Brandon Sanderson has quickly been climbing the ranks of the list of my favorite authors in the past few years. For those of you unfamiliar with his work, he first appeared on the scene with his 2004 fantasy novel Elantris, but is perhaps now most known for the fact that he has been given the unenviable task of finishing up the epic Wheel of Time series after the death of Robert Jordan. Like perhaps many of you, I gave the Wheel of Time series a gallant try, but had extreme difficulty finding ways to care as it dragged on and on, pulling in more and more pointless characters, but with Sanderson finishing it up, I might just be willing to give it another go to reach the end. Granted, the final books will be based on Robert Jordan’s copious notes so will still probably be more Jordan and less Sanderson, but could possibly be worth the effort to read. But this isn’t a commentary on Sanderson in general or his work with the Wheel of Time (or is it?!), this is a review of his latest novel, Warbreaker.

The book focuses on the conflict between the large country Hallandren, which is ruled by a mysterious God-King and where certain people have been reborn after death and are revered as gods, and the neighboring, smaller, Idris, where the former ruling family of Hallandren live. War is coming between the two – everyone seems to be aware of this, but no one is entirely sure as to why. In an attempt to fend off the supposedly inevitable conflict, the king of Idris betroths his eldest daughter to the God King, but when the time comes to send her to the capital city, he realizes he does not want to lose her, and sends her untrained and woefully unprepared younger sister instead.

The book follows multiple story lines: The younger sister, Siri, discovering that things are not what she expected within the capital city and with the God King; the elder sister, Vivenna, who runs away in an attempt to rescue her sister; Lightsong, one of the revered and worshipped gods who questions his own divinity; and Vasher, a mysterious figure who returns to the capital city with unknown intentions. Each person encounters a different portion of the underlying mystery as to why war seems unavoidable, with various motives questions and plots schemed.

At the heart of the story is the concept of Breath (or BioChromatic Breath in full), which is the rather original magic system that Sanderson has developed. Each person is born with one Breath – perhaps it is a soul, but Breath can be given to others. The more Breath one holds, the more power one wields, both inherently (more Breath enhances one’s senses, for instance) and actively, as Breath can then be used to animate objects for a variety of tasks. The reborn gods each hold a Divine Breath which grants yet other properties, but require a sacrifice of one Breath a week in order to stay alive.

I’m finding that the plot and the concepts are a little difficult to summarize, as there are many nuances in the book that are not easily explained. The story, when summarized, seems rather basic, made overly-convoluted by the multiple plot lines and the new and different concept of Breath. But lucky for the reader, one doesn’t need to read it in summarized form, and Sanderson does an excellent job at introducing the characters and the concept of Breath without getting bogged down in exposition. There is just enough explanation to keep the reader interested and intrigued, but still leaves questions left to be answered. But there is never a sense that the answers won’t come, and by the end everything is satisfactorily explained.

Sanderson’s writing style is quite pleasant – I’m not sure how else to describe it. It isn’t as witty and/or dialogue heavy as some authors, and it isn’t as oppressively laden with descriptions or exposition as others. It is just straight-forward in a way that pulls the reader into the story quickly, but nuanced enough to make the reader want to find out more.

I did find that I preferred following one or two of the story lines rather than all of them – I felt more attached to certain characters, particularly early on in the book. By the end, however, I could see how all the different plot lines were coming together and was more interested in finding out what will happen next with the story as a whole and less about finishing the current section so that I can get back to the characters I was more interested in.

Bottom line, even if my attempt at explanation of the book does not adequately convince you of such, this novel is a well-written fantasy story with an interesting and unique magic system that satisfies the reader immensely. It also serves as an excellent introduction to Sanderson’s work, for those always on the lookout for new authors. It is not terribly groundbreaking or anything, and only time will tell if I find the desire to reread it (as I do many of my books), but it is definitely worth checking out.

  -- K. Burtt