Warbreaker

Couldn't put it down! Sanderson is a vivid storyteller that holds the imaginative theme, characters and events together even as he takes the reader into a magical realm that bursts with color!
Cynthia Bove

Another great read by Sanderson.

Strong female characters (what Sanderson is renowned for) and a very interesting premise (Biochromatic breath and Awakenings) make for a very quick read....not long enough.

Fabulous storytelling. Grabbed me from go. Digital formatting was terrible and made an excellent book somewhat frustrating to read. However, I'd read it again for the great plot twists and exceptional writing.

I only bought this book becuase of its positive reviews. I really liked it and I thought I would like to let people who are interested in a very well written book with awesome characters should consider buying this book. I would love to see this book turn into a series or a movie.

All of Brandon Sanderson's work is outstanding but Warbreaker really sets itself apart as a single novel with extremely likeable characters and a phenomenal storyline. I would recommend this book to any reader who enjoys fantasy novels.

This is a great fantasy book for people wanting a stand-alone book rather than a long series. It had a few unexpected plot twists to keep things interesting, a unique magic system, and a nice romantic subplot. I couldn't put the book down.

Brandon Sanderson is by far my favorite Author. I started with his Mistborn trilogy then his first book Elantris and now Warbreaker and I've loved them all.

The Characters and Personalities in Warbreaker are enjoyable my favorites would have to be Vasher and Lightsong, the Breath(magic system) in Warbreaker is unique and I'd love to see another book done off of it. The biggest thing that makes Sanderson my favorite author is I never see his twists coming which I find extremely enjoyable unlike many other books I've read and been able to guess what would happen.

This book has everything that makes one love Sanderson. An intelligent magic world, witty dialogue, evolving characters and heroes struggling. This book is close to the Mistborn success trilogy, but not as grand in scale.

Brandon Sanderson is by far my favorite Author. I started with his Mistborn trilogy then his first book Elantris and now Warbreaker and I've loved them all.

The Characters and Personalities in Warbreaker are enjoyable my favorites would have to be Vasher and Lightsong, the Breath(magic system) in Warbreaker is unique and I'd love to see another book done off of it. The biggest thing that makes Sanderson my favorite author is I never see his twists coming which I find extremely enjoyable unlike many other books I've read and been able to guess what would happen.

This book has everything that makes one love Sanderson. An intelligent magic world, witty dialogue, evolving characters and heroes struggling. This book is close to the Mistborn success trilogy, but not as grand in scale.

Good original fantasy. Will re-read, something I would not waste my time on if it wasn't worth it. Reads easy. Initial read 4 stars, but I can see it being better second time around. Solid all around.

The book is creating a total new fantasy world, and I could not stop reading. I can only agree with David A. Lessnau's review. It is one of the best books I read in the last time, and so can only recommend it (the same as Sanders "Mistborn Trilogy").

Awesome seller, awesome price, fast shipping, would easily do business with again. Brandon Sanderson is my new favorite author. 2 years ago I didn't even know who he is, now I've read every single book he has put out and they are absolute magic! This is probably my new favorite book of all time.

This was very good. There were a couple places where it seemed a little over-explained, but overall the plot was excellent and the ending was better than I had anticipated. I have been enjoying a lot of Brandon Sandersons work lately.

As a huge fan of Brandon Sanderson, I was dissapointed by this book. It was decent, but did not blow me away in the same way that the Mistborn trilogy and Elantris did. I found the book to be a bit lacking in depth. If we were comparing to movies, Mistborn would be Blade Runner and this book would be Poltergeist.

After reading the preview on the store, I was immediately taken in by the first chapter and ordered the book. After the second chapter, I was yawning. Seriously, if I had a nickel for every time Sanderson used the phrases "she rolled her eyes at him" or "she snapped" I would have been able to obtain this book for free. The dialogue reads like something out of junior high fiction novel. The so-called gods had little depth and were imminently predictable. I just couldn't identify with any of the characters - Sanderson's padding the story with useless dialogue had me skimming the pages to see if anything substantial was going to happen. This story could have been so much better....

I was a big fantasy reader as a kid (especially RE Howard and Tolkien), returned to the genre later in life (relishing Clark Ashton Smith, HP Lovecraft's Dreamquest of Unknown Kadath, Feist's Magician, GRR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, and GG Kay's Tigana), and then had a number of not great experiences with contemporary fantasists (eg. Erickson, Williams, Goodkind, Jordan, Hobb, etc.) that diverted me back to other genres (esp. Science Fiction, Horror, and Crime), all of which more consistently yield what I am looking for...and in a fraction of as many pages.

For the past ten years I've read a lot westerns and during the last five I've become more and more interested in vintage adventure fiction (especially by masters like Harold Lamb, J. Allan Dunn, H. Rider Haggard, and L. Patrick Greene). Eventually, great adventure fiction and my burgeoning interest in boardgames (including fantasy marvels like Cave Evil, Mage Knight, and Perdition's Mouth) led me to once again explore the shelves of high fantasy...

Brandon Sanderson is now a really big name in the field and this one off book, Warbreaker, seemed like a good point of entry...and exit if the book disappointed. Although this 650 page tome held my interest at most times, it did not truly fire my imagination nor fully engage me.

My favorite high fantasy stories have a strong adventure component. They also have original creations unique to their worlds. And ideally, book length fantasies have interesting and rich characters. Warbreaker left me wanting in terms of all of these elements. The book succeeds to a moderate degree because it is well plotted and the magic is interesting, though the latter requires so much exposition that it feels a little like the author is revising the rules as he goes rather than that he is describing a cogent supernatural phenomenon.

The characters are generally one dimensional types who are working against their one defining characteristic. The snobby prude, trying to be less snobby and prudish; the irresponsible and wild girl trying to be responsible; the nonchalant god who learns to give a crap. These three pillars of the book are two princesses and a god, which is not a diverse (nor interesting) grouping---basically, three entitled people who act out and are drawn into intrigue. That the god is a painfully unfunny take on Groucho Marx makes the reading less fun, but the reality is that these three characters are but engines that drive the plot and uncover mysteries. The plotting is good--occasionally very good--and has some surprises, and that's what this book delivers. The writing is simple and reads quickly, though is far too modern and colloquial ("tummy ache", "I guess", and tons of modern aphorisms) to give the reader any sense of remoteness or antiquity at all.

Essentially Warbreaker felt like a well plotted, complicated (but not sophisticated), young adult castle mystery. It works moderately well in terms of delivering and developing intrigue, but one note characters, modern prose, the lack of visual descriptions, and the absence of adventure made for a long, but ephemeral book.

Loved this one. DIfferent enough from Mistborn and Elantris. And fascinating premise, and moves along well. Havent liked way of kings or Alloy of Law, but this one works well enough that I will probably read it again in a few years.

Have read this one twice, and yes, it was worth it both times. For those who love fantasy, Warbreaker is full of well developed characters, flawed heroes and heroines, swords and swashbuckling, treachery, coming of age, and unusual super powers. And it will make you glad to have read it.

This book is just an OK read up until the ending which I hated. I just finished the kindle version and at 80% it ended. Some of the main characters were complete with this ending while others were left hanging with no ending for them al all. The other 20% was silly/elementary explanations of the how's and why's about everything in the book. WHO CARES? Very disappointing.

I have read most of Brandon Sanderson's other work and this does not do him justice at all.

The characters are simple and so is the plot. Not a lot of depth in the book at all. Even the magic was shallow!

Not a bad book, but not a very good Sanderson book.

Pretty solid. As always Sanderson delivers on the magic system. BioChromatic breath is awesome.

The plot kept my attention the whole way through and has some nice turns and twists but dinner of the character development felt, to me, quite heavy handed.

After reading Sandersons later work I was disappointed with this offering. The storyline and flow were clunky and I felt the character development was weak. Believability was an issue to the point that I could not immerse myself into this book. A shadow of his later work , which I have enjoyed immensely

Having enjoyed Sanderson's other work, I expected this book to be as good as the rest. Not so. The story is as thin and weak as the characters. The first chapter is the best part of the whole book. Almost seems like a different (and unskilled) author wrote this. A very bad example of his work, his regular editor must have been on holiday or out to lunch!

I’ve been on a Brandon Sanderson kick for… well, I guess for a few years ever since I read MISTBORN! I’ve slowly but surely been making my way through his entire collection and I picked up WARBREAKER when I was in the mood for some more delicious fantasy! By now, I’ve read a LOT of his books (almost all of them except for The Stormlight Archives) and I actually think this is my least favorite full-length novel that I’ve read from Sanderson so far… but that’s not really saying much since I thoroughly enjoy them all! It’s like saying you have a least favorite Harry Potter book (*cough Chamber of Secrets cough*) even though you rate them all highly.

Even though I was warned that ELANTRIS was slow to set up, I think I felt that more in WARBREAKER. It wasn’t that the book was slow but the majority of the real action is in the last literally 10% is when everything HAPPENS. I knew things were coming since it’s Sanderson (although this is one of his earlier novels… I read them all out of “order”) but I was preparing for some typical twists and surprises that were really right under our noses all along. I still LOVE how there’s a twist and you’re like “Oh, the twist! I’m surprised!” and then SOMETHING ELSE happens that you just totally didn’t see coming because you were so focused on looking for the first twist. I just love when surprises like that and authors keep readers on their toes!

The character development is quite gradual as well. I think Siri grows the fastest since she’s the freest spirit and allows herself to change, but I’d say my favorite transformation is Vivenna. I didn’t really expect a journey from her when the book started (I truly had no idea what the book was even about when I started. I go in blind or mostly blind on a lot of my books for a true experience), so I was surprised to see how big of a role she had in the book and how she really started to figure herself out by the end and discover what she truly wanted and not what everyone else expected of her. I think Vivenna went through the most lows in this book and so many unexpected turns and I really enjoyed getting to know her!

I love the bad guys and the good guys and in typical Sanderson fashion, the question of WHICH IS WHICH had me guessing all throughout the book. Some of the characters are quite naive which leads them to believe the bad guys are one group, and then the book leads you to believe the bad guys are the good guys, and then other things lead you to question everything. I really appreciate how well-crafted WARBREAKER was in this sense! There was some serious plotting to set everything up for so many twists and reveals in the end!

Truthfully, I would have loved for a bit more knowledge on the magic system, how Breaths work, and the history of Idris and Hallendren more throughout the book. It’s not an infodump, not at all, but there is a lot of explanation of everything towards the end and I think I would have loved more historical info throughout the book. I just always appreciate world-building that’s scattered throughout a novel so I really get to know the world as we go. I know some things need to be kept until the ending because it would ruin a twist but my biggest wish is that we had more historical knowledge and more about the magic system. I didn’t realize this was a series when I started it since this book came out over a decade ago, but it looks like Sanderson has plans for more books so I hope that this is something that will be touched upon in future books!

AUDIOBOOK IMPRESSIONS

Source: Purchased from Audible
Narrator: Alyssa Bresnahan
Performance: Very good

I don’t listen to a lot of female narrators outside of my favorites but this one went okay! I don’t know what it is but I just prefer male voices for audiobook narrators. I think the deepness and strength is just more pleasant to listen to than a soft voice or a high-pitched one so I’ve passed on a lot of female narrators. Alyssa Bresnahan did a really good job with this one, though! I was unsure at first but after I while, like any good narrator, I barely noticed her voice because I was so into the character voices and the book itself. I’m not going to actively seek out anything narrated by her but if I happen upon one and it’s a book I want to read, I know I’ll be in good hands!

Princess Vivenna of Idris has been engaged to marry the tyrannical God King of Hallandren forever, but her dad can't bear to send her off so he chooses to send her 17 yr old Siri instead in a last ditch effort to stave off a war between their people. Unfortunately for her father, the always perfect and obedient princess Vivenna has trained all her life to do one thing only: marry the God King, and now that she has no purpose she decides to take off to rescue her little sister.

This is a decent epic fantasy book and it's a must read if you're interested in Sanderson's "cosmere" (the universe that all of his adult books are set in). I dunno if it's still there, but you used to be able to get this book free off of Sanderson's site. It takes place in a land where for unknown reasons, some people return from death (the "Returned") and in Hallandren these people are worshiped as Gods, and the God King rules over them all. These "Gods" all live ridiculously luxurious lives with entire priesthoods and armies of servants following them around all day and attending their every whim while they lay around in their ridiculously opulent palaces. It's actually really entertaining to read about them sitting around doing nothing.

The Idris people take great pride in not putting themselves "above" others and avoiding any kind of ostentation, which to them is basically any kind of color or luxury or expression of anything really...and poor Siri, with no training whatsoever is just thrust into this world while her older sister tries to navigate city life.

The "BioChromatic" magic on this planet is measured in "Breaths," with each Breath being sort like of a part of someone's soul (everyone has one but you can collect more if someone gives you theirs). Depending on how many breaths you have, you can "awaken" things by sending your breaths into them and using simple commands like "grip things" "hold things" "protect me" etc. I found this magic kind of boring and lame at first, but the author does a good job developing it throughout the book and by the end it becomes cool and he throws in the excuse of well Biochroma and Awakening is in it's infancy so there's so much we don't know about it and what it can do (i thought this was a genius excuse because it took care of basically all the complaints i had about this whole stupid system).

One of the things that bothered me about this book was i felt there were almost too many narrators and not enough time to fully develop everything but at the same time there's no other way it could've been done seeing as it was sort of a stand alone (Sanderson has always said he's going to write a sequel).The narration is shared by the 2 princesses, Lightsong (a God), and Vasher (who carries a sword that rivals KKM's Sinsur Dubh). Lightsong and Vasher were the most interesting characters--though there's also a cute romance going on throughout the story that i liked but can't elaborate on lest i ruin it...

My only other complaint is that even though everything comes together so awesomely near the end (as usual there's tons of shocking revelations that have been foreshadowed through the book) it was also incredibly rushed! A lot of things were glossed over--:( Clearly, the author's not done with this world and (some of) these characters....i was also upset that Siri and Vivenna's father never got his comeuppance (this man deserves to at least get punched in the face).

This book was a real treat both as a reader and a writer. Of course, on the one hand we have the usual well designed magic system and the engaging dialogue Mr. Sanderson is known for. On the other hand, the ebook version of the book comes with annotated notes that provide a wealth of insight on how Mr. Sanderson developed the plot, characters and world. There's spoilers, so be aware of that if such things concern you.

If spoilers don't bother you then you can read them at the same pace as the story. If you can't stand to have anything given away then simply wait until you finish the book and then start over and read the annotations straight through. Since I didn't find the spoilers all that 'spoilery' I went ahead and read each one as I finished the chapters. The information provided a great peak into the work that goes into revision of a book. Editors and agents poke and prod authors, even those who have tons of books out like Brandon Sanderson. Learning about how he approached problems by adding information, moving scenes, adding scenes, altering characters, and even in some cases changing their names.

There are other lessons to be learned. Even the most successful writers harbor concerns about the quality of their work. In several spots, Mr. Sanderson states how he worries that such-n-such a scene will come across in a certain way, or that he didn't handle a character well. For a new author, it's gratifying to know that even people I admire share some of the same insecurities.

So, back to the story itself. I very much liked the intrigue and the various factions trying to manipulate one another. Several of the characters greatly appealed to me, namely Vasher, Nightblood (the sentient sword) and Lightsong. Vivenna ended the story strong, though she started out as tiresome. In the end I liked her better than Siri, and would like to see further adventures using her and Vasher. The relationship between Siri and the God King did nothing for me, but I expect I'm in the minority. I'm just not a big romance person, and I found their scenes tedious. If you do like sweet, gentle romance, then you'll like the Siri/God King story line, and shouldn't let my sourpuss attitude deter you.

I liked this book better than the 'Mistborn' stories. I found the trilogy a bit heavy. For a good chunk of the book, 'Warbreaker' has a much more lighthearted approach (like 'Elantris'). That's not to say some very serious stuff isn't going on, but there are several scenes, especially those involving Lightsong and his head priest, which are so clever and lively that they keep the mood much brighter. Of course, the end has some pretty tragic stuff happen, with one particular sacrifice leaving me depressed. But that just goes to show how well Mr. Sanderson develops his characters—I know they're not real, but I still become emotionally invested.

If Mr. Sanderson has a weakness, I would say it's his endings. Everything comes to a head. There's a great avalanche of action as all the plot points converge. Then there's a big sacrifice, and boom, the world rights itself. The 'Mistborn' trilogy had that feel for me, and so did 'Elantris'.

Even so, I think 'Warbreaker' is exceptionally well done. It's carefully crafted and the characters are developed with a lot of love and thought. Full backgrounds are created for them, things that don't overtly enter the story, but color the character's behavior. If you name isn't Jakiblue, then there is a good chance you'll enjoy 'Warbreaker'.

This was my second Brandon Sanderson book, and I loved it just as much as the first – which was The Final Empire, if you’re wondering. First of all, I loved the world in this novel. Magic comes from breath, and the more breath you collect, the more powerful you are. In the Kingdom of Idris, no one has breath because they don’t believe in magic or the Gods. They believe in a simple life. Yet magic is color, which means that Idris is a very dreary place and little color exists there.

I loved the plot of this book, the schemes and the politics. I love it when fantasy books include political intrigue. There are so many aspects to this story. Religion, politics, family, and so on. Especially religion. In this world, when someone dies and comes back to life, he/she becomes a God(dess).

I can’t say enough great things about this book. The religion was interesting, the politics intriguing, the schemes endless. Who I loved most of all was Lightsong, a God. His banter is just incredible! And I far preferred Siri over her sister Vivenna, although the latter grew on me over time.

I’d highly recommend this book, no matter if you’re a fantasy-lover or not. If you haven’t read it, PLEASE GO DO SO.

Brandon Sanderson is quickly becoming an all time favorite for me. The worlds he creates are never cliché and are always completely immersive.

This was the second book I've read by him (Elantris being the first) and I have immensely enjoyed both books. Warbreaker isn't my favorite between the two of these tomes if for no other reason than it seems like Warbreaker's ending was rushed and incomplete. We took so long leading up to the resolution to have it cut short.

In spite of the ending, I stil found so many characters to love and laugh with and it is a book I will be revisiting in the future.

Summary: Great fantasy novel for youngish adults (I'm 27).

Plot: Unique. I found it daunting at times, and absolutely enthralling at others. Overall, simple plot with great charaters and character development to make it unique.

Characters: The characters in this books start out with very stereotypical roles, personalities and paths. The plot leads to development - very straightforward and obvious development admittedly - that moves the plot along nicely and gets you invested in the world.

Devices: He uses religion, conflict, stereotypes and physical objects to develop the characters and plot beyond their basic roles and obvious paths. It was his unique approach to that aspect of the world that makes this book so unique.

Misc: Action scenes are numerous, a tiny tiny of mystery littered throughout and a vivid world make the story more enticing and engaging.

I truly enjoyed this book, and would LOVE to see a second book, or even just an extended chapter, released to extend the story ever so slightly.

This was an interesting book.

I've already read four other books by Brandon Sanderson (Elantris and the Mistborn trilogy), and I was expecting quite a bit from this. His other books that I've read have been marked by breathtaking plots and enjoyable, relatable characters. Honestly, I feel like Elantris is probably the best book that I've ever read. Ever.

But some things just felt a bit off about this book.

While I loved Siri's character and immensely enjoyed every scene from her point of view from the beginning to end, I struggled with each of the other characters. Lightsong was hilarious and terribly witty (although the innuendo was a bit trying for me personally), but the dramatic irony drove me nuts. I couldn't decide if I should root for him or not when he seemed to work towards the detriment of other characters. I found myself scanning through his scenes as quickly as possible. I loved him, just not his plot.

Vasher was simply poorly developed. Almost no time is spent from his point of view compared to the others, which is fine. Adds to his mysteriousness for later. But that twist at the end just kind of fell flat with me. I feel like I only ever got tastes of him. Sure, he makes sense to me, but I didn't get to experience him as a reader. And I think he was supposed to be important.

And Vivena...ah, Vivena. Her transformation is pretty interesting, but honestly, I spent three quarters of the book being irritated with her. She seemed incredibly shallow. I appreciate her turn around, but I don't think that quite excuses how unbelievably shallow and naive she was. It kind of felt like preaching to me about hypocrisy. I'd just read an essay he posted on his site on his thougths about Dumbledore being gay, and it felt like many of his arguments for tolerance were reflected here. I mean, I don't really care. Just noticed it, is all.

Denth was just painful. Man. Some of the wittiest dialogue in the book!

Susebron was actually pretty delightful to me. A+ again on Siri and Susebron.

Characters aside, the plot was another issue for me. I just finished 27 hours of Elantris audio, and man is that book jam packed. Twist after twist after twist! I guess I got used to never seeing anything coming. I enjoyed the political intrigue and the way that Sanderson unravels everything into chaos before sewing up everything neatly by the end. I was expecting something similar here. I was...disappointed.

It's a respectable plot, but it's also comparatively, disappointingly simple. It stayed pretty linear. Most of the twists had more to do with characters changing than any real external forces. And, I hate to say this about my new favorite author, but he's just NOT that good at them. Characters betray each other, and I just kind of shrug. I didn't see it coming exactly, but it's difficult to buy into or care. Some were more effective than others in distressing me, but those twists were also the most difficult to buy.

Sanderson is a master of plot twists from what I've read, but where he errs is when he attempts to completely change the reader's perspective of the character. It just doesn't work, at least on me. I've only had a few hundred pages to get to know a character, get a grasp on them. So when one turns out to be evil or good out of nowhere, it doesn't have the same effect as when people I know in real life do the same things.

Where he succeeds in plot twists is in allowing characters with intentions made plain to the reader succeed in plots that foil other characters or completely change the playing field. Kill off a character. The the villain win. Maybe the hero has been playing for the wrong side all along. But when a character that I barely care about turns into a villain? ...Yeah, not much of a twist.

And the thing is, there just weren't that many twists! I feel like this book was just too...shallow to do the concept justice. While at least one relationship blossomed, another possible one just couldn't under the constraints of one book. I guess I'm just too into romance, but it kind of felt like Snow White and the Huntsman where even after the huntsman apparently loved her enough to wake her up, even the writers couldn't fool themselves into thinking that they had anything close to a relationship. So you just see him standing awkwardly at the back of the room, smiling supportively instead of marrying her like a good fairy tale should end.

My point is that some secrets were withheld for the sake of a big reveal, but they really just crippled the development of the story. Let's hear about who Vasher is MUCH earlier so we can grow to like him. Yeah, I get it, he's mysterious. But I just don't think it worked in the confines of one book. Let's also see much more of his relationship with Vivena. I actually sort of approve what happened with Denth (although his character seemed a bit shaky by the end to me) because that relationship was treated with care.

Finally, the magic system itself was pretty good. As always, it's very original and creative. Compared to the magic of the Mistborn trilogy, though, it seemed awfully simplistic. But, hey. One magic system was developed over the course of one book versus three, so I'm not going to complain.

So, after all of these complaints, it probably seems odd that I'm giving it four stars. The truth of the matter is, though, that Sanderson is so good at writing that all of these detractors could only bring it down one star. The reality is that the characters are delightful, the dialogue absolutely incredible, and the story in essence interesting and good. I think Sanderson fumbled a bit, but all the fumbling in the world couldn't really mess up one of his books.

Read it. It's interesting, it's fun, it's different. Characters are dynamic, the plot does take a few twist. It's still an exceptional book. Not his best, but something definitely worth the time to read.

This is my very first Brandon Sanderson book so I was a bit intimidated at what I would find as he tends to be extremely verbose and this book is 593 pages. What I found was a world not dripping with over-complicated details of boring things, but rather a colorful (pun intended!) and interesting group of characters in a rich and involved world.

All the main characters were easy to empathize with, were interesting and I liked their development. The magic system was a bit confusing, but I think that’s by design.

I would have preferred more clear-cut descriptions earlier on in the story of how the magic worked as it would have helped me follow along better with the magical scenes. I also would have preferred stronger reliance on color rather than Breaths for Awakening things. The concepts of how many Breaths seemed hard to wrap my mind around.

Overall it was a great introduction to this epic author and now I can’t wait to read another of his stories!

Rating: 4/5

My fellow reviewers have sufficiently covered all of the important elements of Warbreaker so I will briefly report my own reaction and then mention Recorded Books' version.

I really enjoyed Warbreaker's unique world and magic system, interesting twisty plot, agreeable humor, and great characters. I was slightly annoyed with Vivenna's use of the word "ostentatious" and her constant concern about modest clothing (this reminded me a lot of The Wheel of Time), but I looked forward to the transformation of her character that was obviously coming.

There are two things that I really like about Brandon Sanderson's writing in general, and Warbreaker is no exception:

1. His magic systems. I've read all of his work now, and in each case he's developed a wonderfully thoughtful, unique, and internally valid magic system.
2. He's funny. So many authors try to be funny, but I find few of them to be actually funny. Brandon Sanderson is funny.

This brings me to the audiobook. At first I was put out by James Yaegashi's slow pace which at times sounded like he was reading to first graders (I know how big this book is, so I thought "this is going to take forever!"), but it turns out that his reading really highlighted Sanderson's humorous dialogue.

Yaegashi's voices for the mercenaries Denth and Tonk Fah really brought out that "comic duo" feel and worked charmingly with their hilarious black humor. His voice for Nightblood (the sentient sword) was suitably creepy, demented, and naïvely zealous at the same time -- perfect. The following scene is one I played back several times because Yaegashi's rendition made me laugh (keep in mind that up to this point nearly all of Nightblood's thoughts, speech, and actions have seemed remorselessly evil and unnecessarily bloody):

[Vasher] reached into a pouch at his belt, pulling out the object within: a dead squirrel.
Yuck, Nightblood said with a sniff.

(This renders better on audio than print, I realize now, but I guess that's my point.)

Also entertaining was Yaegashi's voice for Lightsong, the god who doesn't believe in himself (actually, his priest preaches to him!) and who strives to be as lazy and useless as possible. Yaegashi chose to use upspeak for Lightsong's voice, and the effect is amusing because it reinforces the impression that even his stupid jokes are purposeful.

"Lightsong," Lifeblesser said with his tactlessly honest voice, "You really need to take more of an interest in politics. It can be very diverting. Why, if you only knew the secrets to which I'm privy!"
"My dear Lifeblesser," Lightsong replied, "Please trust me when I say that I have no desire to know any secrets which involve you and a privy."

Yaegashi's voices actually contributed to my surprise at a couple of the plot twists which involved characters doing uncharacteristic things.

Warbreaker is a terrific book and would be nearly flawless in my eyes if not for Sanderson's just slightly superfluous writing style. For example, the "Yuck" quote above would work better this way:

[Vasher] reached into a pouch at his belt and pulled out a dead squirrel.
Yuck, Nightblood sniffed.

I'm sure I'm unusual, but these things pop out at me -- probably because of all of Strunk & White's Elements of Style, Omit Needless Words is the one I find myself constantly working on with students. So, I can't help but notice needless words in all of Brandon Sanderson's works (though they're getting better!) and this is the main reason I can't consider him to be the Perfect Fantasy Author. However, though style is slightly lacking, substance is not -- Brandon Sanderson writes great worlds and great characters. He is a Nearly Perfect Fantasy Author and is near the top of my must-read list.

I went to bed waaaay too late last night, and I'm paying for it today. Sanderson's Warbreaker was another example of what I've come to expect from him: excellent.

Like the Mistborn series, and the Way of Kings, Sanderson has created a facinating world with a complex, unique system of magic. If anything was formulaic about Sanderson's writing, I'd say it's the fact that you can expect something new in every novel/series.

The characters in Warbreaker are DYNAMIC! Siri, Lightsong, Vivenna, Vasher, Denth, Susebron; all of them evolved throughout the novel, and I found myself seriously invested in their adventures and their fates. When I was forced to stop reading, I was thinking about Warbreaker and the people in it.

A quick plot synopsis:

The Kingoms of Idris and Halladren are at odds with each other over just about everything: religion, colors, magic, lifestyle, and territory. In order to stave off a war, the Idris king sends his youngest daughter, Siri, to Halladren to marry the God King. Siri is an irreverant, defiant girl--the complete opposite of her dutiful sister, Vivenna. When their father the King sends Siri at the last minute, both Princesses are appalled.

Siri learns the secrets of the God King, a husband whom she is not allowed to touch, look at, or speak to, yet must somehow produce an heir for. Fast. She's surrounded by factions and politics that she doesn't understand, and she has few allies.

Vivenna, bereft of her purpose in life when her sister was sent to the God King in her place, sneaks into Halladren to save her sister. She soon finds out that it's easier said than done. She discovers the inequities that Idris people living in Halladren must face, and correcting the wrongs soon becomes as much of a mission as saving Siri.

Neither Princess knows who is a friend, enemy, or who is an enemy pretending to be a friend. The people that surround the Princesses are as wonderfully entertaining and dynamic as the main characters. Both Denth and Lightsong are hilarious, but with completely different senses of humor and motivations. The mysterious Vasher and his bloodthirsty, sentient sword teases readers with bits and pieces of information, but the "big reveal" on his character won't come until the very end.

The only reason this book does not get 5 stars is the fact that the ending seemed rushed. The final conflict is glossed over in an almost Laurell K. Hamilton, 'I'm tired of writing', speedy wrap up. [Note: LKH should be HONORED to be mentioned in a review for Sanderson, negative comment or not.]

I have found some promising Warbreaker edits, and extra chapters on the author's website, and will be checking that out. Hopefully it will correct the small, but noticable inadequacy of the ending of the book.

Warbreak is AMAZING read, I truly hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

I've been slowly working my way through all of Sanderson's books since I stumbled across Steelheart not too long ago. I think the one thing that highlights Sanderson's writing is not the character depth or plot but the way he can make things work together so that I want to know more when I'd stop reading with any other author. I find Vivenna the most annoying character in literature. I won't go into her flaws but suffice to say there are many. The beauty of Sanderson's books is that I don't care. It fits in as part of the writing and I want to know more. (While still wishing to kill off Vivenna) He can do this also with character death. He can kill off the best characters and it still works. (He hasn't killed anyone in this book yet as I am 3/4 of the way through) Go Sanderson! You are the only one I know who can kill off a hero and still have me applaud.

Let me preface this:

I am an avid Sanderson fan. I am also an author; I'm more aware than the average reader of literary tools, and I'm extremely picky about books that I read being good.

That said.

I'm used to a certain quality of book from Sanderson's adult fantasy. That quality is 6-stars, blew-me-through-the-roof, I-had-to-put-the-book-down-lest-I-explode-from-awesomeness quality.

Warbreaker... Didn't quite hit that. In fact, as I was nearing the climax I felt like the tension needed another dozen chapters to grow before it reached the right intensity. The foreshadowing was excellent, the plot beautiful, and Sandersonisms (my personal word for his fantastic wordplay and wordsmithing) abounded. That he is a master of his craft shows on every page, through characters and situations that are more human than any I've seen in other writing.

Perhaps part of the lack of tension was the audio book narrator's odd inflections (I listened to the audio book because library hold lists try my patience). Perhaps I have simply set my expectations of Sanderson's writing too high based on... well... All of his adult books. Perhaps I approached it too intellectually, because of the unique opportunity he gave his readers to watch his writing and editing process during the creation of the book.

There is nothing technically wrong with the book. It just didn't grab my heart and mind by their strings, playing them like marionettes, as an excellent book must do. In the end, despite Warbreaker's masterful execution, I felt strangely let down at the lack of awesomeness explosion.

Siri, the youngest daughter of the King of Idris, is a stubborn free spirit who takes advantage of her unimportant status to push the boundaries of the austere philosophy of her homeland. Her sister Vivenna, the oldest, has trained since birth for her marriage to the God King of Hallendren, the country from which the royal family of Idris fled three hundred years previously. When their father can't bear to send his cherished older daughter to a marriage in a country with which he expects to go to war, he substitutes Siri in her place. In her anger at having her life's work undermined, Vivenna decides to go to Hallendren herself, to "rescue" her younger sister. Both sisters discover that Hallendren is much different than they have been led to believe, and become involved in a twisted conspiracy that threatens both Hallendren and their home.

I have yet to read anything by Brandon Sanderson that I haven't liked. He seemed to have an infinite number of magical systems up his sleeve, all original. Here, it's "BioChromatic Breath," which its practitioners can use to bring inanimate objects to a kind of life. Breath and the way it works is not as fully developed as some of his other systems; parts of it still seem nebulous after 600-odd pages, But it still was a good device. Also as usual, Sanderson presents a good variety of characters, both male and female, and uses their experiences to address a range of issues. I particularly liked the reluctant god, Lightsong, through whose journey the reader took a look at the nature of divinity. Vivenna, though I did not like her much as a person, provided an examination of the hypocrisy of some religions.

The plot took many twists and turns, with several likeable characters turning out to be not-so-good as people. Also, I was unable to pinpoint the head of the conspiracy or the reasons for it until the last minute, which is very unusual for me. So Sanderson did a great job building the suspense and keeping the reader guessing.

Sanderson could have made better use of a thesaurus while writing Warbreaker; his language got very repetitious in places. He especially could have used many more synonyms for "color" and "colorful. " Also, one of the characters had a sentient sword which didn't seem to have much use other than being a stereotypical fantasy trope. These are my only two real complaints with the book.

The ending is set up for a continuation of the series, or at least more about a few of the main characters. I'll be watching for it.

Elantris was good, Mistborn was fantastic, Wax and Wayne was fun. This book defines a whole new level of greatness. There's everything you could want in a story. It is fast paced and I had trouble putting it down! I couldn't decide which of the characters was my favorite, and I love how the story follows separate groups of people and ties everything together at the end. Just. Amazing. Buy it, read it, tell someone else about it. You won't regret it.

As with his first novel "Elantris" - this novel is an epic tale in one book (rather than a trilogy or more)... uncommon by scifi standards and greatly appreciated by those who loath dragged out plots.

This is a book which would appeal to scifi fans as well as mainstream readers of fiction. It has some politics, intrigue, suspense, magic, romance and action - all within a great premise. I urge you to read this book. Even those who dislike scifi will enjoy this book (perhaps more then conventional scifi fans). Its more Star Wars than Star Trek... Glamorous not geeky.

I immensely appreciated the the fast-paced gripping tale, the charisma of the main characters and the magic which manages to manifest itself into the pages of every book.

Elantris was the author's first novel and you can perceive when reading this book how well developed his writing skills have become. The female characters in particular are far more realistic and well developed in this book than in Elantris.

The characters are not perfect - the author portrays their weaknesses as well as their strength in a compelling manner. Their development in the book is both a joy to read as well as a well thought out twist.

Lightsong's tale - an intriguing sub-plot - is one of my favourite parts of the book. I won't divulge any more - suffice it to say - he surprises himself as well as his audience.

I highly recommend you read this. Its not a masterpiece with profound prose, but it is a great form of escapism!

The only issue I have with the authors books are that they focus on a political system which is not only out-dated (monarchy rule is ridiculous for any free thinking society) and hence the amount of Royals, "noblemen" etc are rather unsophisticated. I would be thrilled if a book could be published based on a democratic society threatened by a scifi version of Rupert Murdoch.

From my blog On Starships and Dragonwings

Warbreaker is the fantasy story of two sisters working to prevent war, a God trying to figure out what his purpose is, an immortal still trying to repent for the past and a magic system that uses color to fuel power
I love love love love Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn and was so excited to do a read along for one of his earliest novels, Warbreaker. The read along was so much fun (thank you for the good times everyone!) and convinced me that even when Sanderson is at his weakest/earliest, he still writes an amazing novel!

Title: Warbreaker
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Pages: 688 (hardcover)
Genre-ish: Sanderson's own brand of Fantasy
Rating: ★★★★☆ - Amazing world-building, minor slips in plot/characters
Setting: Warbreaker takes place in a world where everyone is born with one Breath that can be transferred to others. People with enough Breath can Awaken objects to do their bidding, but they must have color to drain for their power to work.
Premise: Two countries with very different opinions about Awakening have been at odds for decades since one broke from the other. Two sisters, Siri and Vivenna are from the "rebel" country, one destined to marry the God King of the larger (and more flamboyant) country, the other the one who actually ends up being sent (silly people changing their minds!). Now the question on everyone's mind is war, and can it be stopped in time?
Strengths:

As anyone who has read Sanderson can attest, Sanderson is amazing at world-building. You completely believe that this world has existed long before the story and will continue to do so; it's ridiculously compelling.
I loved some of these characters! Siri is spunky and kind and develops a lot in the story, Vasher and his sentient sword Nightblood make a wonderful pair, and even Vivenna grew on me eventually ;-).
The plot twists! You will never see these things coming! And not just at the end; there are twists all over the place and they rock your mind :D.
Weaknesses:

The ending seems a little rushed and open-ended. It is clear that Sanderson plans to write a sequel (called Nightblood :D) eventually, but he hasn't gotten to it yet and emphasizes a little too heavily at the end of the story that there will be a sequel.
Some of the characters just didn't do it for me for the first half of Warbreaker, or the character development slipped up towards the end (there are a lot of characters), so you can tell that it was an earlier novel in that.
The magic system didn't do it for me for the first half of Warbreaker, I mean color, really? But just go with it and it'll grow on you and it makes a lot of sense in the Cosmere that Sanderson has with all his novels.
Summary:

Not the best Sanderson's ever written, and not one to start your Sanderson experience with, but Warbreaker is still a really great novel once you understand how wonderful Sanderson's writing can be. It's pretty long, but the chapters are short and the pacing whisks you quickly through. I was tempted to give Warbreaker 5 stars once I was done, but my initial struggles convinced me that it isn't quite that perfect ;-). You will definitely feel the urge to read more or re-read Warbreaker when you're done though :D.

(Quick review, not up to my usual standards)

Sanderson is 5 for 5. Excellent fantasy: interesting new world with believable politics and believable social impact of the fantasy elements, intriguing discovery about the fantasy elements as the book goes on, strong character development all around, and enough plot twists and barely-telegraphed surprises to keep you guessing.

It's no The Well of Ascension, but that had two other books to back it up and headed into moral and philosophical waters one book of Warbreaker's length couldn't sustain.

Sanderson does several things that are both hard and rare, and finding other authors who combine them is nearly impossible. He writes action that stays clear and exciting by making it personal regardless of the scale and giving it a sense of importance; he writes character development built around deep, introspective conflict and moral and philosophical education without making it into boring navel-gazing, and he does it by making it intensely personal and important but tying it to the character's world and the character's experience; he writes politics that make sense, by making them about the personal values of the players and tying them to the effects and causes in the world instead of abstract, one-dimensional causes; he ...

Hrm... how about, he makes whatever he's writing about the character, how the character interacts with the world, and what the character believes and wants, and he lets that change the character. He isn't afraid to tell as well as show and he balances that well. All of his conflict is internal, really. The wars and politics and economics are the results of characters' beliefs, values, and self-concept.

It's a debatable view of history (one that many, but far from all, historians share), but it makes for great writing. To my mind, it's the outgrowth of Moorcock and Donaldson's "flawed hero" direction, as contrasted with the "sweeping, fated (=powerless) epic" or "gritty and powerless" schools that have been in vogue, well, forever. If you find Moorcock and Donaldson "depressing" or whatever, still give Sanderson a try. The points he makes are about hope and the value of life.

(I'd argue that Donaldson makes those same points very forcefully, but it's often hard to see under the more-dire worlds he uses.)

So, on to Warbreaker itself....

Action
Mistborn and its sequels had amazing action sequences. How Sanderson writes a fight scene that stays gripping and readable while including interludes about vector arithmetic and the importance of the mass-to-force ratio, I don't rightly know, but he does. Warbreaker isn't nearly the action book that the Mistborn trilogy is. The action is mostly around subtle (or unexpected) use of animated items (usually clothing)and can be slightly hard to follow (how is a man's cloak cut unto the rough shape of a person? what, exactly, are the tassels on his shirt-cuffs doing?). Fortunately, the action still flows and the slightly confusing parts are easy to gloss over. I don't know that explaining them in more detail would have helped. But if what you loved about the Mistborn books was the sweeping chases, the dirty room-to-room fighting, or the massive armies clashing, then this book might disappoint.

The best part of the action is our action-ey protagonist trying, repeatedly, to get into places stealthily, all the while reminded by his sentient sword that he's not actually any good at stealth. It isn't quite comic relief, but it's funny.

Characters
Sanderson excels here, but again it's closer to Elantris than Mistborn. The main characters are:
- A princess forced, at the last minute, to take her sister's place and marry the god-king of a country and religion she was raised to fear
This character has some good development, although not a lot is asked of her, really: she starts with the skills and beliefs she needs and it's mostly her learning to stand up and do what she already believes she can. There is some interesting development as she learns what her father and her sister were not capable of. She's an agreeable character to read.

- Her sister, the princess who thought she was going to be married off.
This is supposed to be the big character arc in the book, but it's nowhere near Sanderson's standards. She's annoying and petty at the beginning, but she learns to be annoying, petty, and self-loathing by the end. She faces the most danger, the most betrayal, and is asked to be the most heroic, but it's not really sold and she doesn't actually grow so much as give up and get carried along into the heroic story. Still, her story has the action and the humor and is lots of fun to read.

- A "god" who doesn't believe he's divine and doesn't care to actually do anything for his worshipers. He leads us into most of the book's philosophical and moral gray areas; his self-discovery (literally--he was deified five years ago and doesn't remember his past life) and his moral decisions drive the heart of the book. It's a sweet story despite its underlying sadness: we are told repeatedly that all the gods' stories have to end in self-sacrifice.

The less-developed characters (a mercenary and his sidekick, the action hero mentioned above, the god-king/husband, a politically-minded goddess, the god-character's high priest, etc.) are rounded enough to be interesting, for the appropriate counterpoint to the main characters they accompany, and carry their scenes well. That any of them would make fine lead characters for another book should show how interesting they are.

Sanderson is known for his innovative magic and religion. The magic system in Warbreaker is interesting and creative and it is slowly revealed across the book in Sanderson's usual manner. It doesn't feel as tight as the Mistborn system, but that really doesn't matter; in the Mistborn books the nature of magic was central to the story and in Warbreaker it isn't. (Actually, there is some inconsistency in the way the system is described, which I didn't expect from Sanderson.)

Two things do shine about the fantastic elements, though: First, the religion based on the magic is fabulously interesting, largely due to the discussions and arguments where a high priest tries to explain to his god why the god is considered deific. Second, the way the characters use the magic is creative and exciting.

And as always, Sanderson knows how to end a book. It's fast, it's exciting, and it doesn't rely on gimmicky action sequences or overly-long denouement that sucks the life from the book. It's well set up for a sequel, but I don't know that one is necessary.

Give this one a read. Elantris, too. And read the Mistborn books. If you're only going to read one Sanderson, read Mistborn (the first of the trilogy--it stands alone well enough). If you read two, make it Mistborn and Warbreaker.

The cities of Idris and Hallendren have been on the brink of war for years. The king of Idris, hoping to stave off the impending conflict, sends his young and unrefined daughter Siri to marry the enigmatic God-King of Hallendren. Hallendren is a world unlike anything Siri has experienced in her young life. The women wear revealing clothing, colors of all hues abound, men and women deal in breath and returned Gods live on high above all. Siri’s eldest sister, Vivenna, follows Siri in hopes of rescuing her from this blasphemous land and the evil God-King, but she is pulled into a war of her own where she strives to save her fellow Idrians from almost certain slaughter.

Brandon Sanderson is well known for his complex magic systems and in Warbreaker he delivers once again this time with the concept of Biochromatic breath. What is Biochromatic breath you ask? Every person is born with breath and they have the ability to give their breath to another person. Once someone accumulates enough breath they can combine color and breath to bring the inanimate to life. The rules are complex, but part of the fun of Sanderson novels is learning the ins and outs of the magic system.

Warbreaker delivers on all levels with deep likable characters, a fantastical world unlike any you have read about before and a magic system that will in the very least provide countless hours of confusion. Highly recommended!

I had mixed feelings for this, as I loved Elantris, and the first Mistborn book... but by the last Mistborn book Sanderson was almost added to my "Never read anything by this author again, EVER!" list. (I like happy endings.)

The beginning of the book wasn't that gripping, for me. We start off in one characters viewpoint, then jump right away to someone else's.

It's a tad jarring, and the first character just wasn't working for me.

After we meet Siri and Lightsong, though, things start picking up. Like most Sanderson books, there's almost constant switching of veiwpoints. This technique really works for me, as it allows you to get to know multiple characters. It's just about the only way you can do that, now that omniscient point of view is considered a big no-no. Another plus, is that you're not stuck inside the head of a character you don't like for too long. Case in point, I couldn't stand most of the Vivernia scenes (until almost the end). My wife, on the other hand, thought she was one of the best characters.

There's also a lot of quotable dialog in this book:

"There's one thing I haven't figured out. How juggling lemons fits into all this."

"What in the name of you are you doing?"

... and tons more.

The ending is where I think this book really shines. There's a whole bunch of twists in the story that seem to come out of nowhere, but the more you think about them, you can see the clues were there from the beginning.

This was my introduction to Brandon Sanderson, and I couldn't be more impressed. I have been wanting to try the Mistborn series on audio, but there's always a long waiting list for it at the library. But this one was available, so I thought why not?

What a fantastic writer he is and what a wonderful, well-developed world he created. There are so many layers of development and imagination and innovation here, it's hard to know where to start. His magic system--based on breaths (souls)--was delightful and fresh. The whole economy and governance of the world, the history of the realms, the strength and transformation of the characters, the twists and surprises of the plot...all were terrific. I honestly didn't know how the book was going to end, though when I got to it, I saw that he'd laid the groundwork for it already.

I'm a believer now!

My fellow reviewers have sufficiently covered all of the important elements of Warbreaker so I will briefly report my own reaction and then mention Recorded Books' version.

I really enjoyed Warbreaker's unique world and magic system, interesting twisty plot, agreeable humor, and great characters. I was slightly annoyed with Vivenna's use of the word "ostentatious" and her constant concern about modest clothing (this reminded me a lot of The Wheel of Time), but I looked forward to the transformation of her character that was obviously coming.

There are two things that I really like about Brandon Sanderson's writing in general, and Warbreaker is no exception:

1. His magic systems. I've read all of his work now, and in each case he's developed a wonderfully thoughtful, unique, and internally valid magic system.
2. He's funny. So many authors try to be funny, but I find few of them to be actually funny. Brandon Sanderson is funny.

This brings me to the audiobook. At first I was put out by James Yaegashi's slow pace which at times sounded like he was reading to first graders (I know how big this book is, so I thought "this is going to take forever!"), but it turns out that his reading really highlighted Sanderson's humorous dialogue.

Yaegashi's voices for the mercenaries Denth and Tonk Fah really brought out that "comic duo" feel and worked charmingly with their hilarious black humor. His voice for Nightblood (the sentient sword) was suitably creepy, demented, and naïvely zealous at the same time -- perfect. The following scene is one I played back several times because Yaegashi's rendition made me laugh (keep in mind that up to this point nearly all of Nightblood's thoughts, speech, and actions have seemed remorselessly evil and unnecessarily bloody):

[Vasher] reached into a pouch at his belt, pulling out the object within: a dead squirrel.
Yuck, Nightblood said with a sniff.

(This renders better on audio than print, I realize now, but I guess that's my point.)

Also entertaining was Yaegashi's voice for Lightsong, the god who doesn't believe in himself (actually, his priest preaches to him!) and who strives to be as lazy and useless as possible. Yaegashi chose to use upspeak for Lightsong's voice, and the effect is amusing because it reinforces the impression that even his stupid jokes are purposeful.

"Lightsong," Lifeblesser said with his tactlessly honest voice, "You really need to take more of an interest in politics. It can be very diverting. Why, if you only knew the secrets to which I'm privy!"
"My dear Lifeblesser," Lightsong replied, "Please trust me when I say that I have no desire to know any secrets which involve you and a privy."

Yaegashi's voices actually contributed to my surprise at a couple of the plot twists which involved characters doing uncharacteristic things.

Warbreaker is a terrific book and would be nearly flawless in my eyes if not for Sanderson's just slightly superfluous writing style. For example, the "Yuck" quote above would work better this way:

[Vasher] reached into a pouch at his belt and pulled out a dead squirrel.
Yuck, Nightblood sniffed.

I'm sure I'm unusual, but these things pop out at me -- probably because of all of Strunk & White's Elements of Style, Omit Needless Words is the one I find myself constantly working on with students. So, I can't help but notice needless words in all of Brandon Sanderson's works (though they're getting better!) and this is the main reason I can't consider him to be the Perfect Fantasy Author. However, though style is slightly lacking, substance is not -- Brandon Sanderson writes great worlds and great characters. He is a Nearly Perfect Fantasy Author and is near the top of my must-read list.

I went to bed waaaay too late last night, and I'm paying for it today. Sanderson's Warbreaker was another example of what I've come to expect from him: excellent.

Like the Mistborn series, and the Way of Kings, Sanderson has created a facinating world with a complex, unique system of magic. If anything was formulaic about Sanderson's writing, I'd say it's the fact that you can expect something new in every novel/series.

The characters in Warbreaker are DYNAMIC! Siri, Lightsong, Vivenna, Vasher, Denth, Susebron; all of them evolved throughout the novel, and I found myself seriously invested in their adventures and their fates. When I was forced to stop reading, I was thinking about Warbreaker and the people in it.

A quick plot synopsis:

The Kingoms of Idris and Halladren are at odds with each other over just about everything: religion, colors, magic, lifestyle, and territory. In order to stave off a war, the Idris king sends his youngest daughter, Siri, to Halladren to marry the God King. Siri is an irreverant, defiant girl--the complete opposite of her dutiful sister, Vivenna. When their father the King sends Siri at the last minute, both Princesses are appalled.

Siri learns the secrets of the God King, a husband whom she is not allowed to touch, look at, or speak to, yet must somehow produce an heir for. Fast. She's surrounded by factions and politics that she doesn't understand, and she has few allies.

Vivenna, bereft of her purpose in life when her sister was sent to the God King in her place, sneaks into Halladren to save her sister. She soon finds out that it's easier said than done. She discovers the inequities that Idris people living in Halladren must face, and correcting the wrongs soon becomes as much of a mission as saving Siri.

Neither Princess knows who is a friend, enemy, or who is an enemy pretending to be a friend. The people that surround the Princesses are as wonderfully entertaining and dynamic as the main characters. Both Denth and Lightsong are hilarious, but with completely different senses of humor and motivations. The mysterious Vasher and his bloodthirsty, sentient sword teases readers with bits and pieces of information, but the "big reveal" on his character won't come until the very end.

The only reason this book does not get 5 stars is the fact that the ending seemed rushed. The final conflict is glossed over in an almost Laurell K. Hamilton, 'I'm tired of writing', speedy wrap up. [Note: LKH should be HONORED to be mentioned in a review for Sanderson, negative comment or not.]

I have found some promising Warbreaker edits, and extra chapters on the author's website, and will be checking that out. Hopefully it will correct the small, but noticable inadequacy of the ending of the book.

Warbreak is AMAZING read, I truly hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

I've been slowly working my way through all of Sanderson's books since I stumbled across Steelheart not too long ago. I think the one thing that highlights Sanderson's writing is not the character depth or plot but the way he can make things work together so that I want to know more when I'd stop reading with any other author. I find Vivenna the most annoying character in literature. I won't go into her flaws but suffice to say there are many. The beauty of Sanderson's books is that I don't care. It fits in as part of the writing and I want to know more. (While still wishing to kill off Vivenna) He can do this also with character death. He can kill off the best characters and it still works. (He hasn't killed anyone in this book yet as I am 3/4 of the way through) Go Sanderson! You are the only one I know who can kill off a hero and still have me applaud.

Let me preface this:

I am an avid Sanderson fan. I am also an author; I'm more aware than the average reader of literary tools, and I'm extremely picky about books that I read being good.

That said.

I'm used to a certain quality of book from Sanderson's adult fantasy. That quality is 6-stars, blew-me-through-the-roof, I-had-to-put-the-book-down-lest-I-explode-from-awesomeness quality.

Warbreaker... Didn't quite hit that. In fact, as I was nearing the climax I felt like the tension needed another dozen chapters to grow before it reached the right intensity. The foreshadowing was excellent, the plot beautiful, and Sandersonisms (my personal word for his fantastic wordplay and wordsmithing) abounded. That he is a master of his craft shows on every page, through characters and situations that are more human than any I've seen in other writing.

Perhaps part of the lack of tension was the audio book narrator's odd inflections (I listened to the audio book because library hold lists try my patience). Perhaps I have simply set my expectations of Sanderson's writing too high based on... well... All of his adult books. Perhaps I approached it too intellectually, because of the unique opportunity he gave his readers to watch his writing and editing process during the creation of the book.

There is nothing technically wrong with the book. It just didn't grab my heart and mind by their strings, playing them like marionettes, as an excellent book must do. In the end, despite Warbreaker's masterful execution, I felt strangely let down at the lack of awesomeness explosion.

Siri, the youngest daughter of the King of Idris, is a stubborn free spirit who takes advantage of her unimportant status to push the boundaries of the austere philosophy of her homeland. Her sister Vivenna, the oldest, has trained since birth for her marriage to the God King of Hallendren, the country from which the royal family of Idris fled three hundred years previously. When their father can't bear to send his cherished older daughter to a marriage in a country with which he expects to go to war, he substitutes Siri in her place. In her anger at having her life's work undermined, Vivenna decides to go to Hallendren herself, to "rescue" her younger sister. Both sisters discover that Hallendren is much different than they have been led to believe, and become involved in a twisted conspiracy that threatens both Hallendren and their home.

I have yet to read anything by Brandon Sanderson that I haven't liked. He seemed to have an infinite number of magical systems up his sleeve, all original. Here, it's "BioChromatic Breath," which its practitioners can use to bring inanimate objects to a kind of life. Breath and the way it works is not as fully developed as some of his other systems; parts of it still seem nebulous after 600-odd pages, But it still was a good device. Also as usual, Sanderson presents a good variety of characters, both male and female, and uses their experiences to address a range of issues. I particularly liked the reluctant god, Lightsong, through whose journey the reader took a look at the nature of divinity. Vivenna, though I did not like her much as a person, provided an examination of the hypocrisy of some religions.

The plot took many twists and turns, with several likeable characters turning out to be not-so-good as people. Also, I was unable to pinpoint the head of the conspiracy or the reasons for it until the last minute, which is very unusual for me. So Sanderson did a great job building the suspense and keeping the reader guessing.

Sanderson could have made better use of a thesaurus while writing Warbreaker; his language got very repetitious in places. He especially could have used many more synonyms for "color" and "colorful. " Also, one of the characters had a sentient sword which didn't seem to have much use other than being a stereotypical fantasy trope. These are my only two real complaints with the book.

The ending is set up for a continuation of the series, or at least more about a few of the main characters. I'll be watching for it.

Elantris was good, Mistborn was fantastic, Wax and Wayne was fun. This book defines a whole new level of greatness. There's everything you could want in a story. It is fast paced and I had trouble putting it down! I couldn't decide which of the characters was my favorite, and I love how the story follows separate groups of people and ties everything together at the end. Just. Amazing. Buy it, read it, tell someone else about it. You won't regret it.

As with his first novel "Elantris" - this novel is an epic tale in one book (rather than a trilogy or more)... uncommon by scifi standards and greatly appreciated by those who loath dragged out plots.

This is a book which would appeal to scifi fans as well as mainstream readers of fiction. It has some politics, intrigue, suspense, magic, romance and action - all within a great premise. I urge you to read this book. Even those who dislike scifi will enjoy this book (perhaps more then conventional scifi fans). Its more Star Wars than Star Trek... Glamorous not geeky.

I immensely appreciated the the fast-paced gripping tale, the charisma of the main characters and the magic which manages to manifest itself into the pages of every book.

Elantris was the author's first novel and you can perceive when reading this book how well developed his writing skills have become. The female characters in particular are far more realistic and well developed in this book than in Elantris.

The characters are not perfect - the author portrays their weaknesses as well as their strength in a compelling manner. Their development in the book is both a joy to read as well as a well thought out twist.

Lightsong's tale - an intriguing sub-plot - is one of my favourite parts of the book. I won't divulge any more - suffice it to say - he surprises himself as well as his audience.

I highly recommend you read this. Its not a masterpiece with profound prose, but it is a great form of escapism!

The only issue I have with the authors books are that they focus on a political system which is not only out-dated (monarchy rule is ridiculous for any free thinking society) and hence the amount of Royals, "noblemen" etc are rather unsophisticated. I would be thrilled if a book could be published based on a democratic society threatened by a scifi version of Rupert Murdoch.

From my blog On Starships and Dragonwings

Warbreaker is the fantasy story of two sisters working to prevent war, a God trying to figure out what his purpose is, an immortal still trying to repent for the past and a magic system that uses color to fuel power
I love love love love Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn and was so excited to do a read along for one of his earliest novels, Warbreaker. The read along was so much fun (thank you for the good times everyone!) and convinced me that even when Sanderson is at his weakest/earliest, he still writes an amazing novel!

Title: Warbreaker
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Pages: 688 (hardcover)
Genre-ish: Sanderson's own brand of Fantasy
Rating: ★★★★☆ - Amazing world-building, minor slips in plot/characters
Setting: Warbreaker takes place in a world where everyone is born with one Breath that can be transferred to others. People with enough Breath can Awaken objects to do their bidding, but they must have color to drain for their power to work.
Premise: Two countries with very different opinions about Awakening have been at odds for decades since one broke from the other. Two sisters, Siri and Vivenna are from the "rebel" country, one destined to marry the God King of the larger (and more flamboyant) country, the other the one who actually ends up being sent (silly people changing their minds!). Now the question on everyone's mind is war, and can it be stopped in time?
Strengths:

As anyone who has read Sanderson can attest, Sanderson is amazing at world-building. You completely believe that this world has existed long before the story and will continue to do so; it's ridiculously compelling.
I loved some of these characters! Siri is spunky and kind and develops a lot in the story, Vasher and his sentient sword Nightblood make a wonderful pair, and even Vivenna grew on me eventually ;-).
The plot twists! You will never see these things coming! And not just at the end; there are twists all over the place and they rock your mind :D.
Weaknesses:

The ending seems a little rushed and open-ended. It is clear that Sanderson plans to write a sequel (called Nightblood :D) eventually, but he hasn't gotten to it yet and emphasizes a little too heavily at the end of the story that there will be a sequel.
Some of the characters just didn't do it for me for the first half of Warbreaker, or the character development slipped up towards the end (there are a lot of characters), so you can tell that it was an earlier novel in that.
The magic system didn't do it for me for the first half of Warbreaker, I mean color, really? But just go with it and it'll grow on you and it makes a lot of sense in the Cosmere that Sanderson has with all his novels.
Summary:

Not the best Sanderson's ever written, and not one to start your Sanderson experience with, but Warbreaker is still a really great novel once you understand how wonderful Sanderson's writing can be. It's pretty long, but the chapters are short and the pacing whisks you quickly through. I was tempted to give Warbreaker 5 stars once I was done, but my initial struggles convinced me that it isn't quite that perfect ;-). You will definitely feel the urge to read more or re-read Warbreaker when you're done though :D.

(Quick review, not up to my usual standards)

Sanderson is 5 for 5. Excellent fantasy: interesting new world with believable politics and believable social impact of the fantasy elements, intriguing discovery about the fantasy elements as the book goes on, strong character development all around, and enough plot twists and barely-telegraphed surprises to keep you guessing.

It's no The Well of Ascension, but that had two other books to back it up and headed into moral and philosophical waters one book of Warbreaker's length couldn't sustain.

Sanderson does several things that are both hard and rare, and finding other authors who combine them is nearly impossible. He writes action that stays clear and exciting by making it personal regardless of the scale and giving it a sense of importance; he writes character development built around deep, introspective conflict and moral and philosophical education without making it into boring navel-gazing, and he does it by making it intensely personal and important but tying it to the character's world and the character's experience; he writes politics that make sense, by making them about the personal values of the players and tying them to the effects and causes in the world instead of abstract, one-dimensional causes; he ...

Hrm... how about, he makes whatever he's writing about the character, how the character interacts with the world, and what the character believes and wants, and he lets that change the character. He isn't afraid to tell as well as show and he balances that well. All of his conflict is internal, really. The wars and politics and economics are the results of characters' beliefs, values, and self-concept.

It's a debatable view of history (one that many, but far from all, historians share), but it makes for great writing. To my mind, it's the outgrowth of Moorcock and Donaldson's "flawed hero" direction, as contrasted with the "sweeping, fated (=powerless) epic" or "gritty and powerless" schools that have been in vogue, well, forever. If you find Moorcock and Donaldson "depressing" or whatever, still give Sanderson a try. The points he makes are about hope and the value of life.

(I'd argue that Donaldson makes those same points very forcefully, but it's often hard to see under the more-dire worlds he uses.)

So, on to Warbreaker itself....

Action
Mistborn and its sequels had amazing action sequences. How Sanderson writes a fight scene that stays gripping and readable while including interludes about vector arithmetic and the importance of the mass-to-force ratio, I don't rightly know, but he does. Warbreaker isn't nearly the action book that the Mistborn trilogy is. The action is mostly around subtle (or unexpected) use of animated items (usually clothing)and can be slightly hard to follow (how is a man's cloak cut unto the rough shape of a person? what, exactly, are the tassels on his shirt-cuffs doing?). Fortunately, the action still flows and the slightly confusing parts are easy to gloss over. I don't know that explaining them in more detail would have helped. But if what you loved about the Mistborn books was the sweeping chases, the dirty room-to-room fighting, or the massive armies clashing, then this book might disappoint.

The best part of the action is our action-ey protagonist trying, repeatedly, to get into places stealthily, all the while reminded by his sentient sword that he's not actually any good at stealth. It isn't quite comic relief, but it's funny.

Characters
Sanderson excels here, but again it's closer to Elantris than Mistborn. The main characters are:
- A princess forced, at the last minute, to take her sister's place and marry the god-king of a country and religion she was raised to fear
This character has some good development, although not a lot is asked of her, really: she starts with the skills and beliefs she needs and it's mostly her learning to stand up and do what she already believes she can. There is some interesting development as she learns what her father and her sister were not capable of. She's an agreeable character to read.

- Her sister, the princess who thought she was going to be married off.
This is supposed to be the big character arc in the book, but it's nowhere near Sanderson's standards. She's annoying and petty at the beginning, but she learns to be annoying, petty, and self-loathing by the end. She faces the most danger, the most betrayal, and is asked to be the most heroic, but it's not really sold and she doesn't actually grow so much as give up and get carried along into the heroic story. Still, her story has the action and the humor and is lots of fun to read.

- A "god" who doesn't believe he's divine and doesn't care to actually do anything for his worshipers. He leads us into most of the book's philosophical and moral gray areas; his self-discovery (literally--he was deified five years ago and doesn't remember his past life) and his moral decisions drive the heart of the book. It's a sweet story despite its underlying sadness: we are told repeatedly that all the gods' stories have to end in self-sacrifice.

The less-developed characters (a mercenary and his sidekick, the action hero mentioned above, the god-king/husband, a politically-minded goddess, the god-character's high priest, etc.) are rounded enough to be interesting, for the appropriate counterpoint to the main characters they accompany, and carry their scenes well. That any of them would make fine lead characters for another book should show how interesting they are.

Sanderson is known for his innovative magic and religion. The magic system in Warbreaker is interesting and creative and it is slowly revealed across the book in Sanderson's usual manner. It doesn't feel as tight as the Mistborn system, but that really doesn't matter; in the Mistborn books the nature of magic was central to the story and in Warbreaker it isn't. (Actually, there is some inconsistency in the way the system is described, which I didn't expect from Sanderson.)

Two things do shine about the fantastic elements, though: First, the religion based on the magic is fabulously interesting, largely due to the discussions and arguments where a high priest tries to explain to his god why the god is considered deific. Second, the way the characters use the magic is creative and exciting.

And as always, Sanderson knows how to end a book. It's fast, it's exciting, and it doesn't rely on gimmicky action sequences or overly-long denouement that sucks the life from the book. It's well set up for a sequel, but I don't know that one is necessary.

Give this one a read. Elantris, too. And read the Mistborn books. If you're only going to read one Sanderson, read Mistborn (the first of the trilogy--it stands alone well enough). If you read two, make it Mistborn and Warbreaker.

The cities of Idris and Hallendren have been on the brink of war for years. The king of Idris, hoping to stave off the impending conflict, sends his young and unrefined daughter Siri to marry the enigmatic God-King of Hallendren. Hallendren is a world unlike anything Siri has experienced in her young life. The women wear revealing clothing, colors of all hues abound, men and women deal in breath and returned Gods live on high above all. Siri’s eldest sister, Vivenna, follows Siri in hopes of rescuing her from this blasphemous land and the evil God-King, but she is pulled into a war of her own where she strives to save her fellow Idrians from almost certain slaughter.

Brandon Sanderson is well known for his complex magic systems and in Warbreaker he delivers once again this time with the concept of Biochromatic breath. What is Biochromatic breath you ask? Every person is born with breath and they have the ability to give their breath to another person. Once someone accumulates enough breath they can combine color and breath to bring the inanimate to life. The rules are complex, but part of the fun of Sanderson novels is learning the ins and outs of the magic system.

Warbreaker delivers on all levels with deep likable characters, a fantastical world unlike any you have read about before and a magic system that will in the very least provide countless hours of confusion. Highly recommended!

I had mixed feelings for this, as I loved Elantris, and the first Mistborn book... but by the last Mistborn book Sanderson was almost added to my "Never read anything by this author again, EVER!" list. (I like happy endings.)

The beginning of the book wasn't that gripping, for me. We start off in one characters viewpoint, then jump right away to someone else's.

It's a tad jarring, and the first character just wasn't working for me.

After we meet Siri and Lightsong, though, things start picking up. Like most Sanderson books, there's almost constant switching of veiwpoints. This technique really works for me, as it allows you to get to know multiple characters. It's just about the only way you can do that, now that omniscient point of view is considered a big no-no. Another plus, is that you're not stuck inside the head of a character you don't like for too long. Case in point, I couldn't stand most of the Vivernia scenes (until almost the end). My wife, on the other hand, thought she was one of the best characters.

There's also a lot of quotable dialog in this book:

"There's one thing I haven't figured out. How juggling lemons fits into all this."

"What in the name of you are you doing?"

... and tons more.

The ending is where I think this book really shines. There's a whole bunch of twists in the story that seem to come out of nowhere, but the more you think about them, you can see the clues were there from the beginning.

This was my introduction to Brandon Sanderson, and I couldn't be more impressed. I have been wanting to try the Mistborn series on audio, but there's always a long waiting list for it at the library. But this one was available, so I thought why not?

What a fantastic writer he is and what a wonderful, well-developed world he created. There are so many layers of development and imagination and innovation here, it's hard to know where to start. His magic system--based on breaths (souls)--was delightful and fresh. The whole economy and governance of the world, the history of the realms, the strength and transformation of the characters, the twists and surprises of the plot...all were terrific. I honestly didn't know how the book was going to end, though when I got to it, I saw that he'd laid the groundwork for it already.

I'm a believer now!

I am convinced Brandon Sanderson can do no wrong. He is a genius when it comes to building creative worlds and magic systems, as well as interesting, likable characters (bonus: complex female characters), and engaging plots with twists and turns. Warbreaker is one of his lesser known works, but it still blew me away. It focused on the politics between two nations about to go to war, and the people who want to stop the war. It mainly follows two princesses - both of which go through some of the best character development I've ever seen - a lesser god with a fantastic sense of humor, and a mysterious warrior with a talking sword. It's hard to explain, but it was just one of those stories that you fall right into, right until the end. Definitely a favorite.

Warbreaker was one of my birthday presents, and I was really excited to read it. It's interesting that I read this book right after Elantris, because they have a lot of the same concepts. Men undergoing a transformation and being deified, and a princess being promised to a royal of a neighbouring kingdom in a political move. I thought Brandon Sanderson was being a bit repetitive (although he takes the concepts in very different directions in both books), but it was deliberate; he wanted to explore concepts that came up in Elantris, but couldn't due to the direction of the story.

Warbreaker follows two Idrian princesses, Siri and Vivenna. Vivenna has been promised to Susebron, the God King of neighbouring Hallendren, in the hopes that it would avert a war, and she has been studying and preparing for this all her life. However, at the last minute, her father cannot bear to part with her, and instead sends her sister Siri. Vivenna is outraged and goes on an unauthorised mission to rescue her younger sister from her fate. We also follow Lightsong, a Returned god of Hallendren who doesn't believe he is a god, and the mysterious Vasher and his sentient sword, Nightblood.

As usual, there is a lot of political intrigue and sudden plot twists that make an amazing amount of sense in retrospect, but which I never saw coming. Siri and Vivenna are very different from each other (and from all the other Sanderson female protagonists), and both very likeable. Lightsong reminded me a bit of Oscar Wilde's lazy and frivolous protagonists, but of course he's curious underneath it all. (I loved the revelation of who he was before he Returned.) Vasher is gruff and mysterious, but definitely an interesting person to follow.

I don't really have much to say about the book - I was too immersed in the world to think about why I loved it, but I definitely loved it.

One cool thing about Warbreaker is that it is available for free on Brandon Sanderson's website, as well as all his previous drafts of the book. This is a really cool, especially for people who want to write books. He also has annotations for each chapter. All of this is available at his Warbreaker portal.

Sanderson never disappoints. If you're looking for a fun, well thought-out story then look no further than his work. I think that with Sanderson's Mistborn books, they were elevated to a five star rating, rather than four, by their plot. However with Warbreaker I think it was the characters that earned it it's five star rating. I love Lightsong and Llarimar's relationship, Vasher is enigmatic and extremely interesting, even Vivenna turned out to be a character I got invested in. Mix all of those characters into an intriguing plot and a typically climactic Sanderson-ending, and you have a very good book. Read it.

I highly recommend this book. I thoroughly enjoy Brandan Sanderson's work. I think he has brought a breath of fresh air to the Fantasy genre. He manages to make highly complex and unique words filled with interesting characters. This book is no exception. I would not classify Sanderson to be the greatest writer but when it comes to plots and finishing a story I always feel satisfied with the conclusions of his stories and once again this book is no exception. I have at this point talked more about the author than the book but I do so, so you are aware that I might rate things perhaps a bit higher than other people would with his work. This book starts out somewhat slow and you wonder if you want to keep reading, but it is just interesting enough for you to say sure and boy was I glad I finished this book. It was almost like an emotional roller coaster and I found myself rapidly hitting the next button on my eReading device. Some of the characters names are a bit confusing and keeping track of certain characters seems odd but in the end it all wraps together very well and you find that there was a method to the madness in the story. If you're looking for a more light-hearted fantasy with fun and adventure bundled with charm I don't believe you can do better than this book.

This book is on the Green Embers' Recommended List.

Growing up, I hated to read. It's only been in the last three years that I started to really enjoy it. Now I try and read a book every week. Like many people, I keep of journal of what I've read and Brandon Sanderson's "Warbreaker" is novel number 167 for me. Not only do I record the books that I read, but I also rate them on a scale of one to ten. Of all of the books I've read, I've only given three books a perfect ten. Warbreaker is number four.

This book is perfect. The setting for the story feels real, the characters are great, the magic system seems totally natural, and the twists and turns throughout the story keep you guessing. This book is a beautiful mixture of a fantasy, political thriller, action / adventure, and a comming of age story. The short synopsis is that two neighboring kingdoms hold a tenuous peace. One is forced to provide a queen for the other and when they do, the new queen's older sister sets out on a journey to rescue her little sister from the evil god king of Hallendren. Behind the scenes, all is not what it seems at the palace of the god king as someone plots to undermine and overthrow him. Also involved in the story are returned "gods", mercinaries, lifeless armies, and a sentient sword.

This book is fairly long, but I finished it in a week because I simply couldn't put it down. I recommend this book without hesitation. It's an amazing read. A perfect 10.

Like some of his other books, I had a little bit of a hard time understanding the magic system. I was like "breaths? HUH?" for quite a few pages. This was the first Sanderson book I read after hearing about him through Wheel of Time, and at the time (I read this a couple years ago) I was not impressed. I have since changed my opinion of the author, but not so of this book. Here's why:

I didn't connect with the characters. They were interesting, sure, but felt a little cliche to me at times. The perfect older sister, the wild younger one, the ever-mysterious godking (I forget what he is called in this one)...you get the picture. I don't know in what order he wrote his books, but this one felt...young. Unpolished. Un-Sanderson, knowing what I know now. But I did give it 4 stars, so let's move on to what was good about it.

While the magic was a little weird to me, it was completely new and didn't remind me of some other book like so many fantasies do today. I have to give the author credit for his consistently new and unique magics.

The plot itself included a twist that I didn't guess, though ultimately it ended a little too "happy ever after" for me. Like I said, this book is not my favorite of his, but it wasn't all together terrible enough for me not to recommend it. I think honestly I would give this 3.5 stars, but since I'm overall a Sanderson fan, I'll round it up :)

What I liked best about Warbreaker are the characters. They are neither boring or over-the-top. What surprised me the most was the amount of humor in this book. Dialogue between the two mercenaries and a certain "lazy" god and his high priest are just plain hilarious and they were at times so funny that I actually laughed out loud while reading! While the story of Warbreaker is not necessarily gritty or depressing, the humor was well placed and something I could not get enough of. I was sad to find out that the humor got toned down towards the later section of the book.

Now, I understand that there will be despair in any given book. It allows you to feel sorry for a certain character. However, I never tend to like it when authors portray too much despair in any given characters no matter good or evil. It's not that I don't believe a character should not suffer but spending too much time writing about how pathetic a character feels about themselves or how they should have done things differently and now regrets it or how they feel so helpless in a given situation is a bore to read in my honest opinion. I got a little upset when Brandon Sanderson did this to Vivenna. I understood why she has despair but I felt that the author spent just a tad too much time reinforcing that point and could have used those wasted pages to have her do something useful instead.

One element that I don't mind missing in a book, especially if the story itself is superb, is the action. There's not a whole lot of that going on here and it was a little shocking to me because I thought the magic system in Warbreaker had a lot of potential for the author to craft up some awesome fight scenes. Granted, things do heat up towards the end but at that point, the action felt tacked on. But like I said, the story itself should be compelling enough to captivate a reader. There is a reason why so many people love the A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy novels and I assure you those books lack any type of John Woo choreographer fight scenes!

The ending, in my eyes, felt a little rushed and not that much fleshed out. This was the most disappointing part. The ending made sense but I was disappointed in how the author brought the book to a close. In the end, I feel that Warbreaker is an outstanding fantasy stand-alone book and I'm sure a lot of readers in this genre knows how hard it is to find those. I don't, however, believe that this is one of Brandon Sanderson's best work.

This is the second of Sanderson's books that I've read, after the author was recommended to me by a fellow lover of fantasy. I'll say what I liked first. I loved the system of magic in this book -- it was fun and had enough of a history to be very interesting, but it wasn't the main focus of the book, nor was it necessary for characters in the book to be good at the system of magic to have power. Those last 2 things are usually major failings in most fantasy: a lot of times, learning the system of magic and improving upon it is one of the main goals of a fantasy book (typically with the main character surprising everyone with how powerful s/he is), and often people who don't have the magic can't wield any sort of real power because of how much more powerful the magic makes you.

I also liked how clear the prose was. I didn't have to confusedly flip back constantly to reread passages to figure out what was going on. Everything was introduced at a logical time in a logical manner. Characters behaved as I thought they should, and most of the plot twists and secrets were shocking. I wasn't a huge fan of some of the dialogue, especially between Lightsong and everyone else -- some of his jokes were too childish and/or corny for me.

Probably the plot element I liked most about Warbreaker was the descriptions of religion and their places in history. Nothing felt made up or convenient or silly. Although I've only now read 2 of his books, I think I can say that Sanderson typically does a good job with the religions in his books. Nothing is ever 100% confirmed that the religion is "real" or entirely what it seems within the fantasy worlds he creates, but since the stories he writes are about the people in them, it doesn't ever really matter.

What kept me from giving this a 4 star review, unfortunately, is the same thing that kept me from giving Elantris a 4 star review. Again, I still didn't feel deeply for the characters as I do with other fantasy authors. There is something about the way Sanderson writes that makes me feel removed from the characters themselves, like I'm only hearing a very entertaining tale about each of them, without actually getting inside their heads and hearts. As stated, it's entertaining and fun to read, but I want to know the characters more than I did.

Blushweaver, especially, struck me as a shallow, convenient character. She was simply a plot device to get Lightsong involved in the action...She was completely unnecessary, and she wasn't even what everyone said she was. Everyone -- Lightsong, the high priests, the other gods -- seemed to see her as this good person who portrayed herself as a shallow, vain woman, but had some kind of depths that you were supposed to see if you got close to her. I saw none of this. Nothing in her personality suggested she was a good person. She wasn't really a villain, but she never seemed to have any other motivations than her own amusement. She didn't seem to have any real motives or goals, and was just a flat, terrible character. I was very disappointed in Blushweaver, and although she was only a minor character, the presence of such a meaningless plot device of a character makes me not want to read any more of Sanderson's work.

In short, while the story was entertaining enough to get 3 stars, if you read fantasy for the characters, Sanderson does not deliver. I'd recommend it for a fun, fluffy read, but not if you want to lose yourself by diving into something deep.

Brandon Sanderson is perhaps best known for (aside from finishing the Wheel of Time) his original and innovative magic systems. His latest novel, WARBREAKER, continues that trend.

Color (as in dyes, etc) is power. A person's breath lets them breathe life to inanimate objects. A talking sword begs to kill things. Sound like an intriguing set of magic systems? It should. WARBREAKER essentially starts with the wrong, untrained daughter of a king, Siri, being sent to another country to prevent a war from breaking. A great start to a great novel. The writing, like usual is top-notch. The magic (as mentioned) is imaginative.

Yet, while I found myself engrossed in the world created in WARBREAKER, it's not to say it didn't have a few...shortcomings. I like my epic fantasy gritty and dark. I love action--this novel had a ton of people standing around talking. I do like a little humor, but I prefer it to have its place with certain characters, and only in certain situations. If I want humor everywhere, we pick up a Terry Pratchett book or a Douglas Adams novel. In WARBREAKER, it seems like everyone is trying to be witty. I enjoy it with the character Lightsong. It has some funny moments with the mercenaries. But it seems like everyone wants to be the king/queen of the witty quip. It's not a bad thing, just not what I personally prefer. Also, it it suffers from not having a satisfyingly stand-alone ending. It is in need of a sequel, which we won't be seeing any time soon.

WARBREAKER is more light-hearted than I typically enjoy, but it was still an excellent novel. This is a fantastic work that appeals to a huge audience. I felt his MISTBORN series was superior in terms of story, pacing, and character. WARBREAKER, however, is much better written than any of Sanderson's prior work.

If you haven't read this one yet, or you are just waiting for Sanderson's next novel THE WAY OF KINGS, then this book will definitely tie you over.

Recommended Age: 13 and up
Language: If there was any, I don't remember it.
Violence: There is some, but this is more a novel about political intrigue. Though the sword is pretty awesomely violent.
Sex: Yes and no. Hard to describe it without having a spoiler. What little there is has been handled tastefully, and has purpose.

Most of this book gets three stars from me, but the ending gets a solid five.

I found the magic system creative and fascinating. Essentially, each normal person is born with a single Breath, which is like a life force, that be given away at will. With many Breaths, a person can invest Breaths into inanimate objects to give those objects a usually-temporary life guided by given commands. Transferring Breath requires drawing some sort of power out of colors in the world. Thus, magic requires a command, color, and Breath. I would have liked the author to explain WHY the magic system works, i.e., how color and Breath are intrinsically related to each other so as to awaken otherwise inanimate objects. But despite this omission, I was easily able to suspend disbelief and see the beauty and creativity of the magic system.

The perspective of the book switched between that of four different characters, Siri, Vivenna, Vasher, and Lightsong. I connected with Siri immediately, and I always wanted to know what would happen to her next. Vasher was immediately interesting, but his character's motivations were not explained until the end of the book. As a result, I did not really connect with him. I wish that the author had given me more hints as to Vasher's motivations. He was too much of a mystery, to such a degree that it was difficult to relate to him. Lightsong was entertaining from the beginning, but his purpose in the book (understandably) was not revealed until the end. So as with Vasher, it was difficult for me to connect with Lightsong and to care about his goings-on, however amusing those goings-on were. Vivenna was just boring for most of the book. I understood her from the beginning, and I found it pretty easy to predict how her character would develop throughout the book. She never surprised me, and, were it not for her interactions with Vasher, I might have preferred to see her perspective eliminated from the book altogether.

At the end of the book, I understood the usage of the shifting-perspective, but throughout the book, I just wanted to read more about Siri. I found myself repeatedly flipping forward to determine when I would see Siri again. At many times, it was a chore to wade through the other characters' stories to get back to Siri. Thankfully, Vasher and Lightsong were entertaining enough to make the waiting somewhat enjoyable, even though I was not truly invested in their stories.

The bulk of the book dragged for me occasionally, as I waited to return to Siri's story. It was clear that the four main characters were involved in the same issues, and I assumed that they would all affect one another directly eventually. In the end, the story and characters came together beautifully. To avoid spoilers, I will not discuss the details of the ending in this review (and if I did, I likely wouldn't do it justice), but it was certainly worth the wait. The ending was truly masterful.

Imagine being able to take a piece of your soul and use it to manipulate the fabric of the world around you; from augmenting your strength, to animating the inanimate to creating an army of 40,000 lifeless zombies.

Such is the magical system of Sanderson's Warbreaker . A tale of two exiled royal sisters Vivenna and Siri, one of whom must marry the Returned (resurrected) God King.

It's a tale of two cultures, one austere the other flamboyant, one that delights in the ability to use BioChromatic magic, one that see's it as an abomination.

These two cultures are set on a path to war, the sisters must stop it. Help as well as hindrance will come from strange quarters, and if you thought the politics of humans was internecine, they have nothing on the gods.

Thumbs Up?
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Sanderson is to be applauded for giving us, once again a detailed and unique magic system that is entwined into the very fabric of the story, rather than a tacked on after thought.

The concept of BioChromatic magic- a magic that comes from the Breath, a transference of a soul like power into inanimate or dead objects, is brilliant. The way that it manifests, draining the colour from objects it's stored in, or enhancing the vision, taste and feel of those that hold more than one Breath, makes for some stunning imagery.

The depiction of two strong female protagonists in Siri and Vivenna was also a welcome inclusion, even better though was that their strength was for the most part displayed through non violent means. Not all strong female heroes need to be Xena.

The use of Breath as currency, or a commodity to be bought and sold, the symbiotic relationship between Gods and their followers was, dare I say it a breath of fresh air.

The world of Warbreaker is definitely not your traditional fantasy setting.

Thumbs down?
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And that for me was part of its undoing. Front loaded with gorgeous world building and detailed description of the workings and logic of the magic system, the pace of Warbreaker doesn't pick up until about page 400.

There is enough information within the book to easily background a trilogy, but the end of Warbreaker sees a fairly solid resolution that doesn't require another book. I can't but feel that the book should have been shorter and more succinct or spread out over two or three books.

The theological banter and witty repartee between the god Lightsong and whoever he chose to inflict his wit on, also began to grate on me. The dialogue in the later began to feel overdone, while my irritation with the former might just be my increasing impatience with theological waffle in reality.

Verdict
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The last third of the novel saves it. Sanderson creates a wonderfully intricate society and magic system, slowly moving the plot forward for 400 pages and then bam it's all over. If you have the stamina it's worth hanging in until the last third of the book.

This book was provided by the publisher at no cost to myself

As I have readily admitted before, I am a huge fan of Mr. Sanderson. I have stood in line to get his autograph and have purchased every book he has written. (That's my disclaimer.)

So... what does a Sanderson fan think of this Warbreaker book? I really enjoyed it. One of the most intriguing things about how Sanderson writes is that he sees magic as a 'system'. Much as the real world we live in is ruled by physics. These new worlds he creates have different physics. Different ways to live, die, and change your fortune. This allows him to craft a unique story where he can provide storylines that seem familiar, yet are different enough to keep the reader interested.

In Warbreaker, Sanderson has built a magic system based on 'breaths'. This seems pretty strange at first, but once you get to understand how it works, the story takes over. The story is really all about how different classes of people get along and how government has to deal with the unintended consequences of their actions. It is a very interesting spin on the political thriller.

The weakness in this novel and why I have only rated it 4 out of 5 stars, is that it takes a little too long for the story to get going. This new magic system and world take up a lot of the reading just trying to understand the histories and conflicts. Once you're inside the palace, the story really picks up. All the way to a good conclusion.

Pros:
o excellent new world with new magic system
o different twist on political intrigue
o Sanderson's style of writing always make his books easy to read

Cons:
o takes a bit of ramping up to get going

Overall - I recommend this book to all fantasy fans. It is not often that we get a good stand-alone book where you don't have to wait a decade for the story to be concluded.

This is the second of Brandon Sanderson's books I've read, after _Mistborn_, and in terms of prose _Warbreaker_ is much stronger. My biggest complaint about _Mistborn_ was the wooden, clunky writing especially present in its first few chapters. _Warbreaker_ is solid and competent from the prologue on to the end. That's not much to get excited about if this is your first Sanderson; he outshines many of his fellow writers when it comes to *ideas*, but still not so much mechanical skill; the improvement bodes well for his future projects, though, and the originality for which Sanderson is best known shines through in _Warbreaker_'s intricate magical system.

The story begins in Hallandren, a country on the brink of war with its neighbor Idris, and is told through four major viewpoints: mysterious Vasher, Princess Siri of Idris, her elder sister Vivenna, and Lightsong the Bold, a god of the Hallandren pantheon. The plot is full of political maneuvering to either stop or control the Hallandren/Idris war. Sometimes it gets confusing--who wants what to happen, and why? It's confusing for the characters too, and begs the question: why is war looming when neither side wants to fight?

I don't think the book is carried by its magic system, but BioChroma and the Hallandren religion make the setting wonderfully vivid and fresh. I can't imagine what it would be like to have a dozen gods living in your city where you can go and see them. The Returned gods are almost more like pampered pets than anything--no wonder Lightsong has a hard time believing in his divinity. BioChroma, the magic of color, works in a wonderfully different way from Allomancy or any other system I could name offhand. It's fueled by something essential to the soul--not the Awakener's soul, but the souls of others, who've sold or given away their magical essence. People can buy other people's Breaths for money and this is *normal*.

For its lush setting, solid writing, creative magic, and interesting plot, I'd recommend _Warbreaker_. Yet... when I read _Mistborn_, I started out disappointed and finished delighted. In _Warbreaker's_ case I enjoyed the whole thing, mostly, but it left a slightly sour aftertaste.

Character banter is the worst problem. See, it's meant to be lighthearted and funny. And in some cases it is, like in many of the conversations between Lightsong and Llarimar, Lightsong and Siri, or Lightsong and anyone who's not Blushweaver, basically. I'm pretty sure you could cut most of Blushweaver's scenes and lose nothing of value. Denth and Tonk Fah are supposedly amusing mercenaries, but they were more tiresome than anything to me, and that's almost as detrimental to Vivenna's plot as her perplexing naivete. (If she's trained her entire life to serve her country's interests from the center of a highly political enemy nation, how can deceit, corruption, and cynicism be foreign concepts to her?) Half the plotlines are damaged by too much 'witty' dialogue. I wish Lightsong's line wasn't one of them because he's the most compelling Sanderson character I've seen yet.

Honestly, though, it's worth it to ride the banter out. So much else about the book is rewarding, and it moves quickly for its length.

This is one of the best books I've read. It's written from several points of view, but the main characters are two royal sisters. The older one, Vivenna, has been raised as a "princess." She knows about politics, etiquette, and has always accepted her fate. There is a middle sister, but she isn't important. The third sister, Siri, has always been wild. Siri doesn't want to be a princess, she wants to run wild. Their country is called Idris. A second country, Hallandren, is the "enemy" of Idris. The countries have viewed each other as adversaries for a long time, but no war has broken out. An agreement between Hallandren and Idris was made several years ago, and, as part of the bargain Idris has to give one of their princesses to the Hallandren king as a bride. Vivenna knows this will happen to her, she has been tutored about Hallandren and what her duties will be. However, the king decides that he loves Vivenna to much to send her away to, what they regard as a "heathen and terrible" king. Instead, he sends wild Siri, who is devastated. Soon Siri begins to love life in Hallandren, she even begins to like the king! Vivenna, on the other hand, feels totally jipped. She goes to Hallandren to try to rescue Siri from the unthinkable. In Hallandren, both sisters find that intrigue, romance, and desperation. Both sisters have to do what previously they would have considered terrible. Both find that in politics, they are mere beginners.

I loved this book because the ending is surprising, the writing is wonderful, and the plot is amazing. For those of you looking for a romantic fantasy book, this isn't for you. Also, if you hate even the mention of a kiss, this book won't work for you. But for anybody inbetween, this has the right amount of romance. The magic in the land is very well explained, and I like that it's not technically magic, but a sort of a science. Not that I'm comparing it to a high-science sort of book, like Artemis Fowl. It seemed to be set in the equivalent of the 1500s through 1800s, I'm not really sure. The politics and the struggle for humanity was superbly written, there was also funny bits. One of the best things was learning you can't trust the people you thought you could, and learning that even the most respected people had to do bad things to stay respected.

All in all, I would recommend this book for anybody between 12 and 18, although older people might enjoy too.

I've been a fan of Sanderson since I read Mistborn. He took what some might call a trite concept (a Oceans 11 criminal gang pulling off a big score) and somehow turned it into an epic fantasy that compressed into a single book what it would have taken, say, Robert Jordan 20,000 pages to finish.

Warbreaker was something of an experiment - Sanderson posted drafts of it online, free for anyone to read. As time went on and he posted more versions online, fans of his could see how the book evolved and came together, which was not only a Very Cool Thing for an author to do, since he made the book available for free, but also very fascinating for anyone interested in the process of writing. He did something similar for Mistborn - the Mistborn Prime early draft - but he never made it publicly available since it was so different (and rough) that he worried it would have an effect sort of similar to the early leak of the Wolverine movie.

Since I've read the drafts of Warbreaker before, it's hard to approach it with a review from a fresh perspective, so I'll just summarize my thoughts on the book and say that like all of Sanderson's fantasy works, he has a very interesting world developed, with good characterization and a unique magic system - this one based on colors as much as Mistborn's was based on metals.

The sarcastic side of me wonders if his next book will have a magic system based on smell. =)

But yeah, I can't recommend his fiction highly enough. Plus, he's a really nice guy.

First, let me say that I love Sanderson. This book is one of his best and my personal favorite for many reasons.
First, let's start with the characters. They each have their own distinct personalities and get their own arc, as to be expected. What makes the so fun, however is not just their personalities but moreso their interactions with each other, with special mention going to Lightsong, my personal favorite of the ensemble and Vivenna, who gets some serious development.
The plot is somewhat cliche, but as to be expected from Sanderson, he plays around with the whole "tensions rise between kingdoms" and plays it very well.
And, of course, there's the magic, Awakening. Like with all of his works, Awakening is distinct and fleshed out while still remaining mysterious.
I don't want to give away too many details because this is a book you should experience for yourself. I highly recommend it for anyone who wants something fun, or really just likes reading.

The first book I read by Brandon Sanderson was The Final Empire, which led into the other Mistborn books, and then into his other stuff. This one is, without a doubt, my personal favorite.

I really loved the magic system - the mix of color and 'breath' into a magic system that does not resemble anything I have ever read or dreamed of before. (Mr. Sanderson seems very skilled at coming up with a new magic system in every single one of his 'worlds'). I also loved the Returned and seeing them in action.

I really liked the character of Lightsong, I liked his cleverness, and his observations about the world. I really didn't see his actions at the end - although I should have. I was sad to see him go, but it really did make sense.

I do have to say I was a little disappointed at how quickly it ended. I am left to wonder: what happened next? What does Susebron do now that he has his tongue back? Does he continue as the God King, or does he and Siri leave like Siri had suggested earlier in the book? And what happens to the infant Returned, if the God King is "retired" whenever an infant Returns?

Hopefully these questions will be answered in a sequel, but I believe Warbreaker was meant to stand alone, so I guess I'll have to come up with my own ending to that story.

Brandon Sanderson Warbreaker is yet another strong showing from the author of the highly recommended Mistborn series and the stand-alone Elantris. Though not without flaws, the book's problems are more than outweighed by its strengths, making it a highly enjoyable read.

Like his previous novels, Sanderson introduces a unique kind of magic, known as BioChromatic magic, as the underpinning of his story. Each person is born with a single "Breath," which can be bought, sold, or given away freely (it cannot be taken). Having multiple Breaths allows someone to perform limited magic through a combination of spending Breath, leaching color from objects, and reciting Commands. One can, for example, imbue objects with a form of life by filling a rope with Breath and commanding it to hold a person. It costs a certain amount of Breath to perform certain acts (think spell points or mana) and there are rules regarding if/when one can recover spent Breaths. Accumulating more Breath makes you more powerful and nobody has more Breaths than the god-king of Hallandren, who has 50, 000 as a result of a royal legacy and being "fed" breaths given by willing citizens.

There is also a special group known as Returned--people who have died and come back with a single, powerful Breath. They will "consume" that single breath in week and die again, but if they are fed extra breaths, they can live off of those instead, saving their single Returned Breath, which has power to heal, though if they use it or give it away they will die. In Hallandren, the Returned are considered gods. They live pampered, ageless lives in a compound with the god-king, and are petitioned by the people to use their divine breath on the petitioner's behalf (some gods in fact do so, killing themselves as a result).
The "war" in Warbreaker is looming between Hallandren and Idris, a highlands country founded centuries ago by the then-royal family of Hallandren, their rule ended by Kalad the Usurper. Hallandren has long viewed Idris as a "rebel" land and tensions have been increasing for some time and attempts to either prevent war or hasten it are what drive most of the plot. The precipitating event is the coming-of-age of Vivenna, a princess of Idris contracted to become the God-king's wife when she turned 22. But rather than send Vivenna, the king of Idris sends his other daughter Siri--his impetuous, rebellious, "useless" daughter.

After a few short scenes in Idris, the rest of the action takes place in Hallandren's capitol city. Siri arrives and takes her place in the gods' compound as wife to the God-king (who comes with some surprises of his own), and soon becomes enmeshed in court intrigue between the god-king and his hierarchy of priests, as well as in the politics of the impending war. Meanwhile, Vivenna, unbeknownst to Siri, also arrives in the city, ostensibly to rescue Siri but equally because her whole life she'd prepared to be the God-king's wife as sacrifice for her people and with that taken away she'd lost her sense of self. While Siri tries to survive in the isolated compound, Vivenna, aided by a pair of mercenaries, works the city streets, trying to disrupt Hallandren's ability to wage war and rally to her side the extensive expatriate population of Idrians that make up much of the city's underclass.

Another major character is Lightsong, one of Hallandren's Returned gods. Lightsong has always believed in doing as little as possibly and doing what little one must do as unseriously as possible. The aforementioned events, though, along with several others (his attempted recruitment into politics by Blushweaver, another god; a series of nightmares, a murder in the compound, and the possible resurfacing of fragmented memories of his past life) threaten to turn him unwillingly into a person of importance. Finally, there is the mysterious character whose scene opens the novel--Vasher, a man well-versed in BioChromatic magic who carries with him a black sword that causes almost all to hold it to kill anyone around them and then themselves.

The major strength of the book is its characterization, with each of the three major characters--Siri, Vivenna, and Lightsong changing dramatically as the story progresses. Siri must grow beyond the silly, irresponsible, "useless" second daughter she had been back in Idris. Vivenna must find a new path once the one she'd aimed at all her life was suddenly removed, and she finds that she knew neither Hallandren nor herself as well as she thought she did. And Lightsong, as much as fights it, finds himself turning into someone serious. More impressively, Sanderson's minor characters are almost all equally well-drawn, including Blushweaver, the goddess who first tries to pry Lightsong from his irrelevancy; Denth, one of the two mercenaries working with Vivenna; and even characters who barely make an appearance, such as Vivenna's friend Parlin or the goddess Allmother have their sharply drawn moments.

Another major plus is the humor laced throughout the book, with Lightsong and his long-suffering priest Llarimar, and Denth and his partner Tonk Fah, acting almost as a pair of comic duos. Comedy isn't easy to pull off, and in much fantasy it's either sorely lacking or feels forced, but here it is actually funny and falls naturally into the characters' personas. Even better are the times it serves more than the singular purpose of comic relief.

Then of course there's the story itself. It's a pleasure, first of all, to read a relatively original fantasy plot. No quest, no long journey, no dark lord, no band of underdogs, no battle scenes coming at regular spacings to lead up to the finale of a battle, no elegant elves or grumpy dwarves or sarcastic thieves. The whole premise is much the antithesis of much fantasy as it's about preventing a war rather than winning one. The canvas is smaller, as are the actions of the characters (meetings and conversations for the most part rather than sword-swinging and city-taking), but it doesn't lack for tension. There are several twists, some of which sharp-eyed readers might see coming but even ones that were a bit heavily foreshadowed don't lack for enjoyable revelation. And there are several honestly powerful emotional moments. It's a plot that keeps you interested throughout and throws you off-stride enough to keep it fresh throughout. Finally with regard to the plot, once again, it's simply a pleasure to read a self-contained one. Sanderson clearly points toward a second book but one feels quite happily satisfied with the resolution at the end here. So much so that one needn't read the second, though I'd assume most will want to based on how good Warbreaker is.

As mentioned at the top, it isn't a flawless book. Despite the time spent on the BioChromatic magic, I never really felt I had a strong, concrete handle on it, certainly nowhere near the understanding I felt I had with regard to allomancy in the Mistborn series. This was true both of the system/powers itself and the way it works in the general economy. This despite a few heavy info-dumps that were sprinkled into the text. Granted, one of the characters most well-versed in it says there is much more unknown than known about the system, and there is the probability that more will be explained in the second book, but that line felt a bit more like a CYA line or placeholder line than an honest explanation. But while it's a bit nagging of a flaw throughout, and especially at one point when a character seems to reveal a different and much stronger use of the power than I would have guessed was allowed, it never hinders enjoyment of the story, and I'm willing to grant Sanderson some leeway in return for coming up with yet another original magic system as opposed to the same old same old. Character--wise, I would have liked to have seen Siri take more time to get her feet under her; she becomes a bit too good too quickly for my liking. And I could have done with less of Vivenna's interior monologues on how she's changing, mostly because Sanderson had done a good enough job in showing us that; we didn't need her telling us quite so much. And I wouldn't have minded seeing more gods, the few we did see were so sharply drawn and interesting in their own right. I thought it also would have been nice to see what was going on in Idris or at least to hear somehow what was happening there. Another relatively minor flaw was that characters seemed a bit less knowledgeable about history and BioChromatics than I would have expected given the relatively short historical time period this all developed (roughly 300 years).

Finally, the ending felt rushed to me, wrapped up a bit too quickly (I can't say neatly as we left it so abruptly that I'm not sure it was all wrapped up neatly). And I've never been a fan of the epilogue, especially when it's of the expository here's-some-info-that-will-help-explain-what-really-happened sort.

The funny thing is, most of these flaws could have been taken care of with a slightly longer book. It isn't often that I'm clamoring for a fantasy novel to be longer, usually just the opposite since so many can be so bloated, but I would have been more than happy to have spent another 100 pages in Sanderson's Warbreaker just to allow for slower, more full ending and a bit more characterization/explanation throughout.
If just about the worst you can say of a book is it wasn't long enough, the author is clearly doing something well. In Sanderson's case; it's nearly everything and the parts that don't quite measure up, as mentioned, really don't have much of a negative impact; the strengths far outweigh the weaknesses. I'm looking forward to what follows. Highly recommended.

It is no secret that I am a Brandon Sanderson fan. I loved his Mistborn series, and his standalone Elantris was also a thrill-ride. I may be a bit unfair towards Sanderson, but I've set the bar high for him and his work, and somehow he still manages to come through.

Warbreaker is an interesting and highly entertaining tale that I can easily recommend for the hardcore fantasy buff, the fledgling bird in the genre, or anyone looking for a story that'll keep you turning the pages. Vivenna is a beautiful, proper princess that has been engaged to the God King of Hallandren since infancy. This marriage is to end the growing tensions between the small nation of Idris and the pagan lands of Hallandren. Siri, the youngest daughter of the Idris royal family, is an obstinate trouble maker, spending her time doing whatever she pleases. Soon the time comes for Vivenna to be off to T'Telir and wed the vile God King, but not everything goes as planned...

Lightsong the Bold is a Returned god of Hallandren. He spends his days idly drinking and eating, getting into verbal conundrums, and trying to convince his high priest Llarimar that he is not a god. Despite his attempts, the people still worship him, petitioning to him and offering him elaborate gifts in hope of receiving a blessing. Something happens in the Court of Gods and Lightsong becomes fascinated, searching for clues, and stumbling into something greater...

Vasher is a mysterious and powerful figure. A strong Awakener, he never lacks Breath. His black sword, Nightblood, is even more mysterious than he is. Vasher's intentions are only known to him, but it's clear that he's after something grand...

The weaving of characters, ethnicity, and religion throughout this book was gracefully done and masterfully written. The religious system involving colors was unique and completely believable. Like metals were to Mistborn, colors are to Warbreaker, and I found this fascinating.

Though I really enjoyed the book, there were parts that I found tedious and eye-rolling. For the most part, I did not like the character Lightsong. His constant banter and flippant mannerisms had me bored from early on, and I wish this character would have been developed a bit differently. Sure, some of it was funny, and most of it was very clever, but I grew bored of constantly listening to him whine/speak.

In the end, Warbreaker was a great book to read and finish off the year with. By the time I reached the end, I really wanted more pages to read, and that is a good thing. While not up to par with Mistborn (few things are), it was better in some ways than Elantris and worse in others. (That is not to say that Elantris is bad by any means.) If you're looking for a thought-provoking, entertaining fantasy novel, Brandon Sanderson's Warbreaker is it.

This is the best fantasy book that I read in 2009. Also, it easily makes the short list of my all-time favourite fantasy books.

The idea:
Imagine the world where the person's worth and status are determined by the amount of Breaths this person holds. One could be born with Breaths, buy them, steal them or take by force. By getting enough breaths, this person would also achieve various amazing abilities, starting with the ability to distinguish the nuances in colors and perfect pitch, all the way up to the ability to animate and command things, and even more ... all the way to being living god.

Plot
To me, this theological/ social system not only is fascinating by itself but also provides unlimited possibilities for the plot development. And, in my opinion, Sanderson used the full potential of it.
The story is non-stop action; plot twists are completely unpredictable, but very logical (in the back view mirror). Overall, for me, it was an incredible thrilling roller-coaster type read - sometimes scary, but always fun.

The characters

I loved all of them. Even the villains - may be, especially the villains, - because they were hiding this fact so well and actually acted as real people would act, given the circumstances. None of the characters was one-dimensional cartoon personage, every one was capable of making stupid mistake in one minute and performing heroic deed in the next one. I guess, this is part of something that's called "character development", often the missing element in fantasy books.
I also liked the fact that two out of four main characters are women. This is not unusual for Sanderson, and it provides for more balanced and interesting perspective, as compared to the "world through the man's eyes", typical for many fantasy books.

The ending
The last but not the least, the book is perfect as stand-alone novel; all gaps are closed and (almost) all mysteries are solved. At the same time, the opening for the sequel is there. And I really hope that Brian Sanderson allows the readers to meet these characters again.

On the other hand... if author's imagination allows him to create unique worlds in every book, I would like to travel to the next world, too!

Highly recommended to fantasy fans.

After reading the Mistborn trilogy I knew I had to explore more of Sanderson's work and ordered Elantris and Warbreaker before I even finished "Hero of the Ages". I have to admit I was expecting much of what I saw in Mistborn stylistically, boy was I surprised. Warbreaker is a real departure from the constant action of Mistborn and it is done extremely well. The majority of this book is centered around dialogue and it reads almost like a mystery novel set in a fantasy world. The characters all seemed to have such well-built personalities that I truly empathized with almost all of them. Although the story is serious and engaging I found myself literally laughing out loud at some of Lightsong's banter. There are a TON of twists and turns that keep the pages flipping and the clock ticking. I took this book on a 4 day hike and read all 650 pages in my down time, its that engaging.

I do have two (very) small complaints. First the inevitable epic climax of the book that everything was boiling towards seemed a little rushed to me. Not to say it was bad but it just seemed that Sanderson wrapped up things a little too quick. When 620 pages of questions and conflicts get resolved in around 30 pages it feels a little shallow (if that makes sense). It almost seemed like Sanderson had a page/word limit and suddenly found himself running out of space.
The second is that while the magic system is incredibly unique and intriguing the emphasis on political mystery left very little room for seeing the "Awakened" in action. There are a few scenes of magic in action but so much more could have been done. Fortunately the ending definitely leaves a nice opening for a sequel so hopefully we'll see more of breaths and colors in Sanderson's future.

Still, these two quirks and VASTLY overshadowed by the book's strengths and Warbreaker should be in every fantasy collection.

Spend any time talking fantasy with folks and you will inevitably come up with the name Brandon Sanderson. Over the past year or so, this is usually followed up by "Oh, the guy who's finishing Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time." The fact that such a statement is made should give you a good indication of his ability, but it also serves to overlook that Sanderson is a first-rate fantasy storyteller in his own right.

WARBREAKER, the latest epic from Sanderson, is another fine entry in his growing catalog of work. In this stand-alone volume, we follow the story of the sisters Vivienna and Siri, princesses of Idris. Vivienna is slated to marry the Susebron, the God King in the land of Hallandren, but at the last moment her father makes the decision to marry off Siri instead. Siri is told never to look Susebron in the eyes or touch him, and that she must yield to his will in all things.

Vivienna comes to Hallandren in an attempt to rescue Siri from her fate, falling in with mercenaries and brigands. In the slums and back alleys of the city, she is trapped in a vicious rivalry between the mysterious swordsman, Vasher, and the gang leader, Denth. Her safety is at far more risk than it would have been had she married Susebron, and a web of political subterfuge begins to become exposed, all leading to the God King at the core.

Perhaps the most intriguing character in WARBREAKER is Lightsong, one of the Returned. When people are killed in heroic acts, they are brought back to life as gods, to live amongst the mortals and act as models of power. With this new life comes the loss of the memory of the past: there is no telling who you were, what you did, or how you died. Lightsong does not believe his own press, so to speak, essentially refusing the deification bestowed upon him as a Returned, and he seeks answers to the questions about his past life. Sanderson has written him in a thoroughly engaging way, and readers will also want to know just who this man was, and his growth through the novel is great to behold.

WARBREAKER's other interesting element is its system of magic. In Sanderson's incredible world, color is magic. BioChromatic magic. Using an essence known as "breath," users can draw out power from other individuals, and power can also be pulled from colors in just about anything in the world. It is an interesting and well-defined system of magic that pays off with some incredible moments, and it is this "breath" that each person possesses that is one of the centerpieces in a long-standing dispute between Hallandren and Idris.

Though clocking in at nearly 600 pages, WARBREAKER is a roller-coaster ride. Readers will have the initial excitement and anxiety as the book opens and climbs toward its drop point. And when that point is reached, the story will fly. Twists and turns keep the excitement high, and the action is relentless. Sanderson has really delivered with a solid and intriguing novel full of magic and mayhem, and worthy of addition to your personal library.

--- Reviewed by Stephen Hubbard

All is not what it seems in Hallandren, Sanderson's highly imagined Kingdom that has been on the brink of war with its neighbor, Indris for generations. A Princess of Indris's hand in marriage has been promised to the God-King of Hallandren by treaty in order to avert or at least stay the war for a time. From the get go Warbreaker twists and turns all expectations on their head with its tightly woven plot as a reversal of roles happens again and again. Intricate politics, lazy gods, zombie-like soldiers, a magical sword with blood lust, and a damn-fine love story elevate Warbreaker into Epic Fantasy with an intimate feel. The characters start out a little too cliche, but they quickly develop into people you care for.

Warbreaker's greatest strengths are the incredible world building well-steeped in its mythology and Sanderson's flair for creating a wholly original magical system is unmatched with anything I've read in recent years. BioChromatic magic or breaths is the ability for one to impart a piece of themselves onto an object to animate it. I was disappointed a little that the magic system didn't have more to do with color, but the gathering of breaths and the way they are used more than made up for my preconceived notions. I also enjoyed the so-called Gods a lot, especially Lightsong as I couldn't wait for his snarky perspective to pop in.

A surprisingly quick read at nearly 600 pages when I got to page 500 I didn't know how everything could be tied-up in less than 100 pages, yet somehow Sanderson manages to bring it together without leaving much open and all the major plot threads are answered. The only thing that bothered me a little was guessing early what would happen with the God King near the end. Some Fantasy readers may be disappointed that more action doesn't happen as giant battles are not the du jour, but rather more of the sneak, slash, and run variety.

This is my first Sanderson read, but it certainly will not be the last. Sanderson has managed the amazing feat of making classic-style Epic Fantasy new to me again. I give Warbreaker 9 out of 10 Hats. Although written as a standalone Sanderson has left the well open for much more and he has indicated he is probably not done with this world. A follow-up may be years off since he has to finish WOT and he just signed a 5 book deal for his next big Epic Fantasy series. Warbreaker is Epic Fantasy at its finest and I'll be there for a second helping when it is served.

"Warbreaker" by Brandon Sanderson

The story follows two sisters, Vivenna and Siri. Both royalty from one kingdom, who are thrust into another kingdom during a time of major political upheaval. They both have to struggle as their cultures, morals, and ideals are all twisted and turned inside out. They are forced to view their old kingdom and this new one in a different light from what they'd always been told, and decide what to believe, and who's side they really are on and why. Through all this both girls grow and change in their new environments, realizing that not everything is as it seems and you can't trust anyone!

Sanderson's LDS (Mormon) upbringing really shines in this novel, particularly from the girl's perspective and their obsession with maintaining modesty. He's spoken of this before in his podcast "Writing Excuses" and it's very understandable that ones religious views would make it into a novel like this.

Because of that I have have to give kudos pushing the boundaries of his moral code in this novel. There were a few scenes that really made you think about how, despite how moral of a life you might lead, there are times when none of that matters, and survival, no matter how debasing it might be to yourself, is of utmost importance. While reading it I imagined Sanderson writing these parts and having a tough time with how he treated things. I think he did a wonderful job.

Some minor quibbles. I felt the character Jewels could have been fleshed out a little more. She played a minor role in explaining one aspect of the story, but I felt like she was thrown in just for that purpose. She has a story, I would have loved to hear more of it.

Their modesty obsession turned me off from the story quite a bit, but I don't think most people would notice unless they understood (and didn't care for) this aspect of the LDS religion. It felt unduly pushed in the first half of the book until the girls got over it. As much as it may have irritated me, I really liked how the girls got over their moral issues and dealt with actual issues at hand.

All in all this is a wonderful political fantasy novel. It took me a bit to get into it, as the magic system of colors and breaths is a little confusing at first, but eventually you get it enough that you can get into the storyline. Once I fully understood the system I really enjoyed it. I felt it was robust and imaginative.

This was the first Sanderson novel I've read and I will be definitely purchasing the rest of his novels if this is any indication of the quality and depth of his characters and story. I commend him on making this novel available online in pdf format for free (this is how I read it).

"Warbreaker" is a pretty good sign of why Brandon Sanderson is one of the best up-and-coming fantasy authors -- it's a book dense with magic, politics, complex schemes and characters that are never quite what they seen. While there are some stretches that are rather slow, Sanderson has a vivid style and a knack for political tangles that is rarely seen in modern fantasy -- and it leaves you hungry for more.

For many years, the Idrian princess Vivenna was supposed to marry the Hallandren God-King, a powerful Returned named Susebron, and provide him with a divine heir. But at the last minute, her tomboy sister Siri is sent instead. And Siri is completely unprepared for her new life -- the opulent palaces, the bullying priests, and a silent husband who seems to ignore her every night (and whom she's not allowed to look at or speak to).

Determined to rescue her little sister, Vivenna sets out for Hallandren and joins up with a band of Idrian rebels and mercenaries -- and runs afoul of Vasher, a mysterious man with a bloodthirsty, living weapon. And at the same time, a skeptical young Returned named Lightsong realizes that political wheels are turning in the gods' court -- and begins to manipulate them to his own ends.

But things are not as they appear for either of the princesses. Siri soon discovers that Susebron is not the haughty cruel man she thought he was, but a childlike mute who is rapidly falling in love with her -- and she begins suspecting that his priests are plotting against him. And with the help of Vasher, Vivenna discovers to her horror that her trust has been horribly misplaced -- and that she may have set the wheels in motion for a vast, bloodstained plot that could destroy both Hallendren and Idris.

Most "political" fantasy leaves me completely cold; I get bored easily by contrived schemes and equally contrived loopholes. But "Warbreaker" is one of the exceptions, since Sanderson is a master at manipulating your expectations -- every time you think you have all the sides figured out, he twists the story around and shocks you with the facts. Villains turn out to be allies, allies are villains, plots turn out to be imaginary fancies, and leaders turn out to be pawns (and vice versa).

The only problem is that given its length and epic breadth, it gets rather slow at times. And his magical system can be rather confusing for awhile (especially regarding the Returned and BioChromatic breath), although eventually I think I figured it out.

Sanderson's prose is smooth, fast-moving and robust, with lots of intricate descriptions of bright colors, lush clothes and opulent palaces. And when the political cogs aren't turning, he fills the story with a sweet and subtle romance between Susebron and Siri, humorous moments (Siri's "sex bouncing"), and funny dialogue ("You mean to tell me that our God-king -- the most holy and divine personage in our pantheon -- died to cure a few tummy aches?").

The entire plot essentially revolves around the sisters Vivenna and Siri, and they both go down very surprising paths -- Siri has to curb her tongue and learn how to navigate a court's treacherous currents, while the haughty Vivenna finds herself humiliated and forced to face her own arrogance, hypocrisy and weakness. There's a wide range of likeable and realistic characters, but the best include the sweetly childlike Susebron, the snarky but good-hearted Lightsong, and the grizzled wanderer Vasher. And Nightblood is a fun, unique -- bloodthirsty, chipper and a clever variant on the usual magical sword.

"Warbreaker" is a rich and complex piece of work, with only a few flaws in its vibrant writing and plotting -- and the ending leaves you hungry for a sequel. Definitely a classic in the making.

I had been toying with reading some of Brandon Sanderson's other stuff since reading his first foray into the "Wheel of Time" and I recently picked up the "Mistborn" trilogy, and now this. I think I see a theme so far - a particular fascination with coming up with different ways to do "magic", and defining very clear rules for them. It's as if you can have magic, but it can't be the "and then a miracle happened" kind. Oddly, this is making me think of Terry Pratchett as I write, because although his stories are very different, they are all about action and reaction be it from a magical or a moral point of view. Anyway, enough meandering.

This story is fascinating. It has a pretty original kind of "magic", which engenders "gods" under certain circumstances, and creates a very powerful nation that chooses to worship said "gods". The story centers (mostly) around two princesses from a small neighboring nation, one of whom was trained all of her life to become the bride of the head god in an act of appeasement, and her sister who was not. It all begins to get interesting when they are switched at the last moment.

The other key character is Vasher, who opens the story and we quickly realize is not all he seems. It takes a long time to figure out exactly who he is, but then what would be the fun if it were given away early in the plot?

My key points are that I have found Brandon Sanderson's own novels to be very engaging. The characters are all very well realized and absorbing, and the concepts and scenarios are new and refreshing to me, who has seen a lot of fantasy if I do say so myself. I might add that it was the author's breath of life (sorry Robert Jordan) to the Wheel of Time that attracted me to him, and I have not been disappointed.

It must be something about these really huge books. Almost 600 pages this one, a daunting task to read for someone who's generally busy. I put this off for a while, till I felt some slack time in the other media I currently digest. I even considered not reviewing it at all since I hate being ambushed by the sheer size of some of these Vine books. Still I finally managed to wade through it. I found a very interesting storyline from the world of fantasy. A cover review about the author suggests he has a talent for creating worlds like J.R.R. Tolkien, and I can agree with that to a degree, but he keeps his creations a bit more on the simple side. Doing that has it's good and bad points. The good I think is easier for the reader to understand, the bad perhaps is I don't feel compelled to re-read anything here. In the LOTR trilogy, there were many parts I longed to relive and re-read, in this book I'm satisfied where it took me, but I would look for something in a sequel, not a rehash of this books pages.

I give the story teller here some strong credit though, he crafted a story where he held many of the surprises till the latter stages of the book, and created a much different type of ending than I'd normally have suspected. In that aspect I think he may have exceeded the LOTR series since the ending there was mostly a forgone conclusion. The story itself did a nice job of following the classic "heroes journey" in literature, and it did so for as many as 5 heroes till almost the end. Just to make you cringe a bit, I'll tell you they don't all survive, nor do any really complete the "heroes journey" in this book.

The book did have a weak point that I must point out, at least for me. It was told from four major perspectives, they sometime crossed over, and at one point crafted major shifts in the story. One of those perspectives left me a little bored most of the time, I found myself speeding up my reading to almost skimming speed to get past it. They should have done a better job here of making that arc more interesting to the reader I thought. Mind you it wasn't always boring, but I found it difficult to care about the characters much, so unless it had some major story elements or crossed one of the other characters, I usually wanted to pass by quickly. That, prevented me from giving the book a higher rating. I would caution any aspiring authors out there who would choose to use this style, to make sure each perspective fairly interesting. If you fail at one, it's like reading a bad book sandwiched between several good ones.

I was not a big fan of the ending, but I still felt it was at least reasonable, so I don't want to rant against it. I actually felt that it had a good possibility of spawning a second book using this same world. Unfortunately, this meant the epilog in the end only covered the last phases of the "heroes journey" for some of the heroes and not all, and even in that, they did not finish it. The final aspect of the "heroes journey" in literature is sometimes called "return with the elixir". This was never really done, so I can't quite classify this as a full blown epic like LOTR (Lord of the Rings).

Warbreaker has all of the themes that have been played throughout author Brandon Sanderson's other fantasy novels: epic fantasy, unconventional magic systems defined in almost scientific terms, an empire or nation on the edge of collapse, war and/or planetary destruction, and heroes(usually female) that are thrust into saving a man, nation, and world. Oh, and love, too; the heroine always fall in love with the most unlikely of persons.

In Warbreaker, Siri, the youngest daughter of the king , is to marry the semi-immortal God-King of the rival kingdom, Hallendren, in order to stave off war, and certain annihilation, for their people. Siri's sister, Vivienna, eldest daughter of the king and long expected to have been the one sent as the bride, is left behind, but soon follows on a rescue mission. Susebron, the deified king and God to the Hallendren, faces his own challenges from the very priests that worship him and the lower gods that surround him. And among the people of Hallendren travels a dangerous and mysterious stranger carrying a sword, secrets, and a mysterious purpose.

Sanderson specializes in creating page turners, and Warbreaker is no exception. He is careful to leave hints and foreshadowing along the way, and a careful reader should be able to figure out who is who and what is happening before the last pages are read. The story is creative, as are the characters. The setting and background develops with a care that breathes and moves with life.

Unlike a lot of fantasy novels, Warbreaker manages to address issues not unfamiliar to the real world. The reader encounters prejudice, persecution, and poverty, as well as the line dividing the wealthy from the poor, rulers from the ruled. The issues are woven into the story, however, avoiding the complaints that have often beset the Star Trek franchise previous to the most recent movie.

All praise for Sanderson's creative and engaging story aside, his best work is still to come. Stephen King once wrote that every draft should be cut down ten percent before it can be counted a finished work. It's a rule that Sanderson could, and should, apply. Instead of showing us what the characters are learning or how they are changing, Sanderson weighs down his novel, and novels, with excess character explanation that is neither in dialogue or action. Some of this is obviously acceptable, though almost never necessary, but Sanderson seems to cross the line from necessary to luxury. Paragraph after paragraph could be replaced by a single meaningful scene or interaction with another character. Sanderson's novels weigh in at over 400 or 500 pages; I would not complain if he paired them down.

Which leads me to another critique: show versus tell. I like Sanderson's writing, I like his plots, and I like the creativity with which he builds his worlds, but I could use less of the explanation narrative. Show us, don't tell us, that Vivienna is giving up her prejudices. Show us, don't tell us, that Lightsong is becoming "the Bold." It is true that Sanderson knows this rule, because I have seen him apply it; but his desire to make sure the reader gets what he wants them to get seems to drive him to put more in than he needs. In the end, it diminishes the impact of the "show" because there is so much "tell."

For this reason, I had a hard time deciding to rate the book with four or three stars. In the end, I decided that I liked the book and, although it stands alone as a story, I wanted to know what would happen to the characters next. Sanderson has obviously left the door open to future stories and novels about the characters, and I hope he will continue to write those stories. He seems to like the novel format, but the story in Warbreaker would lend itself to spin-offs in novella or short story format.

Oh dear this is another one of those 'I want to fangirl so hard it makes me weep'. But that should be expected since its by Brandon Sanderson and I might just worship the computer this man types at.

Anyhow! This is interesting for two reasons--1) he originally had this on his website to read for free as he wrote it/edited it/etc. and you can in fact still read it on his website for free. For those of you reluctant to buy a $28 hardcover...give it a whirl and see if it will appeal to you. I'm telling you you'll want to buy it--plus the coverart is so gorgeous. I really want a print of it for my wall. And other reason this is interesting is because it, like Elantris, is a stand alone novel, but in terms of subject matter they are like cousins. Elantris dealt with Gods who were ordinary humans at one time and Warbreaker also deals with ordinary humans who became Gods. Or rather about as similar to Gods as can be considered as such.

As can be expected the magical system is complicated and takes several explanations to understand. Kind of like math or science equations Sanderson's magic systems require you to remember complex variables and formulations in order to properly understand things. Luckily in almost every book he has someone who is as new to it as the reader is, so we get the lessons! In Warbreaker we're introduced to a magical system revolving around 'BioChromatic Breath'--basically this 'Breath' let's the wielder perform anything from making a rope move on its own to bringing a person (Lifeless) back to limited life controlled with simple commands. There are certain levels that allow for certain other perks, as well as different classes and disadvantages, but overall that's the gist of things.

We follow 4 separate but eventually converging storylines--that of Siri (who is sent in her elder sister Vivenna's place to marry the enemy of her people's GodKing), Vivenna (who wants to rescue Siri and find purpose in her life again), Vasher (who began the mess centuries ago and wishes to fix things) and Lightsong (a 'God' who wishes to remember what he was like before and reluctantly finds himself tangled up in the 'now'). In essence all four want the same goal--to end the tyranny that Hallandren commits and find a better way of things.

I began the book firmly in Siri's camp--I really liked her and her fiery temperment. However before the end of the novel I became a follower of Vivenna--Vivenna who realizes that even though she hated Hallandren and its people and the sacrifices she would have made to bring peace to her people, she is drawn to it just the same. Siri matures in personality--becoming a more grown up version of herself. Vivenna matures as a person--becoming a well-rounded individual.

There is a lot of wit in this novel and the usual admonition that you shouldn't take things on face value--people or situations. Overall it makes me sad I'll have to wait until he is finished with his Wheel of Time conclusionary books--I'm not a Wheel of Time fan and thus will have to wait for his original fiction.

There are many fantasy authors out there, many lack imagination by working with ideas from past writers, and some are truly excellent writers. However, the number of authors who create fantastic new concepts AND are excellent writers...well they are few and far between. Frankly, Brandon Sanderson is one of those writers.

He has created a world where magic is created through the use of Breath - something each living creature is born with, yet can be passed from one person to the other. The more Breath one has, the brighter the world, the more sensitive (to others, colors, hearing, etc.) one is, and the more powerful magic one can cast. Prepare to step into a world where those who die the embodiment of a human trait - brave, merciful, etc. - may come back as Returned...deities after a fashion.

The story begins with the King of Idris being forced to send one of his daughters to marry the God King of Hallendren, in an effort to prevent war. While his eldest was groomed for this for her entire life, he instead sends Siri, his youngest. Siri is unprepared, a carefree spirit...and wholly unprepared to be thrust into a world where politics is a deadly game, where nothing is what it seems, and the wrong choices could plunge two nations into war. The eldest sister, Vivenna takes off after Siri to try to rescue her, as she battles feelings of indignation and uselessness after her father chose to send her younger sister. Yet on the streets of T'Tlir, capital city of Hallendren, she realizes that not everything is as it seems, and she must put aside hurt feelings, and discover who she really is in an effort to stop war being launched against her homeland.

Brandon Sanderson does a commendable job, weaving a complex tale with many twists while transporting the reader to a whole new world and introducing us to entirely new concepts in fantasy. He creates well crafted characters who we come to empathize with and like, while inserting humour sure to make you laugh.

I highly recommend this book and have added Mr. Sanderson to my list of authors who I keep an eye out for new works of fiction.

I discovered the author through Elantris, and then proceeded to devour the Mistborn trilogy, The Stormlight Archive, and the Reckoners books. Couldn't get enough of the author.

Warbreaker, while at times engrossing, is not one of Sanderson's better works. His character development was still good, but the plot was relatively weak, his 'system' of magic was just about passable, and the story didn't hold together like it does in his other books.

Now when's that third Stormlight Archive book coming out!? :)

The small border kingdom of Idris fears that their large and powerful neighbor, Hallandren, is about to go to war with them, a war they can not possibly win. By treaty, the King of Idris is forced to send a daughter to Hallandren to marry their God King. There are slim hopes that she will be able to convince them not to start a war.

Vivenna, the eldest daughter, is serious and responsible and has trained all her life knowing the fate of Idris rests upon her. Siri is the wild youngest sister whose existence had never mattered so much, but with war looming, suddenly finds her life turned upside-down. Lightsong is a god living cloistered away with every luxury in the great city of Hallandren. The problem is, he does not believe in gods or himself. Susebron, the God King, also lives a sheltered, cloistered life, totally ruled by the priests who attend him. Vasher is a lone-wolf, mysterious Awakener, able to use BioChromatic breath to animate objects. He also has a sentient sword that likes to kill. All of them converge on Hallandren, a city where gods live, strange magic is used and unfathomable plots and intrigue are rife.

Sanderson has created a solid stand-alone book with strong world-building and yet another unique magic system. The characters and all the many minor characters are all superbly drawn. It is a fascinating read.

I found it was not quite a perfect book (I preferred some of Sanderson's previous books, for one thing). The main characters, while sympathetic, sometimes seemed a little simple and slow at times and some were difficult to identify with. The pace in general seemed a little slow, too (and I enjoy big, long books with lots of detail, generally). But these are far from faults, just personal quibbles on my part.

This is a stand-alone fantasy novel, one in which the author creates a totally unique world, a world where things don't quite work as we know them, a world with BioChromatic Breath--which is used almost like currency. Don't have it, and you're a Drab. Have enough and you're practically a God.

This is several stories within a story, woven skillfully together into a cohesive epic tale that grabs hold of you and won't let you put the book down. Siri is the third (read: unimportant) daughter of the King of Idris and is shocked when her father sends her to Hallandren to wed the God-King Susebron instead of her older sister Vivenna, who has been groomed for just that position her entire life. Vivenna decides to attempt to rescue her sister, whom she feels must be totally out of her element and miserable, and in doing so breaks out of her 'perfect, compliant daughter' mode and hooks up with a band of mercenaries who had been helping one of her father's spies in Hallandren. Lightbringer, one of the Returned Gods of Hallandren, begins having flashes of memory of his previous life--do these visions relate to present day as prophecy or are they just memories? And who are (or were) Vasher and Denth, opposing each other in an effort to start (or stop?) a war?

A tale of two very differing religions and countries, with lifestyles and beliefs that are miles apart, headed towards what seems an inevitable war. Political and religious intrigue, dark magic, and a whole host of people who are not who or what they seem, combine together with Sanderson's easy reading style to make this an excellent read. He writes in such a way that you care about all the characters, even though they are on opposing sides and are very different people. This was the first Sanderson book I've read, and I can assure you it won't be the last. A+

This is the first time I have actually really read any sort of fantasy book or this author. While the book flew by for me, there were a few chapters I was sure I could live without. Each character is very well thought out and developed. Lightsong is a witty guy and his exchanges with Blushweaver, while entertaining, felt like it could have been shortened.

I started out caring more about Siri than Vivenna in the book. I always looked ahead to see when I get to read about Siri again. Her and the God King were probably my favorite characters. That said, because of my preference, there was a lot of the earlier parts of the book that I felt was dragged out. While the plot was great, it just got hard to care for some of these characters, ending in taking a long time to finish this book.

As for the ending sequence, I felt that could have been dragged out a little longer as that was when I actually liked the Vivenna character. I felt it went pretty fast and the revealing twists came at such a high speed, you don't even know what hit you. What was great about the slight twists was that I actually did not see it coming. But now that I think back about it, I see all of the subtle hints that Sanderson had thrown at us.

And while it took a little bit to get into this book, I found the world that Sanderson created to be extremely intriguing and really thought out. The way he has woven the idea of something as simple as colors into a huge essential part of the book has really captivated me.

While there are a few flaws that I saw, I still really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone. Because of this book, I am read to read more of his work and more fantasy in general

When this book arrived, I groaned at the length, 588 pages. Once you begin, you are drawn into a world that is wondrous and never seen or heard of before and you wish the story will never end. There is magic, mythology, mystery, drama and humor, yes, humor. When the "awakened" dark black blade named NIGHTBLOOD starts to talk to the warrior who handles him, "I did very well today, I killed them all. Aren't you proud of me?" I thought to myself, WHOA! That's funny. I knew I was deep into a wholly imagined world that was rich and exciting and humorous.
The story is an epic struggle between kingdoms of IDRIS, HALLENDREN and PAHN KAHL. Ancient wars and long held grudges, hatreds, prejudices are fueling new rumors and fears of another war that could destroy whole kingdoms and races of people. The author introduces a lot of new concepts and ideas. I had trouble following sometimes and had to mark passages to keep the characters, races, mythology, history straight. But the action is fast, the story development interesting and the characters so rich that you keep diving deeper.
I really appreciated how much care and detail was given to even the most minor of characters. You felt they were alive, real and interesting. The main characters of course, were fasinating and captivating. I never thought i would again read a fantasy book where the characters changed, matured, learned, evolved and became even better characters than when the book began. Sanderson also sucks you into liking and rooting for traitors, evil doers and plotters of war and genocide. Full of tricks, twists and unexpected turns.
This book is a winner on all levels, plot, characters, action and satisfying endings. Fun, fun, fun.
Can't wait for a sequel!

This is the first book by Brandon Sanderson that I've read. It's high fantasy, with all of the main characters being upper class or nobility. I liked the characters, although at the beginning, I had my doubts and felt that they would fall into some fantasy stereotypes. The magic system was original, using color as its source of power. However, it was also a complicated system, and was off-putting at the beginning of the book. The term BioChroma also felt like a technological term to me. I grew better used to the magic as I became caught up in the plot, but it remained confusing in some ways. As with the characters, I felt the plot would be predictable based on a few events near the beginning. However, this was not the case, and I only guessed one of the final events, but not the way in which it was done.

This wasn't one of my favorite books, but I didn't hate it either. The aspects that I liked balanced out those that I didn't. This was a fun book to read, but did take some time to get into.

So let me start by saying I thoroughly enjoyed this one. The magic system, much like that in Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy, was well thought out and utterly unique. No cookie-cutter magic here. And I love that he even takes the time to fully develop the magic beyond even what is needed in the book. I know a lot of authors will develop a world more than perhaps the specific plot demands, but I still think the time and effort was admirable for a single volume. I also think several of the characters were very well developed and experienced tremendous growth and change for a single book.

But I think the thing that bugged me was that I had to qualify everything above with "for a single book." This felt to me like a story begging to be broken into an epic series. Some of the characters who I would love to have delved deeper into never got the treatment they deserved. The ending felt a rushed attempt to tie up every loose end in a single fell swoop. It's not that I did not enjoy the read - it's just that I thought so much of the story felt like it was just a scramble to fit it all in.

Part of me is hoping there's more to the story in a sequel, but I don't even think there were enough loose ends there to really lend well to a follow up. So I'll just call it what it is - a great read that ended up feeling a touch lacking. I'd still recommend the time to spend with it, but it's definitely not Sanderson's best.

This book was just...wow. The author included so many details and interesting characters without detracting from the overall story or its entertainment value. I'm in awe.

It's amazing how much character growth Brandon Sanderson managed to pack into one book. I usually find multiple points of view grating, mostly because there will be one character I particularly like and I'll always want to flip ahead to their narrative...but not in Warbreaker. Every character, even secondary ones and 'bad guys', was nuanced and interesting (although I especially loved Siri and Lightsong).

As for the mechanics of the story - the politics, world-building, magical system, etc. - everything seemed wonderfully detailed without the author resorting to information-dumping. The plot progressed naturally - though surprisingly - and the magic was so unique and fun to read about. Although the romance was a relatively minor aspect of the story, it was also one of my favorite parts.

It was so refreshing to read a fantasy that wasn't bogged down by overly formal dialogue. The witticisms and humor interjected into the conversations added another level to an already enjoyable story. I don't usually laugh out loud when reading, but I definitely chuckled a few times while reading Warbreaker.

I honestly can't praise this book enough. Also, the cover is absolutely beautiful and really intriguing. Why is this girl's hair white? And she's breathing...rainbows? What's with the sword? Hopefully, future readers will have as much fun finding out the answers to those questions as I did.

It's a shame Brandon Sanderson is going to take some time off from his own efforts to finally wrap up the late Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time behemoth - which finally lumbered to its conclusion, thanks to Sanderson stepping in.

At least we have "Warbreaker" (Tor, $27.95, 592 pages) - and it's that rarest of 21st century scifi/fantasy rarities: A satisfying, self-contained book that leaves the door open for more books down the line. As usual, Sanderson's meticulous world-building sets the stage marvelously, his characters are complex and compelling, and his plot is full of unexpected twists.

Sanderson has moved on from the excellent Mistborn trilogy, and "Warbreaker" is set on a completely different pre-industrial world with a completely different magical basis. It is, of course, carefully thought out, as is the political background that drives the narrative. It's too bad we won't get the next volume until after The Wheel of Time is mercifully put out of its misery.

Having read other works by Sanderson, I liked this more than his Mistborn trilogy, but found the epic The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive) much better (gave it five stars). Like allomancy in "Mistborn", BioChromatic Breath (or just Breath) is a multi-tiered force multiplier of a magic system. Aside from a basic 'enhanced senses and health' package, the effects manifest as increasing mastery of the external world (whereas allomancy was increasing mastery of internal abilities). Sanderson has a talent for creating unique 'magic' powers.

I found 'Warbreaker' better than 'Mistborn' because it doesn't take itself so seriously. Characters like Derth the mercenary and Lightsong made Sanderson's habit of long dialogues not noticeable because I enjoyed their humor. It's not a five star book because of exposition regarding the finer points of the magic system, instead of showing it and making your really care like 'Way of Kings'.

An enjoyable fantasy read. Plenty of plot twists, with characters growing and having deep personalities/hidden depths.

I really enjoyed the characters (two sisters as major characters, the fantastic Lightsong, and quirky forces all around them), plot (and twists), background, history and most of the book.

The only thing that made me like this less than The Emperor's Soul (the first Sanderson I read), was the magic system. The way it was introduced and used was a little too system-y for my liking. I did like the creativity required to use it in action, and the discussions/theorizing about how things developed historically. But this would all make for very good and clear RPG rules. When I was younger I probably would have loved that aspect, but I found The Emperor's Soul far more elegant in every way.

All that being said, I really enjoyed the book and applaud the author for the amazing window he provided into his creative process with how he released it in the public view from the early stages.

Magic, politics, religion, love, trust and betrayal combine in a monumental scope in Brandon Sanderson's fantasy epic Warbreaker. The story is complex and exciting filled with unpredictable twists and turns and peppered with well-drawn characters. The heroes and villains were equally enchanting - and the distinction between them often blurred - and as the narrative switched between the multiple subplots a riveting story was woven together.

Sanderson's world-building is phenomenal. The rich layers of detail about the neighboring kingdoms and the incredible theory of magic involved with BioChromatic breath, Awakening, and the Returned were seamlessly blended into the story. Each new facet of the setting was introduced subtly, leaving the reader with a sense of discovery rather than a displeasing "info-dump".

From the opening chapters to the dramatic climax, Warbreaker was a spell-binding tale. The ending offered a satisfying conclusion with just enough of an open door to leave readers with their fingers crossed that perhaps a future book will return them to this marvelous world. Although this was the first book I have read by Brandon Sanderson, it most certainly will not be the last.

I can get somewhat critical in my reviews, but that's because I like to nitpick. If you are interested in a good read, get this book. It's fast, interesting and thought-provoking.

Warbreaker shares a lot in common with the Mistborn Trilogy (another series written by Sanderson). You have a rather epic world, with mythology and magic that depart wildly from the Tolkien mold. You have a naive girl, thrust into a high-stakes game of intrigue, where the goal is to bring down an empire. You have a wizened old master- a fatherly man who helps guide the plot events to their final destiny. Don't get me wrong, these are two separate stories. But the framework and touch of Sanderson are absolutely obvious.

In many ways, Warbreaker succeeds where I felt the Mistborn trilogy fell down. By limiting the complete story into this one book, Sanderson creates a compact tome with no loose ends but limitless possibilities at its conclusion. Thus it leaves you satisfied but craving more. This contrasts well against Mistborn which felt dragged out into the third book- where at times, I just wanted the story to end!

Beyond his Worldcrafting, Sanderson's greatest talent is his dialog, and readers interested in wit and sarcasm will find much to savor in Warbreaker. There were some delightful moments with Lightsong, a sharp-minded but self-loathing Demigod who enjoyed nothing more than convincing others how useless he was. The banter between Vasher and his sentient sword, Nightblood also made for some chuckle moments. This dialog would be perfect except for Sanderson's almost obsessive need to include motions and facial reactions in the dialog. I understand that every conversation is a blend of spoken and unspoken mannerisms, but Sanderson just repeats the same mannerisms over and over, which is a stark contrast to his varied dialog. "Flat stares"- a staple of Mistborn- return with a vengeance!

The twists and plots in this book are largely believable, surprising and well foreshadowed. Compare this to Mistborn, where several of the revelations took so long to appear that the reader had them figured out chapters ahead of time. Some of the betrayals really made me feel sick- as they should have. Most characters had remarkable depth, changing and adjusting throughout the books.

The book had a few blemishes. One character, Vivenna, spends several weeks on the streets where she is useless- incapable of begging or doing anything to support herself. Indeed, the entire irony of her character was that she had spent her entire life being tutored to survive the Royal Courts, only to find herself in a totally different situation where none of that information was useful. This just wasn't believable to me. Many readers will happily subscribe to the notion that a rich, educated and powerful person thrust into poverty would find themselves helpless and incapable of functioning (Let's call that the "Trading Places" phenomenon). Not only is it a cliche, but this is hardly the way such things really work out.

The character for Vasher seemed rushed and unbelievable. Sanderson tries to make him a foil for the charismatic Denth, but he never really works things out. You have a harsh and brash man who we're supposed to believe really has a heart of gold. Instead, he just struck me as a man afflicted with Asperger's Syndrome.

My last quibble is with Sanderson's inability to separate the culture of our modern world from the medieval world of Warbreaker. Some dialog was clearly influenced with modern concepts that didn't seem plausible in this timeframe. One character talks about insect-born diseases, the type of discoveries that you wouldn't expect anyone to know in such a time. While these modern notions don't overshadow the otherwise intriguing world, they do intrude on it from time to time.

Beyond these few flaws, the book still stands as an enjoyable read. Sanderson showed a lot of restraint and self editing in this story and that has made something beautiful.

This was my very first Sanderson read and I loved it -beginning to its explosive end. He’s created a world that’s built on colors and Returned gods who are revered for their prophecies and gifts. Also, there is a talking sword whose main purpose is quite simply to ‘destroy evil’. I loved all of the characters (especially Lightsong) and was amazed by all of the plot twists (I didn’t know Sanderson was known for his mind-blowing endings at the time). While I did go into this book expecting a standalone fantasy read, I came out desperately wanting a sequel. Not that there are any cliffhangers. I found the end to be very satisfying.

Thankfully, upon researching there is a sequel in the distant horizon. I for one can’t wait to get my hands on it.

When I first began reading this book, I would read in spurts. An hour here, a few pages there, then I'd set it aside for a few weeks. It's not that the story was bad, I guess I just wasn't in that reading "zone." Anyway, a few days ago I decided it was time to finish it and set my mind to it. I am so glad that I did!

This has turned out to be an amazing story. The characters are all really well written. The whole idea of power through colors is intriguing. It gets a bit technical, at times, with explainations about how the "magic" system works. Fortunately, there is a glossary in the back of the book.

The first half of the book is a little slow but it's only because the story is building up to some very surprising reveals. There is a lot of mystery and suspense in this story and you don't even realize it until it practically slaps you in the face. Usually, I can tell when a character that's portrayed as "good" is actually a "bad guy." That wasn't the case in this book. At one point, the story was so suspenseful I could hardly stand it. I had to force myself to keep reading and not just skip ahead to find out what happens.

If you like fantasy and suspense, I recommend this book. A truly great read!

I've read this twice now. Yep, twice. The first time, I actually didn't care for it too much; I think I went into it expecting another Mistborn-type story, which this is definitely not. So I got done reading it and thought, "Sanderson hasn't written a bad book yet; maybe I need to read it one more time". So I did, trying not to compare it to Elantris or the Mistborn books. And the second time, I really dug it. The magic system, while not as cool as the one in Mistborn, is still pretty darn imaginative. The characters are fresh and engaging and honest. And Sanderson seems much more at ease injecting humorous elements and dialogue this time around without going overboard with it.

The setting and plot are pretty stripped down and basic, but the nice thing about that, is that it allows Sanderson to really get inside the characters' heads and bring them to life in spectacular fashion. So yeah, this one was pretty darn good. I know Sanderson's said he wants to write more stand-alone fiction (and that's definitely something the genre needs), but I would be very happy indeed to see more stories set in this world.

The independent novel "Warbreaker" exists in a colorful realm of an ingenious magic pertaining to BioChromatics. Mainly following four characters, the storyline contains a lot of character humor and imaginative action. Although the few fight scenes are individual combat, the political deceptions and maneuvering suitably engages the reader.

Vivenna, the oldest Idris princess, has prepared her entire life to become the wife of the Hallandren God King. Her and her youngest and impetuous sister Siri's lives change when their father decides to reevaluate the agreement with Hallandren. Two other siblings are mentioned yet remain otherwise non-existent. The royal line changes hair color depending on the mood might be a little overplayed but enhances the plot effectively.

I believe the most interesting characters are the enigmatic rebel Vasher and the Returned god Lightsong. Vasher's resourceful management of his Breath and Lightsong's relaxed demeanor and self-opinion delivers great entertainment. The mercenaries Denth and Tok Feh's twisted humor add some chuckles too.

I highly recommend this novel to any fan of the fantasy genre.

Thank you.

The audiobook narrator was terrible. That said, the story itself was good, though sometimes difficult to separate from the annoying voices the narrator used. I must say, I don't think I'm much of an epic fantasy person, but this was decent. A little predictable, but I enjoyed the love story and found the magic system really interesting.

Great characters. Inspired plot. Dazzling writing. Brilliant magic system. Wonderful blend of action, intrigue, dialog, mystery, politics, and discoveries. Stirring plot twists and reveals. I've read dozens and dozens of great fantasy books and hundreds and hundreds of great works of fiction, and this is easily one of the best books I've ever read. Top 20 all time for me.

Brandon Sanderson has got to be one of the most creative writers I've ever read. Warbreaker is a brilliantly written story about two sisters (Vivenna, who was promised to the God King as part of a truce, and Siri, who was actually given to the God King), Susebron (the God King), Lightsong (who is a returned god), and several other characters.

One of the things I loved about this book was not knowing anything about it and discovering the various characters, their special traits, and the rules of BioChromatic magic, so I am reluctant to divulge any of the story for fear of depriving future readers of that same adventure I enjoyed.

I will say that I really liked Siri's impetuous personality. I also liked Lightsong's self-deprecating humor and his interactions with "Scoot". I enjoyed the banter between Denth and Tonk Fah too. The other characters are equally well written.

This is the second book from Brandon Sanderson I've read (the first being Mistborn) and I will definitely be reading his other creations. Both were creative, rich, expansive, and just fun to read.

This is one of the best fantasy novels I have read in quite some time. Sanderson creates a very original magic system based on "biochroma," which seems to basically be the interaction between life force and color. He extends the basic rules of this system to some quite interesting practical limits and effects, and this is one of the more interesting facets of the novel.

The characters are, for the most part, interesting and engaging and well-drawn. The interactions of the characters and their various motivations leads to a relatively intricate plot. The intricacy of the plot, in fact, was one of the more appealing aspects of this novel.

The only reason I rated it four stars rather than five is a couple of minor quibbles with the resolution, which is good but I felt fell down in a couple of spots. It sort of feels like a five-star novel with a three-star ending. But still an excellent read.

And it's always good to see a standalone fantasy novel rather than a trilogy. Although I'd gladly read another novel set in the same world as "Warbreaker."

If nothing else, I will give Brandon Sanderson credit for consistently creating unique systems of magic that I've rarely or never seen or read about anywhere else.

Warbreaker features a world where magic employs color, and breaths made of a spirit-like substance known as BioChroma. It's fascinating, though I'm not sure it will ever be my favorite form of magic.

The setting is also unique among Sanderson books in that it is positively vibrant. A tropical paradise far, far away from his usual dystopian worlds. Nonetheless, Sanderson's world is very broken and his heroes and heroines must fix it.

The book is a little predictable in some areas, though I was surprised here and there, and also moves along a great clip. Plus, it features one of my favorite Sanderson characters of all time: the squirrel.

Trust me, you'll know what I'm talking about if and when you read it.

The book Warbreaker was my first introduction to Brandon Sanderson. I liked the fairytale world of Mistborn because of its rich variety of possible characters and emotions that are possible. In this volume we encounter the political struggles of Hallandren, a court ruled by the King Susebron.

Siri, the daughter of King Idris, has been sent to marry King Susebron but the God king has surprises for her.

What will happen to Siri?

Does the God King Susebron have weaknesses that Siri can exploit?

All of these questions kept me reading this book for hours on end. I was trying to find the answer to one question and was only given even more riddles. A broad cast of supporting characters are developed so well in this story that you should have little need to pick up the earlier novels.

Summary
I was impressed with the writing style of Brandon Sanderson. Warbreaker would be a great addition to any fantasy reader's collection.

couldn't find the story. This is a total waste of time and money. It's misleading the books title should be war breaker Brandon's notes on the writing of the story war breaker. I've read other Sanderson stuff and some is quite good. This is total garbage and a ripoff as far as I'm concerned. save your time and money. If I buy a book I expect a story not authors notes.

Sanderson takes a bold step forward from the Mistborn series with Warbreaker. It has the dynamic characters, unpredictable twists and turns, but feels more adult than the rather innocent feeling in the Mistborn series.

Sisters, Vivenna and Siri, have their lives turned upside down. Their father is faced with a 20 year old contract that demands he sends a daughter to marry the monstrous God King, but when he can't part with Vivenna, who's trained her whole life to function in the sinful city, he sends Siri, the girl who's always enjoyed the anonimity of being the fourth child. The girls are faced with their very faith being question, and are forced to come into their own and show what they're made of.

Sanderson challenges convention of ultra-conservatism, and shows how debilitating snap judgements of people can be. The story takes a bit to understand the world of Warbreaker, but the climax feels like a rolling stone, it picks up speed with force and you won't be able to put it down.

Sanderson has a firm grasp on provocative and powerful imagery that pulls the reader whole-heartedly into his stories. The setting is relatable and engaging. The use of color and breath in magical ways is a brilliant concept and challenges the reader to consider their own views of power and self awareness. The isolated condition of the gods, and their inability to interact with the common people provided parallels to real world class separation.

The characters in the story are vibrant and three dimensional, but also undergo development and growth through a story full of challenges that shake the assumptions upon which the characters base their beliefs and view of their world. While this is not an esoteric story it tends to stimulate the reader esoterically and prove that sometimes what we believe isn't as important as the why behind what we believe and how we behave.

This story placed Brandon Sanderson among the top five of my most favorite authors.

Many fantasy readers know Brandon Sanderson primarily as the guy selected to finish off Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. But Sanderson's selection as Jordan's successor was no accident - he is definitely one of the brilliant young voices in the genre.

Warbreaker is officially a stand-alone novel, an art form that is nearly extinct in the fantasy genre, where even trilogies are becoming rare, in favor of gigantic 5-10 book series. There is something uniquely satisfying about being able to pick up a single book and have a full story, instead of having to wait for subsequent entries in a series.

So onto Warbreaker itself. The plot is not your typical fantasy fare: there's no young hero on a quest, no evil prophecy, no magical sword. Warbreaker is the story of two nations and the efforts of some of their most powerful citizens to avoid war. The story primarily follows three points of view: those of two princesses of one nation and that of a god (and quasi-ruler) of the other (although some other characters have a couple point of view chapters).

What I find particularly fascinating about Warbreaker is that, superficially, it involves a lot of fantasy stereotypes: the small, perfect nation harassed by the evil empire; the rebellious princess; the stuffy older sister, etc. But Sanderson turns all of these stereotypes on their respective heads. The young, rebellious princess quickly becomes confined in an enemy palace where she has no freedom at all; the stuffy older sister finds herself involved with mercenaries; the evil empire isn't so evil and the small, perfect nation isn't so perfect.

Sanderson also does a remarkable job of weaving in a number of real world problems. Perhaps most poignantly, he tackles the problem of cultural unawareness. The princesses each go into the enemy empire with their own beliefs, biases and hatreds. But they come to realize, over the course of the novel, that their beliefs are not superior to any one else's and that their biases and hatreds are unfounded and, indeed, may stem from a misunderstanding of their own nations history. The cultural problems also extend to religion. Indeed, much of the conflict in the novel involves the differing religions of the two nations. And unlike many of the religions introduced in fantasy novels, the religions here are very well fleshed out and make sense, at least insofar as any religion makes sense. Many fantasy novels tackle abstract struggles such as good and evil, but Sanderson tackles real, fundamental problems that we face in reality, which I find particularly refreshing in this genre.

As one final note on the plot, I should point out that there isn't a whole lot of action in Warbreaker. This is yet another way that Warbreaker differs from the typical fantasy novel. There aren't a lot of fights or battles; the plot is mostly advanced via dialogue and third person perspective thought. Indeed, much of the action occurs off-page. Because Warbreaker is more a character and cultural study as anything else, the lack of action makes sense. Sanderson pulls it off extremely well. Despite the lack of action, I was never bored. I didn't want to put the book down. But if you're the kind of reader who loves a ton of action in your fantasy novels, well, this one might not work for you.

The characters are particularly appealing. As I mentioned earlier, the main characters are, in many ways, stereotypes - the rebellious princess, the stuffy older sister, the charming rogue, the dark lord - but Sanderson implements them in completely unusual ways. Some characters are, admittedly, more appealing than others. Lightsong, a god of the empire, seems like a character out of a Douglas Adams novel. He is sarcastic and self-deprecating to a fault. Siri, the wide-eyed, rebellious, energetic princess forced under house arrest is a revelation in the character development. The great part about the characters is the development. Even some of the lesser characters develop considerably, and do so, most impressively, in a completely realistic way. I have noticed one or two other reviewers who criticized the lack of character development. To each their own, but I couldn't disagree more. The character development here is masterfully executed.

I don't usually focus too much on the magic system in a particular world, but (as those of you who have read other Sanderson works know), Sanderson has a flair for developing creative and interesting magic systems of a like rarely seen in the genre. The magic system here (called BioChromancy) involves breath, something that is innate to every being. But breaths can be bought and sold, given away at will, so those who have money or power can accumulate a great number of breaths, giving them increased cognitive senses and magical abilities. But at the same time, Sanderson's magic system manages to make sense. A real rarity in the genre - logic and creativity!

As to the more technical aspects of writing (ie., forming grammatically correct sentences, having a logical flow of thought within a paragraph, etc.), Sanderson is proficient, indeed, better than average for the genre, but his writing isn't flawless. He has the occasionally clunky sentences. His dialogue seems, at times, strained. But for the most part, his writing is solid here.

I only have one real criticism of Warbreaker. That is that the ending feels rushed. Indeed, it almost seems as though there are a few chapters missing. We don't find out how the conflict ends. We don't find out if the characters survive or what happened to them. It is, of course, a credit to Sanderson that he can write a 600+ page book and still leave you wanting more. But it feels as though, despite the fact that Warbreaker was marketed as a stand-alone novel, it might actually have a sequel. The door is wide open, indeed, the biggest plot thread, the war between nations, was not really resolved.

I would, of course, be thrilled with a sequel. The world in Warbreaker is fascinating. The interplay of the enemy cultures and religions and history are fascinating. Warbreaker is well worth your time. I also highly recommend Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy, particularly the opening book, the Final Empire (which can stand on its own). Sanderson's greatest contribution to the fantasy genre is his creativity. Warbreaker is exciting, well-written, original and, most importantly, entertaining. Pick it up.

I rate Sanderson as one of the most original fantasy writers. His novel Warbreaker is a great example of how humor can be combined with an original idea to bring out a fantastic read without losing the gravity of the story or the lightness of heart. All the characters were engaging and they change as we humans do from our experiences throughout the story. Lightsong reminded me of Sam in Lord of Light, although their destinies are different. The sisters - Vivenna and Siri have contrasting experiences and end up in the middle as mature, well rounded women. There is a bit of everything for the reader in this book - a bit of mystery, a new world for fantasy, strong and engaging characters and human drama. Part of me hopes that there would be a follow up, but then part of me doesn't. I guess its a typical reaction to a Sanderson work!

Not one of Sanderson's best books - and generally I really like his stuff. I started reading this one over a year ago and then quit in the middle and picked it back up this weekend. The book is just really slow and no matter how much Sanderson tries to get me to like Vivennia (in the chapter notes he talks a lot about how much he likes her) I don't. In fact, I didn't love most of the characters. I was far more interested in Susebron and Vasher than Siri, Vivennia, or Lightsong.

PS - the magic system was really well done though. I love that Sanderson always does something different and totally new with magic

Another amazing fantasy story by Brandon Sanderson. The fantasy world is incredibly rich and the characters leap off the page. Brandon Sanderson sets up so many threads early in the story that seem like interesting but non-essential points that turn into the key to the story in the end. I've rarely found a character I like as much as the God who wished he wasn't. The twist of his origin is so completely unexpected. The strong female characters journeys are also very well done. Their walk from privilege to humility, to redemption is really well done. It's a great story for any fan of Sci-Fi and Fantasy.

I give this only 4 stars because I have read his other books and this one was not better in my opinion than the storm light archive books(amazing, brought me back to fantasy reading) but alas on to "war breaker" this book is another one of Brandon's new magic systems, something he likes to do in any new series, this one has people(awakened) who can drain the color from object and even people basically, these are called breaths, they can use these breaths to live longer and animate objects and do other things....but the premise of the story is a daughter marrying a tyrant(with considerable power and over a thousand breaths) to help save her kingdom, there is something not quite as it seems in the palace and she try's to figure it out. Also jumps around to her sister who is looking for her, a man who has revenge on his mind, and a "God" haha who is trying to figure out what is wrong in life(Elend venture? anyone who has read mistborn and war breaker) overall this book is well written and fun to read with some nice plot twists. Read it

Listened to this amazing story in record time. Loved Mistborn and Elantris, Warbreaker is right up with them. What hooks me is the character development, with Lightsong being a pure delight, along with the rest of the cast. There is so much intrigue and deception to the story, that you can never really get a handle on whom to trust right up till the ending. I highly recommend.

Overall an enjoyable read, with a lot of factioning and political intrigue. Quite a lot of the time it manages to surprise, although it is plagued by having protagonists who have too much "plot armor" to actually come to serious harm, and the bad guys being a little too "clouded in mist".

If I have one strong criticism, it is that I would have liked the "bad guys" to have been better drawn out. In a book that wants to thrive on shades of grey, one could present the bad guys (and their culture, plight, etc.) in great detail early in the book, without necessarily giving away the mystery. To quote one character: "Every man is a hero of his own story". It would have been nice to get a bit of that story, rather than indirect reference.

Overview: Princesses, arranged marriages and supernatural abilities. Sanderson has constructed a nifty little tale that revolves around the conflict between two societies: one that is colorless, rule-bound and conformist and another that is flamboyant, free and somewhat chaotic.

If you read Sanderson's Elantris then you know how adept the author is at painting a new world. The characters are fairly well developed and the world "history" and back-story were well developed but the characters tend to fall into the same basic categories: snarky or deadpan. Works most of the time but after a while it started to become tedious.

Overall I loved the book but I felt that the premise of color and magic and the dichotomy of the two societies could have yielded a more meaningful story. It also read like a book intended to be the first in a series. Worth reading.

What a unique and interesting magic system! I really enjoyed this book, much more than the Mistborn trilogy, but I have yet to read Elantris. I'm beginning to believe I could pick up any Brandon Sanderson book and enjoy it. My only problem with Warbreaker was the repetition in the beginning. We heard events from one sister's viewpoint and then heard the exact same thing from the other sister. Vivennas's hatred and prejudice was a bit irritating and I thought it was out of character, but other than that this book was flawless. The characters are interesting, there are plenty of plot twists and surprises, the heroism is touching, and of course of magic system is great. I would recommend this to any fantasy fan, it was an extremely fun read, and very hard to put down. The end suggests there could be another novel, but Warbreaker is fine as a stand alone novel. Definitely give this book a try, you won't be disappointed!

I guess I better mention I am a HUGE Brandon Sanderson fan. No, not because he's finishing the Wheel of Time books, but because of his original novels. My favorites are the Mistborn books. In the end, I put this one just slightly behind Elantris (meaning, my least favorite so far), but it's still heads above many other fantasy novels I have read.

One of my favorite elements from Warbreaker are the strong women characters. I particularly liked Siri. Normally I would go for someone like Vivenna, but Siri, despite being a young woman thrust into a world she never knew or expected, shines. I loved all the scenes with her and the God King. They were charming, heartwarming, and genuine. It was a pleasant surprise, since I never expected these types of scenes.

Also, of course, the world building and magic systems are just so well thought out and executed.

One of the things I have started to notice about Sanderson is that he always writes awesome non-human characters. In Mistborn it was the kandra, in Elantris the Seons, and in Warbreaker it is Nightblood. Some of Sanderson's most vivid characters for me are those who are not necessarily human. Nightblood's innocence is endearing yet he is also lethal.

If anyone hasn't tried one of his books and like high fantasy, please do so. In fact, you can get Warbreaker for free off his website here. Hope you enjoy!

Warbreaker, Brandon Sanderson's latest novel, proves to me that we are in a golden age of fantasy literature. With established writers such as Steven Erikson, China Mieville, and Jo Walton, and new writers such as Peter Brett and Dan Abraham, Sanderson is at the forefront of fantasy's 21st century resurgence.

The worst thing about Warbreaker is the cover. Please don't let the underwhelming art and the Sci Fi channel brand dissuade you from reading. Warbreaker is compelling and substantial, with well drawn characters, a unique setting, and a fantastic climax. In the Mistborn books, Sanderson showed a talent for creating original worlds and magic systems. In Warbreaker, he displays the same talent with BioChroma, which allows gifted people (the Awakened) to animate objects using their Breath and the color around him. He also presents his own version of undead, Lifeless, which are animated by the Awakened and given Commands to act. With his magic (by the way, I do not think he ever uses the term), theory is important to Sanderson. He wants his magic to be plausible, so he creates a science to support it, and includes consequences of using it.

The novel is about Siri, a princess who must marry the God King of a rival nation against her will, and Vivenna, her sister, who tries to rescue her. Siri and Vivenna are foils of each other, yet as the story progresses, we watch them evolve. Siri, once flighty, becomes authoritative; Vivenna, once predictably well-behaved, becomes free-spirited. The sisters encounter a variety of intriguing supporting characters. In Warbreaker, no one is uniformly bad or good, right or wrong. Everyone has a reason for what they do and believe.

With its world of living gods, Warbreaker has a lot to say about religion. What's better--a god you can see or an invisible god? What is the duty of a god, and what is the burden? What makes a god? Is it might, appearance, foresight, or humility? The gods have the power to heal, at the cost of their life, which brings to mind Jesus and Catholicism. I also like how Breath is sometimes synonymous with soul. In Vivenna's view, how can someone take another's Breath and thus deprive him of his soul? On the flip side, since Breath can be quantified (some people have more Breath than others), does that mean that people with more Breath (or soul) are better people?

I cannot praise Warbreaker enough. Read it and then hope that Sanderson writes a sequel.

I should start by saying I don't read much fantasy. It's probably been more than a decade since I read a fantasy book. My taste in literature tends to run more towards either mysteries (Michael Connelly, Henning Mankell, P.D. James), non-genre work (Margaret Atwood, Haruki Murakami, Michael Chabon, J.M. Coetzee) or history (Joseph Ellis, David Hackett Fischer, David McCullough). I have several hundred books, but I think I could probably count my fantasy books on one hand, and most of those I haven't touched. When I go to the bookstore to look for new authors, I'll look at Dave Eggers, Kiran Desai, Sarah Waters, Steig Larsson, but I never go to the fantasy section.

However, I do have a friend who reads a great deal of fantasy, and who goes on endlessly about Sanderson. He's told me repeatedly that I should try the Mistborn books. Well, I haven't yet, but when by chance I came across an advance copy of Warbreaker before release, I grabbed it in part because I knew it would drive my friend nuts, but also out of curiosity. I buckled down with it over a 48 hour period and blew through the book.

I was very impressed. It's a well put together, well told story, filled with interesting characters that all develop in believable ways through the course of the book. I've noticed some reviewers seemed to think it was slow, but it was this "slow" stuff that I personally enjoyed, as it was filled with character development and political machinations: some of my two favorite things to read. Also, my biggest pet peeve for fantasy books, out of control and unnecessary apostrophes, was kept to a minimum. I would rather have seen them banished entirely, but they are used only in two place names that are not mentioned too frequently, so I can forgive it here.

I'm giving it 4/5 stars. It's hard for me to rate it as a fantasy novel, as I can't really compare it to anything. But I can say that I did enjoy it very much, and will definitely try the Mistborn books sometime in the near future. I don't necessarily think that this book opened me up to the world of fantasy novels, per se, but it did open me up to Sanderson, and I guess that's something.

I've recently devled back into the world of fantasy with the Wheel of Time series and have such been introduced to Sanderson through his writting of the final book(or 3 depending how you look at it). I read The Mist born series and found myself sucked into that as easily as I was when I read WoT. Elantris however I didnt even get past the first half before growing bored, I do not know why. Maybe I will attemp to reread it in future. So I was quite apprehensive when this one came out, but I read the preview and it enticed me. So heres why I think it's good, but maybe not for everyone.

1) I do not believe the characters to be underdeveloped as some of the more critical reviews claim. Yes they can be quite readable at times, and maybe Im naive, but at other times that are not. There is one inparticular that I was laughing so hard I cried. But I am also easily amused.

2) This book is more dialogue and basic interactions between characters than intense physical action. If you prefer an intense fight or dramatic build up to come ever hundred to two hundred pages and will be sour after not finding one, then you will not like this book. However, if you enjoy reading and watching a characters personality and how they react to different political and physical atmospheres, along side some comic relief, then you might like this book; that is what kept me reading. This is not to say the story is completely devoid of fighting and or engagement, but it is not as emphasized when it does happen, as say the Mistborn series.

3) The "Magic" in this particular book is and isn't the center of the story. The characters and events are certainly effected by it and it does play a strong role at certain times. At other times it is not even essential, or just plays a minor part in how the characters react to a certain situation. For me, it was refreshing take on powers versus the Mistborn and WoT that sucked me in so deep with the power and allomancy.

3) Compared to Mistborn (as this is the only other thing of his I have read), Warbreaker was a rather light read. While the story was enticing and iteresting, it will probably not draw you in, with the exception of the ending in my opinion.
For me this is nethier a good or bad quality, it will probably vary from person to person.

4) Now for my biggest criticism for me. While the ending was the most drawing in part of the entire book. It is over faily quickly. At the same time I liked it and there were certainly aspects I had not forseen happening, it was rushed in my opinion and that annoyed me more than anything else. I finished the book feeling that more could of been said without the risk of becoming a bore to read, but this may just be my view. I do not mind expansion on issues some may be content to be briefly explained.

So thats my review of the book, I dont write many reviews so any comments are welcome, just don't be an a** is all i ask. Hope this helped..tried not to spoil anything and avoid typos, but Im sure there are some spelling or gramatical errors somewhere.

I've had to think about this one for a while. There is no doubt that this book is good, even more than good during several occasions. The characters felt real and the worldbuilding is simply phenomenal. Never once did I stumble over a description or become unable to wrap my mind around the author's world. The book suffers a little for a slow pace, though, and after a while, with about five major characters and their stories needing to be told, I'm afraid it got to be tedious more than anything.

The king of Idris must honor his country's pact, and avoid war, with neighboring Hallandren and send his eldest daughter as their God King's bride. Loathe to give her up though, he decides to send his youngest daughter, Siri, instead, a carefree and way-to-curious young lady who, unlike her sister, doesn't know the first thing about Hallandren or how to please a God King. Thrust literally into a political nightmare, Siri will simply have to rise to the occasion. Failure is not an option. Worried for her sister, not to mention the state of their kingdom, the eldest, Vivenna pursues Siri and soon is skulking about Hallandren's capital with her father's spies, looking for a means of rescue. Meanwhile, Siri is slowly uncovering a major cover up at the God King's court and when we're not focusing on all the before mentioned, we'v got the stale life of Lightsong, a Returned God, to sort out as well. But that's not all - there is another important character who Vivenna meets eventually, a powerful man who is not all he seems. The book takes us on a journey through each character's life, till they all collide in a climactic end.

The world building is such an integral, important facet to the book and takes on a life of its own, really overshadowing the characters for me. Basically, color is seen as evil in Siri's world. Everyone has at least a little of what is called BioChroma in them, and for lack of a better term, it is like their soul. Those that have more Biochroma obviously have more power, and they can manipulate it, whether the item is a cloak, making it able to "do" things...or a dead person. Biochroma can be used to reanimate. For this, the people of Idris fear Hallendren, whose citizens flaunt their colored hair and garments and whose nobles use BioChroma like it was water. The courts are populated with what are called Returned Gods, men and women that don't seem to offer much with their reanimated lives, but actually hold more depth than at first thought. And then there is their God King, on whom all their country's standing as a world power lies... There is so much more to this particular facet of the worldbuilding, but it's really worth discovering for oneself.

Siri starts us off and she is a fascinating character to do so. One, because of her precocious, defiant nature (citizens of Idris aren't supposed to wear color, but Siri has a hard time staying away from it), and two, because of the situation she soon finds herself in and therefore way beyond her control. Pitted against the perfection of her sister, Siri seems gauche and ill equipped for much of anything. As she meets the God King though and realizes that nothing at all is right within the courts, Siri becomes part of the solution in a way no one anticipated.

As I've said above, the book revolves around five main characters and their roles in reaching The End. The God King, Susebron, feels pretty ineffectual throughout and when we start to get deeper into the reflections of Lightsong, who is as jaded as they come (yet at the same time so refreshingly different from the rest of the Returned Gods and Goddesses), it all gets to be a little much. Then we must focus also on Vivenna's struggle to rescue Siri, and this brings us to Vasher, a mysterious stranger with unseen motives. Frankly, it was all a bit overkill. Jumping from one point of view and situation to the next constantly grated on my nerves after a while. I found it hard to focus on the story and even harder to care about some of these characters after a while.

There's no doubt that Sanderson has written a good story with Warbreaker. It shows a level of skill and talent as a writer that is hard to come by. I have other books by Sanderson in my to be read pile and I'm intrigued enough by Warbreaker to see what he can do with a different set of characters. I just wish that Warbreaker had been a little smaller in scope, especially given the ending, which I felt was anticlimactic. The middle suffers from a huge sag/slow pace and after a while I had to accept that the book probably was just not meant for this particular reader.

Perhaps there have been times when your breath was literally taken away by some gorgeous display of prismatic colors stretched far across the landscape. Perhaps the human mind is hard-wired to react in this way, for strong colors of many hues are a prime indicator of life in all of its many forms.

Sanderson has taken this basic reaction and created an entire system of magic based upon it, which if nothing else is quite original. Then he has layered this idea with two fully delineated societies that have sharply different ways of incorporating this magic system into their religion, culture, and laws. Here and there, he tosses in a dollop of humorous satire, making the whole a little more believable. Most noteworthy is his reluctant 'god' Lightsong, who is perhaps the most interesting character, in some ways similar to some of Roger Zelazny's cynical heroes. His other characters are well drawn and quite believable, and the general situation of two warring city-states is given good plausibility.

All good things. However, I found the prose a little lacking in flavor, the descriptions a little flat and not as detailed as the book's basic premise seems to demand. The plot twists were suitably complicated, but at the end I felt a little let down, as the answers to all the problems seemed a little too straightforward and easily accomplished. These are, perhaps, nitpicks to a rarity in today's fantasy world, that of a complete story in a single volume, and I did find it quite an enjoyable read, but neither was I totally grabbed by it, nor did I come away with new great insights into the human condition or the proper roles and impacts of religion, mores, and cultural attitudes on the individual and societies. And these thematic ideas lie at the heart of what this story is about.

Eminently readable, different, and enjoyable, but not great.

--- Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)

If you have read any Sanderson, you know what to expect. Very well written story, intriguing characters, interesting plot that will keep you up late at night to see what comes next... and a total let-down of an ending. I felt the same way after the Mistborn Trilogy. Incredible story and fascinating premise for the use of magic but a total stinker of an ending. And don't get me started on the end of the Wheel of Time series ("I trudged through 14 books for THAT ending?!?!).

Brandon, you are an incredible story teller but how 'bout a little more at the end please.

I am somewhat astonished by all the reviews saying this book was ok, but not as good as Sanderson's other work. I thought it was his best book yet! Basing the magic system on color made the scenes leap off the page for me, and all the bright color helped balance some of the darkness in the plot. The transformations the characters go through are both believable and dramatic, something that is hard to pull off convincingly. And the various pieces of the plot fit together so perfectly, combining surprises I didn't see coming with twists that I expected, but which were none the less satisfying. On top of all that, you have Nightblood the talking sword, who is just awesome.

The prose is typically fast-paced, and while still the weakest part of Brandon's books, it continues to improve with each new release. However, much of the action is political and character driven, and there isn't much traditional fighting until the end, so that might turn people off. Overall, though, I would recommend this book wholeheartedly.

Though he is loathed to do so, King Dedelin of Idris must adhere to the treaty signed ages ago in which he is required to send his daughter to marry the God King of Hallandren; as he cannot renege since Susebron's kingdom is so much more powerful than his. However, the agreement is not specific as to which daughter he sends so he decides to go with his younger one, seventeen year old tomboy Siri rather than the apple of his eye, lovely Vivenna.

Upon arrival at her new home, Siri is shocked by the intrigue and backstabbing of her fiancé's retinue; especially those allegedly loyal to the monarch. Spies are everywhere. Meanwhile, Vivenna runs away from home to save her sister from a fate she believes is worse than death. She joins a band of Idrian travelers and begins to learn to control her magical skills. At the same time back from the dead hero Lightsong wonders what the Returned Gods commanding Hallandren's army of zombies want from King Susebron.

Known for his Mistborn saga, Brandon Sanderson provides a superb stand alone character driven fantasy. The story line is action packed from the moment the courageous Vivenna sets out to save her younger sister Siri and never decelerates. Yet with that fast pace, several great twists, and plenty of adventures, the cast makes the tale super as monarchs, reanimated dead, returning Gods all learn to never judge a book solely by its cover; because if so Vivenna would have stayed girly girl inside her daddy's castle. Hopefully Mr. Sanderson provides more tales in this interesting realm.

Harriet Klausner

This was a very interesting story. Interesting world building and interesting religious thoughts and beliefs. There was a huge surprise at the end and so many twists and turns though out the book. It did seem to drag a little for me though and I think it was because I read a lot of fast paced books. It was worth it to get to the end though. Great ending!

Every time I finish one of his novels I cant believe how consistently amazing his stories are. Every series or stand alone novel is unique to its story and yet they are all fleshed out and feel like a vibrant world instead of just another rehashing of an old story type. This was a great story, high adventure, love, betrayal, redemption. Just awesome.

Fantasy addict -- I've been following Brandon Sanderson since Elantris, and I haven't been disappointed yet. Warbreaker had me hooked start to finish, and as soon as I turned the last page my husband grabbed it out of my lap to start reading it himself.

Some of the strong points of this book (I could list the same strengths for his other work):

- it's *different*. I can't emphasize this enough. Brandon actually takes the fantasy genre and creates something new. His writing is creative and innovative. He uses the fantasy genre to explore instead of rehashing the same Tolkein-esqe story ad nauseum.

- great characters. He creates believable personalities you actually care about. I hate it when I'm forced to spend every other chapter following a character I hate. But there are no shallow villains or clueless idiots here -- even the relatively minor characters are interesting and convincing.

- brand-new magic system. I'm recognizing this as a hallmark of Brandon's writing -- he takes what seems like an unlikely and cumbersome system of magic and really makes it work, playing with every possibility within his set of rules. Read Elantris or Mistborn for further great examples of this.

- he explores politics and religion without prosthelytizing or bludgeoning you with obvious social commentary. Some reviews have complained this makes the book slow, but I utterly disagree.

Beyond those highlights, we have simply excellent writing, great worldbuilding, fantastic (and entertaining) dialogue, deliciously unexpected plot turns, and a nicely wrapped up ending with plenty of room for sequels (none scheduled, but we can always hope). In short, I haven't enjoyed a book this much since The Hero of Ages.

Keep writing, Brandon -- you may be the single best author ever to hit the genre!

Out of the Brandon Sanderson books I've read (and loved!), I would rank them (in order of enjoyment), as follows (excluding WoT novels):

1. The Way of Kings
2. The Mistborn Trilogy
3. Warbreaker
4. Elantris

Given that, I don't recommend reading The Way of Kings first. Start with one of the other three: Elantris, if you want a gentle introduction, Mistborn if you want to commit to reading three books, or Warbreaker if you are skeptical and want to quickly assess whether or not Sanderson is worth reading.

However, if are an old hand at reading epic fantasy and have no trouble immersing yourself into imaginative new worlds and juggling multiple characters and plots, by all means launch right into The Way of Kings first. It's a treat.

(This is a repost of my review that appeared on SF Signal recently [[...])

Warbreaker is an epic story of a kingdom in peril, a god that is more AND less than what he seems, a sister's love and jealousy, magical breath, and an army of the walking dead (and running, and slashing, and stabbing...).

I went into Warbreaker with some of that remaining curiosity about this fellow Sanderson that was finishing up the Wheel of Time. How was he doing in his craft? Had he grown? Would he manage the reigns well? I was nervous after enjoying, but not being impressed by Elantris and Mistborn. Warbreaker turned out to be the last book I read of his before The Gathering Storm. It was good, alleviated my concern a little more, but TGS was amazing! If I ever do a review on it I'd rank it near the top, that's for sure.

The story starts strong in the city of Hallandren, with a mysterious character that just oozes personality and conflict. He's dark, uncompromising and he fights for what is right--we hope. The setting expands, we find ourselves in Idris, spend a little time building the world and the conflicts at hand, including a very personal one for the King. All is well...then some strange things happen. Some good for the story and one that derails a new character.

Let's talk about magic: It's Sanderson's signature, something original. While I haven't read all there is in the fantasy universe, the magic of BioChromatic breath used by Awakeners in Warbreaker felt different and well done. But...I didn't like how specific he sometimes got with the expenditure. Just didn't seem quantifiable to that degree and made it feel like I was playing a video game or table top--kicking me out of the story each and every time.

Great characters are what really holds a story together and drags us hapless readers along. Warbreaker delivers. Lightsong in particular is delightfully irreverent and conflicted. But Vivenna never quite holds up to reader expectations with inconsistent decisions that uproot her character motivations. Maybe Sanderson was trying to show the uncertainty of growth as Vivenna grew in her awareness of the world, changing through her arc. I just wasn't convinced.

The twists and reveals in Warbreaker came off flat and underwhelming. Sure, the foreshadowing was always there, but the execution lacked and kept stealing that WOW moment. Primarily, I think, the motivations of the antagonists lacked the punch needed to make these moments shine.

Despite a strong start, the story meandered for the rest with some good points and bad, until reaching for the sky towards the end. I know that a good beginning can sell a book, and a bad beginning can almost kill it, so it makes sense to focus your energies. I will grant that he writes epic fantasy, writes them long, and writes a lot, so it is hard to make sure each one shines from head to toe. But it still feels like a cheat. The Gathering Storm was an exception and I have hopes for Way of Kings. We'll see. Ultimately I think Sanderson bit off more than he could tell in a book of this size and it would have been better with a narrower focus.

This book ended up better than good, but not quite great and I rate it a 3.5 out of 5. It shines sometimes and other times it drags. Overall well conceived, but lacking in consistency. Not something to drag me back for a second read any time soon.

If you're curious, go read it, you'll find enjoyment. If not, there are plenty of other books in the sea.

You can visit me on my blog at [...] for more reviews and to see what I'm writing on my own journey to getting published.

This book is one of the best I have ever read in the genre. I didn't expect much. Don't know why. Maybe because of the title, the limited size and the magic sword. But the book got better and better as it went along.
Very innovative magic system, which is Sanderson's thing, so no surprise there. But the characters were very good and they are nicely layered, which is not always his thing. Well thought out in this book.
Can't write much about the story without spoiling it. But even writing that is spoiling it somewhat. Don't read any more reviews. Just buy the book. You won't regret it.

Sanderson creates yet another world with a very intriguing magic system. I bow to his ability. The technicalities of the magic system may be a bit much for some, but I greatly enjoy learning about new magic systems so it didn't bother me at all.

As with other epics, there are a lot of characters although Sanderson has a gift for making them all distinct and transitions between them smooth. This is lighter in tone than most epics tend to be especially because one of the main characters, Lightsong, delights in making a joke out of everything.

If you've read and enjoyed another Sanderson book, you will enjoy Warbreaker as it is classic Sanderson. His writing style has only gotten better with each book he publishes.

I have never read anything by Brandon Sanderson. And to be honest, I sat on reading Warbreaker (Sci Fi Essential Books) for almost 2 months. I guess I was afraid it was going to be a boring SCI FI EPIC that was, uh, boring.

But one day, I decided to take this 500-plus-page behemoth out to my work place's lanai on a lunch break and just get to it.

Wow. That's all I can say. Just. Wow.

I loved it. Best adventure book I have read and I've read quite a few adventure stories of late.

It was both conventional (the old switcheroo) and unconventional (the sisters were the pivots points for the story). It had redemption and love and political chicanery and swashbuckling action.

The prose was intelligent yet accessible. Descriptive but not overbearing. And great characters all around both hero and villain. I can't even pick a favorite character because I liked so many but if I had to pick, I guess I have to go with Lightsong because he delivers so beautifully.

Overall, it was just a lot of fun to read and I can heartily recommend it to anyone who wants to read a good yarn that has likable characters, a solid plot and an intrigue that holds throughout.

Well done, Mr Sanderson. And thank you for a great story!

This book is a fantastic tale of two princesses caught in a war-torn world where the two meet friends and enemies along the way. The magic system is something I've never heard of before and it is extremely unique. I did feel however that the story dragged a bit and the dialogue was a bit... how should I put it... redundant. It is a fantastic story nonetheless. The world is beautifully created and I know that he gave it a lot of thought. However, one should note that after reading several of Sanderson's novels, there is a common theme among them. There are slums, created by a tyrant ruler. There are peasants who wish to revolt against the tyrant. There is a female heroine in more ways than one. I say this because I've read quite a few of his works, but, I gotta tell you, I've enjoyed each story, as I enter them without any pre-conceived notion of what the story SHOULD be, and instead enjoy it for what it IS.

Brandon Sanderson's novel Warbreaker is a nice splash of fresh Color in the world of books rapidly becoming repetitive and unimaginative. His writing style allows the reader easy access to a world unlike that which we experience, but which also opens a window to look back on our own experiences with a fresh vibrant perspective. He has a way of bringing this new world and culture to ours and throughout the novel he never lets go of the reader, constantly reminding us that we are no longer in our realm of experience.
Not only did he bring his readers into a land foreign to us, but to a culture and religion also different than those we are used to experiencing. He weaves magic in throughout the novel in ways that we know it is magic, but at the same time in this land it might almost not be considered magic, just a different culture from the normal.

His characters are so vivid and realistic that one can almost imagine herself interacting with them and joining them in their world without a difficult transition. The book just draws the reader in right from the start and keeps pulling them along throughout the whole of the story: like a carrot on a string in front of a donkey. The plot and characters are so intriguing that you're just dying to know what happens to them next, but you have to be patient as the scene rotates among the characters.

Overall I really enjoyed the book. It has been some time since I have read a book that I enjoyed this much. This was the first of Brandon Sanderson's books I've read and I have been intrigued and captured enough by his style that I fully intend to look into more of his works.

I once saw writing advice by Brandon Sanderson. He said something along the lines of "Don't write about the magic system like a text book, write about how the magic system shapes the people and events."

You can see how well this advice works in each of his books. In Elantris it's about how a broken magic system shaped the world. In the Mistborn series its the magic of metals. In Warbreaker it is the magic of color.

Of his "How magic shapes the people and events" books, Warbreaker to me was one of the most interesting. From a having to keep color away from thieves to cutting the tongue out of your immortal god king, Sanderson continually turns your perceptions on your head and makes you genuinely like the characters and long to learn more about the world. I literally couldn't put it down. An excellent book from a great author.

In a very short period of time the prose of Brandon Sanderson has soared to the heights of fantasy fiction. One of his latest novels is "Warbreaker" which, once more, does not disappoint and has the potential to attract even more staunch members of the author's fan club. The plot of the book focuses on the intertwined fates of three main characters and is further strengthened by a solid setting and an unbelievably original magical system.

Lightsong is a god who questions his divinity and whiles away time in sarcasm and wry humor leveled at the more civil (yet rather overindulged) gods from the pantheon. Sensing the false security of his secluded world, the constant manipulation and lies of the priests, Lightsong starts questioning his privileged position and ask himself whether this temple of his is not just an overly comfortable prison. In Idris, far away from the court of gods, where modesty is a virtue and colorful clothing is strictly forbidden, two princesses reverse their positions and are forced to deal with the consequences. The elderly and mature Vivenna has spent all her life preparing for a wedding with the dreaded king of a rival country. But when her lively and guileless sister Siri is sent in her stead, the fastidious and clinically calm princess decides to act on her own and finds herself overwhelmed with responsibilities and encircled by foes. Siri, though frustrated and unnerved by this new world of tasteless colors and endless intrigues, is not a little girl anymore and she weaves an intricate scheme to deceive those foolish enough to underestimate her.

As in all of Sanderson's previous works, magic plays a pivotal role in the setting of "Warbreaker". The author has created a system based on colors, their intensity and hue being of utmost importance. In this world, every person has at least a single Breath, the so-called BioChroma, which enables them to discern one color from the other. The more Breaths one possesses, the more capable of influencing the environment he becomes. All in all, the magical system enables the author to describe dynamic battles that well rival those in "Mistborn" and with the progress of the story, the reader witnesses some spectacular displays of BioChroma.

Nonetheless, the strength of "Warbreaker" is not this fabulously described magical system, but the interaction between protagonists, their clashing worldviews that make the novel consistent and plausible. Through the frequent change of characters' view point, Brandon Sanderson has managed to flesh out individuals that are part of a society and a hierarchy. As a result, our stubborn heroes are well-developed in terms of demeanor and peculiarities. Rarely do I encounter characters that last beyond the end of a book, that are unique and subject to drastic change.

Of course, there are some minor ones that have been thrown into the novel with an exact purpose and therefore seriously lack decent background and motivation. Nevertheless, "Warbreaker" is undoubtedly an excellent continuation of Brandon Sanderson's domination in the fantasy genre. No matter how hard I try to find fault with an aspect of his writing, there is none. Persevering characters, an elaborate storyline with unexpected plot twists and magic that drains out color are just little shreds of what a reader encounters in this richly detailed world of intrigue, betrayal and love.

Warbreaker was one my wife read first and raved about, and I wasn't sure it could compete with some of the great SciFi I've read over the years, but finally I gave it a chance and it was well worth the two days I spent cruising through it. The world is original, like nothing I've read before. The magic system was interesting and added a lot of mystery to the book. One thing I wish would have happened was the increased use of the magic, but oh well.

The action in the book had a lot of twists and turns, and the characters made you laugh and grumble at them from one chapter to the next. If I were somebody who read into deep meanings of the books I would probably take away a lot more about what outside and first impressions of people can be and their contrast with reality, so if you do read this look for that if interested.

The end was fantastic with the excitement really peaking and everything coming together in a way I was sure would not be possible.

Overall this was great. I have since purchased the book and will be re-reading it shortly.

Brandon Sanderson is about as impressive an author as you can be at his age. He already has proved himself with a blockbuster epic trilogy in Mistborn, a humorous young adult series in Alcatraz, and a satisfying epic fantasy standalone in Elantris. I've had my doubts over whether or not he'd be able to mesh with Jordan's flowery prose in a Memory of Light, but after reading Warbreaker, I am no longer worried.

This man can flat out write.

It doesn't matter what medium he is writing through whether it's a triology, solo, or a massive epic like the Wheel of Time, sanderson can adapt his voice and he can do it extremely well. and the shocking thing is how quickly he can do it, all while juggling several projects at once. The man is a writing machine.

warbreaker is a very well told tale and a hugely entertaining one at that. The characters are great, and i felt myself relating to all of them. Vasher and Lightsong, Siri and Susebron...The list goes on. The side characters are great as well. The hilarious mercenary duo really did it for me. They reminded me a little bit of Thom Merilin.

I look forward to his next works whatever they are because the man writes great fiction. Warbreaker has all of the political maneuverings, battles, character development, and twists and turns that you could want in 600 page hardcover. And it' satisfying! Not many standalone fantasies these days can say that!

So here's to Brandon SAnderson, the brightest voice in fantasy.

It is a well written slow burn. Very creative, and the author brings it all together nicely. But there were parts where I almost set it down and moved on. I kept going, and it was worth it. The sword was my favorite character, and the story was well done despite the absence of any character I really cared for. That is kind of odd. Recommended.

This book was fairly good. It kept my interest (mostly) and had some fairly good characters and an interesting plot with two major twists.

The writing in it was not on par with what I have come to expect from Sanderson though. There were a boat-load of basic spelling and grammatical errors, along with formatting errors. There were a couple of places where it was very clear that either no editor was employed, or that the editor should have been reading more carefully.

Mild spoilers ahead, beware.

The characters in this story were not as strong as those in his Mistborn series. The two princess characters both fell extremely flat. The older sister is annoying and whiny through a majority of the book, and has a very sudden change in view that comes across as forced. The younger sister has a much stronger, more rounded character in the beginning of the book, but becomes a very weak, very timid and very vanilla sort of character by the end. Neither of these main characters goes through a change over the course of the book, which is one of the main tenants of a good fantasy novel. The main male characters, Lightsong, and the king, are far more interesting, but aren't pushed far enough. Lightsong has a fascinating view on things and practically carried this entire book. If it weren't for that character, I most likely would not have finished the story. Even so, there is much more that could have been done with that character and with his set up, as well as using his past and playing with the dreams he has. The king is an interesting concept of a character, but is not fleshed out. There is a great set-up in place with his difficulties and the extent to which his priests have turned him into a figurehead, but Sanderson did not actually use that set up. He let it fall flat.

The magic system in this book was interesting and different from others that I have encountered. It didn't feel fully complete to me... more like it was an experiment of the author's. I did find it interesting, but the rules concerning it were not clear. Compared to his other works, this system falls short. Again, it's a good start, but does not reach potential, and ends up seeming incomplete.

The world building left a lot to be desired. Referencing the history of the lands is okay, but not if there is not enough of a reference to explain exactly how two countries that used to be one have become so distinct from each other in such a (relatively) short amount of time. They would not have become polar opposites in a few centuries time if they had been the same country before that, that isn't how cultural changes happen.

There were many places where I felt that Sanderson could have gone deeper in explanations, or made more of a twist happened. The ending was very predictable... and even then, it just sort of stopped without any real conclusion.

Between the weak characters, the one-dimensional world created, basic spelling, formatting, and grammatical mistakes, and the many 'almost there' moments, this book was a disappointment after reading some of his other works.

On another note: the author's notes on each chapter seemed to have had more thought put into them (and more editing) than the actual book did. They also were nearly as long. I don't mind annotated copies of books, but in this case, it was too much annotation and not enough real story. If Sanderson put some of that effort into the actual book, it would have been better.

This is the first of this author's books that I have read. I enjoyed it quite a bit and, although it isn't one of those books that I just couldn't seem to put down, I definitely wanted to read it to the end. The "system" that he has created is exciting and very unique.

While this isn't a book that I would read a second time, I am definitely glad that I read it once. Also, based on the enjoyment level of reading this one, I will read others by the same author. Apparently, I should read the Mistborn series as they seem to be very popular.

To summarize, this was a fun book to read, very imaginative and one that I would recommend.

This review is for the audible. The narrator uses one voice with hardly any change between characters. Made listening to it worse as time went on. By chapter three I couldn't bare listening to the narrator and the story was boring (slow?). Returned it. I am a big Sanderson fan and Mistborn and Way of the Kings are two of my all time favorite stories.

I really enjoyed this novel. I read it as part of a book club and found it impossible to put down. The world is well realized, the characters interesting, and the mechanics of the magic within the world intriguing. After reading it I found myself searching for a sequel or at least other Brandon Sanderson novels. No sequel, yet, but I've enjoyed some of his other novels now (Elantris, Mistborn Trilogy).
I don't want to give anything away in this review, but I will say that Sanderson does a masterful job of keeping the reader enthralled while telling a story that seems to exist between two momentous times in this worlds history, quite the feat, and he does it well!

I was surprised by Warbreaker. I did not read it until I had the book in my hands, opting to ignore the various versions Sanderson has on his website. After Elantris and the Mistborn trilogy, I had very high hopes for this one-shot fantasy by an author who I think has a chance of becoming one of the greats in the genre. My expectations were quite high, so I might be judging the book more strongly than I ought.

The book was solid - but not great; hence the 3 stars. I greatly enjoyed Mistborn, and I thought Elantris was an excellent first book. I expected Warbreaker to be better. The book starts slowly with choppy sequencing that leaves the characters feeling contrived. The opening is then exacerbated by more slow pacing through the first 3/4 of the book as Sanderson introduces his lineup of characters and develops each one. Even with all the time spent, I think the characters come off a little flat. The witty banter is very well written, but too many characters use it - cheapening it somewhat. Finally, the ending, which is extremely rushed, contains many twists and turns in the span of just a few thousand words. Events seem forced and are in some cases, difficult to swallow. Several times my suspension of disbelief had to shift into overdrive for me to accept what I was reading.

That was the bad, now for the good. Sanderson's storytelling is fantastic. He uses short chapters and lots of POV changes to keep the action moving. There is also a very fair number of "cool events" and these kept me turning the pages to find out what happens next. It wasn't as action packed as Mistborn, but the subtle actions at court and within the gang of mercenaries is enough to overcome the weight of the plot. Finally, the twists at the end, while horribly rushed, are quite interesting, and he wraps his story up nicely, even if you're not quite sure how everything ties together. I'm still not sure I understand all the rules about the Returned.

Nothing was as it seemed in the book. In fact you could make that the name of the book and it would make more sense then the actual title. Overall, I enjoyed the read. I can't say that I'll go back and reread it a bunch of times like I've done with Mistborn, but it was entertainment worth the time.

There is some bias in my opinion of this book, since I had just come off of reading the Mistborn trilogy when I read this one. Perhaps if I had read it the other way around, things would have been different.

The similarities to Mistborn just felt too jarring, the most prominent being the Emperors (and what we learn of them).

However, I will say that Lightsong steals the spotlight with a charm that was certainly the highlight of this novel. Perhaps that was what was bothering me... he outshone all the other characters that I was saddened he wasn't the primary protagonist.

I think this one finished too quickly; or rather, this book needed another 300 pages. The final pages didn't ring true to the rest of the story.

Otherwise, Sanderson has done it again! I loved this book and read it in a weekend! I couldn't put it down, and in true Sanderson style, he has created an amazingly complicated universe. This in particular calls on the reader to consider morality, the basic battles between polytheism and monotheism (are these the Hebrews and Greeks rehashing their battles???) Is Vasher Moses??? He says he has trouble speaking and works to free the enslaved...

Whatever the source, this is a great story! Thanks, Brandon. dk

This was another book I've had for awhile and never picked up and now I am kicking myself for waiting. At almost 600 pages it quite the hefty book but is a wonderful read! I loved the characters and can't think of a single one that I found lacking. The story is filled with twists and turns that surprised me and kept me wondering what was really going on. We watch the two sisters, Vivenna and Siri, mature through their experiences in Hallandren. The "god" Lightsong was hilarious and kept me laughing through the book and he touches your heart. If you are looking for a good fantasy read this is definitely one to pick up.

Finally got around to reading this book. For those of you who don't know, I used to be in Brandon's writing group. The nice thing about this is that I got to read all of his material before it was published. The not so nice thing is that I never got to consume it "whole"--all at once, all fresh. Until this book. Brandon released many versions of it online for free, and the final version was published a month or two ago. (Maybe more--I admit I've lost track of time.) This was the first time I'd read even a sentence of it, and I'm happy to report that it really was a fantastic read.

Brandon writes what I'd term "Science Fantasy." His magic systems typically have very hard and fast rules, rules which the characters in his novels explore in much the same way that scientists explore natural laws of physics in our world. As such, new abilities in Brandon books come about not by some sort of mumbo jumbo, but by characters gaining a better understanding of how the magic they've been using all along can be manipulated to do something else cool. (Again, just like scientists we know and love can come up with some new innovation that has the power to change the world we live in.)

In a Brandon book, he will throw you into a world and let you figure it out as you read. There's a learning curve involved, but it's worth it. In Warbreaker, the setting is a world where color and life are magic. Each person has a Breath, and they can sell that Breath to others for money. If someone collects enough Breaths in this manner, he or she can get special abilities--perfect pitch, resistance to disease or age, or the ability to use that Breath to bring other things to life.

Within that setting are two countries at the edge of war. They have largely religious differences, but also socio-political ones. Two princesses of the smaller country have to figure out how to stop that war from happening. That's the basic setup--the whole book is, of course, much more complex.

What did I like about it? First off, it's a standalone novel. You begin and end the epic journey within a single cover. In fantasy these days, you don't see that too often. Second, the characters are very well written. You know and understand them, and you sympathize with them. Third, there are no "villains" per se. People aren't evil just for the sake of being evil--motivations are fleshed out, and you understand why people are doing what they're doing. Fourth, the book isn't predictable. Each time I thought I'd "figured it out," something else popped up to make me reevaluate my expectations. In a good way. The book is a quick, fun read, and the magic system is very well done--very interesting.

What didn't I like? I'd say my one complaint was that the book felt a little too smart for me. I know if I read it again, there would be things in there that would become clearer than they are right now. That's usually a good thing, but I find myself still not being 100% sure of everything that happened in the book and why it happened. Not in an awful way, but in a way that I feel could have been handled a little more clearly. I know that's sort of muddled, but there it is. I wanted the explanations to be about 5-10% more clear. Picky picky, I know.

In any case, you should pick this book up and give it a go. Highly recommended.

I absolutely loved this book! Brandon Sanderson is a master. He always creates such a unique and interesting world that pulls you in and keeps you captivated. This book did just that. I loved the growth of each character as their stories progressed. The magic system, while confusing at first, is awesome. Would definitely read again.

Brandon Sanderson never disappoints, however the closest he's come to disappointing me is by writing books such as this one and The Rithmatist and then having to wait and eternity for the sequels since he's focusing on other amazing series! In this book Sanderson plays with breath/color/lifeforce in a fun way creating a world rich in color and plot, but with some surprising twists. I highly recommend!

Others have discussed the plot outlines, so all I can add is that I found the book well written and the characters engaging. Like other books by this author, he seems to get bogged down in the details of the "magic" and while a unique idea, I found it a bit limiting and a bit silly. Still, it was nice to be able to sit down and read a SINGLE book, not a trilogy and not (heaven forgive...) a 10 part series. After the author finishes off the WOT and the final 3 books are all in paperback, I will try to slog to the finish line on that series at least. Sanderson really is one of my favorite writers.

I've not yet read a book by Brandon which I didn't like. I don't often read a book more than once, but this one I've gone through twice. Brandon seems really good about coming up with new structures for magic. In this case, it is Biochromatic breath. There was a section of the book which I found slow, but even that story line picked up about midway through the book and it was necessary for the overall flow of the story.

In short, this is a very interesting read about a new form of magic and a god who believes the religion which deifies him is misguided at best and contrived at worst.

Wow! This book was compelling, enchanting, exciting and facinating. I loved each character, and the ones I didn't like so much at first suprized me in the end. I liked Siri from the first and her story always kept my interest. We also get to meet Viveen, Vasher, Lightsong, Scoot and other great characters. We get a big story of political manuverings to prevent war, but we also get a personal story in characters learning to live in the new situations they end up in. The magic is new and interesting. I liked how the idea of magic and religion and belief and openmindedness were all brought together. Reading this book you had to think of the magic system and the custom of how it was used. I heard it said that Brandon Sanderson is one to watch, that he will end up like fantasy greats such as Jordan, Eddings, Brooks etc, This book makes me totally beleive it. I'll be sure to buy his next book.

Brandon Sanderson has written a fantastic novel that is truly hard to put down. The world of fantasy/fiction is a densely inhabited place, and yet "Warbreaker" still manages to stand out as unique.

Many magic systems have been written about, yet the 'color' keys is marvelous. I appreciate the wide variety of characters from gods to plebians and their simple interactions. Vasher, the King of Idris, and the royal marriageable daughters move in a world that has consequences for two worlds.

This is one writer who will be a superstar very soon. This is a no drivel novel.

Tim Lasiuta

A happy accident lead me to reading this book. In a world where the fame of the author can sometimes cause their writing to wane, I know that I will never be disappointed by Brandon Sanderson. I consider myself a prolific reader yet i was repeatedly surprised with the directions and growth of the characters. love this book but reader be warned, it is part of a series that had yet to be finished. Read it anyway, I dare you.

As expected from Sanderson! I really enjoyed Lightsong and Blushweaver's witty dialogues, and overall Lightsong was one of my favorite characters in the book, but the other characters were mostly really interesting and well-developed as well. The plot in itself was good, with a slight twist at the end, and the intricacies of the Court of Gods and the reason for the existence of the God King were a wonder to unravel while reading that book.

The only things I didn't like so much were Vivenna's character (she changed throughout the book and got some kind of an improvement towards the end, but still, she was a bit dull in comparison to the others), and maybe the somewhat anticlimactic meeting between her and her sister at the end. Other than that, I really enjoyed the ride, and I recommend you read this book if you like these kinds of stories!

An excellent story, told through the intertwined stories of the three main characters, all three revolving around a single convoluted plot of politics and betrayal, colour and magic.

The characters are well-rounded, the history is detailed enough to feel fleshed and gradually revealed throughout the story in an organic way rather than a simple infodump, and the city where most of the action takes place seems a real place with its own rules and culture rather than a simple generic fantasy setting.
There are unfortunately some scenes in the ending that feel a bit rushed, but all in all it's pretty good.

My only annoyance: was there a real need to write BioChroma in camel case? It hurts my eyes, precioussss...

So this was my very first Brandon Sanderson novel. I'll just start with saying I would never had read this if not for Brent Weeks' Black Prism, and how highly he speaks of Sanderson. I'll just say this, Sanderson has set the bar very high for me. This book was full of twists and turns. Character development was excellent. His magic was pretty ingenuitive(hard to come by sometimes)and having all these things is really all you can ask for in a great Fantasy novel. Warbreaker is exactly that- Great. A must read for those of you who are like myself and can't get enough of this amazing genre.

I have to be honest. I'm still trying to read this book. I picked up and put it down at least six or eight times now. But I think it must be me. It (what I've read of it) is extremely well written, well crafted as an author, and I just haven't been able to get into it. Somebody other than me might like it a whole lot, though, and I haven't given up on reading it. I have it right here beside the computer, and I've decided to give it another try tonight. I've liked other books Brandon Sanderson has written, and I fully expect to buy his completion of the Robert Jordan series when it is available...so what's wrong with me? Why don't I absolutely love this book?

This was my first encounter with Brendon Sanderson, but as soon as I had finished this amazing tome, I immediately ordered everything else he has written. This was truly a spectacularly complex piece of stand-alone fantasy, with amazing world-building, powerful and non-stock characters, and (even better) a clearly-defined rule system for his magical system. I cannot emphasize enough just what an incredible new voice Sanderson is, and how absolutely delighted I am that I encountered him!

GOOD BOOK

Couldnt put it down. Mind you there was alot of needless banter but still it was amusing even if it became predictable after a while.

At first i thought the whole idea of breath and color was a bit ridiculous and that almost made me stop reading it. But as i found humor in other areas i read through it and by the middle of the book it felt rather natural as i was pulled in.

glad i kept reading it.

This is probably the best stand alone fantasy book i've ever read. I usually prefer series or trilogies, but this one is brilliant. The characters all have there own unique voices, and not only that but all the characters are interesting. You find yourself rooting for them even when you are not sure if they are good guy or a bad guy. The book is full of action and humor and even some philosophy, all of which are extremely well done. The character Lightsong often had me in stitches along with the two mercenaries. To top it off the book has a totally unique interesting and fleshed out magic system, that never leaves you wondering exactly what the magic users can and can't do. A must read for any fantasy lover.

In breif: In Warbreaker, a stand-alone fantasy novel, Brandon Sanderson has created a deep and exciting novel with a unique and imaginative magic system, and realistic understandable characters that the reader can relate to. Highly recommended.

The novel is well paced, introducing the world cleanly from the start, and slowing expanding the reader's knowledge of the magic system as the story progresses.
While there are plot-twists aplenty, some obvious, some quite surprising, none of them feel forced or illogical. Each twist and turn in the story follows logically and cleanly from proceeding events.
The cast is varied, each character bringing their own viewpoint and agenda, and the characters react in realistic and understandable ways as events unfold.

While not much of the world is explored during the course of the novel, it still conveys a sense both of scope and culture, exploring to some degree the conflicts that can arise when different cultures are brought into close contact.

Do yourself a favor and pick up this book. You'll be glad you did.

I was hopeful when I saw the positive reviews for this book. I had read Elantris and thought it was a good first effort, so I was expecting something good here. Disappointment. I suppose if I wanted a YA novel this would fit the bill, but that's not what I expected. Sanderson has the same issue here he did in Elantris...cool ideas, terrible execution. He spends the first several hundred pages saying the same thing over and over again. I get that when they have "Breath" they make colors brighter...I don't need to hear that ten more times, in the next ten pages. The reader is treated like an idiot, and logic is missing from most of the interactions going on. Main characters are all set at the same basic level. Ignorantly stupid. If you tell me someone has been training for an event their whole life, they should have the most basic idea of what's going on. But every character minus one is incredibly ignorant of the world around them.

Cool ideas, cool magic system, one interesting character and ambiguous themes sound like a great read. Then Sanderson goes and fluffs into a novel that is 90% drivel and 10% fun, with about twice the word count needed. If you like YA, read it. You will like it. If you like quality, mature books, stay away. You'll thank me.

LOVED THIS BOOK! I have always been a loyal fan of Brandon Sanderson, but I must admit, when I was reading the description about "colors" I was a little skeptical. True to form however, the incredible writing and character depth drew me in. I read this book in a day! I couldn't put it down!! This man is TALENTED!!!!! Must read if you are a fan of Brandon Sanderson, or looking for a great fantasy novel. Great for YA/Adults!

I found Mr.Sanderson's book Warbreaker to be a refreshing change for my jaundiced brain. I have many favorite authors and they can satisfy, yet I have found few who have awoken a hunger in me to keep reading even when my head is planted nose first into the book from lack of sleep. Run out and grab a high carb snack and race back like the book might actually disappear before I can finish it. Awesome, I love the world of Lightsong, Siri, and Clod. Amazing story telling.

A great book! I am a die-hard fan of Brandon Sanderson and my favorite character was easily the sentient, happy-go-lucky sword named Nightblood! The entire book was amazing but was made one of my favourites by Nightblood's hilarious (and surprisingly adorable) personality. Amazing and took my Breath away!

It's hard to find original ideas these days. With all the retreads, reboots, and remakes in movies and then with the same standard fantasy fair in books. Sometimes a book takes you totally by surprise and the Warbreaker did that for me. I had no expectations having never read Brandon Sanderson before but was blown away from the opening pages. Pick up this book if you like fantasy and are hungry for something new and original...you won't regret it!

Elantris was a well-written interesting world, which is why it was Brandon Sanderson's first published novel.

Warbreaker was his first novel that he wrote and published later, and it shows. The world he's created is interesting with its form of magic, its politics, and its intrigue. But the book is such a drag! The characters go on and on, such that it's sometimes hard to keep reading. The book has its moments, but most of the time I'd find myself wondering when I'd finish so I can get to my next book.

I think this initial book of his was released solely on the coattails of his "Robert Jordan"/"Wheel Of Time" fame, an extra money maker. There are better self-published or indie authors that are more worthy of your time, which the publishing houses should look into rather than spending money on books like this and taking opportunity away from the said self-published authors.

Readers familiar with Sanderson's other fantasy novels will recognize his characteristic tropes: an original, thought-out magic system that becomes more elaborated or better understood through the course of the book and an epic conflict, whose structure changes radically as the protagonists get deeper into it, so that some villians turn out to be heroes, and vice versa.

Readers new to Sanderson are simply in for a treat.

I think the story is awesome, really you can sink your teeth in and enjoy the ride except it grew very tedious to have all the colors spelled out for you every time that you felt you were getting somewhere. I love descriptive books, don't get me wrong, and I understand that color was the driving force and energy of the people in this book, it just got old and wearisome as the reader to keep getting updates on the color of the room, the color of someone's hair.

Otherwise I recommend the book, it's a great story which has been hashed in rehashed in every other review here.

A story told from four very different characters: a rebellious teenager, her older sister, a mysterious peasant hero, and a reluctant god. As is Sanderson's expertise, the magic system is like nothing I've ever read, but is very unique and versatile. Very cool story, with likeable characters, but a little less action than I prefer. Like every one of Sanderson's books, you'll be very upset if you skip this read.

GOOD BOOK

Couldnt put it down. Mind you there was alot of needless banter but still it was amusing even if it became predictable after a while.

At first i thought the whole idea of breath and color was a bit ridiculous and that almost made me stop reading it. But as i found humor in other areas i read through it and by the middle of the book it felt rather natural as i was pulled in.

glad i kept reading it.

This is probably the best stand alone fantasy book i've ever read. I usually prefer series or trilogies, but this one is brilliant. The characters all have there own unique voices, and not only that but all the characters are interesting. You find yourself rooting for them even when you are not sure if they are good guy or a bad guy. The book is full of action and humor and even some philosophy, all of which are extremely well done. The character Lightsong often had me in stitches along with the two mercenaries. To top it off the book has a totally unique interesting and fleshed out magic system, that never leaves you wondering exactly what the magic users can and can't do. A must read for any fantasy lover.

In breif: In Warbreaker, a stand-alone fantasy novel, Brandon Sanderson has created a deep and exciting novel with a unique and imaginative magic system, and realistic understandable characters that the reader can relate to. Highly recommended.

The novel is well paced, introducing the world cleanly from the start, and slowing expanding the reader's knowledge of the magic system as the story progresses.
While there are plot-twists aplenty, some obvious, some quite surprising, none of them feel forced or illogical. Each twist and turn in the story follows logically and cleanly from proceeding events.
The cast is varied, each character bringing their own viewpoint and agenda, and the characters react in realistic and understandable ways as events unfold.

While not much of the world is explored during the course of the novel, it still conveys a sense both of scope and culture, exploring to some degree the conflicts that can arise when different cultures are brought into close contact.

Do yourself a favor and pick up this book. You'll be glad you did.

I was hopeful when I saw the positive reviews for this book. I had read Elantris and thought it was a good first effort, so I was expecting something good here. Disappointment. I suppose if I wanted a YA novel this would fit the bill, but that's not what I expected. Sanderson has the same issue here he did in Elantris...cool ideas, terrible execution. He spends the first several hundred pages saying the same thing over and over again. I get that when they have "Breath" they make colors brighter...I don't need to hear that ten more times, in the next ten pages. The reader is treated like an idiot, and logic is missing from most of the interactions going on. Main characters are all set at the same basic level. Ignorantly stupid. If you tell me someone has been training for an event their whole life, they should have the most basic idea of what's going on. But every character minus one is incredibly ignorant of the world around them.

Cool ideas, cool magic system, one interesting character and ambiguous themes sound like a great read. Then Sanderson goes and fluffs into a novel that is 90% drivel and 10% fun, with about twice the word count needed. If you like YA, read it. You will like it. If you like quality, mature books, stay away. You'll thank me.

LOVED THIS BOOK! I have always been a loyal fan of Brandon Sanderson, but I must admit, when I was reading the description about "colors" I was a little skeptical. True to form however, the incredible writing and character depth drew me in. I read this book in a day! I couldn't put it down!! This man is TALENTED!!!!! Must read if you are a fan of Brandon Sanderson, or looking for a great fantasy novel. Great for YA/Adults!

I found Mr.Sanderson's book Warbreaker to be a refreshing change for my jaundiced brain. I have many favorite authors and they can satisfy, yet I have found few who have awoken a hunger in me to keep reading even when my head is planted nose first into the book from lack of sleep. Run out and grab a high carb snack and race back like the book might actually disappear before I can finish it. Awesome, I love the world of Lightsong, Siri, and Clod. Amazing story telling.

A great book! I am a die-hard fan of Brandon Sanderson and my favorite character was easily the sentient, happy-go-lucky sword named Nightblood! The entire book was amazing but was made one of my favourites by Nightblood's hilarious (and surprisingly adorable) personality. Amazing and took my Breath away!

It's hard to find original ideas these days. With all the retreads, reboots, and remakes in movies and then with the same standard fantasy fair in books. Sometimes a book takes you totally by surprise and the Warbreaker did that for me. I had no expectations having never read Brandon Sanderson before but was blown away from the opening pages. Pick up this book if you like fantasy and are hungry for something new and original...you won't regret it!

Elantris was a well-written interesting world, which is why it was Brandon Sanderson's first published novel.

Warbreaker was his first novel that he wrote and published later, and it shows. The world he's created is interesting with its form of magic, its politics, and its intrigue. But the book is such a drag! The characters go on and on, such that it's sometimes hard to keep reading. The book has its moments, but most of the time I'd find myself wondering when I'd finish so I can get to my next book.

I think this initial book of his was released solely on the coattails of his "Robert Jordan"/"Wheel Of Time" fame, an extra money maker. There are better self-published or indie authors that are more worthy of your time, which the publishing houses should look into rather than spending money on books like this and taking opportunity away from the said self-published authors.

Readers familiar with Sanderson's other fantasy novels will recognize his characteristic tropes: an original, thought-out magic system that becomes more elaborated or better understood through the course of the book and an epic conflict, whose structure changes radically as the protagonists get deeper into it, so that some villians turn out to be heroes, and vice versa.

Readers new to Sanderson are simply in for a treat.

I think the story is awesome, really you can sink your teeth in and enjoy the ride except it grew very tedious to have all the colors spelled out for you every time that you felt you were getting somewhere. I love descriptive books, don't get me wrong, and I understand that color was the driving force and energy of the people in this book, it just got old and wearisome as the reader to keep getting updates on the color of the room, the color of someone's hair.

Otherwise I recommend the book, it's a great story which has been hashed in rehashed in every other review here.

A story told from four very different characters: a rebellious teenager, her older sister, a mysterious peasant hero, and a reluctant god. As is Sanderson's expertise, the magic system is like nothing I've ever read, but is very unique and versatile. Very cool story, with likeable characters, but a little less action than I prefer. Like every one of Sanderson's books, you'll be very upset if you skip this read.

I just wanted to let everyone here know that you can download the full novel for free from his website. It's at brandonsanderson.com and just click on the Warbreaker portal. Brandon has said frequently that he did this so that people would have a way to try him out as an author and would hopefully read his other books. As far as the quality of the novel, I really enjoyed it. It's not my favorite of Sanderson's work, that would be Mistborn Trilogy and The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive), but it is still quite good. Hence the four stars. It also has two of the stronger female protagonists that I have read in fantasy. Like I said, highly recommended, and if you can get it for free from his website...why the heck not?

I've read Mistborn as well as Elantris, and both are far superior to this novel.

The one thing that really got to me is how incredibly similar this book is to mistborn. It seemed like a prototype to Mistborn. Everything that is in this book seems like it's just slightly changed from Mistborn. Sort of like a subtle plagiarization of his own works.

Instead of having metal to draw power from, now you have colors and breath to do so. Siri is too much like Vin. I mean, Vin pretends to be a noble to 'learn secrets,' remarkably, Siri here pretends to be a the god king's queen to do the same.

Even the peripheral characters are similar. Everyone is a philosopher who seems to have incredible analytical skills and can formulaically solve any problem. In both novels they're trying to overthrow a dictator and in teh same why by causing havoc.

Even the beginning of the book with Vasher is incredibly similar to Kelsier. Umm.. God King? Lord Emperor? am i the only one who sees these similarities?

Sanderson's dialogue is all ready pretty eyerolling and cheesey. It's particularly cheesey in this novel. Made up works like BioChromatic, Allmohter and blushweaver is just tedious. I mean a lot of the novel is about Gods trying to manipulate other gods to give up their "command codes" so that they can control the 'lifeless' army. What am I reading here? The two main protagonist princesses emotions change the color of their hair? And we have to get a comment about how their hair color chnages every time their mood changes and how they are forcing their wills to keep the color. EVERY TIME.

There are so many plot holes as well that I had to force myself to try to finish it.

*spoilers
Hallandren seems a bit too extravagant. I mean the "gods" literallly sit around and do nothing and get whatever they want. The God King has extravagant ten course meals made EVERY NIGHT "just in case" he gets hungry.

No wonder this novel is available free on his website!

Note: I wouldve given it a 3 1/2 but since thats not possible, I gave it a 3 stars.

My biggest problem with this book is one thing. Vasher. IT NEEDED MORE VASHER. He was the only really awesome guy in the book, I loved him. When I read the prologue I was so excited, Vasher was, simply put, a Bad A. From the magic system (bio-chroma) that he used to his attitude, he was a fun guy to read about. I thought the story was going to revolve around him. Much to my dismay the book revolved around a girl Siri, who I struggled with, and sometimes amusing, sometimes just annoying demi-god character Lightsong.

Sanderson is, without a doubt, my favorite fantasy author in the business today. His magic systems are inventive, his worlds are fun to visit. I thought this fell flat compared to what I have read in Mistborn, or even in comparison to the first few chapters of the Stormlight Archive (although, since that isnt quite out, it may not be fair to throw that in just yet). If this book had been focused on Vasher, which would have made it a totally different story, I guess, I would have liked it a lot more.

But still, read it and judge for yourself, it is still worth you time and attention. It is in paperback know, so youy can buy it for cheap.

I haven't read much of Sanderson's work, but after flying through this piece, I will be shortly.

I came late to the review party so I won't try to put what others have said into my own words..
But:
- Sanderson is a very efficient writer - this book keeps moving and never gets dull
- The story is immersive - I'd like to see more tales from Hallandren

5 stars
An absolute must-read for fantasy/sci-fi fans