Sequel and First Impressions

[Alayala_Radiant]

I just finished reading Warbreaker, and I am really glad that I decided to read it, or more that it was written.  I have been taking my break between jobs to read Sanderson's novels and they are amazing!  

 

While I loved Warbreaker, I could not help but feel that the ending was so abrupt and that more can be done with this world  Has anyone heard any more about a sequel being written?  

 

Here are some of my thoughts on the book and its characters: 

 

Favorite Character: Vivienna.  

 

I think this may not be a personal favorite for most, but I loved Vivienna.  I think it is partially because I can relate to her since I am the oldest daughter.  I really felt that what may be seen as strengths or positive traits in her, such as always being in control and being important, are tragic because these are things that have been forced on her.  I cheered when she finally accepted her Awakener self and wore pants.  I also liked her final decision to go with Vasher and discover who she really is, rather returning to being a Princess.  

 

Favorite Couple: Susebron and Siri.

 

This has to be my favorite romantic couple in the Sanderson's stories that I have read so far (WoK, WoR, Elantris, and Mistborn series).  Seb's and Siri's romance just felt so natural and like they were best friends.  I think a lot of this came from the fact that Seb's was so innocent that he fell in love with Siri outside of any semblance of lust (or at least that is how I read it.)

 

Magic System: 

 

I thought Awakening and Biochromatic Aura as a magic system overall was very unique, and I love uniqueness.  I think it fits well into the Cosmere overall. However, Stormlight (etc.) is still my favorite Sanderson magic system.  

 

So there are my most prevalent thoughts after reading Warbreaker.  I really hope there is a sequel. Sanderson sets us up for one so nicely.

[Swimmingly]

Currently, one is planned, and he originally planned to do it right after. However, this is what's on his plate before he can get to that:

Firefight

Shadows of Self

Stones Unhallowed

Alcatraz 5

Silence Divine

That's 5 full-length books and a novella. It will be a good measure until he's there. Last I heard, the sequel was going to be called Nightblood.

[bartbug]

Firefights done, and Alcatraz and Shadows of Self together amount to maybe 125k words, about half a normal Brandon book.

[SirVarrock]

Unless something has changed, Rithmatist 2 is after Firefight (and Legion 2) and Shadows of Self is after Stormlight 3. I don't know about the rest of the stuff after that, but if that's the case, Stormlight 4 will be in before the Warbreaker sequel as well.

[-Deleted-]

The list posted looks pretty accurate. It's a shame Warbreaker is so far off, especially with certain Words of Radiance parts. It's all good, though. I think that Firefight, Rithmatist 2 and Alacatraz 5 ought to give us a bit of space from the Cosmere. Yeah, Nightblood is probably a far-off hope for now. But hey, in that time we'll see Shadows of Self, Sixth of the Dusk, another Mistborn Adventures novel, Stones Unhallowed and I'm pretty sure we will see Elantris 2 before we see Nightblood, which is the 2nd and final Warbreaker novel. So don't worry, you'll get plenty of epic fantasy. You should check out The Emperor's Soul, by the way. It is awesome. I only say that because it's the only one you didn't list.

[GreyPilgrim]

Firefights done, and Alcatraz and Shadows of Self together amount to maybe 125k words, about half a normal Brandon book.

 

Actually, Shadows of Self is supposed to be quite a bit longer than that; according to Peter in this post.

 

To the topic, I also feel that the ending of Warbreaker was a little rushed. I think that that is mostly because all the main plot threads had been concluded, despite that there was clearly more to tell. I too am excited to read Nightblood when it comes out. Brandon has said that he intends to post it chapter by chapter when he writes it as he did with Warbreaker, which is pretty cool, as I didn't get to read Warbreaker like that. It will be really fun to discuss it chapter by chapter here!

Edited April 3, 2014 by GreyPilgrim

[kogs]

I found myself only caring about Susebron and Siri.  It was like a, "oh darnit" moment every time a scene started from another person's POV.  Vivenna wasn't all that interesting to me at all.  Lightsong was too over the top for me.  Vasher was kind of meh.

[GreyPilgrim]

I started out liking Siri the most, but as the book went on I came to feel for Lightsong and Vivenna more than her really. I feel like their characters have a more emotional drive.

Lightsong is sarcastic and flippant on the outside, but inside he is very conflicted. He strives to comprehend his place in the world. I thought his ending was very emotional, and he had the most complete character arc of all (and not just because his character is literally over).

Vivenna also has a lot of emotion, and similarly has to find her place. The book is very much about her coming into her own strength, her own person. She had been given a purpose all her life, so never had to search for one. Now that is taken from her and she has to learn how to cope for herself.

Siri is sort of the same; she has to discover for herself as well. I don't know. She just didn't resonate with me in the same way as Lightsong and Vivenna did. I agree that Vasher doesn't really resonate at all, but he is a cool character. He does become more sympathetic at the end, thoug

Edited April 4, 2014 by GreyPilgrim

[Lopen Skybreaker]

It's a fantastic book, I'm surprised he's giving such a gem away for free. I'm buying it anyway.

I thought it was gonna be half arsed and read it mostly because I wanted back story on Nightblood but was really surprised by what i found.

Best character was Lightsong. All the characters were great, but he stood out a little more. I liked his sarcasm even though he wasn't particularly funny. And as GreyPilgrim said, his arc felt the most complete.

Conclusion: Brandon, you keep churning out free books and I'll keep on buying them full price!

[lordofsoup]

 

Actually, Shadows of Self is supposed to be quite a bit longer than that; according to Peter in this post.

 

To the topic, I also feel that the ending of Warbreaker was a little rushed. I think that that is mostly because all the main plot threads had been concluded, despite that there was clearly more to tell. I too am excited to read Nightblood when it comes out. Brandon has said that he intends to post it chapter by chapter when he writes it as he did with Warbreaker, which is pretty cool, as I didn't get to read Warbreaker like that. It will be really fun to discuss it chapter by chapter here!

It will definitely be fun, but I dont know if I will be able to take the stress of having to wait a week or so between chapters.  

[GreyPilgrim]

It will definitely be fun, but I dont know if I will be able to take the stress of having to wait a week or so between chapters.  

 

But we will appreciate each chapter so much more! Plus, full rereads may not be needed because every little thing will be picked up, as we will all read each chapter 10 times before the next one comes out! Not that it won't be excruciating.

[Quiver]

Warbreaker is my favourite cosmere book.

Which isn't to say it's Brandon's best book. Because it isn't. For a stand alone novel, it leaves plot threads unanswered- how can Vasher live without the divine breath? How do the Royal Lockes fit in?- and like Grey Pilgrim says, the off-screen ending bothers me a little.

I still love it though.

Siri and Susebron remain, I think, the best romance Brandon's written. People might dislike her, but I find Vivennas situation and character arc fascinating- and one which reminds me of Kelsier in a way, using a noble cause to rationalise her racism (xenophobia? Not sure what the best word for it is).

I just love the tone. In an age whenever all fantasy seems to be epic, it was a nice surprise to pick up a relatively light book. Warbreaker, to me, was both more lighthearted than Mistborn, with it's talking swords and awakened objects, and darker, as in the case of Denth and Pahn Kahl.

It also came out at a time when I was reading sword and sorcery novels, which is how I classify Warbreaker.

[GreyPilgrim]

I feel like I have never given Warbreaker the credit it deserves. I've only read it once, before I really got into the cosmere, and I honestly didn't love it. I want to give it a reread soon. Looking back, the characters and story are so much better than I thought them on my first readthrough. It's not my favorite of Brandon's books, obviously (Stormlight takes that), but it is a really high-quality fantasy novel with a lot of depth when you look for it. It doesn't get enough love. There are only 67 topics on it here; Stormlight has almost 2000! Although, I think it may get a bit more attention now, due to some recent developments. 

[WeiryWriter]

how can Vasher live without the divine breath?

 

Vasher doesn't live without the divine Breath, he still has his, it is just "supressed".

[Ketek]

Man, Lightsong's death made me tear up. The way he was so at peace when he gave up his Breath was... emotional, to say the least. He finally found his purpose. And Vasher drawing Nightblood is a storming awesome scene.

 

DESTROY EVIL!!!

[Left]

First time I read Warbreaker, I honestly hated it. I don't think there was a single thing I liked in it the first time. After WoR I decided I really needed to reread it, and while I still don't love Warbreaker I have decided that I like it. I really loved the last couple parts of Lightsong's thread where he's finding out who he is/was and what he has to do.

[Moash]

Almost seems like some bashing of Warbreaker going on here. I for one really enjoyed the book along with the characters and magic. I enjoyed the ending for leaving the door open and for generally wrapping up the storyline of that book. The ending definitely was a little rushed, I think he should have had 2-4 more chapters in there at the end but I still am quite fine with it. Regarding the criticism, I had that for Elantris rather than Warbreaker, I should probably give it a reread. I am not worried about any Sel novels because Brandon has greatly improved since then and he was nowhere near his current level back in 05. I am incredibly excited for Nightblood but that is an agonizing wait we will have to deal with. I think we need a Manywar prequel as it seems not much of the Nalthis history is known well and it would be a fantastic way to see Vasher change and develop as well as providing point of views of the other five scholars. Now that would be cool if he wrote a Manywar prequel book or trilogy with the scholars as the five central point of views.

[Shardmancer]

I am very excited for a sequal to Warbreaker... I believe there is a lot to tell.. The secrets of the 5 scholars the original war with Peacemaker.. The path of Denth and his crew.. Or even what the future holds for Vasher chasing down and trying to right his wrongs.. All good possible options for sequal.

[traceria]

I just finished rereading it and decided to check out this thread. I'm really surprised a few people here didn't like Warbreaker the first time! Back in...what was it...2010 or 2011 when I first read it, I thought it a great stand alone novel, albeit with a lot of questions left unanswered. I just figured that was Brandon leaving things open for the possibility of another book without the commitment to it. It's hard to compare a standalone (at least it was then) to a trilogy like Mistborn, but I would rank it just as high as the trilogy, just in a different category.

As to "favorites" I found I went through the same cycle of feelings when it came to Vivenna. At first I found her incredibly annoying (words, actions, outlook) and gradually came around to liking her as she started her soul searching. She's a reminder to me that just because someone is a certain way now doesn't mean they can't change (for the better) and to refrain from dismissing people out of hand.

Lightsong, though, he will always be my favorite, not that I don't enjoy all the other characters for their different roles and personalities. Lightsong, oh Lightsong. When I'd read his dialogue, or in the case of this second "read", listen to it, I couldn't help but envision him as a surfer. XD He tries so hard to put on the "I don't care and I'm so unimportant" facade and really deep down he's searching for his purpose. I find his story and journey beautifully tragic. I love what Llarimar says of him at the end when the rest of the cast of characters finds him holding the body of his brother. It just sums up exactly what kind of person Lightsong was, though he tried to hide it for so long.