Warbreaker
Ratings865
Average rating4.2
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.
This was a fantastic story!
1. Worldbuilding. Probably the best part. The magic system is simply beautiful.
2. Story. Political intrigue, characters to root for, funny, great pacing.
3. Characters. The sisters are great, completely different but very easy to root for, the elder sister i found extremely naive, but still likeable. The side characters are funny, interesting and distinct.
4. The love story. I really liked it, even though it wasn't the main plot.
5. The ending was probably the weakest part, but still pretty good.
Contains spoilers
La historia esta palomera, 10/10 sistema de magia y personajes, tqm son de luz, tqm Vasher, Merecido encendedora
idk if this book is underrated but I feel like it’s not talked about enough. IT’S!SO!GOOD! For starters, Vasher/Zahel/other aliases and Nightblood are present. They’re already such interesting characters and we receive more insight into their (kind of insane) stories before world hopping to Roshar. Then we’ve got the sisters Vivenna and Siri who both had one persona at the beginning of the book and completely changed by the end - but all in all they’re badass women holding their own which is so awesome (duh). In Warbreaker, we also get a much more involved love story that I’ve seen in past Brando books that becomes a major plot point. Susebron and Siri’s love story is one of my favorites in the cosmere and I don’t think it’s one I’ll ever forget. Lastly, the WORLD IS SO COOL. THE MAGIC SYSTEM?! BREATHS?! THE COLORS! THE CITY OF T’TELIR?! Immaculate, spectacular, incredible. Chef’s kiss.
5⭐️
Compared to Mistborn: The Final Empire and Stormlight Archive: The Way of Kings, it has a much slower start. It does a really good job building up into the world and exploring the plot points. It made me really come to enjoy all the characters and look forward to the world being explored in future releases, but I know if you need the plot to get moving there's a good chance you'll bounce off this book. I think the magic system is decently explored, but definitely not to the level of the other books by Brandon Sanderson.
Really enjoyed the story and the magic system. Loved Vivenna story in the book and Vasher was my favorite character.
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!
Enjoyed this read over all, the last 10% I was split with feeling unsatisfied then feeling ut wrapped up nicely. For the first 5% of it I was feeling let down, I wasn't vibing with whwre things were headed, then the last 5% was great! Loved how we slowly learn more and more about the history of the culture and watch each character grow. Definitely a satisfying read and would recommend
Empecé a leer este libro con algunas preocupaciones. Había escuchado que era similar a Elantris en su ritmo y eso me asustaba un poco. Nada más lejos de la realidad!
A medida que el libro avanzaba me iba enganchando más y más. En este libro se nota la habilidad de Sanderson para tejer diferentes historias y puntos de vista ocurriendo al mismo tiempo para entrelazar todo muy bien al final.
Hay bastantes giros inesperados, el final es completamente inesperado pero muy satisfactorio.
Aunque los alientos son el sistema de magia que menos me ha gustado del cosmere, el libro me dejó con muchas ganas de una secuela para seguir atando varios cabos que quedaron sueltos.
3.5. Hate bringing down the average but here's why. The book , like many Sanderson books is slow paced especially at the beginning but lacks that avalanche of payoff at the end. Infact , this ending felt rushed. There was little to no action which is not a bad thing but there was opportunity for it that was not explored. Compared to his other novels, this one seemed to be shortened. We could have had chapters from the wars mentioned since they do have a huge impact on the story. I also didn't find the characters appealing except for one . That is not to say they weren't well written. They were, but I didn't find them all that interesting. Some deaths as well didn't pack a real punch. I know also that he was playing with the concept of reversals but there were two characters whose sudden change though kind of hinted at felt like it was decided early on and not considered again when I think they were better as they were. All in all, I recommend other cosmere books and this was an okay read.
“My life to yours. My Breath become yours.”
I'm surprised that some people think this is one of Sanderson's weakest books. I really enjoyed it! The story takes place in only one city, but the world-building is really well done. The magic system is also one of the bests I've ever read.
Lightsong was definitely my favorite character and I was emotionally invested in his arc from the start.
One of the earlier Cosmere works--published after Elantris and Mistborn. Takes its time with the setup and character development, and while I enjoy those things and don't mind the slow burn, this one was starting to push on my limits--but the plot got moving just in time, and once it did, it was a roller coaster ride to the typical Brando Sando fantastic ending. Sequels to this appear to be on the back burner, but I do hope we see these characters, and this part of the Cosmere again someday.
4.35 STARS
4.5
Me ha gustado el libro y me ha gustado más de lo que esperaba.
El evento es bueno, la historia, bases, magia, personajes. Me ha encantado.
Como la mayoría, el ritmo es donde se tambalea y lo que peleo, el ritmo del final (insignia de Brandon de momento)
De los pocos que he leído de momento (5 con este) ha sido el que más me ha gustado en cuanto desarrollo de personajes y el conflicto en lo que se ven, es de WOW la dualidad.
Veremos que tal con los que siguen.
“My life to yours. My breath become yours.”
And with that line, another new and fantastical world created by Brandon was born, what can I even say about this book that hasn't been stated before? It's a definitely must read.
Now for a little of my personal opinion and nitpicking,
I didn't really liked the power all that much, not that it's bad but I feel that alomancy and Aondor were better, creating a more interesting story to read and discover.
I'd say that there's some pandering by the middle of the book, I reckon what it was going for but I felt like it wasn't going anywhere with the plot till it got good again with a plot twist. But the pacing tends to vary, sometimes it's really slow and then it gets real fast
I'd give a 7 if I could to this one.
I really enjoyed this one. Sanderson's world building is always incredible, but the characters of this one were all so charming in their own way. Lightsong was one of my favorite characters and I loved how Sanderson weaved everything together.
7/10
While an improvement over Elantris. This book suffers in the overall story structure. And a lackluster ending in my opinion. Not bad. But I was expecting more out of the build up. I do enjoy the characters more and the magic is very fun but not perfect imo.
Great epic fantasy story, can't wait for another one in series. Great characters as well.
Felt a bit derivative of Elantris + Mistborn, but still solid. Stormlight time!
SANDERSOOOOOONNN HOW DO YA DO IT?! Warbreaker was a fantastic standalone addition to Brandon Sanderson’s growing list of published works.
Read the rest of the review (with artwork and quotes) at my website in the link below.
Originally posted at kirethwritesabout.com.
Can't believe how long it took me to get through this! For some reason I had trouble really committing to it. There was a lot going on at different parts and I felt like it all sort of came clamoring to an end in the last 150 pages. I enjoyed the world and magic system. Some of the characters were pretty grating to me (the “funny” mercenaries in particular, I started to loathe scenes with them), others I appreciated more as time went on (Vivenna is probably one of the better characters in the book).
I'm not totally convinced that the ending makes sense, but I really enjoyed the last 150 or so pages. I think the book is about 200 pages too long, and I'd have enjoyed it a lot more if some of it were trimmed out.
4.00/5.00
A solidly enjoyable read, with a few shocking twists and a couple of very satisfying moments, Warbreaker is an early version of a good Sanderson book. The story moves along with a fast pace, and some of the characters are very enjoyable. The writing is clearly a little wonky and repetitive. Not the best, but a good book.
SPOILERS!
Plot-> As I have come to expect from Brando Sando, the plot is intricate and interesting. Lightsong's plot was uninteresting until the very end, where it concluded explosively, making him a great character in the book. But there was so much nonsense that was not that useful. Some shocking moments where we find the God King without a tongue! that was my fav moment. Overall this is better than average.
Magic System/Worldbuilding -> Typical cosmere magic system, far above average, but certianly not the best. BioChromatic Breath is unfortunately not that interesting. It feels like the sad ugly cousin of Allomancy. Better than Elantris though. Worldbuilding is similar to Elantris in many ways, being underdeveloped for the most part.
Characters -> This one takes a slightly higher score just because I enjoyed the Siri-God King romance, and loved Vivenna's character development. However, none of the characters made a lasting impact, but it is still very good.
Prose -> Here is my biggest gripe. Barely average writing from Brandon Sanderson. I really do not like his early writing. I feel like 10% of the book was people raising their eyebrows, and the rest were undulating. LOL
Emotional Impact -> I enjoyed it. Not bad. Prose could have been better. Fav moment was when LightSong gave himself up! What a character arc!
A bit of a slow starter but when it finally gets going, it goes. I came away really liking the main characters, particularly Siri and Lightsong. I am looking forward to the sequel whenever that gets released because I definitely want more time with these characters.
“My life to yours. My Breath become yours.”
I don't know why I was so hesitant about this book and convinced Warbreaker would be inferior to the rest of Sanderson's work. In all seriousness, I don't understand how he does it, but here I am, yet again, mind blown with twists and turns.
Contrary to other Cosmere novels, Warbreaker is character driven, which is something I love. This book has some of the best characters in the Cosmere so far, and I loved each and every character ARC. The characters are interesting by themselves, but they truly shine when acting with their POV pairs. These interactions also gave a slightly more accelerated pace to the story than his other books.
The Sanderlanche was magnificent, and though the ending feels a bit sudden, it was satisfying, leaving room for the continuation of the story without cliffhangers.
I loved the contrast of Warbreaker character's and plot, with the previously published novels Elantris, and Mistborn. The older novels read differently from the new ones, but I must confess I prefer the way the foreshadowing is made in the first novels as it is more discrete, leading to what I feel is a greater payoff.
It's not worth to enter into too much detail and risk spoiling anything to future readers. Just know that it's a book full of everything which is good in fantasy: beautiful world, interesting magic, political and religious intrigue, high stakes, and love. I stand firm in my opinion that Sanderson writes the best couples and the most beautiful love stories.
”You've got color on the inside, so much of it that it bursts out and colors everything around you.”
This would be the book I would recommend to start the Cosmere journey.