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Serious Reading Desire Problems


Zadakeem

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Ok,

 

I am here with an important issue. I am having the HARDEST time with WARBREAKER.

 

I find the story interesting, but i DETEST Vivenna (more than I dislike Nyneave which is surprising) I just got past the point where Hoid tells his story (which Hoid is the only reason I picked up the book) But since I read his part...my desire to push through has vanished.

 

So, tell me, is it WORTH finishing?  Or should I move on to Alloy of Law? (the only book currently published that I have not read).

 

I would like all your opinions. Is me hating Vivenna just me? Am I strange in my dislike of her...and from her the book? I mean...if she was not in it...I MAY have already finished by now. I read all three mistborn in two weeks. This has taken me a month...

 

Help? :(

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Though I think that I'm not the right person for an advice I'll do so: Read through!!!

 

(I'm not the right person, because I like Nynaeve and although Vivenna though both of them are not my favorites.) 

 

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hahaha. Vivennas "hatred" of a culture just simply gets on my nerves. Also, Nynaeve`s constant anger at everyone, especially men.

 

I find it strange because I like Egwene and Siri so much. Siri I almost like as much as Jasnah!

 

I am only Halfway through Warbreaker. Right where Vivenna states she "Hates" the whole Halendren culture. And on book 6 of WoT.

 

So tell me this, do these characters grow and develope past there...current ways of viewing the world? I would be much more comforted if I knew when i plow through a Vivenna of Nynaeve chapter that I would know I didnt have to suffer forever. That I will be rewarded. LOL. :)

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So, tell me, is it WORTH finishing?

 

BLASPHEMY!

here, in a forum of sanderson's fans, you DARE ask whether one of his books is worth finishing? As in, implying it may not be worth finishing?

Let's get out the torches and pitchforks, and someone track his ip to see where he lives! :D

 

But, seriously, Vivenna got on my nerves too, but it's well worth finishing. You should know sanderson's books tend to have explosive endings.

Plus, vivenna really gets taken down in just a few chapters. this triggers some serious change in her. By the end of the book, you won't recognize her.

Edited by king of nowhere
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haha, "King of nowhere" I stand rightfully rebuked. I should trust in the Sandersons ability to wrap up a book with a fantastic flourish. There has only been one of Sanderson works I did not like, and that was his entry into the Armored Anthology. It seemed his usual flair just was not there. 

 

However, allow myself to justify some of my feelings. Warbreaker  (to me) is a very different book from almost everything else he has written. It feels different in many ways from the semi-parallel feel of say....Mistborn/Way of Kings. So me having read through all of that and then this at the last (save Alloy of Law) just kind of hit me as strange, so I must admit. My faith was shaken. 

 

But, look at it this way, WHEN (notice then when) I find this book to be fantastic, I will thus become a more solid fan of Sandersons due to my trial of faith. Compare me to Sazed (if I may be so honored) :D. (This does not mean I am starting a Sanderson religion.....wait....* thoughtful look*)

 

Either way, I stand corrected haha. 

 

Now, to quickly turn the skeptical looks of Sanderson fans everywhere away from myself. I have one last Cosmere book to read before I am caught up. Do we learn anything significant to the Cosmere in Alloy of Law? Or is it more like Elantris and Warbreaker?  

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Now, to quickly turn the skeptical looks of Sanderson fans everywhere away from myself. I have one last Cosmere book to read before I am caught up. Do we learn anything significant to the Cosmere in Alloy of Law? Or is it more like Elantris and Warbreaker?  

 

There are significant hints in the book many of which we have discussed in the forums, but I don't remember much in the way of Cosmere-spanning reveals.

 

Although there are some detractors, it's also very highly recommended - I personally think it's one of the most fun books I've read in a long time.

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Personally, I like Warbreaker almost as much as Way of Kings.  Definately more than Elantris or any of the Mistborn books. 

 

You have to realize she was raised for her entire life with the idea that the culture was evil and soul-stealing.  Sometimes there are pretty darn good reasons for not liking other cultures even in real life.  She does mellow out.

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Its true that a person takes on how they were raised. And it IS true that some cultures are more...for lack of a better term...detestable..than others.

 

She just got kidnapped, I figure that will change her in some way!

 

Now, why is it you like Warbreaker better? I do like the Colors and the very different viewpoints. I like how its not just the pretty much same situation across the board like Elantris and Mistborn. But why do you like it more?

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Good question.

 

It could have to do with I read his works i backwards order.  I started with Kings and then read the to Elantris.

It isn't as dark as Mistborn, and it is a bit more polished than Elantris

There is more of a living history.

The characters evolve more.

The magic system is interesting.

I like the idea of noble sacrifice and having a true reason to be alive.

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My favorite part of Warbreaker was the fictional religions, and different characters' approaches to them. From D&D settings I developed a huge pet peeve against fictional religions where the existence and motivations of gods are obvious, and it loses all relevance to real religion. (If I woke up in a D&D universe, I'd seriously just pick the religion with the best afterlife and/or color scheme, and it would feel more like kissing up to a manager in hopes of promotions than anything religious or spiritual.)

In the Warbreaker something obviously magical is happening, dead people returning to life, sometimes with visions. But there's significant room for doubt and interpretation, leading to very different experiences for different characters. Warbreaker didn't make me resort to "suspension of disbelief" for how characters can take the religious controversies seriously.

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Yeah, I think if you dislike Vivenna, Warbreaker is a really, really hard book to get through. I love Warbreaker, but Vivenna is definitely unlikable for much of the book. But just you wait. She won me over eventually. I hope you like the ending :D

I usually recommend Warbreaker to introduce people to Brandon's works. Why? Well, I feel that Way of Kings can be seriously intimidating to some people who don't read fantasy as often, so I tend to not recommend that one unless they are serious fantasy buffs. Mistborn can be really dark and violent. Elantris I love to death, but it's definitely rougher than Brandon's later works. I feel that Warbreaker, with its lighter feel and its comedy, is a great introduction. It's the book I recommended to my mom to get her into Brandon first, and it was very effective in that respect. Way of Kings is better written, but Warbreaker's prose is just better than Elantris and Mistborn's, I feel, so it's a good intro.

(Though honestly, nowadays, I may as just well recommend The Emperor's Soul, because that book is pretty much perfect)

I'm not going to argue with you about Vivenna, though. She is pretty annoying. But her character arc will make it all worthwhile. For me, Siri and Lightsong--as well as the mystery of Vasher--was more than enough to pull me through the book until I liked Vivenna.

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As an aside, I agree that TES is perfect for sucking people into introducing others to Brandon's work, because it's both an excellent work in its own right and it's short enough to be a single-sit-down read, so it's not too big or unreasonable a demand suggestion. ;)

Edited by Kurkistan
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I LOVED the TES. I would agree with you, that is the best intro to our Mr. Sanderson.

 

I am about....20 pages from finishing Warbreaker, I am not going to give my full thoughts until I finish here in about 30 minutes. However, my overall feeling...is that it is wonderful. HOWEVER- up to about page 320 I have to say it is a difficult book to get through. It starts much slower than Elantris or Mistborn 1. 

 

The writing is better though. You can diffidently see growth in it, and his classic "Brandon Avalanche"  (which I love by the way, if he ever stopped with the Avalanche I would throw a gigantic fit....mature, I know.) is much more structured and smooth. I remember in Elantris my head was spinning.

 

Now, I have some thoughts on the ending, But again, I will wait about 30 minutes before I state those openly. But warning. SPOILERS will abound in my next posts.

 

PS- I love the 17th shard community. Just saying. A lot of what I like about reading Sandersons Novels is the community here. 

Edited by Zadakeem
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So, I just finished (took longer because I read the annotations) 

 

Every single one of you who like Vivenna at the end were correct. I liked her at the end. A sequel with her in it would be wonderful. Wielding Breath and fighting alongside Vasher. It will be good.

 

Has it been confirmed that Sanderson is IN FACT going to write a sequel? Because in the annotations he kept saying "maybe" or "if I write a sequel".

 

I loved the ending. There was only one thing that upset me. I totally called Bluefingers as the villain like halfway through the book. Did anybody else get this early on? Really, it makes sense he is it...I honestly cant see it being anybody else. It would have been too cliche if Blushweaver of the Idrian king was the fault.

 

Now....question...Is there something spiritual about the returned? Or is just cosmic happenstance?  ;) 

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Yes,

 

I figure Endowment had something to do with it. From what I can see there is not much known of Endowment at all.

 

Has it been stated that we had seen the holder of Endowment in the text of Warbreaker at all?

Edited by Zadakeem
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No, so far we know very little of Endowment, though there are a few interesting questions which Brandon RAFO'd, such as 'Is Endowment's holder named Edgli?' and 'Is Endowment colourblind?'

 

Edit: Although we haven't seen Endowment, s/he was confirmed to be the Voice from beyond that speaks to Lightsong.

Edited by Senor Feesh
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I have yet to read Way of Kings so the last 3 or 4 posts (mentioning characters I don't know yet) I blew threw so hopefully I don't repeat what they said.

 

Obviously you have finished the book and come to your own conclusion but I honestly didn't mind Vivenna. Pampered, highly educated, no common sense princess from middle of nowhere small country/town gets sent to the largest city in the world with the most opposite culture possible that she has been bred to hate and distrust....yeah, she has some opinions. I liked the way BS threw her out of her comfort zone, and we got to watch her rise to the challenge. 

 

Honestly, at the very beginning it was Siri that I found annoying, but by about 50-100 pages it was fine. Lightsong alone kept me going til the wee hours of the morning wanting to find out what happens next. 

 

BS definitely set it up for a sequel with the ending, and I hope that eventually he writes it.

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