Characters from The Glass Hotel appear in this book, but the novel stands alone. I don't usually like stories involving time travel and metaphysics, but I loved this story. The plot devices were clever and believable. It's a gorgeous book! I don't want to give anything away about the plot, and, honestly, I don't know if I could give a coherent explanation of what happened. Just read it!!!

This is absolutely, undeniably and unequivocally one of my favorite reads of 2021! I cannot wait until it comes out so I can recommend it to people who I know will appreciate it, too. I know some will dislike this book and even as I was reading it and tried to recount the premise to my kids and husband, they thought it was reductive and done because it's such a hard to premise to explain but they are so wrong. It is excellent.

"Everything offended Jessica, which is inevitable when you move through the world in search of offense."

First of all, Emily St. John Mandel's writing is exquisite. It's quiet and descriptive and delicate and a pure joy to read. When I first started the novel, I wasn't sure where it was going and I wasn't sure it was going to hold my attention. But her writing was so good and her characters drew me in immediately. I felt connected to every one of them and I was rooting for them.

"( We were still thinking in terms of getting work done. The most shocking thing in retrospect was the degree to which all of us completely missed the point.)"

Bits and pieces of how the future unfolds were also interesting to me. There was just enough to make it interesting and not so much to make it totally scifi or fantasy. The parts around the pandemic were also just enough there to be relatable and interesting but not enough to be suffocating (since we're still in this pandemic, i am not finding enjoyable to read pandemic books.)

And then there were the amazing connections, twists or whatever else you call them. I figured one out way sooner than the second one which by the time I figured it out, I was so excited by how clever it was that I actually laughed out loud. I understand that different people might go different ways on this book but, for me, it worked 100% and I loved every single minute I spent with it. I cannot stop thinking about it and smiling.

with gratitude to netgalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

A true novel of the pandemic, this is a quirky, satisfying little time travel novel on its own. But it's in the same world as The Glass Hotel (characters make appearances) and references a novel that is clearly a stand-in for Station 11, so readers who loved those books (I did) get that added fun.

Quick and thoughtful and thoroughly enjoyable.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

It feels a little weird reading a novel about pandemic during an actual pandemic. I suppose I should have expected that from Emily St. John Mandel. I still enjoyed reading it and I thought the time travel element was well done.

Emily St. John Mendel is an automatic read for me. She never disappoints, and has very in-depth characters. In this one we have dual timelines, the Canadian woods and then pur moon colony in the future. I was drawn in from the beginning. Just the way she describes everything you feel like you are there and gain a connection with these characters. Station Eleven is still my favorite of hers but this is a close second.
This is a beautifully in depth book that will keep you thinking about it long after.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

There's a lot I want to say about this book, but can't without giving things away. It's a pandemic novel written by the author of the most prominent pandemic novel...which itself was written before the current pandemic. But it's so much more than a pandemic novel, and saying anything else would ruin it.

Not just "good for a pandemic novel" but very inventive, captivating, and hopeful despite its short-ish duration.

An interesting story by a talented writer. It is a bit depressing. I like when different storylines tie together. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

Mandel is building on her universe, but I'm not entirely sure what she's trying to say with the expansion. I found the overlap with THE GLASS HOTEL more confusing than not, though once again I found myself thinking about various characters long after I've finished the book (even if they didn't feel entirely memorable while I was reading). So, mixed feelings.

Emily St. John Mandel is the only writer whose work I have never rated less than 5 stars. When recommending her previous pandemic book, Station Eleven, to people (as I try to do at least once a day) I usually say something along the lines of "it's about a pandemic, but more importantly it's about the human condition." This book takes that to the next level.

Time travel is a frequently-used device in sci-fi novels because it is a great vehicle to explore the what ifs questions of life. Sea of Tranquility is another addition to the rich sci-fi literature of that genre.

The novel is set both on the moon and on Earth and moves back and forth in time with a number of characters, a few of whom across centuries and space share a similar disorienting moment in time. Their connections to one another are slowly and skillfully brought together by the author in a story that nonetheless itself moves rapidly and keeps the reader engrossed throughout. I strongly recommend it.

This book title alone intrigued me so I assumed the moon played a big role in the storyline. I got half way through it and decided I didn’t want to read any more. I even told NetGalley I wasn’t going to finish it. But I couldn’t get it out of my mind and I finished it last night.

If you are a fan of time travel, moon living, anomalies in time, and yes, even pandemics, then this book will appeal to you. I must admit that is not my cup of tea, but I just had to see how it ended. I wasn’t disappointed. I may read another one of hers.

This is a remarkable book, and a hard one to review. I'd recommend reading or re-reading "Station Eleven" and "The G;ass Hotel" to prepare for "Sea of Tranquility" in April. The stories are connected in the most surprising ways and in order to appreciate this craft, it's good to have have the earlier books fresh in your mind. This is not to say that "Sea of Tranquility" is not a good stand alone--it is--but , go ahead, dive in head first to savor it fully.

This novel offers time travel, moon colonies that were created to simulate Earth (except for the one where the lights went out,winning it the moniker of the Night City.) Time travel exists but only as the deepest secret where nothing can be changed. "Sea" lights in a variety of times, from 1912 to 2020 and 2203. There's a pandemic, and a possible glitch in simulated reality. Characters are glimpsed in different time periods. It's a beautiful mystery.

Emily St. John Mandel is building something that seems very fresh, stories interlinked by whisps and glimpses across time. Is it fiction, science fiction, speculative fiction? Does it matter? I'm all in.