Mistborn: The Final Empire

A great read, but again, I can't help comparing this back to Way of Kings. Even though that book is longer, it didn't feel long. Part of that I think had to to with Sanderson spending a little more time on the prose in Way of Kings - it was much more descriptive and it draws the reader in much more fully.

In Mistborn, we get great character development (one of Brandon's best talents in my opinion) and we get great character development - do you see the problem? Because the world of Mistborn is not a very pretty place, we don't get sweeping vistas told in immaculate prose. So other than plot, which is still very good, we spend our time with the characters...all of it.

By the time I finished, I had come to the conclusion that Mistborn could have been much more by being shorter, but more focused. If we had spent all of the time watching the proceedings through Vin's eyes, then I think the story could become truly compelling. The plot development would have become much more a mystical treasure hunt with the reader being strung along by the nose. Timothy Zahn has become a true master of this style in his recent "Night Train to Rigel" series. And it would have opened up Sanderson's very excellent character allowing us to explore Vin's changes and how she views others as they adapt and change. ( )

A crew of thieves plans a heist to overthrow an evil empire, while the their newest member learns about magic and friendship.

4/4 (Great).

It's very engaging; it had me reading about three times as much per day as normal. The ending was slightly disappointing in a lot of ways, partly due to my own wrong expectations about what the book would do, which isn't really fair. Some of the world's more interesting aspects are left unexplored, so I'm really hoping the sequels are good.

(May 2021) ( )

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. ( )

This really should be a 4 1/2. I got it as an audiobook and shamefully neglected my family while listening to it all weekend; it had that can’t put down thing. But… I feel like the magical system, while novel, is a bit contrived and that some of the characters make naïve, even foolish choices that A) they should be smarter than and B) should come back to bite them and don’t. Still, it’s the most fun I’ve had with a book in a while. I can’t wait for volumess two and three to be delivered in paper form today – it was frustrating that I can’t listen as fast as I can read. ( )

This was the best book that I have read in a long time. ( )