The Final Empire: Mistborn Book 1

Review originally posted on The Book Addict's Guide 9/26/14: I’ve been getting a lot more into adult fantasy — little by little — and the more I heard about Mistborn, the more it sounded pretty amazing. Then Nikki (There Were Books Involved) basically told me it WAS amazing and I should read it immediately. I needed a new audiobook and since this was a longer one, I decided it would be great for audio since I was a bit behind on my print copies. Anyway… enough about me. Let’s talk about MISTBORN. So admittedly… it started of juuuust a bit slow for me. I haven’t delved into a ton of adult fantasy yet (honestly all I’ve read as far as adult fantasy goes is A Game of Thrones and The Lies of Locke Lamora) but since I’ve really been getting into young adult fantasy lately, I was guessing that love would transfer no matter what the target age was but I still wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I think the reason it went slowly at first was merely because my most recent read with the Genteman Bastard series (that’s Locke Lamora for those of you unfamiliar) was so pleasant because there’s so much comedy strewn throughout and I love a good heist book. While MISTBORN has similar themes with thieves and a general fantasy world, they’re definitely two very different books so my expectations were just a bit off. Once I adjusted my perspective in the book, things really started to come together. Firstly, the characters are fantastic. It took me a while to get acclimated to Kelsier and Vin and exactly what roles they’d play in the book and how they relate to each other. Once I got in the groove, I absolutely loved it. Vin and Kelsier have an amazing relationship in this book and no, it’s not a romantic one. Kelsier is much older than thankfully it wasn’t romantic. No, they had a relationship that I find even more special sometimes than watching two characters fall in love — Kelsier really became a mentor to Vin and even a father figure at a time in her life when she had no one to trust and no one to rely on. He not only helped her come into her own, but also helped her learn how to trust again and provided her with a group of people who became her new family. As much as I love all the feels when witnessing a romantic relationship, I got a different set of feels from watching these two characters form an amazing bond of friendship and trust. The secondary characters were also wonderful. I feel like I only got to know them a little bit but I think in future books, I’ll get to know them even better. The way Sanderson shapes characters was so impressive. There are so many times when you see both the light and dark sides of each person — even with the side of evil, there are still hints at the more humane aspects and how even when two sides are warring, the lines start to blur every once in a while. The world building was absolutely fantastic. I feel like I created a picture in my head cobbled together from other fantasy worlds I’ve read but it was still very much its own place and its own story. The explanations and integrations of Allomancy and Feruchemy were amazing and as complicated as Allomancy can be with the number of metals involved and how they work, I never really felt overwhelmed or confused trying to understand which did what. Everything was explained in context as Vin was learning and as other characters were using their Allomantic powers so it was easy to follow along, and this continued throughout the whole book — not just as each one was introduced. I’m SO happy that Brandon Sanderson chose to keep naming the metals as they were being used because I could have easily gotten lost and forgotten the properties of each as I read. It was handled just perfectly, not to mention what an amazing magic system this is. I feel like the closest I’ve read is elemental powers but I absolutely love the concept and originality of “burning” metals that allow extra abilities. The whole plot for the book was just excellent and it’s amazing how things can get set up so early on the story and yet the reader has no realization of hidden motives or intentions (no spoilers. Some things you just can’t guess) as well as setting up the story line for future books. I was already hooked by the time I finished MISTBORN but now I really can’t wait to dive into book two as soon as possible! There were quite a few surprises and the ending was positively shocking so I can’t wait to see what else Brandon Sanderson has in store for readers with the rest of the series. This is one I don’t want to delay!

Brandon Sanderson is a really great author. He tells interesting stories with lots of depth and always has some unique magic system. This book series is no different. I first discovered Brandon Sanderson when I learned that he'd been chosen by the late Robert Jordan's wife to finish The Wheel of Time, one of my favorite series. I figured that if he was good enough to be trusted with this massive and epic tale, then I should check out his other work. This was the first book I picked up and I didn't regret it. This is one of those books that you stay up late at night because you're looking for a less interesting place to stop for the night and you just can't find one. It's not always action, though the action scenes are really amazing. There is a lot of time spent developing the characters. They have the complex emotions that you'd expect to find in real people. One thing I really enjoyed is how characters would sometimes mistake emotions in other characters and even in themselves and I think this offers a real sense of realism. A lot of authors write well and write developed characters, but everything runs smoothly, because you and the author know what that character is thinking and what motivates them. The author then has the characters respond in an appropriate manner that they'd probably only do if they were inside that characters head like you and the author are. However in this series, you get to see what's inside a characters head, but you'll also see other characters responding to them based on their outward behavior and what the character can deduce from it. I think that's much more realistic and interesting. Even more so, due to the fact that sometimes the character doesn't even have their own emotions correctly pegged and you'll see an outside character see the situation more clearly than the character you're seeing in their head. Again, I think this is really good writing, because as humans and non-mind readers, we can only guess what another person is thinking and act on that and we're often wrong. Think about how often you feel self conscious about something and how often you judge someone else for the same thing. I guarantee you do much more of the former and less of the later, but don't consider that the other person does the same thing. On top of all of this, it's just a great story. This is a unique angle where instead of the standard issue "hero is discovered in a small village, learns they're great, conquers the world" you see the other side. You see what happens when it's all over and what the aftermath is. As an added bonus, each book in the original trilogy reads like a trilogy in itself. I know that what was packed into the first book is something I'd normally see in a trilogy of it's on. By condensing these and cutting out the unnecessary fluff, he's made a much better read. He's also made three of them. The second trilogy isn't quite as packed, but just as good. Again, this is his uniqueness and pre-planning again, but he's doing something here I haven't seen before. He's writing three trilogies and each will be progressing through time. The original would be like medieval times, the second trilogy is old west/Victorian England, and the third is supposed to be sci-fi. This is playing off the old saying of science that is sufficiently advanced is indistinguishable from magic. On top of that, most of his books he writes (not all) are all part of a larger meta-series called the cosmere. I advice you look that open and I strongly recommend that you read all of his works. They're all great. The biggest bonus of getting into reading Sanderson is his insane writing pace. He churns out a couple of books a year. There isn't any of this non-sense like with other authors where you're waiting years for one book. He treats it like a career and hammers away at it.

This is arguably one of THE best first book of a series , i have read in a very very long time . Despite it's flaws , i loved it for all it's gloriousness and all it's flaws in fact i had to stop and force myself to think about things that were flaws in this books . I usually review books immediately , but i have taken nearly 10 hours after finishing this , to reading it WHAT I LIKED : First up , Goodreads has tagged it as a YA fantasy , and i seriously question if it really is YA , the level pf gore , death , grim content in this book is not YA appropriate, that out of the way There was so much i loved in this book , The world although grim is very much unique , and i could see the inspiration taken from Wheel of time , on which Sanderson worked upon , in fact i was fascinated with the "what If" scenario of Wheel of time and the resulting world though grim , was fascinating . Said world and the power structure involing a God Ruler , a Ministry , Oblogators , Nobels , Thieving crew and finally oppressed skaa , it was all so well planned out. Meanwhile the world was further enhanced by the creatures and characters living in it . Meanwhile the magic system is superb and so unique , I can't even start to process the fact that there are people put there who can think of such systems and even incorporate some physics in them . Oh and talking of characters , while Vin is one of the best female lead i have come across in fantasy ( yeah Screw Egwene ! i hate her ) Kelsier as a character was one of best character i have read . I could feel his confidence and reading him inspired me into putting faith upon him , something the character was trying to do all book to his fellows and the skaa . Kel aside the side characters , Dox , Ham , Club , spook , Breeze all come across really likable and for a change we even have Elend who swaps in for the usually tower trapped lady in distress to become a lord , in fact Elend often arrives to muddle the scenario and makes a mess of them . But hey the plot is the real selling point , and i really dug into the plot. I mean this is a fantasy book with a heist for premise , and i have always loved my heist stories , even Ocean 12 . (There ! I said it ! And i am sticking to it !). There were many a scenario where the author could have bought in an ex-machina element but he resists the temptation and from the beginning keeps things well organised and it all makes sense like the pieces of a puzzle completing a portrait . The book was well paced , with almost no dull moments in the story and many absolutely stand-up-and-shout-coz-its-so-damn-cool moments . I also The final two parts of the book really stunned me with the twists just keep coming one after another , and i was all eager for more . WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE : I am stretching things , but i think there were a few plot convenience points throught out the book for Kelsier's plan to work out and i guess some people have pointed put that a few dialogue interchanges were a bit tacky. CONCLUSION : There's awesome magic , Super character , Grim and thought provoking premise , and just overall fun throughout the book . I simply can't gush more about this book , i love it . It's not perfect but it's entertainment at it's best

Just finished it. I loved it. Will buy the next ones, but this book has quite a good ending and do not require to read the next ones.

O livro é completamente fenomenal e eu recomendo para qualquer um que gosta de fantasias com intrigas políticas, sistemas de magia complexos e personagens incríveis. O único problema, realmente, é a edição. Eu comprei sabendo que ela seria econômica e com a diagramação apertada, então não me incomoda, mas é bom deixar avisado. Se você quer uma edição com ótima qualidade para colecionar, é melhor comprar outra, mas se você só deseja ler o livro e não se importa com detalhes técnicos, a edição econômica é ótima e com um preço justo.

One of the best fantasy novels. Even the lord ruler would aprove

Book arrived in secured package and in good condition. Cover is better than US version, nice world building and magic system. Buying the rest of the series!