Warbreaker

By: Brandon Sanderson

Narrated by: Alyssa Bresnahan

Length: 24 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

From the author of the connected universe of the Cosmere comes the standalone novel from which spring characters who later play roles in the #1 New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive.

In the world of Warbreaker, each person is born endowed with the power of one Breath―which can be sold and collected by others, then used to Awaken objects and even corpses to do their bidding. A few individuals who die in glory return as gods, with the power of thousands of Breath, but no memory of their mortal lives―and are enthroned in the Court of Gods in Hallandren’s capital. To Vivenna and Siri, princesses of Idris, the abuse of Breath and the claim of the Returned to be gods are repugnant blasphemy. But with one princess wed to the God King of their nation’s enemies in a bid for peace, the other finds she must rely on Breath-using mercenaries to try to rescue her sister from her monstrous husband.

Lightsong the Bold, a lesser god who doubts his own religion, starts investigating mysterious murders in the Court of Gods and uncovers haunting clues to his own forgotten past. He is one of four gods who controls the army of Awakened Lifeless soldiers, and one faction is inciting an invasion of Idris despite the marriage treaty. Vasher―wielder of the sapient sword Nightblood―works behind the scenes against the declaration of war, but Lightsong’s visions of bloodshed prophesy its inevitability. Can the new queen, unaware of her sister’s imminent rescue attempt, persuade Lightsong and also somehow get through to the aloof God King―who she has been forbidden to speak to or even look in the eyes―before her homeland is destroyed?

©2009 Dragonsteel Entertainment, LLC (P)2015 Recorded Books

Masterful

As with all of Bandon Sanderson's stories, the characters are believable, relatable, and compelling. The only downside is that this is a stand alone (at the moment) novel. I for one would love to see a prequel or sequel to this story. Along side a great story, he narration by Alyssa Bresnahan was superbly done.

It's still better than most junk out there.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

On a crusade to read everything from my favorite author, I'm underwhelmed. So far I think this is his weakest Cosmere Novel. Now don't get me wrong, it's still a great story, but it didn't really click with me. It has all the classic Sanderson quirks, specifically the good guys are generally broken anti-heros, the magic system is well thought out, and different. Hoid has a larger part.That being said, it's not the book I'd use to introduce people to Sanderson.

What did you like best about this story?

Hoid and Nightbringer thats all I'll say

What about Alyssa Bresnahan’s performance did you like?

She's up there with Victor Bevine, Kate reading and Michael Kramer. I think I could enjoy her read math text books.

Any additional comments?

The problem was in the characters, they seemed to obvious and over stereotyped. A god that doesn't want to be a god, a bumbling princess, a ex bad guy atoning, and a clueless ruler. The ending seemed very rushed. and the climax felt stunted. It's still a lovely story, and the journey was a good one. I'll be enjoyed again.

Captivating. another great magic mechanism

I was well pulled in. Took a little while to get going and some of the characters are a little melodramatic, but Sanderson always has a few characters to love. I loved the sword.

The more you read, the more you want to read.

Enjoyed this book

Although this book is not as good as some others by this author, I did enjoy the story once I got past the first few chapters. The ending felt a bit incomplete as well. Not sure if there is another book coming to make it a series.

narrator sounds robotic

this is the first time I've heard this narrator. I'm not sure it it's just her performance style or the way this book is written but the effect is robotic tones. sad. o usually love Brando Sanderson's writing... this book is... different.

Good

narrator did a good job with voices, each one sounded different, for the most part. most importantly, though,characters that expressed emotion in voice were given that expression by the narrator.

the story itself: few books would try to make the main characters female. many that try to have too many women end up making them all behave the same. that didn't happen here, though we still find shortcomings bc this book does not contain a scene where two females converse without the conversation being about a guy. managing to keep the two sisters be different but, at the end, they both mostly just switched behaviors/responsibilities. so, even though i continue to be annoyed at people's inability to write female characters even though female characters are no different than guy characters... this annoyance aside... the book was still entertaining, and even though the change in personality was obvious in the sisters, they still had an air of being different and, therefore, their own person rather than the same person but with a different name. it all took place in a detailed world of magic based on an interesting idea: of "breath" and granting life to objects, and it does it in a way that makes one very interested in yet morally unsure about the method of "magic..." it has people struggling to find themselves, plot twists that may seem a bit obvious but no less fun when they happen, a colorful city full of different peoples and issues to explore, and so much more is in this book. if you're looking for lots of action and fighting, there is action and fighting, but it certainly isn't what makes this book a good listen/read, though the action scenes certainly were skillfully written.

overall, i was very sad to have ended the book and look forward to reading more from him, and i certainly would not mind listening to a book narrated by bresnahan.

Hard to stop listening

At first I was disappointed that Michael Kramer wasn't narrating this as I've grown quite attached to his character voicing, but Alyssa knocks it out of the park. She really brings the characters to life, I'd love to hear her do more of Sanderson's work.

The story is also fantastic. Another great addition to the Cosmere. Sanserson's dialogue chops are as strong as ever. The drip feed of knowledge to the reader of the worlds powers and history keep you constantly guessing at the true nature of our protagonists predicaments, and how they can overcome them.

Overall its hard to put this book down, or should I say, on pause.

Great read

The story was really good. Not predictable and for a story about magic, had very real characters. I look forward to listening to more from Sanderson.

Another great story by Sanderson!

You will noy be ready for the plot twist! Another great story Mr. Sanderson, thank you.

Awesome

What an amazing book 10/10. This might be may his best book yet. Thank you