Mistborn: The Final Empire - Brandon Sanderson

Epic. Sweeping. Magic. A tragic hero and the legacy of a broken world ruled by an evil overlord. Forgive me Gods and acolytes of fantasy…I am so sorry I just now reading this book.

Once, a hero arose to save the world. A young man with a mysterious heritage courageously challenged the darkness that strangled the land.
He failed.
For a thousand years since, the world has been a wasteland of ash and mist ruled by the immortal emperor known as the Lord Ruler. Every revolt has failed miserably.
Yet somehow, hope survives. Hope that dares to dream of ending the empire and even the Lord Ruler himself. A new kind of uprising is being planned, one built around the ultimate caper, one that depends on the cunning of a brilliant criminal mastermind and the determination of an unlikely heroine, a street urchin who must learn to master Allomancy, the power of a Mistborn.

I am taking a momentary break from my own adventures in novel writing (thanks NaNoWriMo!), stepping outside of my world to finally do a review on this book that, honestly, should have been done a while ago. But, book tours and other books and writing and Netflix got in the way. So, here we are and here is this review.

I’ve seen Brandon Sanderson’s name all over the fantasy genre work and I have wanted to read this book for a long time. And when I got some handy dandy “Wellness Bucks” from a work healthy incentative program, they had books as something one could get, and you best believe when I saw the first three books for The Mistborn series in a set, I snagged it up. No more excuses for not reading it anymore!

This book totally peeked my interest because I love slightly vague descriptions of books. It sounded oh so mysterious and wonderful new take on an established genre. Allomancy. What the heck is it? Well, it’s the power to take metals and harness certain attributes in them and use them to do some awesome superhero shit. That is of course, the super abridged Idiot’s Guide to The Mistborn Series definition. The world that Sanderson created is so big and complex, and so wonderfully written. But to review the entire world in blog review is just too great an undertaking. Well, that and my brain a wee bit fried from NaNoWriMo.

So, how should this book be reviewed?

Well, I’ll go with this angle: If you love fantasy…you need to have this book. You need to devour this book. It has all the right elements. An honorable quest to overturn a tyrant. A tragic hero with questionable tactics and motivations. A young heroine saved from the gritty world of criminals, cultivated to rise up and be a leader. An evil unimaginable. Unique characters. Magic. Tension. Love. Heartbreak. UGH. I could go on and on. Sanderson pulls and pushes us along with Kelsier and Vin with their highs and lows and drags us down into the heart of danger and despair. I was sucked in deep. The world was big and sometimes hard to follow, having back track just to make sure that I properly understood terms and settings, but in the end, it was the characters. It was Vin and Kelsier. This is a character driven piece. We are propelled forward by what these characters HAVE to do and what the NEED to do to live and survive in a very cruel world filled with so much pain. But, they preserve and are still able to smile. It’s just a big big beautiful story.

Can you tell I loved it? I did.

So I apologize for this review being a bit short and sweet, but I feel like if you haven’t read this book, you should, and I don’t want to risk any type of spoilers. Generalizations was the key for me talking about this book. I will say, there is a TON of world building, and that can get tedious, but kind in mind this is the first in a long series that just keeps getting bigger.

I have read book two, The Well of Ascension.  I did start book three, The Age of Heroes, but had to put it down because I felt the desperate need to write. I’m hoping to pick it up after the first of the year and finish that part of the series. If you haven’t read any Brandon Sanderson, this is a great introduction into his writing style and storytelling. Oh, and it’s like part of the Fantasy Genre required reading…if there is a list like there out in the world…

Thank you for so much for taking time to read my blog! I appreciate every single person who stumbles across my little part of the internet.

Remember to always be yourself. Unless you can be a pirate…then ALWAYS BE A PIRATE!