Week 8: Warbreaker, by Brandon Sanderson (5)

 So I really liked the magic system and how Sanderson built the world of Warbreaker, and the political machinations between amnesiac deities was as interesting as it was hilarious. Lightsong, Stennimar, was a delight every time he made an appearance, Siri and Susebron were complete sweethearts, and I enjoyed the banter and common sense checks of Denth. 

Vivenna, however, I could not stand for the majority of this novel. She was the literal definition of sanctimonious and dependent. Which makes sense, since her journey is one of over coming arrogance, hypocrisy, and selfishness, but it was very frustrating to watch her have her bad behavior explained to her very clearly and then watch her deliberately twist it so that she’s not in the wrong. That’s a great setup for a character arc, even if Vivenna is insufferable in the meanwhile. She’s twenty-two, trained to be consort to a foreign king, basically taught how to navigate a treacherous, hostile environment with minimal support, since she could walk, and she still didn’t think through anything until literally the last sixth of the book... after she’d been served her karma, and had to live as those she’d once regarded as the lowest. Place yourself high and get torn down low indeed.

The morality system and it’s paradoxical relationship with action was a nice guiding light in of the story’s core, between Lightsong just being himself, and Siri and Vivenna being foils of each other. It’s funny how a slight change to the script can expose a person’s true colors, since I’m pretty sure that neither sister knew exactly how opposite they were until the very end of things. To be a fly on the wall of their next family dinner back in Idris. It’s also a satisfying irony that with all the insistence on blending in and not drawing attention to yourself, not even the author drew attention to the real threat until Siri identified it herself.

Siri and Vivenna are just such a great study on why it’s important to develop critical thinking and self-reliance in religion. Siri was able to get as far as she did because she didn’t know enough to truly be prejudiced against Hallandren, because she ignored high-handed tutors and did what was true to herself instead. Vivenna, on the other hand, listened explicitly and relied on what others told her instead of ever doing what she thought to do, until she finally couldn’t bottle it up anymore. Warbreaker is an excellent study of biases and how people can let it ruin them. It’s very fitting then, that conflict between Vasher and Denth is resolved by Vasher turning something of great power and security into a moment of weakness and vulnerability. Strengths are weakness and vulnerabilities are securities, and its up to how someone uses a tool that determines what it is.

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