Warbreaker

In my continual effort to read every Sanderson work, I picked up Warbreaker knowing more or less these two things about the story: it involves color magic, and it’s a prequel of sorts to the Stormlight Archive. Those statements are both true and false at the same time. I believe Sanderson himself said that Warbreaker is a prequel to The Way of Kings because it gives the backstory about a certain character in that series. Although, I’ve talked to a couple people who have read both books and they told me that you don’t need to read one before the other for either to make sense, that neither spoils the other, and that it’s less the character that’s important but a certain object that shows up in both books that’s important. I’m planning to read the Stormlight Archive next year (I’m putting it off until the end because I’m truly intimidated by it), so I wanted to read Warbreaker first. Second, although colors are involved in the magic, I wouldn’t say this book has a color-based magic system. (See Brent Weeks’s Lightbringer series for a true color-based magic system!) Instead, the magic here is based on Breaths. Each person is born with one Breath, and you can give your breath away at any point if you choose. You need a certain number of Breaths to be able to do different commands and essentially gain abilities because you’ve reached a certain heightening that allows for such things. Some of the abilities allow you to see colors more distinctly and see auras, so I think that is where the book gets partially mislabeled as having color magic. I enjoyed Warbreaker quite a bit, although it reminds me a lot of Elantris. I think the politics and the gods and the voice of the writing are all similar while still maintaining different plotlines. I also think this is a natural comparison to make because Brandon himself even said that Warbreaker was inspired by Elantris and that “both take the same concept, then run different directions with it.” In Elantris, people become gods but we don’t get to see what happens to them after that. In Warbreaker, we get to see what happens to them after they become gods, and we also see a god who doesn’t even believe in his own religion. Siri reminded me a lot of Sarene in the beginning of this story, and they are similar because both are required to marry someone they don’t know and don’t want to marry, but there are very different outcomes for them. I liked the plot of Warbreaker better, but I liked the overall story in Elantris better, if that makes any sense, but both were excellent books from Sanderson. Warbreaker reads like a standalone, yet Sanderson has said he’s planning to write a sequel eventually. I am curious if the sequel ever comes to fruition if it will take place before or after the Stormlight Archive since Warbreaker takes place before that series. I’m wondering if he’s going to finish TSA first and then write Warbreaker’s sequel after as a way to come full circle with the story. I don’t know. Regardless, I would love to read more about these characters and the magic of Breaths, so I’ll read any future books set in this world. I loved the political intrigue mixed with the religions of the world and the underlying mystery all wrapped up in this well-crafted colorful fantasy world. I’m surprised at how many unexpected directions this book went in; I didn’t see many events coming, and I love being shocked and surprised in my books. I also thought this book had so many great characters. Siri was probably my favorite, and I can’t believe how much Susebron grew on me by the end. Though if we’re being honest, the actual best character is the magical talking sword. Yep. I wish this book had a map because I’d love to see all the land and regions and cities mentioned in the story. That’s my biggest complaint (which really is such a minor thing) because I think all fantasy books need maps! Lastly, I was happy to see Hoid in this book. It wouldn’t be a Cosmere story if we didn’t get an appearance from Hoid somewhere. Hoid said that he learned to tell stories “in a distant place where two lands meet and gods have died.” I’m trying to figure out if I should know where he’s referring to, but I don’t think we know yet, seeing as we still haven’t gotten Hoid’s origin story. I love how Sanderson includes so many connections between his books and worlds in the Cosmere. Warbreaker was another great addition to my list of amazing fantasy books, and I would definitely recommend it to my fantasy friends out there. Even though it had many noticeable similarities to another of Sanderson’s works, Elantris, it was still a unique story in itself. I listened to this book on audio and I would love to reread it in physical form someday because it’s definitely worth a reread and I want to soak in all the details with my eyes. I’ll probably do that in ten years when the sequel comes out. Or sooner, because I’m going to miss these characters.

So one of the problems with loving an author and reading everything that he produces after you discover him is that you cannot feasibly help yourself from comparing everything to the original books that got you hooked. In the case of Brandon Sanderson, I am in a particular quandary because I chose one of his latter books with which to begin my Sanderson journey, which probably presents a more polished piece of writing. That said, I tried to give this book the fair shake it deserves with as little comparison to the Mistborn books as I can possibly muster. This book is an absolute joy in the fantasy genre. Since quietly entering the scene with his own novel Elantris, and then bursting into the limelight with his selection to complete the final volumes of the epic Wheel of Time series, Sanderson has built a reputation as a masterful world builder. It is this skill alone that sets Sanderson amongst the elite of modern fantasy writers. The truly unique world that he creates in Warbreaker is almost mind boggling. In this world, people are invested with something call BioChromatic Breath, or BioChroma and/or Breath for short. This substance seems almost like a soul, but may be transferred from person to person to invest power to them. This Breath also seems to be linked in some way to colors of the world, allowing people to use the Breath and colors in conjunction to reanimate, or Awaken inanimate objects, and even dead persons. People can accumulate breaths to reach levels of power called Heightenings that allow them to perceive colors and life forms more acutely, and to give them more abilities to perform Awakenings. Around this power, competing religions have formed. In one religion, Austre, god of colors seems to demand that people be modest and not abuse this powerful BioChroma. On the other hand, there is the Priesthood of the Iridescent Tones, that has come to worship the Returned, persons that have died and reawakened spontaneously and seem like living Gods. However, these Gods must take a breath from a child every week to stay alive (which further antagonizes the followers of Austre). The chief of this pantheon is the mysterious God-King Susebron who leads his kingdom from a seat of mystery and fearsome power. It is in this setting that Sanderson weaves his story of intrigue and war. The novel follows the lives of three main characters. Vivenna is the eldest princess of the Idrian kingdom, groomed her entire life to marry the God-King Susebron in order to avoid a war with the Hallandran empire who threatens the tiny Idrians' kingdom. At the time of her 22nd birthday, she is destined to go to T'Telir to marry the God-King, but instead, her father chooses to send the youngest daughter, Siri, as a gambit to unhinge his enemies in the Hallandran Empire. Siri is the absolute opposite of her sister; she is brash, irreverent, and unaccustomed and unprepared for court life. Finally, there is Lightsong, the Returned God that refuses to believe he is a God. Sanderson shows his skill with these characters by building well-rounded and multidimensional characters. Each of his characters shows great growth, and he does this with minimal telling and maximum showing (though Vivenna in particular is prone to inner dialogues). Siri, I felt, showed the most seamless transitions in the book. When she arrived in T'Telir, she was a scared teenager, prone to outbursts and a petulant attitude. As the book progresses, we see her mature greatly into a woman with great poise and a deep sense of love and empathy as she grows accustomed to her unexpected marriage to the most feared "man" in the world. In addition to the main characters, we are introduced to nearly a dozen further characters with unique and interesting characteristics in themselves. Tonk Fah and Dent, the wiley and conniving mercenaries, are hired to protect Vivenna as she covertly travels to T'Telir to rescue her sister. Bluefingers, the ever-bowing and scraping lead scribe of the Hallandran bureaucracy, plays the part of the only friendly face for Siri in a terrifying new world. Vasher, the brooding and dangerously mysterious Awakener, carries a terrible sentient sword called Nightblood and stalks the outskirts of most of the story. These characters and more are used with great efficiency to advance the storyline and set the reader up for several excellent plot twists. I ended up choosing to give this book either 3.5 or 4 stars because I did feel there were some flaws to the book in general. I wrote in my review of Elantris that the dialogue some sometimes rather forced and clunky, and I feel that his flaw continues in this novel. Sometimes this clunky dialogue is guilty of telling us about things rather than showing us things as well. Also, as strong as Sanderson is at building interesting and engaging characters, he can definitely miss the mark as well. As hard as he tried to inject dark humor with Tonk Fah, I just found it incredibly off-setting. In fact, a lot of the attempts at humor, with Tonk Fah's goofy attitude and Lightsong's "I'm so irreverent" comments, just mostly fell flat for me. Overall, however, this novel was well written, engaging, and entertaining. I was a little surprised at the open-ended ending that seems to beg for a sequel, but as a stand-alone novel, it brings no detriment to the book as a whole. There are great plot twists and unexpected turns that keep the reader engaged, and the world that Sanderson builds alone makes this novel worth your time to read.

Capolavoro. Come praticamente tutto quello che scrive Sanderson ;-)

There's not much point saying anything other than: if you're already reading the Cosmere books, you should definitely ready this (especially if you've read Wait of Kings already since you get a glimpse of a couple of characters here). If you're not reading the Cosmere books yet, you should give them a chance, you'll be hard-pressed to find someone who has read them and not liked them I think.

The book was damaged in the side and in the corners. The shipping was on time.

Product: book was in good condition. Well packaged. Page and print quality is original. Content: My first introduction to the COSMERE! . A Very well written piece of fantasy. Though the book is a stand alone still it is well crafted. It definitely stands up to it's positive reviews. Plot is easy to follow yet provides with amazing moments. Good enough to give goosebunps. Memorable characters. Specially there is one very interesting. The magic system is wonderful. Very entertaining.

Ive yet to find a book of this authors that ive been able to put down. Brandon Sanderson has a knack for creating fascinating worlds, magic systems and characters. Since reading Elantris a few years ago Ive been repeatedly astonished by this mans craft. He has been the cause of several very late nights. Tomboyish Siri and Cultured Vivienna are two princesses. Vivienna is destine to marry the Godking SuseBron as part of a treaty between two nations. Her sister Siri is sent to marry the godking instead and is totally unprepared and unsuited for the role. Vivienna normally the calmest of the pair sets off to rescue her sister in an act of uncharacteristic role reversal. Lightsong is a recently Reawakened immortal reincarnated as a god, he has however no memory of his life prior to his awakening and feels his life as a 'god' in the court of the Godking is empty and shallow. As Siri gets to know Susebron and Vivienna tries to rescue her sister it becomes obvious there is a conspiracy afoot. But whose ant to what end. No Sanderson book would be complete without a new and interesting magic system. He has produces another diverting offering in the form of Biochromatics and 'breaths'. Those imbued with magic own a number of 'breaths' these breaths allow then to perform magic. The use of magic gives off an aura of enhanced color. Those who have been drained of magic seem grey - or drab. Part of the entertainment is understanding how the magic system works, its integral to the books plot - a common point in all of Brandons books. so im not going to go into it in any detail. Warbreaker -like Elantris is a stand alone novel. Its slower paced than many of his other works - with much of the activity centering around the political machinations of the court of the god-king. Its a book about challenging assumptions , with the actuality often being the reverse of first appearances. It features poweless gods full of magic they fear to use ,and short lived immortals with no memory or purpose save to die again. Its also a literary opposite of the Mistborn series. Where the mistborn series is action based , this is political, where the emperor is ruthless, here he is childlike. While somewhat slow paced, it is excellent in its encapulation of its premise and story in a single volume. Its an excellent book, probably not his best to date but still a five star effort. Given the prodigious recent output we have seen from him, its not suprising that some books are more action oriented than others. This is an excellent novel worth picking up even if you are not a dedicated fan. If you havent read anything by Brandon - id probably recommend Elantris instead - or if you want a series with plenty of action - id recommend his excellent Mistborn series - starting with The Final Empire: Mistborn Book One