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bergha1998's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Utterly brilliant, such good world building and characters. The magic system was so interesting and well paced in when the reader was given more info. I liked Siri’s plot the best, but all of them were interesting. Not to mention how opaque everyone’s motives were and the mystery of that. I also liked all of Vivianna's inner dialogue about who she had been raised to be and what she had been told to believe.
Fantasy, Magic System, Multi-POV
Fantasy, Magic System, Multi-POV
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Gaslighting, Torture, Violence, Religious bigotry, Death, Murder, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Confinement, Alcoholism, Body horror, Classism, Colonisation, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, War, Death of parent, and Blood
cosmere_considered's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
An incredible stand-alone fantasy book about sisterhood, faith, and self-discovery that takes place in the middle of two countries on the brink of war. The magic of Divine Breaths permeates the cultures of the land of Nalthis as the Court of Gods discuses the perceived betrayal of their decades-old contract.
If you’re a Christian and you have an interest in considering your own cultural or religious biases, this book will certainly help you start.
If you’re a Christian and you have an interest in considering your own cultural or religious biases, this book will certainly help you start.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Animal death, Religious bigotry, and Sexism
Moderate: Child abuse, Classism, Death, Gaslighting, and Kidnapping
Minor: Murder and Rape
Trigger warning spoilers here: no major plot spoilerscookiecat73's review
dark
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Alcohol, Police brutality, Toxic friendship, War, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Xenophobia, Classism, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Misogyny
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Rape, Torture, Child abuse, Colonisation, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Pregnancy, Body horror, Sexual content, and Suicide
Minor: Ableism, Child death, Grief, and Gaslighting
sophiasoler's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
really good, a rather abrupt ending that almost works but doesn’t quite feel complete which is a super bummer. otherwise, it’s a very thorough and well-thought out story ! slightly misses the point it spends most of the book setting up
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Violence, Classism, Death, Murder, Religious bigotry, and War
Minor: Gaslighting and Stalking
leona's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Quick comment: A bit irritated that Storygraph doesn't appear to have the copy of the book I read (I tried to add it but it wouldn't let me.)
This is my fourth Sanderson book (second cosmere book) and it is safe to say I am well and truly hooked. I loved Warbreaker (okay not as much as The Final Empire which I have bumped up to a 5 star rating) but still, I really enjoyed it. Also, fair warning, I will probably be comparing this to The Final Empire a lot, which is probably unfair but ...
I have a lot of thoughts about this book, so hopefully I don't forget any - now, let's get started!
And some smallish spoilers below but I will try to tag the major ones.
First off: characters.
Sanderson has great characters. I think I can say that with some confidence now. The main cast consists of two sisters, Siri and Vivenna, the God King, Lightsong - a 'returned' God, and the mysterious Vasher. It took me quite a while to get attached to the characters. I liked Siri, Vasher and Lightsong but felt quite indifferent towards Vivenna and her POV's seemed to take up so much space. Actually scrap that, I really started to hat Vivenna for the majority of the book, her attitudes towards Jewels and Parlin were so controlling and entitled and it was very frustrating. But over time I started to like Vivenna a bit more, I started to like Siri and loved Vasher and Lightsong. Vasher is just such an epic character and I love the philosophical side that Lightsong brings. But if I am going to be honest, I just loved him when I found out he could juggle (and as a juggler I think Sanderson did a pretty good job here - no stupid hand waving and other weird crap people think jugglers do). He's just such a fascinating character. Lastly, is it unfair to say that Lightsong and Vasher reminded me of the opposite sides of Kelsier (okay maybe I'm just clutching at straws now because I like Kelsier's character so much.
Now onto some major character spoilers
I think Sanderson should have shown more detail with Lightsong's death because even though I loved this character, I think his death was a bit unemotional. The same with Blushweaver - I didn't like her from the start, hated her more after she called Siri a slut, then didn't really care whne she died, other than how upset Lightsong was. I would also say the same for Parlin's death There was barely any interactions with him and he was kind of just third-wheeling. I think Parlin and Blushweaver's deaths were used more as shock value but I didn't feel any emotional attachment to them. I actually really hated Blushweaver and she's a bit of a stereotype to be honest: the manipulative seductress who is flapping her cleavage around and trying to get with Lightsong every 2 minutes. Anyway, I loved Siri and Lightsong's relationship and I wish we could have seen more interactions with them. I also felt a bit underwhelmed by the revelation that Llarimarr (not sure about the spelling there...) was Lightsong's brother, or that Vasher was one of the 5 scholars (I think that's right). Why does Sanderson always kill off my favourite characters! Also: Hoid sighting 2! Are the materials he sprinkles from the various cosmere planets? I noticed him using small metal flakes or something along those lines and being like: MISTBORN!
Plot:
I can't really talk about plot that much, but this story is very political / court intrigue heavy and also relies quite heavily on mystery to draw you in. This is part of the reason I didn't give this a 5 star rating - for the first half of the book I was getting bored of Vivenna's POVs, didn't feel all that invested in the characters, and also didn't really understand what was going on. Some of the twists didn't land that well for me but I still think this book was pretty excellent. I was quite average about this book for a long time, but the Sanderlanche was epic and I just loved it. Although I think maybe the ending may have felt a little bit rushed? I also think this book definitely needs a sequel so hopefully Sanderson will work on one after Stormlight 5. It definitely isn't as action heavy as The Final Empire, Vasher brings most of the action, which I think is mainly a matter of personal preference.
Magic system / world building:
I am by no means an expert on these aspects but the world is very greek myth-esque with an excellent and unique magic system. The basics are quite easy to grasp but I also didn't feel like I fully understood some aspects of it which was also a contribution to some of the reveals not landing as well for me. But generally, I really enjoyed the magic and themes explored in this book.
Some general comments to add:
I think this book is mainly character driven and some readers may not like Sanderson's writing style. He is quite no nonsense and to the point, which makes it very digestible and his magic systems easier to handle but it is definitely not flowery or particularly 'beautiful' prose. Despite this he still manages to capture the beauty of the world very successfully. However one thing that annoyed me (and I had a similar criticism in Mistborn with the repetitive use of the word maladroitly) by the end of this book I was sick of hearing about every woman's 'dangerously low cut neck lines' or 'cleavage that threatened to fall out' or whatever other descriptions were used / descriptions of Blushweaver's boobs. I could forgive it at first with Siri and Vivenna considering their cultural / religious views but it did really start to grate on my nerves after a while.
So overall, definitely a solid entry of Sanderson's cosmere that I thoroughly enjoyed but not necessarily my favourite / on the same level for me as The Final Empire. I wish there was a sequel so bad though and I rate it 4 stars. Yay for the cosmere and I can't wait to finish the Mistborn trilogy.
This is my fourth Sanderson book (second cosmere book) and it is safe to say I am well and truly hooked. I loved Warbreaker (okay not as much as The Final Empire which I have bumped up to a 5 star rating) but still, I really enjoyed it. Also, fair warning, I will probably be comparing this to The Final Empire a lot, which is probably unfair but ...
I have a lot of thoughts about this book, so hopefully I don't forget any - now, let's get started!
And some smallish spoilers below but I will try to tag the major ones.
First off: characters.
Sanderson has great characters. I think I can say that with some confidence now. The main cast consists of two sisters, Siri and Vivenna, the God King, Lightsong - a 'returned' God, and the mysterious Vasher. It took me quite a while to get attached to the characters. I liked Siri, Vasher and Lightsong but felt quite indifferent towards Vivenna and her POV's seemed to take up so much space. Actually scrap that, I really started to hat Vivenna for the majority of the book, her attitudes towards Jewels and Parlin were so controlling and entitled and it was very frustrating. But over time I started to like Vivenna a bit more, I started to like Siri and loved Vasher and Lightsong. Vasher is just such an epic character and I love the philosophical side that Lightsong brings. But if I am going to be honest, I just loved him when I found out he could juggle (and as a juggler I think Sanderson did a pretty good job here - no stupid hand waving and other weird crap people think jugglers do). He's just such a fascinating character. Lastly, is it unfair to say that Lightsong and Vasher reminded me of the opposite sides of Kelsier (okay maybe I'm just clutching at straws now because I like Kelsier's character so much.
Now onto some major character spoilers
I think Sanderson should have shown more detail with Lightsong's death because even though I loved this character, I think his death was a bit unemotional. The same with Blushweaver - I didn't like her from the start, hated her more after she called Siri a slut, then didn't really care whne she died, other than how upset Lightsong was. I would also say the same for Parlin's death There was barely any interactions with him and he was kind of just third-wheeling. I think Parlin and Blushweaver's deaths were used more as shock value but I didn't feel any emotional attachment to them. I actually really hated Blushweaver and she's a bit of a stereotype to be honest: the manipulative seductress who is flapping her cleavage around and trying to get with Lightsong every 2 minutes. Anyway, I loved Siri and Lightsong's relationship and I wish we could have seen more interactions with them. I also felt a bit underwhelmed by the revelation that Llarimarr (not sure about the spelling there...) was Lightsong's brother, or that Vasher was one of the 5 scholars (I think that's right). Why does Sanderson always kill off my favourite characters! Also: Hoid sighting 2! Are the materials he sprinkles from the various cosmere planets? I noticed him using small metal flakes or something along those lines and being like: MISTBORN!
Plot:
I can't really talk about plot that much, but this story is very political / court intrigue heavy and also relies quite heavily on mystery to draw you in. This is part of the reason I didn't give this a 5 star rating - for the first half of the book I was getting bored of Vivenna's POVs, didn't feel all that invested in the characters, and also didn't really understand what was going on. Some of the twists didn't land that well for me but I still think this book was pretty excellent. I was quite average about this book for a long time, but the Sanderlanche was epic and I just loved it. Although I think maybe the ending may have felt a little bit rushed? I also think this book definitely needs a sequel so hopefully Sanderson will work on one after Stormlight 5. It definitely isn't as action heavy as The Final Empire, Vasher brings most of the action, which I think is mainly a matter of personal preference.
Magic system / world building:
I am by no means an expert on these aspects but the world is very greek myth-esque with an excellent and unique magic system. The basics are quite easy to grasp but I also didn't feel like I fully understood some aspects of it which was also a contribution to some of the reveals not landing as well for me. But generally, I really enjoyed the magic and themes explored in this book.
Some general comments to add:
I think this book is mainly character driven and some readers may not like Sanderson's writing style. He is quite no nonsense and to the point, which makes it very digestible and his magic systems easier to handle but it is definitely not flowery or particularly 'beautiful' prose. Despite this he still manages to capture the beauty of the world very successfully. However one thing that annoyed me (and I had a similar criticism in Mistborn with the repetitive use of the word maladroitly) by the end of this book I was sick of hearing about every woman's 'dangerously low cut neck lines' or 'cleavage that threatened to fall out' or whatever other descriptions were used / descriptions of Blushweaver's boobs. I could forgive it at first with Siri and Vivenna considering their cultural / religious views but it did really start to grate on my nerves after a while.
So overall, definitely a solid entry of Sanderson's cosmere that I thoroughly enjoyed but not necessarily my favourite / on the same level for me as The Final Empire. I wish there was a sequel so bad though and I rate it 4 stars. Yay for the cosmere and I can't wait to finish the Mistborn trilogy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Religious bigotry, and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Gore, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, and War
Minor: Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Vomit, and Gaslighting
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