance of the world building, and Johnson’s prose really did grow on me. Add in an exciting and very emotional conclusion, and you have a book that was frustratingly uneven, but in a good way. Does that make sense?
The story is set in a land called Arcadia, an island surrounded by the Forever Sea, an endless expanse of prairie grasses and flowers. Kindred Greyreach has just joined the sailing ship The Errant as a junior hearthfire keeper and is struggling to integrate herself with her new crew members. But when she hears about the sudden disappearance of her beloved grandmother, the Marchess, who taught Kindred all the mysteries of being a hearthfire keeper, Kindred is determined to go after her. Her crew swears that the Marchess stepped off the side of her ship into the deeps, but Kindred doesn’t believe her grandmother would commit suicide.
Kindred convinces Captain Caraway to head towards the floating city of Once-City, a mysterious place where pirates are said to live, with the ulterior motive of getting closer to the spot her grandmother disappeared. But life out in the Roughs is dangerous, and Kindred and her friends might not survive the trip.
The main draw for most readers is going to be Johnson’s unique and magical world. Even before I saw some comparisons to Studio Ghibli, I thought this story would make a fantastic animated movie. Seriously, someone get Miyazaki on the phone! I have seen comparisons to other fantasy worlds, but I personally have never experienced anything quite like the Forever Sea and Once-City. The Forever Sea itself is marvelous. Instead of water, the “sea” is made up of wild grasses, plants and flowers and stretches as far as the eye can see and beyond. Upon this sea sail ships, many of them dedicated to harvesting the grass bounty for food and profit. Ships sail over the surface without sinking due to magical fires that are tended by hearthfire keepers, and the fires are fed with the bones of dead ship’s captains. By arranging the bones in certain patterns, keepers can control the speed and behavior of the ship, and it’s a tricky job that requires years of skill. In the first half of the book, Kindred and the crew of The Errant stick close to their home of Arcadia where the sea has been flattened and tamed, ensuring smooth sailing for all ships. But once they leave for the wilder parts of the Forever Sea, the crew will encounter the Roughs, areas that have not been tamed, full of thorns and grasping vines that dig into the ship’s hull and try to pull it under.
And speaking of “under,” you might be wondering what lies below the surface of a sea of grass. That is the big mystery in The Forever Sea, one that the reader gets only a glimpse of in this first installment. Johnson teases us with brief dips below, where giant creatures called wyrms threaten ships, and a mythical city might wait at the bottom. The mystery that drives the plot is, of course, what happened to the Marchess? Did she actually jump into the sea and disappear? And will Kindred be brave enough to go after her? Once the crew of The Errant reaches the famed floating city of Once-City, the story really takes off. After everything that came before, I thought Johnson had reached his creative limits, but Once-City is another marvelous creation that you’ll have to discover for yourself.
I loved many the characters as well, although I’ll admit Kindred is tough to love. She refuses to obey her captain’s orders, makes rash decisions on a dime and carries them out without too much thought, and is constantly putting herself and the crew in mortal danger. She’s driven by her desire to find her grandmother, but doesn’t seem to care if anyone is hurt along the way. However, Kindred isn’t the only character in the story, luckily. My favorite was Little Wing, a bitter woman who is on the brink of becoming a sea captain herself. Unfortunately, Kindred’s rash actions prevent that from happening, and the two become mortal enemies. Little Wing’s storyline was heartbreaking, and I hope she makes an appearance in the next book (I’m pretty sure she will!). I also loved Ragged Sarah, an ex-pirate who acts as a romantic interest for Kindred.
As I mentioned, I struggled in the first half of the book with Johnson’s overly descriptive prose as he sets up his world and introduces his characters. His prose leans towards the flowery and poetic, and at first this style did not work for me. However, the more I read and the deeper into the story I went, this writing style settled and became an integral part of the overall reading experience. I also had trouble with all the scenes involving the hearth fires and Kindred’s amazing ability to not only conjure up the perfect fire, but to save the crew over and over. Granted, Johnson’s idea of a magical fire is intricate and at times hard to understand—if you think about it, how could a fire in the middle of a ship’s deck keep the ship from sinking into a sea of grass? Logically it doesn’t make sense—but he took pains to explain the process each and every time Kindred had to tend to the fire. These repetitive descriptions got old fast, and it’s one reason I almost stopped reading the book.
But the biggest negative for me was the uneven pacing and length of the book. According to Goodreads, The Forever Sea is 464 pages, but it felt a lot longer than that to me (I read an eARC so I can’t confirm the actual page count). It took a solid two weeks for me to read this, and it should not have taken that long. The slower sections of the story are occasionally broken up by some very exciting action scenes, but the story really drags in places, which is a shame.
Bottom line, there is a lot to love about The Forever Sea, despite the pacing issues and overabundance of detailed descriptions. Johnson has imaged a stunning world that held me captive, and I loved the thrilling and emotional ending. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I cannot wait to read the sequel.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
After reading this review, I am so excited about this book! It sounds absolutely genius and magical! Also, I love your review style!
I hope you get the chance to read it!
I love that you got more in the book in the second half. Usually the second half is where I lose interest with some books. And I just love the name Kindred Greyreach! And ughhh the Ghibli comparisons just seals the deal for me that I really want to read this book now.
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Definitely being strong in the second half is much better than the first half.
A book that requires patience, then… I have been intrigued by this one since the first time I saw it mentioned, and your review confirmed that it’s a story worth doing some… heavy lifting for. Then there is the unusual setting that sounds indeed fascinating: a sea of grass (which somehow reminds me of the sand-ships in Beaulieu’s Twelve Kings in Sharakhai and the following ones) gives a different and fascinating perspective to a shipboard story.
Thanks for sharing! 🙂
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I’m curious to read more reviews, I’ve actually seen some really positive ones!
I have to say, that may be one of the coolest covers I’ve seen in recent memory. I grabs me every time I see it, but the blurb just never pushed me into must-read. I’m not sure I’d have the patience to slog through that first half, but I’m glad it paid off.
The cover really relates to the world building perfectly, I have to say. And the UK cover is just as good:-)
Great review as always!! A++. I don’t think I could handle the slog of the first half of the book, though, which is a shame. I agree that it sounds like it would make for a great animated movie.
Thanks Heather:-) Yeah, I nearly gave up. Not sure why I kept going, but I guess it all worked out:-)
Well, given your review I would say the positives outweigh the negatives and the slow start is made up by a great ending? I knew you were struggling a little with this at the start so I was waiting for this review. and I think you’ve convinced me to add this one. I don’t mind a slower set up and description – so long as it’srelevant.
Lynn 😀
It’s such a tough book to figure out. I really loved the way it ended and so much of the world building and characters. But boy it took a while to get there.
Excellent review, Tammy. 🙂 The blurb sounds fascinating; however, I’m not sure if I can survive a sluggish first-half. Thanks for the recommendation.
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It was tough, but I just had to finish it, lol.
The slower pace made it extra worthy for me. Sometimes I need calms, sometimes the storms.
I know what you mean. Pacing isn’t everything, right?
If you’re in the mood for a fast action, then a calm Le Guin or LotR won’t do you any good. So, pacing can be everything for the reader‘s enjoyment, and there are extreme cases. It depends on the weight and priority we give it in the review.
I’m worried to hear about the prose. I’m hit and miss on stuff like that, so maybe I’ll lookit some other reviews before trying it. Glad you ended up liking it though, I know you were having trouble with it! And I’m not sure you want a ghibli version- I mean, I love them, but didn’t you see what they did to Earthsea?
I didn’t see what happened to Earthsea, sounds like it wasn’t good, though!
The second half of the book sounds incredible. I’m glad to hear this as I could see myself being somewhat put off by the first half. Glad to know sticking it out pays off. Wonderful review, Tammy!
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Thanks Suzanne:-)
Glad to hear this one turned around after a rocky start. I suppose that’s probably better than a book that starts great but falls apart. I don’t know if this is one I’ll end up getting around to, but I am curious about it. I really enjoyed your review, giving both the good and the bad and how it all balanced out for you.
Lots of reviewers have mentioned how the book needs some trimming, so I’m hoping the author takes those comments to heart in the second book, because I really do want to see how everything plays out.
I’m glad it worked out for you by the end. I love books with flowery writing but if the pacing doesn’t work for me, it can make such books seem much longer than they are.
It did feel long, but the world building was so good I forgave it some of its faults.
I really want to read about this world!! I’ve very curious about how the ship on grass thing works. (Not that I want to read the reason repeatedly. haha) You have me both nervous and excited to try this one. 🙂
So I’m glad to hear about the 180 change because I’ve been so nervous seeing all the mixed reviews for this book! I think I also some of your comments early on which made me think you weren’t getting on so hot with it, but that must have been before the change. Now I know to be prepared!
Wow! That is some high praise for this one. I must check it out.
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I’m so glad that you found that this one eventually came right for you, Tammy:)). Patience is a virtue! I love your excellent and very fair-minded review, but I think I’m going to pass on this one right now…
The fact you’ve mentioned Ghibli in your review has me interested! I love those films!
Glad you ended up loving this one in the end. I think it’s neat how a book can suddenly take a turn that makes you super into it! This one sounds appealing to me for the shear imagination but also I feel like I’d probably get lost in the details of the world in the beginning so I’ll probably won’t add this to my TBR for now haha. Great review!!
I am glad that, in the end, this worked for you! The worldbuilding seems amazing, and the idea of the ships in a sea of grass is intriguing, and fascinating. But I don’t know if this could be the right book for me. I may loose patience before things pick up, and what you wrote about the MC made me pause, I think I would have a hard time liking her. And even if the world seems worth to be explored (and you made an amazing job with your review!) I need more from the characters to really love a book.
Great review – I think we responded to slightly different elements (I didn’t mind the prose, although gosh yes too many descriptions even if I loved some of the individual ones) but came out in very similar places. It’s such a fascinating world and there’s so much more of it to explore – I’m also finding it’s a story that settles well; the more time I get looking back on it, the more interested I am in picking up the sequel.
I’m really looking forward to this one. I can’t wait to pick it up. Thanks for sharing!