Advertisement

  GraphicAudio divided their Warbreaker production into three parts, which is only unfortunate in that, when you get to the end of one part, you won't want to stop listening.  Part two deepens the characters. Some change and grow. Some show us aspects of themselves we didn't see before. Some discover the truth of themselves and their pasts. Blushweaver, for example, shows herself to be far less flighty and frivolous than she first appeared. She's manipulating for a reason -- she fears for her people.

  Vivenna is the primary focus of this part as the seemingly mature princess grows up in part two. She learns that many of her people, fleeing poverty, have come to live in Hallandren, and that they have not only learned to fit in, they have become one of its seedy elements.  She comes to terms with her hatred for the place that has defined so much of her early life, and in doing so, she comes to terms with why she left home to chase Siri in the first place. When the lifeless soldier, Clod, saves her life, she comes to understand something about him, and later she comes to see a sort of trapped humanity in the slow-witted, spell-bound monster. She learns her relationship with Parlin isn't what she thought it was, and at the end, she learns some very dangerous truths about her current situation. 

  With Susebron now able to communicate, we see how many ways his priests have used to keep him helpless. One of the more charming scenes is when he tells Siri that he'd read in a story that a man and a woman spend the night together and then a baby arrives, and he wonders what they're doing wrong, since they've been together many a night, but no baby has shown up yet.  He is an interesting contradiction. He holds the magic, the biochromatic breath, to do great things, but is mute and cannot use the power. He holds the ultimate authority, but lacks the understanding to use that authority.  He is in danger, and is unable -- or unwilling -- to understand it. Siri must use the priests' deception against them to save him against his own wishes. 

  Lightsong makes some of the most interesting discoveries. An incident in the courts of the gods invigorates him and he starts to make some realizations about his own past life. He discovers he is good at investigation, seamanship, and juggling. We start to get a sense of who and what he was before he died, and that person starts to bleed into the carefree agnostic deity we have today.

  As always, GraphicAudio does an amazing job with this production. The voice acting is remarkable. The music and sound effects enhance the story without distracting the listener. It's hard to put this one down and you will definitely want to have part three handy, as part two ends on a nasty cliffhanger.

Ivy Reisner is a writer, an obsessive knitter, and a podcaster. Find her at IvyReisner.com.