Warbreaker (Sci Fi Essential Books) [Hardcover]

Brandon Sanderson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Sci Fi Essential Books | Publication Date: June 9, 2009

After bursting onto the fantasy scene with his acclaimed debut novel, Elantris, and following up with his blockbuster Mistborn trilogy, Brandon Sanderson proves again that he is today’s leading master of what Tolkien called “secondary creation,” the invention of whole worlds, complete with magics and myths all their own.

Warbreaker is the story of two sisters, who happen to be princesses, the God King one of them has to marry, the lesser god who doesn’t like his job, and the immortal who’s still trying to undo the mistakes he made hundreds of years ago.

Their world is one in which those who die in glory return as gods to live confined to a pantheon in Hallandren’s capital city and where a power known as BioChromatic magic is based on an essence known as breath that can only be collected one unit at a time from individual people.

By using breath and drawing upon the color in everyday objects, all manner of miracles and mischief can be accomplished. It will take considerable quantities of each to resolve all the challenges facing Vivenna and Siri, princesses of Idris; Susebron the God King; Lightsong, reluctant god of  bravery, and mysterious Vasher, the Warbreaker.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Epic fantasy heavyweight Sanderson (the Mistborn series) pens a powerful stand-alone tale of unpredictable loyalties, dark intrigue and dangerous magic. To keep a treaty made long ago, the king of Idris must send his daughter to marry Susebron, the God King of Hallandren. Loath to part with his eldest daughter, Vivenna, King Dedelin instead sends his youngest daughter, tomboyish 17-year-old Siri, who struggles to make sense of the schemers and spies in Susebron's court. Hoping to rescue her sister, Vivenna joins a group of Idrian operatives with questionable motives. As Vivenna comes to terms with her magical abilities, resurrected hero Lightsong questions the role of the undead Returned Gods, who command Hallandren's mighty army of zombie soldiers. Sanderson melds complex, believable characters, a marvelous world and thoughtful, ironic humor into an extraordinary and highly entertaining story. (June)
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Review

"Not only has Sanderson drawn a freshly imagined world and its society, he has also given us a plot full of unexpected twists and turns. . . . Anyone looking for a different and refreshing fantasy novel will be delighted by this exceptional tale of magic, mystery and the politics of divinity. Warbreaker might even take your breath away.”—Michael Moorcock

“Epic fantasy heavyweight Sanderson pens a powerful stand-alone tale of unpredictable loyalties, dark intrigue and dangerous magic. . . . Sanderson melds complex, believable characters, a marvelous world and thoughtful, ironic humor into an extraordinary and highly entertaining story.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Warbreaker

“Sanderson again demonstrates his capacity for handling large and complex themes while creating believable characters.”—Library Journal (starred review) on Warbreaker

“Hilarious dialogue, descriptive action sequences, and genuinely sweet romance. . . . Sanderson knows how to wrap things up cleanly. He spins a world that’s easily complex and mysterious enough to warrant sequels, but prefers to end it climactically, answering many of his biggest questions, while leaving others to the imagination.”—The Onion on Warbreaker

“Sanderson is clearly a master of large-scale stories, splendidly depicting worlds as well as strong female characters. . . . May the author write long and prosper.”—Booklist on Warbreaker

“A highly readable and compelling stand-alone volume from the acclaimed author of the Mistborn trilogy. . . . Highly recommended to fans of epic fantasy.”—The Romantic Times BOOKreviews 4 ½ Stars TOP PICK!

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 592 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; First Edition edition (June 9, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765320304
• ISBN-13: 978-0765320308
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.6 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (273 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #183,931 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm Brandon Sanderson, and I write epic fantasy novels for Tor Books. The sixth novel I wrote, ELANTRIS, was my first published, and I followed this up with the Mistborn trilogy and WARBREAKER. I was also chosen to complete Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series based on his notes, resulting in THE GATHERING STORM, TOWERS OF MIDNIGHT, and A MEMORY OF LIGHT. I'm now launching my own grand epic that I've wanted to tell for many years, starting with THE WAY OF KINGS on August 31, 2010.

Read an excerpt here: http://tor.com/wok

More sample chapters from all of my books are available at http://brandonsanderson.com/library -- and check out the rest of my site for chapter-by-chapter annotations, deleted scenes, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

103 of 110 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best Books I've Read, May 2, 2009

By 

David A. Lessnau (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Warbreaker (Sci Fi Essential Books) (Hardcover)

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Simply put, Brandon Sanderson's "Warbreaker" is one of the best books I've read. When I ordered it, I was a bit apprehensive over the official write-up and the "SciFi Essential Book" logo on the front page. Essentially, I was worried that the book might read like a comic book or a screenplay. Thankfully, that worry was unfounded. Within just a few pages, I was totally absorbed in the story. Why is the book so good? Well:

- Premise: this is one of those books where you wonder where the author comes up with even the basic premise. As stated in the official write-up: "By using breath and drawing upon the color in everyday objects, all manner of miracles and mischief can be accomplished." Once I saw what the author did with that, I was amazed.
- Authorship: the technical aspects of the writing and the internal consistency of the world and characters are excellent. In many books, people and things don't necessarily behave as they should in all instances. In "Warbreaker," I never noticed any such deficiency.
- Points of View: one of the really clever things that Sanderson does is to constantly compare the main characters' points-of-view to the *expectations* of the other main characters' points-of-view. He does an excellent job of this and it leads to some interesting twists as he follows each character's development. And, finally,
- Plot Twists: there are a lot of plot twists in the book and they're done well. Usually, when I read a book, I can figure out what's going to happen right from the beginning. In this case, Sanderson has a few of those "obvious" twists present. But, there are others which spring up entirely unexpectedly. That's a rare and precious thing in an author and something to be treasured.

So, all-in-all, I loved the book and rate it an Excellent 5 stars out of 5. I highly recommend it to everyone (and I'll be reading Sanderson's other books shortly).

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A long novel that is worth the time it takes - and no cliffhanger!, May 28, 2009

By 

Glenda Boozer "Live, live, live! Life is a ba... (Douglass, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Warbreaker (Sci Fi Essential Books) (Hardcover)

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When I first saw how long this book was, I thought I would be sick of it before I could plough through to the end. Nothing could have been further from the truth! Warbreaker kept me interested and sometimes delighted; the characters were interesting, the story was full of surprises, and even the rules of magic were a little bit different than any I've seen in too many long, involved fantasy novels.

Here we have two sisters; the princess who expected to be sent to the god-king of her enemies in marriage, and the pricess who was sent instead. Neither got what she bargained for, and both ended up with very important roles to play before the story's astonishing conclusion.

I'll have to read some of this author's other works; he knows how to craft a story that will entertain and move the reader, and although I would welcome a sequel to this book, I don't feel that I was given only half a story. I predict a long career for Brandon Sanderson.

89 of 104 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sanderson's best yet., April 2, 2009

By 

A. Richards (Mosul, Iraq) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Warbreaker (Sci Fi Essential Books) (Hardcover)

Brandon Sanderson is hardly a rookie author. Having read Elantris and all of Mistborn, I came to the table expecting an enjoyable read out of Warbreaker. Still, I was blown away. Though a little apprehensive about reading it all on a computer screen, I was board while traveling for work, so I downloaded it. I couldn't stop reading. I stayed up till the wee hours of the morning because the book was so engaging. The story was excellently told, and the comic relief was spot on. Warbreaker is much better than Elantris and Mistborn in every way (except, perhaps, the magic system; alomancy is too cool). While I appreciate Sanderson's motives in writing stand alone epic fantasy, I hope that he reneges. I would be thrilled to see another novel set in the Warbreaker world. If Sanderson keeps improving at this rate, he will become the benchmark over and beyond Tolkien, Jordan or any other author you care to mention. Though I already read the free downloadable version off of Sanderson's website, I will definitely order a hardback for my personal library.