Warbreaker
by Brandon Sanderson · first published 2009
83% recommend17% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Standalone epic fantasy with a magic system built on clear rules and a self-contained plot. It serves as an entry point into Sanderson's Cosmere, with strong world-building and a wholesome tone.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
After bursting onto the fantasy scene with his acclaimed debut novel, Elantris, and following up with his blockbuster Mistborn trilogy, Brandon Sanderson proves again that he is today’s leading master of what Tolkien called “secondary creation,” the invention of whole worlds, complete with magics and myths all their own. Warbreaker is the story of two sisters, who happen to be princesses, the God King one of them has to marry, the lesser god who doesn’t like his job, and the immortal who’s still trying to undo the mistakes he made hundreds of years ago. Their world is one in which those
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…audiobook fan, I also recommend looking into GraphicAudio. Unabridged audiobooks with a full voice cast, music, and sound effects. The Night Angel trilogy by Brent Weeks is good in GraphicAudio, as is Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson. Warbreaker is stand-alone, so it may be a good starting point. There are a few rough bits, but there always are; some sections with awkward musical choices, some re-used recognizable…
on “'How piracy works' according to Minecraft creator” ↗For something more fun to read than my intro try Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson: https://www.watchwords.tv/read/Q6jQrky0m/Warbreaker
on “Show HN: Watchwords.tv, an auto scrolling ebook reader” ↗…an epic by Sanderson, do yourself a favor and board the hype train. You won't be disappointed. It's everything you want in a long fantasy novel without being bogged down with side-plots and details. Warbreaker - Brandon Sanderson: This is a standalone novel with a tie-on to Words of Radiance. I'm only halfway through it. Would recommend so far, especially since it's free from the author.
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2015?” ↗…The book takes place on two timelines, involving two generations of characters, that have interesting parallels. The audio book narrator does a great job, if you're into audiobooks. Runner-up would be Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson. His best, IMO.
on “Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?” ↗I recently finished "Warbreaker" by Brandon Sanderson, now plan to go back to reading "Designing data-intensive applications" since it's been a long time (for me) since I read anything educational. Warbreaker was amazing, I still think…
on “Ask HN: What are you reading?” ↗…cite Brandon Sanderson as a good example (and good counter-example to the original article) - smaller ideas get novellas (Legion, Emperor's Soul), medium-sized ideas get novels (Elantris, Rithmatist, Warbreaker), epic ideas get large novels in series(Mistborn, Way of Kings). All excellent, by the way...
on “Fantasy must shake off the tyranny of the mega-novel” ↗…experienced Sanderson by starting there. (Without embarking on the 10-book series of thousand-page books, Stormlight Archive. Though there are also standalone cosmere novels that could work well, like Warbreaker.)
on “Four Secret Novels by Brandon Sanderson” ↗Many of his books fall under a shared universe: https://www.reddit.com/r/cosmere/wiki/order If you prefer novellas/standalone to get a feel, I'd recommend "Emperor's Soul" and "Warbreaker". He's known for good magic system and Sanderlanche (things coming together at the end in a hurry). I went on a binge read when I started reading his work about 4-5 years back. I still enjoy his books,…
on “Four Secret Novels by Brandon Sanderson” ↗Fiction - I started reading the Cosmere universe by Brandon Sanderson. Mistborn Trilogy, Stormlight Archives, and Warbreaker. Pick 1 - Start with Warbreaker or Mistborn. I'm new to fantasy fiction and his writing totally hooked me. I think of "hard" fantasy as a puzzle. The world has a unique physics and the plot of the story…
on “Ask HN: What are some of the best books you have read in 2022?” ↗…long run. Also, if you haven't read the Mistborn trilogy, I highly suggest it. It's a great, unique setting, and I had a great time with it. Finally, his other books are great as well. Elantris and Warbreaker, each different, and great for single novel stories. I'm a big fan of the long arcs of great epics, but these one-off's were well worth the time invested. Basically, he's an author that will require…
on “Ask HN: What are you reading right now?” ↗…followed to their consequences. [Ayuc sums it up nicely in this comment. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9056594 ] If you look at it this way, it CAN be done in fantasy. Check out Brandon Sanderson's Warbreaker (a great one-off), or the Mistborn series. (There are quite a few similarities between them.) Or Max Brooks' World War Z was great in this way, I think. Although it's been quite a while since I read…
on “What are your favourite sci-fi books?” ↗…anything I've read. Also really recommend 'Snow crash'. Also adding a couple fantasy recommendations: Lies of Locke lamora, and any basically any novel by Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn: the final empire, Warbreaker, The way of kings etc.)
on “Ask HN: What are some great fiction reads for someone that reads non-fiction” ↗I picked up Warbreaker early last year when a copy was on sale. I had never heard of Sanderson before, but I've been hooked since. I then read the Reckoners series followed by the Stormlight Archives. I'm currently reading…
on “Earthsea – A Rival to Tolkien and George RR Martin (2015)” ↗+1 for the Stormlight Archives I would add the rest of Brandon Sanderson Cosmere books: Mistborn Trilogies Warbreaker Elantris etc.
on “Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?” ↗Others haven't said so but maybe you should try Warbreaker as it's the "most" standalone book of the Cosmere saga. It's the "most" in the sense that there are still subtle references to other works but they are very minor and you can totally enjoy it without…
on “Four Secret Novels by Brandon Sanderson” ↗