Review of Warbreaker: A Cosmere Story
What It's About
Warbreaker is a political fantasy novel written by Brandon Sanderson. The book focuses mostly on Siri and Vivenna, two princesses , though it also shifts into the perspective of a man named Vasher for a few brief times. Vivenna is betrothed to a cruel king, Susebron, and mere hours before she was supposed to be sent to marry him, her father makes a rash decision to send his other daughter Siri instead. Their father values Vivenna more than Siri; Vivenna is a paragon of beauty and ettiquette, and excells in all things political, while Siri is a wild, unruly daughter who wants freedom from her royal prison. Siri struggles with pleasing her new husband and keeping herself safe from the devious politicians that reside in the castle with her.
Meanwhile, Vivenna struggles to save Siri from the supposedly evil king, learning how and when to use Breath. Breath is the form of magic on their planet; each and every person is born with one standard Breath, which they can use to bring inanimate objects to life. The more Breaths one has, the more vivid their creations will be, along with a few more perks. People who possess more Breaths than others are considered gods. A select few who died in valiant, chivalrous ways are somehow brought to life by some mystical entity, which elevates them to a god-like status. The one bad thing about being one of those people, known as Returned, is that to survive, they must take the Breath of one person per week. The king, Susebron, takes at least two or three Breaths per week in order to maintain his elevated status, and he also keeps 50,000 Breaths in store for emergencies.
What I Liked
I absolutely loved the magic system in Warbreaker; the idea of Breaths is such a unique idea that I never could have imagined! There are so many quirks that come with having numerous Breaths (I won't spoil it), but they are so interesting and intricate. The ability to animate things such as a rock or sword is also very interesting, though the closer said object resembles a person, the easier it is to animate it, and the less Breaths it will take. For example, a character in the book animated a straw figure with arms and legs and only uses a few Breaths, and when he animated a curtain to catch him, it used up significantly more Breaths. The Breaths can be taken back with a simple verbal command, and re-used any amount of times.
One thing I also thought was interesting was that dead humans could be Awakened (the official term for animating something with Breaths) and turned into mindless soldiers that follow the commands of their Awakeners. I don't know why, but I thought that that was a very cool idea!
What I Disliked
I really disliked the way Siri was treated, as if she was a toy to be played with. This is explained later in the book, but until that point, I was very confused and annoyed. I think that's the only negative thing I have to say about the book.
Conclusion
Warbreaker is a very well-written book about people who can Awaken inanimate objects with commands, and turn the dead into mindless slaves. The mystery peppered throughout the book offers a suspenseful flare to the story; although a fairly quick read, Warbreaker is a fantastic addition to the world of fantasy!
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