Mistborn: The Final Empire
Ratings2,236
Average rating4.5
This book does a lot of heavy-lifting, world-building in the first third with massive exposition about things learned organically later in the book.
There are also a lot of named characters that disappear including Mr. Easter Egg himself, Hoid. Then, the the perspective shift from Kelsier to Vin eased me into the rest of the story.
I also really appreciated how well-fleshed out Vin was by the end. Men writing women in sci-fi can be a tough but Sanderson pulls it off. Vin's arc takes off as she matures and starts to confront her abandonment issues as the story goes on. I'm so very glad the Vin-Eland <spoiler>meet-cute </spoiler> didn't take away Vin's agency or take over the entire story too. Dress descriptions were a little overdone but forgivable as Vin settled into her role.
The court espionage was a fun yet sometimes slow runaway train as Kelsier's plan against the Lord Ruler spiraled. Kliss and Shan were especially a delight. I didn't see the ending coming and was able to just enjoy the reveals.
I'm not generally a high fanatsy or hardcore sci-fi reader, but this book was an easy and fun entry point into those genres. If anyone is on the fence, this is your sign to give Mistborn a try.
One of the best fantasy books I've ever read. The concept in this one is a fantasy world that is slightly different from our own with the inclusion of allomancers, people born with a special ability to manipulate the world (or themselves) in some way. These include things like being able to push/pull steel, refine your senses or incease your strength. “Mistborns” can use all of these abilities.
The characters and world drew me in with its mysteries and hints at epic problems rotating around our central players. The magical element for this world was the most memorable I can imagine, and I would highly recommend it. You could go with this one on your own, but books 2 & 3 expand on the world.
The skaa have been beaten into submission. They keep their heads down, work hard, and do their best to survive. Some dare to dream of something more in the Final Empire. Kelsier has begun to plan something larger than the Final Empire has seen in centuries - an uprising that will destroy the Lord Ruler and free the skaa from the meager existence that they are eking out.
While he begins to build his team, he has once again recruited several men that have worked with him before, but he is also looking to bring on another member - one that has hidden powers, that they do not fully understand themselves. As he brings Vin into the crew, her demeanor is one of distrusting and wariness. She does not trust these men, even though they appear to be a lot closer than most of the crews that she has dealt with in the past. Her last crew was one of pain, hunger and humiliation. Members would sell you out for the smallest offense. Vin learned early on to keep her head down and keep to herself as much as she could.
Kelsier has started a small rebellion, one that started with the killing of a nobleman on a plantation - while the skaa hid in their homes. He has built a name for himself. He is a survivor of the Pits. The pits of Hathsin are a desolate place, one where people are sent to die. The atium that the Lord Ruler hoards so closely is mined there, and it is worth a fortune. No one has ever returned from the pits before, so Kelsier has become a celebrity in the underground networks, a person who should not be alive but has defied all the odds so far. As talk of rebellion begins - Kelsier lays out a plan so daring, most think he has finally lost his mind and is wandering around insane. Death does not scare him, and yet he is willing to lead others into danger to accomplish the task that they have been asked to fulfill.
As Vin and Kelsier begin working on the powers that lay hidden within Vin, she learns that she can do so much more than soothe the people around her. While it is a good power to fall back on, there are so many other areas that she did not know she could access. She is a Mistborn, an allomancer. Allomancy is the mystical power held by the nobility, granted to them by the Lord Ruler some thousand years before as a reward for their loyalty. Skaa are not supposed to have these powers, and anyone who shows knowledge of them without being of noble birth is slated for execution. While there are some skaa who have these powers, they are few and far in between, and they have to be extremely careful, as they are hunted by the Obligators and the Inquisitors, who stifle any form of rebellion or security risk to the Lord Ruler quickly.
The plan? Draw the armies out of the city, put the major houses in a power struggle and war against each other, and then hopefully be able to defeat the Lord Ruler. The odds are definitely stacked against them, and the chance of actual success is slim. Vin is going to act the part of a noblewoman, and begin to infiltrate the noble houses, and begin to glean some information on the members within each household. Sazed, who is a keeper, begins to give her some pointers and tips on passing as a noblewoman from the countryside, the niece of a minor nobleman. As she debuts into society, she meets the heir of the highest house, but this young man is much different from much of the nobles in the city. He thinks differently, and prefers to spend his time with books instead of people. While she is not impressed with their first meeting, feelings quickly change and a small friendship begins to open between the two. But the tensions between the houses are rising, and nobleman are beginning to turn up dead. It is only a matter of time before the entire city erupts, and the plans that have been laid so carefully by Kelsier, Breeze, Clubs, Dockson, Ham, and Vin are about to be swept away like the ashes that rain down on the city....
Oh my! My friends over at Gamerati have been after me to read these books for a couple of years. I cannot believe I let these go as long as I did!!! THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING! If you have not read this book before, you need to do so! I was immediately transported into the book, and hours would slip by before I realized, I should probably be sleeping or working. In my head I kept singing “Radioactive” by the Imagine Dragons as I was adventuring through this book. Brandon Sanderson draws you completely into the pages of his novel, and does not release the hold he has over you at all. This is the first book in a series of three - so be prepared for an epic journey! Pack your favorite treats and drinks and settle back on your couch for a vacation that will leave you breathless.
This is one book that honestly will make you sit on the edge of your seat and wonder what is going to happen next - the twists, the turns, the secrets.... they are all there waiting for you to discover them!!
Grab your copy today - and remember - There is always another secret....
This is one of those books that ‘I have been meaning to read'. This is an ace book and I really enjoyed it. Sanderson's characters are well rounded and you actually believe in them. The laws of the magic system used in the books are really intriguing and gives you a bit of a different perspective.
Obviously, the character of Vin is the most intriguing. Sanderson incorporates all the normal fantasy tropes and then turns them on their head.
overly simple YA prose and marvel-esque snarky dialogue but moves quickly with satisfying character arcs and well written action sequences
Who knew one can get this attached to the characters from the first book
I posted my review on https://noorlightwoodbts.wordpress.com/2019/05/28/review-the-final-empir-by-brandon-sanderson/
I mean. As I was reading I was thinking that I had problems with world building, character, plot, even language. But halfway through the story swept me and I didn't care anymore. Not a perfect book, but it's a lot of fun. Good job Brendo-Sando
After really enjoying the Stormlight Archives, I want to read all of Sanderson's work. This was an amazing next choice!
Abandoned at 12% with apologies to my loved ones who adore his work. I'm finding it heavyhanded, with overly simple language and godawful clunky dialog (“Tell me, what has your rebellion accomplished during its thousand-year struggle? Where are your successes and victories? The Massacre of Tougier three centuries ago, where seven thousand skaa rebels were slaughtered?”). The storyline is formulaic and so far banal: Mistreated Orphan, Unsuspected Magic Powers, Rescued From Horrible Weasleys Whatever, presumably a Hero's Journey to follow.
I tried, was really going to give it an honest go, but was saved by this timely reddit thread: https://redd.it/ti0aer (TL;DR his writing is not for everyone)
Mistborn feels like a mixture of multiple things, modern shonen manga/anime, action fantasy shows like avatar the last airbender and modern fantasy stories.
A mixture that feels genius in multiple ways, it is thrilling, exiting, heartwarming and really enjoyable all across the board. My only criticism is that it feels kinda slow for a few chapters in the beggining, but once things pick up, the pacing becomes wonderful.
I really recommend this book.
One of my favorite books/series and has become one of my go-to book recommendations when people ask me about fantasy books. Action packed, characters the reader cares about and a tight consistent magic system. Sanderson is the man. If you haven't read this, get it now!
unfortunately i think this was just the wrong book at the wrong time for me , very long + not super gripping me throughout a time where i was extremely busy and had little time to read, didn't find myself wanting to pick it up
An awesome story and a better world.
WORLDBUILDING
Brandon Sanderson is an amazing writer. His world-building is incredible and the progressive exposure to new information makes for a light reading experience while getting the full richness of the world he has created.
At the end of the story, the reader feels like it understands how the world works, as it would be it's own.
The hard magic system presented is very satisfactory, since every bit of magic is justified and inbound by the presented rules. It is not like some stories where magic is invented on the way as the hero needs it, which feels improvised and unsatisfactory. But it is slowly introduced to the reader until it is familiar with the rules and then the problem resolution results are more satisfactory.
STORY
The story is a fun heist story with greater political repercussions than expected from a heist.
It is a very enjoyable story built around the fun magic system.
It only gets 4 stars because sadly the 4th part got for me a little dragged out which made me struggle to continue reading. But it is worth continuing reading, at the last chapter of part 4 it gets back on track and awesome again.
I was concerned when starting Mistborn that I’d picked the wrong book to rekindle a habit I’d let go out years ago. I’ve long craved being thoroughly engrossed by a story of this depth, but committing to a 700 page fantasy after 10+ years of very sporadic reading felt more and more like folly as I progressed through part one. Then came part two.
Sanderson has come highly recommended for many years. Folks would always tell me that “the magic system is really original.” I’d look at them blankly without any idea of what that meant. It’s magic in a high fantasy novel. How original could it get? Quite, it would seem. I get it now.
I love stories supported by logic. I’m a big speculative fiction guy who is easily wooed by fantasy. Allomancy being constrained by real world physics is the stuff of genius. It’s hard to remember what metal or alloy does what some times, but that’s all semantic sugar on top of what really matters: power with limits.
Mistborn is an excellent book. Any reservations I had about Sanderson’s writing style melted away as my intrigue with his characters and story grew. I look forward to crawling deeper into the Cosmere.
Picked this up because I was interested in getting into the fantasy genre as well as reading something a bit "lighter" than I typically read. I ended up breezing through this moderately long book in something like five days which is something I haven't done with a book in a long time. It's an extremely quickly paced story thats loads of fun. That being said the writing is plain to a fault and the dialogue can feel a bit clunky. It almost reads like a YA novel at times. Sometimes the characters can feel a little bit more like ideas than characters, but by the end you really fall in love with most of them.
Plot wise I found the story consistently engaging and thrilling. The world these characters inhabit is pretty standard fantasy fare (evil lord and a feudal system with an oppressed group), but Sanderson richly fleshes it out with enough small and unique details to keep you curious.
The story focuses on a group of thieves planning a heist to overthrow an evil ruler. The catch is that everyone in the crew can use a unique type of magic powered by metals. The heist framework works well because you have a clear goal for these characters and can see how this group moves from planning to execution and how they react when things go wrong. It's sort of an Ocean's Eleven scenario with higher stakes and magic, which makes for some clever ideas and thrilling action. The ending is fantastic and took me by surprise. Despite my problems with some of the prose I think that this made for a great entry into the fantasy genre and I'm excited to read the next two novels in this trilogy.
Wow! When the action started, it was very well done. It wasn't done just for the sake of having action. We see how the characters got to that point and why they are doing what they do. I understand why people fall in love with this series and with Brandon Sanderson.
The perfect start for getting into the fantasy genre for non readers. Well thought out magic system with great characters that you learn about the world alongside.
Every single time I thought I knew what was coming next, I was wrong. Absolutely brilliant
