Warbreaker
by brandonsanderson on Jun.20, 2009, under Brandon Sanderson
This is the part where I pitch my book, apparently. Only, I’ll admit, I’ve never been that great at this part of the whole process. I once heard a wise man (Robert Jordan) say something along the lines of “Well, I wrote the series as long as I did because that was how long it took me to tell the story. If I could tell the story in a one-page summary, that’s what I’d have written in the first place.” I always had trouble writing a query letter or synopsis for one of my books. (Note how I cleverly worded that sentence in such a way as to keep from having to figure out how to spell the plural of synopsis.)
But if you’d like a summary, here’s a page where I posted some things my editor wrote about the novel:
That page also includes a nice long list of reviews from top tier media sources, including some glowing words from:
Publisher’s Weekly (They call the book Powerful, extraordinary, and highly entertaining.)
The Library Journal (They call the book “essential reading for fantasy fans.”)
Booklist (They call the book superior.)
And Michael Moorcock, who says: “Anyone looking for a different and refreshing fantasy novel will be delighted by this exceptional tale of magic, mystery and the politics of divinity.”
Are the words of those nice people why you should read my book? Well, I guess it depends. What and what are your personal tastes? Warbreaker is a stand-alone epic fantasy, self-contained in one book with an original magic system. The story focuses on reversals and witty dialogue, along with some (hopefully) deep and interesting characters. Is that why you should read the book? Perhaps.
If you’ve liked what I’ve had to say on the blog, if you enjoy epic fantasy that tries to take a few steps away from the cliché, if you like to support people who post their books on-line for free alongside the store product, or if you’re simply curious who this guy is that is finishing the Wheel of Time, maybe that is why you should read the book.
But it’s hard for me to explain to people what they ’should’ do. You make that call yourselves. It’s been a pleasure visiting with you all for these two weeks, and I hope to do it again some time. If you’re curious about my work, check out the link above. If not, then you’re fine by me. Not every book is going to appeal to every reader, and we can like different things and still get along.
Thanks for listening to my random rants!
Brandon
Related posts:
- Warbreaker Brandon, thank you for sharing your time and thoughts with us here at Babel Clash. Would you like to take your last post or two and share with us why Warbreaker is an essential summer read and a perfect addition to any book lover’s collection? All, attached is a YouTube...
- Magic Systems (and an excerpt from Warbreaker) I like magic with wonder and mystery. I don’t necessarily want to know why or how it works, but I absolutely want to know what characters are capable of doing with it. Tell me early in a story, so I’m not surprised whenever a wizard pulls a new trick out...
- Guns and Words I can still remember the first fantasy novel I read that used gunpowder. It was one of the Robin McKinley books, the Blue Sword or The Hero and the Crown. I’ve mentioned before in one of these posts just how wrong that felt to me. And then, the fact that...
- The Fantasy Series I’m in the middle of an experiment. My newest book, Warbreaker, is a stand-alone epic fantasy, much as my first book Elantris was. Obviously, I’m not the only one to release stand-alones in this genre. There’s a grand tradition of it, and some of my personal favorite books are stand-alones. ...
- Thank you, Kim! And our next guest is… Kim, thank you for contributing to Babel Clash. It’s been fun, and you’re welcome to visit anytime. Congratulations on the success of Once Dead, Twice Shy. Our next guest is Brandon Sanderson, author of epic fantasy novels Warbreaker, Elantris and Mistborn. Brandon is also undertaking the incredible challenge of completing...
June 20th, 2009 on 4:41 am
synopses
There, you owe me.
Reading Warbreaker now. I’m about 40 pages in. So far, so good. I do think you’re going to run out of things to base magic systems on. You’ve done metal and now color. It may take you awhile, but by the time you’re 60, you’ll be basing magic systems on random things you can see from your desk. “And he drained power from the, from the, (author looks around) pencil lead. Graphite being a holy secret of the ancients.” Though if Way of Kings really has 30 magic systems in it, you may be running out by the time you’re 40.
June 20th, 2009 on 9:09 am
I bought Warbreaker yesterday at Borders… Had to clean my room before I could break into reading which will come later today.. Good to know/hear a humble artist on work finished.. Super happy that your experimant on this book is working… I am especially happy that this book has color magic.
Sam Scott an artist taught color theory and painting over two semesters and man I never had seen color before until his class. Now I can look and see the colors like never before his magic has been with me for many years and will be till I die.. I think he is a magician of a high degree.. Smile thank you for giving us bio-chroma…
June 20th, 2009 on 1:29 pm
I managed to pick the book up at the library last week just after it came out. In my usual style, I finished within three days, and greatly enjoyed the experience. Another good book, which I should probably pick up a copy of at some point…
June 20th, 2009 on 2:52 pm
Great Book again Brandon! I look forward to November 3rd.
June 20th, 2009 on 6:54 pm
Was originally going to have to wait until my library got it (poooor poor college student) but then I got some 21st birthday money! This may be rather pathetic, but getting Warbreaker was one of the first things I thought to do with it. I’m waiting for my long bus ride next week to start it!
June 20th, 2009 on 8:12 pm
Just finished Warbreaker. Technically I’d already finished since I read it online, but it’s different holding the book. Anyway, loved it just as much this time. Maybe more since there was a scene with Lightsong (my favorite, yeah) that I hadn’t read before and the cover is beautiful. ^_^
Can’t wait ’till November…
June 20th, 2009 on 9:41 pm
You’ve posted a few times about your angst of releasing drafts on-line and the finished version of Warbreaker. Well in my case it paid off. I found you when I learned of Mr. Jordan’s passing. I went to look at your site and found you were giving out your next book for free. So I downloaded it, read it and loved it right away. After that I went on to get Elantris (pb), Mistborn 1 and 2 (pb), Mistborn 3 (hc) and ordered Warbreaker (hc) from Amazon. Can’t wait to read it, thanks for your great work. I believe the Wheel of Time is in good hands.
June 20th, 2009 on 10:38 pm
I finished Warbreaker a few days ago, and I absolutely loved it. Here’s my tweet just after I finished: I Loved Brandon Sanderson’s Warbreaker! (action, romance, intreeg, awesome sword fights, plaut twists galore, and a great magic system)
It’s the first of your books that I’ve read, but you’ve got yourself a new fan. Even if it was a standalone, you managed to get me so absorbed into the plaut, that I felt like I was there. I like how you left the book at an open end, so we can let our imaginations come up with what comes next for them, while bringing a satisfying conclusion to the story. I only have one question. If none of the returned, including the God Kings can have children, how is it that Siri and Vivenna are descendences of a returned? Probably an obvious question, but one I’ve been wondering about.
Good luck with future projects! Wheel of Time is lucky that you were chosen to finish it.
June 22nd, 2009 on 10:42 am
I loved Warbreaker! It has many strengths, but one highlight is the HUMOR. Don’t make us wait too long for a follow-up novel, as there are some loose threads in Wbreakr
That being said, I rarely read fantasy standalones, but there was something really satisfying about having this self-contained story. Kudos!
June 22nd, 2009 on 4:08 pm
Warbreaker is one of the best books I’ve ever read. The magic system is intriguing, but doesn’t even compare to the character development (and that’s really saying something because I loved the magic system). Great job!
June 24th, 2009 on 12:17 am
My first time reading a Brandon Sanderson book, but well worth it. The intriguing magic system really captured my attention.