Lightsong: One of Brandon's Best Characters

[Daughter of Tanavast]

I have to say that I think that Lightsong is one of the best characters that Brandon has ever written, not necessarily just based off of his personality. Here's my reasoning:

1. He's likable. Sure, in the first few chapters he felt a little annoying. But as we get to know him, we realize how he's just a genuinely good person with a good sense of humor.
2. He's realistic. I mean, if any of us died and came back only to be proclaimed a god, I doubt we would believe it ourselves. Sure, some people would go for it, but I think most of us would be just a skeptical as Lightsong was.
3. This is something I didn't realize until just barely, during my fourth reread of Warbreaker: his story is so thoroughly thought out, especially for a someone who's one of three main characters and therefore only gets a third of the story. Lightsong, throughout his five year life, was almost completely useless (which is something he confessed to himself). Lightsong didn't start having a clear purpose until the reason that he came back grew closer. As we learn in the book, the Hallendren gods come back to life because they see something in the future that they want to stop or change or ensure. Obviously, Lightsong wanted to prevent the death of the God King. And until that risk grew, he was kind of useless. He didn't think that he had a purpose. But as the threat to the God King and Hallendren, Lightsong grew more and more capable and more and more driven. To me, this shows excellent planning and character development on Brandon's part. It's really hard to write a character that has no idea why he does something, but Brandon pulls it off flawlessly. 

I don't know if any of my thought process made sense in writing, although it makes perfect sense in my brain. I just wanted to share my thoughts. 

[Failsafe]

I agree. I also appreciate how his humor doesn't detract from his character. Lightsong makes the book feel lighter when it needs to, but he's still allowed to have darker moments. I think a lot of authors struggle to make their funny characters still feel real and I think Lightsong is a great example. 

 

Also, his relationship with Llarimar is amazing.

[Daughter of Tanavast]

13 minutes ago, Failsafe said:

Also, his relationship with Llarimar is amazing.

Oh yes! I wanted to make another point about Llarimar but I completely forgot. Llarimar is an incredible character, and I don't think he gets all the credit he deserves. One of my favorite parts in the whole book is in chapter 26, when the two go to Mercystar's palace to investigate the death of the servant. Lightsong is trying to convince one of Mercystar's priests to let him in, and he turns to Llarimar to ask if the priest can deny him. Llarimar responds with "Only at great peril to his soul, Your Grace." Even though Llarimar is a bit confused and maybe exasperated about why Lightsong is investigating the crime, he constantly helps him and even contributes to his humor while trying to intimidate someone. I love both of them.

[Failsafe]

In some of the recent BYU lectures, Brandon compares character relationships to braiding roses so they are closer together and the thorns are on the outside, rather than stabbing each other, and I think Lightsong and Llarimar are a perfect example of this. They balance each other out really well. Their dynamic was honestly one of my favorites in the whole book. 

[Karger]

You worked insurance!  Is an amazing reveal.

[Daughter of Tanavast]

21 hours ago, Karger said:

You worked insurance!  Is an amazing reveal.

But it makes sense! In my most recent reread I finally realized that one of the things that Lightsong discovered he was amazing at was math. And I think it says that he loved puzzles. Or something along those lines. But anyway, you're completely right-- that reveal is one of my favorite parts in the whole book. It's so shocking to see Llarimar upset, and it's not often that authors completely tear apart their characters' theories (although this is something that Brandon does quite often).