Jared,

Things have been crazy, and I’d taken a step back from reading these past couple of weeks assuming that I’d scheduled everything as I should and I discover now that I hadn’t. And we all know what happens when you assume.

Title: Warbreaker
Series: Warbreaker (Cosmere Universe)
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Genre: Fantasy
Audience: Adult
ROTS Setting: Unique Universe, Cosmere, Magic, Medieval,
Synopsis: Sisters Vivenna and Siri are princesses of Idris. Susebron is the God King one must marry. Lightsong is the reluctant minor god of bravery. Vasher is an immortal still trying to undo mistakes of centuries before. Magic from individual breath from everyday objects can perform all manner of miracles and mischief.
Recommendation: Highly recommended.

I’m not an audiobook person….but I’m becoming convinced. I was able to listen to this over the course of a week and a half while doing work around the house or at the workbench. My other interests have been demanding more of my time lately and I think I could listen to an audiobook or two a month which would let me get some other work done too.

This had Sanderson’s fingerprints all over it, but it was one of his rougher ones. I don’t have any specific gripes or issues, it’s just a feeling.

The characters were good and I enjoyed the diverse spread of POVs. As I said, there were some rough parts but nothing big. Siri was my favorite since she was the most balanced and her growth was very linear. Her sister, Vivenna, had a more drastic change but it was exponential. Vasher was a good counterpoint and Lightsong was so very real for me too.

For plot, the ending felt a bit too heavy on revelations for me. I know that there is intended to be an eventual sequel or second book but it would have been nice if some of these revelations were earlier. In general it left the ending a little unsatisfying because of that. Also related, the world didn’t hook me as much as Sanderson’s other books. The mechanics of Breath were interesting but the implications didn’t really hit home until the end.

It was the GraphicAudio version that I listened to. The big cast was really nice and the voice acting was amazing. My biggest problem was the volume of the background/ambiance compared to those speaking.  This meant I needed to have the volume way up so I could actually hear everything that was said.

In summary it was a solid book that was entertaining but not quite up to Sanderson’s more recent work.

Robert

Links

• Brandon Sanderson’s Official Website