Original fiction is fun to read. Time travel fiction can sometimes take the fun out of it. In balance, this novel wasn’t too difficult to follow (for a non physical science person). I do hate novels that start with a POV character that you think you need to invest in, when really, you don’t. Spoiler alert. Gaspery is the character to focus on. Thanks to NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for my honest review

Emily St. John Mandel is a master story teller. Her characters come alive on the page and draw the reader into their reality. I did not know what to expect when I started the book having chosen not to read any reviews first. I thought this was going to be straight forward historical fiction, a young man on remittance who needs to find his way in the world. What a surprise this book was. The plot takes the reader to other realities and other timelines. Although not a fan of most time travel books I could not put this one down!

This book made me think of time and reality in a different way. The writing was compelling - and easy to read (in a good way). I enjoyed this book very much.

This book was amazing. I coudn't put it down. It was magical. Higly recommended! The characters, the plots, the writting: wonderful and perfect.

Another great book by Emily St. John. She is such a great writer. This book was so lovely and kept my attention. Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC.

Another good read from Emily St. John Mandel. This one had a slow start (I had to keep re-reading the beginning because I just couldn't see where it was heading) but once the time-warping/time-traveling premise became clear to me, the book moved right along. I loved the connections to the author's prior books, Station Eleven and The Glass Hotel, but you didn't have to read them to appreciate this book that covers hundreds of years and deals with the current pandemic and the future of humanity. I can't say this is an all-time favorite book, but definitely entertaining and memorable with lots to think about.

My favorite book of 2022 so far! I adored every word of this novel, and it's one I have bought so I can reread it.

Four people find themselves connected across time and space. An anomaly that occurs in 1912 has individuals working at a Time Institute wonder if the connections point to something more sinister.

Since this is my second St. John Mandel novel, I guess this is a trend for me now. I like her books, but I cannot put my finger on why I don't love them. Maybe it's that, for such short novels, they somehow still end up being overly wordy? Or maybe it's the fact that things happen, but then nothing really happens? I honestly can't say I remember much of anything about <u>Station Eleven</u> I read it nearly a decade ago and it just didn't really stick with me. I think I enjoyed the interwoven stories and sci-fi element of <u>Sea of Tranquility</u> much more, but the ending still left me thinking "really? That's it?" It almost felt as if each individual timeline could have been fleshed out so much more, while some of the wordy descriptions of space and time and the atmosphere and human connection etc. etc., could have been cut.

I liked the nested stories in this new book from Emily St. John Mandel. The process of the story opening up through subsequent chapters by different characters, proceeding through time, was enjoyable. There were elements of the autobiographical and wildly improbable that took me away from the story somewhat, but overall, everything fit together in a way that I enjoyed.

A young English lord crosses the Atlantic to make his fortune in Canada. As a second son, he has no prospects in England. In the forest, he encounters a young woman with a camera, for a split second, eerie violin music plays. He sees a priest walking in the forest and tries to talk to him. He dies in World War I, or does he? Two centuries later, a novelist, living on a moon colony, writes a best-selling novel about a pandemic that kills millions. Gaspary-Jacques Roberts is hired by the Time Agency to investigate how the anomalies discussed in Olive Llewellyn's book. He discovers time has been corrupted, and he must do his best to correct the anomaly. This book also expands the story arc of Vincent and Paul, from The Glass Hotel. Elegant language that will captivate the reader.

#seaoftranquility #emilystjohnmandel #knopfdoubleday #knopf if you were a fan of her other book #stationeleven then you should most definitely love this one as well if not more. Be prepared to travel through time and live in a COVID world. Even though this book seems to be set in the future it feels all most like it’s a book of today. #bookstagram #netgalleyreview #readersofinstagram #bookstagrammer #netgalleyreads #covid_19 #timetravel

Sea of Tranquility is what it is and ain’t what it ain’t. What it is is a small and perfectly formed pearl that smooths over and rounds off the sharp edges of the small grain of sand that stands for the author’s discomfort. What it ain’t is a novel of sweeping grandeur encompassing the whole global tragedy that comprises the Covid pandemic.

OKAY. I have to start by saying I'm not huge into sci-fi novels, but I am even less of a fan of time travel stories. They are overly complex, and I find them so difficult to untangle in my pea-sized brain. All this said, this was my first Emily St. John Mandel novel, and I was able to complete it on a 3-hour flight. Despite the fact that I still don't love it, I always find it says a lot about an author's writing when I am able to complete a novel in a sitting without immediately switching to another one (and with a Kindle filled with 200+ options!) Though I couldn't really tell you what this novel is about after reading it, I think if you enjoy sci-fi/time travel, this will be a quick read that keeps you entertained and invested.

I enjoyed this book but I’m not entirely sure I understood all of it. I was a little surprised at the ending. It wasn’t bad I just expected a little more. I feel like this was a a lack of comprehension on my part.

Emily St. John Mandel is an absolute treasure. I don't know how she manages to tell such a good story in such a short book but wow!

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review!

The first true COVID novel I've read. Does a great job of capturing the isolation and loneliness we all felt during the early days of lockdown.

I received a reviewer copy of Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel from the publisher Knopf from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What It’s About: How do you explain this creative unique novel? This book literally takes place over the centuries. We start off with Edwin St. Andrews, in 1910 and go all the way to Gaspery-Jacques Roberts, a detective studying an anomaly in time that connects so many all of our characters.

What I Loved: This book is creative as heck. I don't know that I've ever read a book like this and that is one of the things I loved most about it. This book follows a few characters throughout history and we don't get to know them but somehow we do to an extent? We get to know their greatest fears, grievances, and regrets. Yet, we don't know these characters beyond a period of time. We follow our time traveling detective Gaspery most and how he works his way into all these stories. This book explores the ethics of time travel, the what-came-first-the-chicken-or-the-egg.

What I didn’t like so much: The anomaly portion was a little less interesting. I didn't really understand the significance of this and didn't feel like it paid off.

Who Should Read It: People who love unique and creative books. People who like books that span decades. People who love time travel books.

Summary: A unique book that spans decades and includes time traveling detective.

Never read anything of Emily St John Mandel before, so this is my first foray into her writing. And wow, what an impression she has made. Everything about this was unique and magical. I'm now going to dig into her backlist-- what an author!

This novel had a lovely hazy, almost ethereal quality to it, and coupled with the quiet movements through time, was overall a haunting and heady read. Most time travel books tend to focus on action and fast-paced leaps and chases, but this was much more languid. The plot only really picked up some speed towards the end when the true point of everything became clear, but I never found myself bored or mired in tedium. The pace felt purposeful and necessary. This is the first of the author's novels that has actually worked for me, as well. I enjoyed the scifi aspects of Moon colonies and time travel combined with the slow unraveling horror of a pandemic and isolation.

This book was fantastic. I love the way St. Mandel writes and the interwoven stories were just so good. I will recommend this book to everyone.