Warbreaker

Well, I'm glad I didn't see this cover before I read it. Don't pay attention to it!

Brandon Sanderson, a BYU prof, is a really good writer. This book is about a society whose biggest commodity is the human soul, which is called "breath". One can sell his breath to others for money, and the gods of the society live for as long as they want to through sacrificed breaths of the population.

This is your typical story about a royal leader, the "god king", his court, the gods, and intrigue within--complete with a bride from a far land who comes and shakes it up. The aspect of soul trading makes the book, and I hope there is a sequel. Sanderson's writing is always good.

The only problem with this book is Sanderson's obsession with modesty. I couldn't tell if he was making fun of the LDS people who judge other culture's dress or trying to make a point that modesty is good. Whatever he was doing, it was annoying. He brought it up entirely too much. If he had just said that athletes were competing in loin cloths, I would have just kept on reading. But, because he talked about how the queen was from a land where people dress modestly, and so she could see much more skin and muscle and butt cheeks than she was used to and it made her blush and she couldn't stop looking--now I've got images.

Other than the preachy/mocking modesty, great book.