Warbreaker

Brandon Sanderson's newest novel, Warbreaker, will be available in stores June 9. I have had a chance to read it already, and am offering this review to help RJ fans interested or curious about Mr. Sanderson's work decide whether to pick up this book.

As you can see from my earlier review of Mistborn, I am already a Sanderson fan. The later two books in that series, plus Elantris, were just as well-done, and made my support his to lose. Which appears increasingly unlikely.

Robert Jordan was my first fantasy reading experience as an adult, and it has been a jolt for me to expand to other authors - few of whom write in such detailed and lifelike worlds, few with such strong, human, memorable characters; and, I think, none with both. Yet. Mr. Sanderson's next effort, a series called The Way of Kings, sounds like it may reach for a more expansive and detailed world, and I hope he succeeds, but thus far he has not even attempted to approach the detail level of a large series like WOT.

Some people who have grown used to worlds big enough to make it easy for thousands of fans to step in and tell their own stories will find that immenseness again missing from Warbreaker. I am glad that I was able to adapt and begin to see that rare level of detail as a treat rather than a requirement. Good, deep, entertaining storytelling (with characters to match) is quite possible without it. Warbreaker is such a story.

Themes
The exploitation of mistrust, prejudice, and aggressive tendencies. The difficulty and dangers of trying to identify what (or who) is "evil."

Characters
Susebron, the seldom-seen, never-heard God King of Hallandren, reputed to be the most powerful being in the world, who lives sequestered in a city-within-a-city, along with a cadre of lesser gods.

Siri, willful princess of a neighboring nation - who is being sent to wed the God King as a gesture of peace to ease the escalating tensions between the two peoples - and feels totally unprepared for the changes and challenges this journey means for her.

Vivenna, her older sister, who sets out with a wild, barely-formed plan to spare Siri the pain of being trapped as a trophy in a foreign land she finds revolting... by stealing her back, and taking her place if necessary.

Lightsong, who is supposed to be the god of bravery, but doubts his worthiness and the truth of his divinity, and makes it known at every turn by cheekily mocking anything and everyone he encounters.

Vasher, a dangerous loner and master of magic, who carries a black sword with a menacing presence.

The interaction between these characters and others is excellent, and Sanderson inserts much more humor in Warbreaker than any of his previous adult-market books. Mercenaries complain loudly about being stereotyped as cold thugs, then play upon those expectations with deadpan exaggerations (or are they?) about how much they like killing people and breaking things. Lightsong, the pampered and skeptical minor god, amuses himself by taking everyone down a peg (himself most of all) with an irreverence the other gods find strange and often obnoxious. When you consider the new level of humor in addition to the plot being about preventing a devastating war rather than (as with Mistborn) the destruction of the entire world, this book seems a lot lighter.

Magic
Without infodumping about the workings of the entire magic system, BioChromatic magic is a very fun and interesting new scheme, and the demonstration in the Prologue will have many readers immediately hooked.

Every person is born with a small amount of BioChromatic Breath, which some choose to give or sell to others. Breath, when gathered in larger amounts, begins to heighten senses, especially of color. It can be transferred temporarily or permanently into any inanimate object that was once alive, to animate the object which becomes a tool or weapon that responds to commands. Breath can be recovered from many of these animated objects if needed, and used again later.

This creates an interesting economy and power dynamic around BioChromatic Breath, with people who are willing to go to great lengths to buy, sell, and collect it to build wealth or magical power. Add in the fact that each of the Hallandren gods must consume one new Breath each week to stay alive, and it becomes even more important.

Climactic Action
In addition to several twists that readers may or may not be able to see coming, the obligatory confrontations and battle at the conclusion of the novel were very satisfying, especially because they came together in such a way that two common forms of climactic battle which could have happened here were avoided, while the form the battle did take remained intense and decisive.

Verdict: Must-Read / 5-star / A+

Only positive reviews can be posted in our Reviews forum, so you are unlikely to ever see a verdict lower than three stars from me. I'm also most motivated to post the books I want to encourage others to read. I'm happy to give a second ringing endorsement for Brandon Sanderson, because he consistently connects well with me as a reader.

Other reviews of Warbreaker:

• BSCreview
• Publisher's Weekly
• Library Journal