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
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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).
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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
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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.
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89 of 104 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sanderson's best yet., April 2, 2009
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.
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