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Sea of Tranquility

Emily St. John Mandel

2012 EN ★ 100

A novel of art, time travel, love, and plague that takes the reader from Vancouver Island in 1912 to a dark colony on the moon five hundred years later, unfurling a story of humanity across centuries and space.

About this book

Sea of Tranquility

A novel of art, time travel, love, and plague that takes the reader from Vancouver Island in 1912 to a dark colony on the moon five hundred years later, unfurling a story of humanity across centuries and space.

Edwin St. Andrew is eighteen years old when he crosses the Atlantic by steamship, exiled from polite society following an ill-conceived diatribe at a dinner party. He enters the forest, spellbound by the beauty of the Canadian wilderness, and suddenly hears the notes of a violin echoing in an airship terminal--an experience that shocks him to his core.

Two centuries later a famous writer named Olive Llewellyn is on a book tour. She's traveling all over Earth, but her home is the second moon colony, a place of white stone, spired towers, and artificial beauty. Within the text of Olive's best-selling pandemic novel lies a strange passage: a man plays his violin for change in the echoing corridor of an airship terminal as the trees of a forest rise around him.

When Gaspery-Jacques Roberts, a detective in the black-skied Night City, is hired to investigate an anomaly in the North American wilderness, he uncovers a series of lives upended: The exiled son of an earl driven to madness, a writer trapped far from home as a pandemic ravages Earth, and a childhood friend from the Night City who, like Gaspery himself, has glimpsed the chance to do something extraordinary that will disrupt the timeline of the universe.

A virtuoso performance that is as human and tender as it is intellectually playful, Sea of Tranquility is a novel of time travel and metaphysics that precisely captures the reality of our current moment.'

Reading guide

Why read Sea of Tranquility?

Released in 2012, Sea of Tranquility sits at an interesting point in literary history, bridging classic sensibilities with more modern narrative techniques.

It sits at the crossroads of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Dystopian, making it appealing to readers with varied tastes who enjoy stories that defy easy classification.

Available on Bookble for readers looking to explore Emily St. John Mandel's work and build a focused reading list.

Recommendations

Books like Sea of Tranquility

If you enjoy Emily St. John Mandel's voice, explore Station Eleven from the same author to continue in a familiar style.

Within Science Fiction, readers who liked Sea of Tranquility often gravitate toward A Storm of Swords, Tress of the Emerald Sea, and Flowers for Algernon — each sharing thematic DNA while offering a different perspective.

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Helpful answers

Frequently asked questions

What is Sea of Tranquility about?

A novel of art, time travel, love, and plague that takes the reader from Vancouver Island in 1912 to a dark colony on the moon five hundred years later, unfurling a story of humanity across centuries and space.

Who wrote Sea of Tranquility?

Sea of Tranquility is by Emily St. John Mandel.

What genre is Sea of Tranquility?

Sea of Tranquility falls within Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Dystopian. Browse related categories on Bookble to find books with a similar style.

When was Sea of Tranquility published?

Sea of Tranquility was first published in 2012 by Emily St. John Mandel.

Is Sea of Tranquility available as an audiobook or ebook?

Sea of Tranquility is listed on Bookble — check the book page for current format availability.