Steven A. Guglich

Wow! This book takes you on an epic ride! My favorite thing about this book is really Erikson's prose! This guy is a master wordsmith capable of painting pictures with the finesse of a true literary artist.
I will admit the book does take sometime to get into it. It is filled with lots of characters, more then most epic fantasy books. But halfway through you see where Erikson is taking the story and you're like, “Oh... I see what he did there.”

I really like this book... but I wanted to love it. But, to explain further, that would give away some spoilers... so here is the obligatory...

:::SPOILER ALERT:::


I started the Codex Alera series because I was curious about its origins. The legendary bet posed to Butcher by another writer... can you write a story based on two cheesy concepts, that being Pokemon and the Lost Roman Legion. And in my estimation, I think Butcher failed the bet. Now don't get me wrong. The story is great. Butcher manages to create a magic system that rivals the best in any epic fantasy. The magic is based on these creatures, called Furies... the supposed Pokemon part of the bet. But they do not resemble Pokemon in anyway, they are much cooler... they are the magic of the Codex Alera.
Now, the Lost Roman Legion aspect is pretty interesting, but I will reserve my nit-picky issues with this aspect until I've read the whole series.
My biggest disappoint with this series is the World Building. Butcher writes a great story, and builds a really cool world. But he misses a lot of potential in his world building. One of the biggest things that I feel he dropped the ball with is the technological advancement. Here we have a society based on ancient Rome. The Aleran Society has existed for several thousand years, has learned how to harness the magic of this world, yet they are still pretty much stuck back at the level of ancient Rome. I can imagine some really great advancements these lost Romans from Earth could have come up with, especially now that they have magic. But, as a friend of mine and I discussed, this seems to be a fault of many great epic fantasy books.
Overall, the story is good. It starts off a little slow, but it certainly picks up. However, Butcher does something I've not seen in other books. He tells a part of the story from one POV and then resolves it from that characters POV, and then goes back and tells the same story from a different POV. The reason why this style of storytelling really sticks out to me is because these POV scenes go on for many chapters and you almost forget about the other characters. To me it feels a bit jarring.

Sanderson, the Great World Builder and storyteller brings us another epic story in his Cosmere Universe. Set in a world wear color is magic, powered by a force the people call breath, Warbreaker tells the tale of two sisters who are caught in a war of cultures and religions.
If Sanderson were a god of Hallendren he'd be known as World Builder the Mind Blower for only he could weave a unique magic system with complex characters, several realistic cultures and religions into an epic tale of palace intrigue and redemption.

One of the nice things about this book is that it can be read as a standalone story. You do not have to read any other Sanderson novels to enjoy this book. Fans of epic fantasy will find this book satisfying and entertaining, while fans of Sanderson's Cosmere will be amazed and intrigued. This is a must read for anyone who loves fantasy fiction.

Note: The content is for mature readers. Though there is no profanity, gratuitous violence, or gratuitous sex scenes in this novel, there are mature scenes of a sexual nature that I would not recommend for young readers under 18.

Note: Sanderson's other book, “The Way of Kings” has set the bar so high for me now, I find it hard to rate any book a 5, though this one does come close.