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kabrahams's review against another edition
4.0
We follow many points of view in this novel, including Siri, who is sent to marry Susebron the God King instead of her sister to prevent a war, Vivenna, Siri's sister who goes to rescue her and falls in with a band of mercenaries, and Lightsong, a returned "god" who is involved in the complex political landscape of two kingdoms on the brink of war. I enjoyed the Siri and Vivenna POVs a lot more.
Magic system is very cool (no surprise there though since it's Brando Sando). Breaths give you power and some people have biochromatic breaths that heighten colors around them. Inanimate objects and even dead people can be brought to "life" with breath and commanded, creating weapons and armies. There is a sentient sword named Nightblood that is wielded by Vasher.
Also not surprising, there are many fun twists.
Overall, not my favorite Brando Sando, but still very fun. I'm not sure why this was recommended to me as having a good romance subplot?? There's a kiss at 75% and that's about it. Maybe I would've enjoyed it more if I had had lower or different expectations.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Torture, Violence, and Murder
Minor: War
marareading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Murder, and War
touchegiantsquid's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Redeemed to 3 stars because I felt one character's conclusion moved me. For the most part, the magic system seemed intentionally opaque and confusing and it wasn't cleared up by the end.
Graphic: Animal death
Minor: Animal cruelty, Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Torture, Kidnapping, Murder, and War
vigil's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
the blushweaver and siri scene was bizzare, misogynistic, and kind of pathetic but this was written in 2008 by a mormon white guy. you win some and you lose some 🤷♀️
(i had issues with some aspects of blushweaver in general, actually. i think she’s mostly fine but some things haven’t aged too well.)
edit: in light of mistborn, yet another critique i have is brandon presenting systems that are broken on a fundamental level and having it fixed by put A Good King on the throne. that’s not how it works.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Misogyny, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
leona's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Violence, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Gore, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, and War
Minor: Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Vomit, and Gaslighting
kerrygetsliterary's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and War
deezy's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror and Torture
keepsleep's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Grief, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Cursing, Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Vomit, Kidnapping, Abortion, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Adult themes are handled in a very non graphic manner.drusilla_reads's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Minor: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Sexism, Violence, Kidnapping, and Murder
juph's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Kidnapping, and Murder
Minor: Rape