A few weeks ago, I was attempting to explain to my mother how it is that the Wheel of Time series can still be in pending-completion mode instead of eternally-incomplete, now that its author has passed away. Upon my telling her that another author will be writing the remainder of the story in his stead, she asked "What does this other guy get out of the deal?" Well, entirely aside from the GIANT PILES OF CASH that are likely to result from sales of the books in question, what he gets is this: People who had never - and likely would never have - heard of Brandon Sanderson suddenly start seeking out his books out of curiosity, and he goes from a little-known fantasy author to one of the big names rather faster than is, shall we say, usual.
So that's what he gets out of it.
What we as readers - and by that I mean "me", because that's the part of we I can speak for - get out of it is exposure to this author that might otherwise have stayed under our radar forever, which would have been a bloomin' tragedy, I tell you. This man can write.
In Warbreaker, he creates another fascinatingly original world - all three of his worlds I've seen have been fascinating - in which the supernatural element is something known as BioChromatic Breath. Everyone is born with one Breath, but collecting large numbers of them - and they have to be given; they can't be stolen - bestows a selection of abilities upon people. Oh, and using the more active of said abilities leaches color out of things, which is a neat touch.
Oh, and the story doesn't suck, either, but the worldbuilding is so awesome it was hard to focus on much else, I confess. Perhaps upon re-read I'll have a more coherent review of the plotly portions of the book.
Recommended, in any case.
