Warbreaker

From the author of the connected universe of the Cosmere comes the standalone novel from which spring characters who later play roles in the #1 New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive.

In the world of Warbreaker, each person is born endowed with the power of one Breath—which can be sold and collected by others, then used to Awaken objects and even corpses to do their bidding. A few individuals who die in glory return as gods, with the power of thousands of Breath, but no memory of their mortal lives—and are enthroned in the Court of Gods in Hallandren’s capital. To Vivenna and Siri, princesses of Idris, the abuse of Breath and the claim of the Returned to be gods are repugnant blasphemy. But with one princess wed to the God King of their nation’s enemies in a bid for peace, the other finds she must rely on Breath-using mercenaries to try to rescue her sister from her monstrous husband.

Lightsong the Bold, a lesser god who doubts his own religion, starts investigating mysterious murders in the Court of Gods and uncovers haunting clues to his own forgotten past. He is one of four gods who controls the army of Awakened Lifeless soldiers, and one faction is inciting an invasion of Idris despite the marriage treaty. Vasher—wielder of the sapient sword Nightblood—works behind the scenes against the declaration of war, but Lightsong’s visions of bloodshed prophesy its inevitability. Can the new queen, unaware of her sister’s imminent rescue attempt, persuade Lightsong and also somehow get through to the aloof God King—who she has been forbidden to speak to or even look in the eyes—before her homeland is destroyed?

Other Tor books by Brandon Sanderson

The Cosmere

The Stormlight Archive

The Way of Kings
Words of Radiance
Edgedancer (Novella)
Oathbringer

The Mistborn trilogy
Mistborn: The Final Empire
The Well of Ascension
The Hero of Ages

Mistborn: The Wax and Wayne series
Alloy of Law
Shadows of Self
Bands of Mourning


Collection
Arcanum Unbounded

Other Cosmere novels
Elantris
Warbreaker

The Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians series
Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians
The Scrivener's Bones
The Knights of Crystallia
The Shattered Lens
The Dark Talent

The Rithmatist series
The Rithmatist

Other books by Brandon Sanderson

The Reckoners

Steelheart
Firefight
Calamity

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Published Mar 30, 2010

688 pages

Average rating: 7.92

88 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

Celia Seupel
Jul 14, 2025
7/10 stars
This was a very enjoyable read; I was disappointed our bookclub meeting for this one unfortunately had to be canceled. I've got to say, Sanderson is really imaginative. He creates magical worlds that are surprising in their rules, twists, and turns. In this book, I enjoyed the sardonic main character who refused to believe in his own divinity, as well as other characters whose perspective and world-view evolved. The way the magic worked had everything to do with how the characters developed, so the book held together well. On the other hand, I didn't find the book memorable. It didn't rise above and beyond the well-done regular, with some new magical ideas. To sum up, If you like entertaining fantasy that isn't mind-blowing, you'll enjoy this book.
Danisha
Jun 25, 2025
7/10 stars
This was my first Sanderson read and I can say I enjoyed it. There were some parts I felt were a little slow but nothing major. I think I was just getting used to his writing style. I thoroughly enjoyed Lightsong’s personality and Vasher’s whole characters (Can’t forget Nightblood, they’re a package deal, heheh). I also found myself waiting for Siri and Susebron’s chapter’s to roll around. Vivenna only grew on me closer to the end of the story. Listening to the Graphic Audio while I read brought a lot to these characters and it all seemed to flow and work perfectly together. Can’t wait to see the other Worlds and Magic in the Cosmere of Brandon Sanderson.
Revyn1103
Jun 20, 2025
9/10 stars
Finished today!! Amazing read! Engaging story!!!
Tara
Mar 30, 2025
5/10 stars
Lightsong I’m obsessed with you
MadocMattox
Nov 21, 2024
Magic system was actually pretty distracting from the main plot. Interesting but distracting.

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