The Wooden Sea is quite a departure from Carroll's other work. The fantastic elements begin right at the start of the book, and like in his other novels, Carroll builds the suspense about what's really going on. Unlike his other books, however, he never ties things together with any conviction. Sure, things are "explained away", but not convincingly, and there seems to be little purpose behind the story. The writing is good at the micro level, but the overall structure is lousy. Disappointing.