Lost Princesses and Atheistic Gods

Warbreaker was my first foray into Brandon Sander's adult work, and even though I enjoyed his YA fiction, I approached his high fantasy novel with low expectations. In my very limited experience, when it comes to medieval style world-building, Tolkien did it first, best, and everything that's followed has been a poor imitation. Even the contemporary fantasy writers who do their research (i.e.: George R.R. Martin) lose me with their nihilism. The real world, which is bad enough, isn't as bad as Westeros. Sanderson himself sounds like something of a one-man book factory, so I alreayd had some trouble respecting him. But since he is so popular, I figured that I should give him a shot.

I won't try to summarize Warbreaker's plot because: a) it's nothing new, and b) this is a story about characters. Suffice to say, there are kingdoms on the brink of war. And only a few people can prevent it. Who those people are (lost princesses, magical thieves, atheistic gods) and how they work toward or against that end are what make the story. Of course, one of Sanderson's infamously intricate magic systems colors the world (pun intended). Actions fans don't get too excited, though, as most of the sparring here is of the verbal variety.

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Apparently, Warbreaker is one of Sanderson's early works, before he became a fantasy phenomenon, but doesn't read like one. The plot moves with confidence, and the characters have arcs don't feel like marking off points on checklist. I really enjoyed it. Sure the magic system feels a little video-gamey, but I understood it. Most of the characters show real growth, and the humor brought me back when the story stalled. Unfortunately, when the story got especially bleak, I had trouble making myself press on. I wasn't so invested in the characters that I really cared about them when they weren't entertaining me. That said, when they were entertaining, I was highly entertained. Sanderson's sense of humor shines, particularly when writing doubtful god Lightsong. While Sanderson relies on some of the same twists more than once, he sets them up in a way that I never felt cheated at the reveal. 

My biggest complaint is a small one. The ending seems a little rushed. Given, the book is already a little too long anyway, so to have written more would have been to add excess to excess. Yet as it is, the last chapter and epilogue come off as trite, a quick tying off of the bow on the story. Still, it's a very small complaint in comparison to the larger work. I'll be reading this one again someday.