Unboxing Secret Project #1

Aaaaaah! I FINALLY received it! My first box of the Brandon Sanderson kickstarter!
Previously you could read my review for this first secret book, but my actual physical copy was a bit delayed. Now this beauty can finally be displayed in my bookcase and I’d love to show you the unboxing!

This goes without saying, but below are SPOILERS for the contents of the box, the look of the book and maybe minor spoilers for the story based on the photos I show. So scroll down at your own risk 😉

As you can see, my box has suffered a bit. It had some dents and scratches. Nothing major, so I was hopeful that the contents wouldn’t have been damaged.
The logo on the box is from Sanderson’s own company Dragonsteel. I also thought it was cute that the box was sealed with a Willy Wonka-like golden ticket.

Inside the box is a nice appropriate quote from The Way of Kings. This is not only appropriate for what it says, but also for who said it.
Other than that, the first look inside the box is quite similar to other book boxes: some wrapping paper and a spoiler card, with more goodies underneath than I actually expected! What a nice additional surprise!

The spoiler card does exactly what a spoiler card does, which is to reveal what’s in the box. Usually I only read this after I’ve unpacked everything, but to respect the order of unpacking, I’ll show you these pictures first.

The first item that was already visible on top of the wrapping paper is the first collectible pin of the series of 12 that Sanderson will be sending out this year. Since I only bought 4 boxes, namely only the one with the books in it, I will only get 4, but I don’t mind that much. Yes, this is a nice pin, but what do you do with them?
By the way, this pin features Vin from the first Mistborn trilogy in a sort of chibi reincarnation.

The second item is this really nice sticker of part of the cover design of the book, which I will probably use in my reading journal. I’m still undecided whether I’m going to stick this with my review of the book itself or on the cover of my journal, so that I will see it every time I work in it. The latter appeals to me the most, because my reading journal will then also become an external memory, but I am afraid that the sticker will either not stick or will fade quickly.

Oh, now I really like this! With the book we also receive a very sturdy bookmark with one of the iconic illustrations from the book. The front and back cover show the same illustration, but one zoomed in slightly more than the other. The quality is also very high. It is not an ordinary paper bookmark, but in a kind of plastic. So very sturdy.

Not one, but two bookmarks! This one a size bigger than the last one and one more linked to the general Cosmere universe than specifically to this book.

And then the book! Of course you already knew that this was Tress of the Emerald Sea.

And waauw, what a beautiful book! A true premium edition with a unique cover, bound in a buttery soft-feel imitation leather. The leather has a gorgeous emerald green colour and the illustrations on both the front and back are partly embossed with details in gold and silver foil.

The flyleaves are also beautifully illustrated, almost identical in the front and back, except for a small peeper.

The text itself is printed on fairly thick paper and two colors are used throughout the book, mainly the traditional black combined with green (*spoiler* at the beginning anyway).

I also really like how the chapter numbering helps tell the story.
I’ve only shown two examples here between the evolution from chapter 1 to 15, but this evolves gradually throughout the book, each time appropriate to what actually happens in the story. Amazing.

The book is also peppered with beautiful illustrations by Howard Lyon, in the same two-tone style.

But there are also a few glossy, full-colored illustrations, by the same illustrator.

Really super super happy with this version of this book. Beautifully made and crafted. Really feels like an old-fashioned book that you can find in a Beauty and the Beast-like library.
I regret a little bit that we didn’t get an extra cover with the book with the Secret Project #1 mock-up cover. Would have been a nice additional keepsake. On the other hand, the actual book is so beautiful, I probably wouldn’t have put that cover on anyway, lol.

So box one and book one are absolute winners as far as I’m concerned!

Cheers,
Charlotte