Warbreaker

Warbreaker is such an interesting book with so many classic Sanderson elements, but just doesn’t quite put them all together as effectively as a lot of his other works do. The worldbuilding is incredible as always. It’s almost mistbornesque in that it’s urban based, with gangs of thieves and mercenaries, as well as an extremely powerful religious group running the show while leaving the commoners in the dark. Where it differs from mistborn is the colors. Mistborn is dark and grimy with ash falling nonstop and general despair, while Warbreaker is full of life with splashes of color all over the place and the people prioritizing leisure and entertainment even during their struggles.

Perhaps my problem with this book stems from false expectations. I thought it was going to be the story of Vasher creating Nightblood, or at the very least centered on those two, but they were auxiliary characters who played massively important roles, especially at the end of the book, but I’m left with more questions about them and even more desire to know their full story. That’s not to say that Vivenna and Siri are not interesting characters. The dichotomy and role switch between the sisters is an excellent plot. I just felt more drawn to Vasher’s story.

Lastly, how the hell is there not a sequel to this book. The sanderlanche was all about setting it up for future adventures, which was frustrating because there aren’t any yet and it made the events at the end of the book feel less impactful than they should have.

While in many ways, this book is the antithesis of Mistborn, it still feels so much like Mistborn in a way that I didn't realize I had missed from Sanderson's writing style. The stakes and story are just as epic with this being part of the Cosmere, but it feels much more self-contained. A really enjoyable read!

Gradually over the past year and a half I've been reading more and more fantasy books, gradually working my way through some new releases and some old classics but one name and author kept cropping up as the most recommended and highly regarded of the fantasy genre and that was Brandon Sanderson. It became apparent quickly that as master of the genre he was someone I needed to read.

Upon recommendation, I started off with Warbreaker, the story of the two Idrian princesses one of whom is sent away to the neighbouring Hallandren to marry their God King whilst her sister follows after her to try and save her sister from the fate she believes awaits her at the hands of her future husband.

I was worried initially that I'd find the book quite dense and difficult to delve into, being one of my first experiences of high fantasy I hoped it would be accessible to me. Instead of a difficult book to read I found one full of humour, relatable characters it is easy to fall in love with and vivid settings with histories that you discover as the book goes along. I could not stop reading this book, I loved the way that his characters are not always what they appear to be. Just as we are developing feelings for them Sanderson flips them and suddenly they are not all that they appeared to be. We can be cheering them one moment then praying for their demise the next.

The beautiful blossoming relationships between Siri and her God King husband was so beautiful to rea and they were two of my favourite characters in the novel. However, the real prize must go to Lightsong the Bold, the god who struggles with his godliness and his role as a deity and who develops a conscience about what is going on around him and so sets out to discover who is controlling the scheming in Hallandren, he is a beautiful and witty character to read from the perspective of and his journey of self-discovery and his endearing sense of right. I get it now, I'd heard people talk about the amazing characters Sanderson writes and I now sense the potential and hidden joys his other books have waiting for me and I cannot wait to savour them all.

When I initially started this book I had been led to believe that it was a standalone but I now believe that there will be more stories set around the characters of Warbreaker and I am totally invested, I cannot wait to learn more about the history of the Manywars and the players involved and to find out how things will resolve from Warbreaker.

A well deserved 5 out of 5 stars.