Warbreaker is a Masterclass in Flawed Perception

Sanderson weaponizes his characters' honest ignorance against you. That is the whole trick of Warbreaker, and it worked on me twice. Yes, this is a reread, and the last time was ten years ago, but the book still shattered my perception all over again. Nobody prepares you for that moment, even when you know it's coming.

In today's post, I want to show you how he pulls it off, and why that makes Warbreaker such a good pick for your next read if you're looking for a standalone adventure. If you've already read it and want to nerd out about it, my comment section is open.

There will be some spoilers, but I won't spoil the ending. This is your one and only warning.

Siri Doesn't Know Court Life, So Neither Do We

On the one hand, I identify with Siri so much. I always loved freedom too, meeting new people and just having fun. And then, like losing cellular signal on your phone with no wifi, you're cut off from everything you know. No more freedom. Siri is sent instead of her sister, and she's not prepared for court life.

Because we ride inside her head, we're not prepared either. Every wrong assumption she makes about the God King and his court, we make with her.

On the other hand, seeing her toughen up and start making moves in the Court of Gods is inspiring. She's growing into the ruler she is meant to be, and it's her unpreparedness that enables her to get there.

The irony of it all is that if Vivenna had been sent to the God King as intended, there would be no story.

We Trusted Denth Because Vivenna Did

From my perspective, the main story was Siri's plotline. Sure, what Vivenna was doing on the outside affected the courts, but it only became meaningful when she teamed up with Vasher.

Up until that point, Denth slowly winning her over as the team's new employer seemed light-hearted and fun. Vivenna didn't know any better. And we believed her, because we didn't know any better either. Sanderson never lies to us. He just lets an honest character be wrong, and we inherit her blind spots.

That's how he gets you, and not just in this book. I recently started rereading Mistborn Era 1. I'm in The Final Empire now and already spotted that Vin is a Mistborn before Kelsier explains it in chapter three. Once you see the trick, you start catching it early.

And then there's the Breath itself. When Lemex's Breath is thrust upon Vivenna, and she realizes that giving it away means giving up her own Breath too, she decides against it and eventually learns Awakening, the very sin her religion preaches against. Even her beliefs about herself turn out to be flawed perception.

Vasher Is the Trick in Reverse

This entire book, in every scene with Vasher, except maybe one scene where he interacts with a child, we see that he's just not good with people. He isn't charismatic like Denth. So we assume the worst about him, the same way Vivenna does.

And yet, he still wanted to help.

When Vivenna teams up with him and slowly discovers his personality, we get to know a rough, stoic guy who still believes in making peace between Idris and T'Telir. He's just very bad at convincing other people of that fact. Denth performs trustworthiness and has none. Vasher performs none and has all of it.

Also, the banter with Nightblood was always a fun and funny addition. If you're a Cosmere fan, you may have seen Nightblood elsewhere, but that's for a different blog post.

The Betrayals Only Hurt Because We Saw Through Their Eyes

For spoilers' sake, I won't reveal the betrayals in this book, but suffice it to say that both Vivenna and Siri are betrayed by someone close to them.

That hurts us as readers too, because we trusted these people through the characters' eyes. In some cases we had our suspicions. In others, the rug came out from under us completely. The pain isn't the twist itself. It's realizing how long we were looking in the wrong direction.

That's all I can say without spoiling.

Lightsong Chose His Ignorance

Lightsong the Bold lived a life that was meant to end. And yet, he was the only god in the Court of Gods who didn't believe in his own godhood.

Here's what makes him the saddest version of the book's trick: everyone else is honestly ignorant, but Lightsong received his answers from the start. He just refused to accept them. His flawed perception is the only one that's self-inflicted, and the road the story takes him down ends in a very sad but inspiring way. That's all I can say without spoiling it for you.

Verdict

Warbreaker is an amazing standalone book, but it shouldn't be. I want more from this colorful world. I want more from T'Telir. We have come to know this society intimately in just one book, and the way it ends opens many paths for sequels.

If you have not read this one, read it! I highly recommend reading it before you start Stormlight Archive.

If you have already read it: which twist actually got you, and looking back, do you think Sanderson played fair with the clues? I would love to nerd out with you in the comments.