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Brandon Sanderson / Re: Warbreaker: Free Ebook
« on: September 02, 2008, 04:49:50 PM »
Here's my feedback on Warbreaker. I'm posting this because I got the notion that part of the purpose of posting Warbreaker online was to get reader feedback prior to print publication. My apologies if this has all been said; I purposely didn't read previous posts on the topic yet because I wanted to give my uncontaminated impressions first. It's been a while since I read the book, so these are the impressions that have stuck. (Also I don't know if I'm months too late on this or if there is intention for another draft eventually, but here goes.)
The Good
Overall, great book as always. I enjoyed the premise of living gods and their daily lives and roles in society and politics, and the various ways they do and do not fill the traditional role of gods, and the implication that humans pre-date them and may even have created them. The plot in general, the system of Breaths, the Returned and contructs and statues, etc. all worked really well for me.
I liked Lightsong, Siri, and the God-King best. The relationships between Lightsong and Blushweaver, Lightsong and Llarimar, and Siri and BlueFingers were compelling relationships, and the relationship between Siri and the God-King was particularly memorable. The banter among the mercs was fun too.
The Could-Be-Better
Vivenna's storyline didn't click with me, and I think I've pinpointed two main reasons why.
First, I didn't get a sense of the relationship between Vivenna and Siri, and that gap was prominent because Vivenna spent most of the book telling herself she was in the city to help Siri. Their perspectives on one another were clearly stated, but I don't know how they interact with eachother, and I don't know the nature of their bond. I'm left with the sense that they are distant, not really involved in eachother's lives - that they have loyalty to eachother due to the fact of sisterhood rather than any emotional bond. That's valid and believable - I'd actually say that's a pretty good description of my own relationship with my eldest sister - but I didn't find it compelling.
I'd even say that there is a general shortage of well-developed, positive relationships between females in Sanderson's books. As contrast, there are an abundance of great male / female relationships (which is always nice to see) - both romantic and otherwise - and of good male / male relationships.
Second, Vivenna spends most of the book being reactive rather than (pardon the forthcoming buzzword) "pro-active". Sanderson's protagonists tend to be movers and shakers, people in tough situations who have a vision for how their world ought to be and plans and determination to make it so. To me that's key to making their stories absorbing. Sarene, Raoden, Kelsier, Elend... even Siri develops an agenda and finds creative ways to manuever within the confines of a seemingly hopeless situation. Vivenna has her initial pro-active action of going to the city to help Siri, and comes back around to being pro-active at the end, but in between she's a leaf on the wind. I appreciate that this is probably by design... she's the dupe. But as I was reading I found I didn't care about her part of the story much. I didn't feel that way about Vin, though, who is also a reactionary character, and I'm not sure what the relevant difference is. Maybe its because Vivenna does have the will of a leader and squanders it, whereas Vin doesn't have any expectations of the world or what it should be. Or maybe its because Vin had the good grace to be impressive in her reactionary actions, and the fortune to not be duped. In any case, Vivenna's fall from grace and subsequent epiphany felt a little over-done, a little heavy-handed.
The Ugly
In this book, a young woman is put in a situation where she believes she will be forced to have sex with a man not of her choosing. Now, I know the author's work, so, as I was reading, I knew he must be going somewhere with this repugnant situation, and that it would be worth it to keep reading. My trust was not misplaced. However, if I had not already known the author's other works, I would have closed the book and never opened it again, and I would have avoided his other works too. I can't be the only one who might have that reaction, so its something to keep in mind. On the other hand, plenty of genre authors include rape or the threat of rape in their books and presumabley they wouldn't do so if it hurt sales, so maybe I'm in a small minority regarding my preference to avoid the subject in leisure reading. That's a disheartening thought.
-Eva
The Good
Overall, great book as always. I enjoyed the premise of living gods and their daily lives and roles in society and politics, and the various ways they do and do not fill the traditional role of gods, and the implication that humans pre-date them and may even have created them. The plot in general, the system of Breaths, the Returned and contructs and statues, etc. all worked really well for me.
I liked Lightsong, Siri, and the God-King best. The relationships between Lightsong and Blushweaver, Lightsong and Llarimar, and Siri and BlueFingers were compelling relationships, and the relationship between Siri and the God-King was particularly memorable. The banter among the mercs was fun too.
The Could-Be-Better
Vivenna's storyline didn't click with me, and I think I've pinpointed two main reasons why.
First, I didn't get a sense of the relationship between Vivenna and Siri, and that gap was prominent because Vivenna spent most of the book telling herself she was in the city to help Siri. Their perspectives on one another were clearly stated, but I don't know how they interact with eachother, and I don't know the nature of their bond. I'm left with the sense that they are distant, not really involved in eachother's lives - that they have loyalty to eachother due to the fact of sisterhood rather than any emotional bond. That's valid and believable - I'd actually say that's a pretty good description of my own relationship with my eldest sister - but I didn't find it compelling.
I'd even say that there is a general shortage of well-developed, positive relationships between females in Sanderson's books. As contrast, there are an abundance of great male / female relationships (which is always nice to see) - both romantic and otherwise - and of good male / male relationships.
Second, Vivenna spends most of the book being reactive rather than (pardon the forthcoming buzzword) "pro-active". Sanderson's protagonists tend to be movers and shakers, people in tough situations who have a vision for how their world ought to be and plans and determination to make it so. To me that's key to making their stories absorbing. Sarene, Raoden, Kelsier, Elend... even Siri develops an agenda and finds creative ways to manuever within the confines of a seemingly hopeless situation. Vivenna has her initial pro-active action of going to the city to help Siri, and comes back around to being pro-active at the end, but in between she's a leaf on the wind. I appreciate that this is probably by design... she's the dupe. But as I was reading I found I didn't care about her part of the story much. I didn't feel that way about Vin, though, who is also a reactionary character, and I'm not sure what the relevant difference is. Maybe its because Vivenna does have the will of a leader and squanders it, whereas Vin doesn't have any expectations of the world or what it should be. Or maybe its because Vin had the good grace to be impressive in her reactionary actions, and the fortune to not be duped. In any case, Vivenna's fall from grace and subsequent epiphany felt a little over-done, a little heavy-handed.
The Ugly
In this book, a young woman is put in a situation where she believes she will be forced to have sex with a man not of her choosing. Now, I know the author's work, so, as I was reading, I knew he must be going somewhere with this repugnant situation, and that it would be worth it to keep reading. My trust was not misplaced. However, if I had not already known the author's other works, I would have closed the book and never opened it again, and I would have avoided his other works too. I can't be the only one who might have that reaction, so its something to keep in mind. On the other hand, plenty of genre authors include rape or the threat of rape in their books and presumabley they wouldn't do so if it hurt sales, so maybe I'm in a small minority regarding my preference to avoid the subject in leisure reading. That's a disheartening thought.
-Eva