cleverpun's reading journal: Mistborn: The Final Empire · 6:38am Apr 19th, 2022
Long time no blog. Been writing a lot, been busy with work. But I've still found time to read. And what better thing to blog about?
I recently finished Mistborn: The Final Empire, the first of Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy. I avoided it for a long time: as a fan of Sanderson's writing, and because of the sheer number of book in the series, I knew it would take up a lot of my time.
Hoo boy. I don't like to point out how correct I am all the time. But I was very correct about this.
The world has it's own form of magic: Allomancy. The ability to sue metal to fuel powers. There's eight (at first), each one offering some power: pushing metal, enhancing strength or senses, even seeing briefly into the future. Most people are born without allomancy, some are born with the ability to burn one metal. But some are born with the power of every metal, and those are the titular mistborn.
The story follows a rebellion. Kelsier intends to kill the Lord Ruler. And he discovers an orphan named Vin, who is unaware of her own status as a mistborn. The twist is that the Lord Ruler is immortal. For some reason, he has been alive for thousands of years. He can survive any physical damage. And his allomancy is stronger than any other person's.
Kelsier summons a crew to help the rebellion. Vin impersonates a noblewoman, tries to infiltrate high society to obtain information.
There's a lot going on in this book. Romance, intrigue, a bit of a heist movie feeling with the planning and subterfuge of the rebellion. To do a thorough summary would take this entire blog. But surprising no one, Sanderson is an excellent writer. There is some odd style choices and overused tropes; it is clear that this was earlier in Sanderson's writing career.
But the story is paced excellently, written in a way that is very functional and straightforward, but still finds time for excellent descriptions.
If I had to make one major complaint, it's that the action scenes are very dry. Just paragraphs of describing the characters movements and motions and physical actions. A few of them work, but it's not a highlight.
This is the first book in a while that I finished, and then immediately dove into the next one. I imagine many of you are shaking their heads at how late I am to the Mistborn train. But turns out, I was right to be wary: this is the sort of series that can easily suck one in. I've already started the second book, and I've had to actively slow down reading it.
Aw man.. It's so nice to hear a reader gush about stuff they love and why they love it heh
It makes me wish I got back into reading-
Although... I personally always read children's books. Which sounds weird, but man... are there some good shit in there! Complex emotions and situations written in a simple prose that everyone can understand- I'm tellin' ya man, Children's Books! Crazy shit!It is indeed a fascinating world. Glad to hear you've enjoyed your first visit.
I don't understand what this means
But in all seriousness, Mistborn is a good time! Enjoy the series!
Just make sure you don't read Mistborn: Secret Histories until at least after the initial trilogy and possibly not until after the later ones too.
Love this series. I actually read this and then Elantris, so I got into Sanderson early in his career and it’s just been up. Stormlight is still probably my favorite series of all time.
5651765 As a teacher--whose main degree is in preschool--I've read my share of children's books. For older readers, I would recommend Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers. Has a great story arc to it.
5651782 My first visit was actually The Emperor's Soul. Also excellent, but didn't get around to writing a journal about it.
5651783 Mistborn kept me up past a reasonable hour, on numerous occasions. It's the highest compliment I can pay a book. But part of being an adult is deferring one's addictions.
5651790 Duly noted. I have read The Emperor's Soul, but it contains more references than spoilers, from what I've been told.
5651806 My first introduction to Sanderson was actually Steelheart. Very well written, although it takes some stupid plotting turns after the first book. I loved the prose but not the plot. Oddly enough, Mistborn has been the opposite so far: much tighter, more engaging plotting, but less gripping prose in many spots.
5652041
Steelheart was super fun, the remaining 2 books...well, less so.
Mistborn's OG trilogy is phenoms