Mistborn: The Final Empire

Mistborn: The Final Empire

 

Brandon Sanderson

 

 

 

(4.5)

 

Oh man, that ending was good. I really think that this series will be worth the hype it gets after reading this and hearing that the other books are even better.

 

There are so many great things about this book. I wish this was the first Sanderson I read instead of Steelheart. There are a few little things I had problems with, but nothing major.

 

 

I loved the world. The magical powers were so well done and structured (also mysterious as I'm sure there's more crazy powers to reveal). Allomancers (passed down through noble lines) have metal-based powers; Mistings have one power whereas Mistborn have all. Then there's Feruchemy which is a bit more complicated, but I won't get into that. The Lord Ruler is the emperor and God who is immortal, then there are noble houses and skaa (slaves) below the noblemen.

 

Our main characters are Vin and Kelsier. Vin was born a skaa thief and she has a knack for good luck which has led her to be the charm in a thieving crew. Little did she know, her powers were similar to those of noblemen. Kelsier is the survivor of Hathsin, the pits where the lowest of slaves are punished for life by mining atium, a special metal that allows you to see the future moves of your opponents.

 

**SPOILERS BELOW**

 

I loved Vin. I thought she was a well thought out character and has transformed a great amount without losing who she is. With that said, isn't it a little overplayed to have a slave play the noblewoman who dresses up and goes to balls? I understand the importance, and it was great for Vin's character to actually be able to sympathize with the nobles, but c'mon. All that about dresses and perfume and little comforts are just overplayed.

I liked Kelsier, but that's the problem. I only liked him. Sanderson could have gone so much deeper with his tortured past. I'm glad that he found happiness, but his lightness just seemed so nonchalant. Like here I am, one of the most oppressed people, and I'm making stupid jokes half the time. It made him less real in my eyes. I should've been mourning hardcore for him, but I was just kind of like, oh. This is a main character. I thought he would be in it for the long haul and his death should have tortured me. A proper example of this would be Ned Stark from ASOIAF, a main character we love and wouldn't expect to die that had an impact on everyone.

 

Regardless, I liked the rest of the crew too. Especially Sazed. However, I wasn't really feeling Elend. He's cool and all, but also not very multidimensional. We get it, you like to read and you have good political ideas sympathetic to skaa, but other than that? I don't really care. Not a good love interest.

 

I pretty much figured out the lord ruler's identity, which I'm not sure how I felt about. It would have been a good twist but just a smidge too obvious with all of the hints throughout the book. Not that this really NEEDED to be a secret, but if people hadn't figured it out for 1000 years, I would think it would be a bit trickier for me or Vin.

 

Vin's mom was most likely a Feruchemist, hopefully they give a little bit more of her backstory. I'm assuming the darkness will be the focus of the rest of the series and that Vin was 'the chosen one' from the prophecy.

 

Can't wait to see what comes out of the next book!