Warbreaker is a large stand-alone fantasy novel with sequel potential. In it, Brandon Sanderson did what he does best: created a magic system that provides mystery and depth to character interactions.

Having read the Mistborn trilogy, it was nice to see some twists on the themes he developed. In particular, the details about this world’s Lord Ruler equivalent are quite unexpected.

Like the Mistborn magic system, the Warbreaker mythos has one source of power that can be accessed in various ways which have been discovered by various cultures. This allows Sanderson to play with ideas about religion and multiple routes to the divine.

While the mystery and the magic system were excellent, the political posturing felt a little too simplistic. Nations don’t behave in such predictable fashions. That said, I’ll still read the sequel.

Sanderson, Brandon. Warbreaker. Tor, 2010.