Seeing as I've been churning through books recently, I thought I'd take the opportunity to write a review about one that I think really needs a review. Not because it's the best or worst book I've read recently, but because I need to talk about what makes this book not great and not terrible. So without further ado, here is Warbreaker.
Anyone who has seen me write about the merits of fantasy and my personal passion for the genre will know I'm a fan because of the strong escapism that fantasy books offer. I don't necessarily require strong underlying morals, complex narrative arcs or in-depth character creation. While these are all points that definitely contribute to a good story, they're not why I read fantasy. With this in mind, I like to think I set my standards fairly low for any prospective fantasy author.
Bradon Sanderson is quite a well-known fantasy author, with my first experience of his work coming from him finishing The Wheel of Time after Robert Jordan's unfortunate death. I found his production of the final two books satisfactory, though I noted he had a rather blunted style to his writing. Not as strong a narrative voice as Jordan, but not a poor writer by any stretch of the imagination.
So when I saw the Warbreaker book on the shelves at my local Dymocks, I thought why not. The story tells of two sisters, a god and an ancient-and-powerful hero as they struggle as foreign agents in a big city, trying to prevent a war that would crush their home nation.
The first thing I have to say is that it's blatantly clear what drives Sanderson's writing... it's world building. The world in which this story is set is rich with a strong history a well thought out (if very random) magic system and a thoroughly developed relationship between opposing nations. No opportunity to emphasize the importance of history is missed and you get a strong feeling that this is a story that only works because of the geopolitical nature of the world in which it is set. My only complaint on this point would be the cluncky exposition that Sanderson relies on to get all this world-building across.
Unfortunately, none of the same care appears to have been taken with either Sanderson's characters or his development of the underlying story. Again, let's be clear, Sanderson is a popular author and he is a professional. So I'm not complaining about two-dimensional stereotypical characters here. The degree of incompetence would be unforgivable. Instead, I'm simply left unimpressed. Our two main characters are believable but not overly relatable, the direction their personal stories take is hopelessly predictable and they're never people we really fall in love with. We don't feel their suffering (and they do a lot of suffering) or really care about their wellbeing. When Sanderson wants to make a point about his characters personalities, back-stories or goals he throws it in your face then pummels it in with a baseball bat. There is no finesse.
The narrative arc suffers from a similar disinterest. There's a clear objective but the pathway to it is confusing at times. For 90% of the story, our protagonists are simple passengers in the plans of other characters, and this means most of what we're reading feels like a play-by-play of someone else's story. There are components of mystery, but they don't really shock or awe. There are battle sequences, but they don't give a feeling of overwhelming power or helplessness. Finally, there are two big plot-twists. The first completely blindsided me with a perfect set up and solid execution which played to all the right emotions. In comparison, the second 'story-ending' plot twist was more like a half-dead carp flopping out of the murky waters of a poorly constructed mystery narrative. I wasn't shocked, I didn't care and we hadn't spent enough time with the characters involved to feel emotionally betrayed.
If these were the only problems with Warbreaker then I'd be happy to leave it with a solid 6/10 and advise anyone who does like fantasy to read it for the fantastic world it's set in and enjoy the ride without high expectations. But there's one other thing I really must mention. Sanderson has a habit. One which I've only recently recognized after starting another of his books, The Way of Kings. Our mate Brandon Sanderson likes writing "witty" characters. And I use the quotations deliberately because this forced attempt at adding humour destroys the characters involved. The lines delivered seem to come straight from Sanderson's mouth (is he trying to show off?) and are closer to horrible dad humor than sharp-tongued wit. It's insufferable, and for this reason alone Warbreaker loses one star!
Verdict: 5/10 - Read with low expectations and enjoy the world it's set in
As usual thanks for reading! If you've read the book and have anything to add (or subtract) from my review, please leave a comment below!
-tfc
