Warbreaker

I'm going to post a book review today for a lack of something better to do. :)

Warbreaker is an epic/high fantasy novel by Brandon Sanderson, the author who is finishing the Wheel of time series, and stands in his own right with books such as the Mistborn Series and the Stormlight Archives. He also wrote the children's book series Alcatraz, and numerous other books, novellas, and short stories.

Warbreaker is set in a colorful world, a magical world. But they are the same, color and magic. One of the things that Sanderson does incredibly well, the thing that he's most often recognized for, is his magic systems. Warbreaker's system is no exception, it's very well thought out and interesting, with some interesting consequences. It's also incredibly original, and doesn't feel like just another rehashing of "The Force" as many magics do.

Warbreaker follows four characters through the story. Two sisters, a god, and a mysterious man. We don't know everything about the mysterious man, Vasher, even by the end of the book, but we get enough tidbits to make him fascinating. The god, Lightsong, is my favorite character of the book, and one of my favorite of all time. Lightsong is a man who doubts his own godhood, is incredibly witty, and shows us life from quite a different perspective. Vivenna, the first of the two sisters, is the eldest daughter of the king. She is doomed to be sent on her next birthday to be a wife to the evil king in the neighboring kingdom, who also happens to be one of the gods (not Lightsong). Siri is her younger sister, carefree and whimsical.

Another of Sanderson's amazing skills (I avoid the word talent because he puts a lot of work into learning how to do these things right.) that is often overlooked in favor of praising his magic systems is his characters. His main characters are all vibrantly different, and we get a strong sense of that almost immediately. Even many of his side characters are quite well developed and intriguing. I love his characters, and it's them, not necessarily the plot, that will drag you through the pages of this book.

That's not to say that the plot isn't good. It is quite interesting and mysterious, leaving you wondering until the end.

All in all, it's an amazing book, with just about everything done right. Including the price! It's free, here. However, if you really like it, I highly suggest you go out to a bookstore and buy it (or one of his other works) to support him.