Book Review: Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

I decided to re-read the Mistborn series after the epic finale in Wind and Truth. As some folks know, many of Brandon Sanderson's novels are connected via the Cosmere. Events in one are sometimes mentioned in others and sometimes there are even characters that journey between the worlds. The news I hear is that Mistborn Era 3 will be finished before we get Stormlight Archive Era 2 and so it seems like a good time to start brushing up on the story there. Here is the Goodreads blurb for Mistborn:

For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the "Sliver of Infinity," reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler's most hellish prison. Kelsier "snapped" and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark.

Kelsier recruited the underworld's elite, the smartest and most trustworthy allomancers, each of whom shares one of his many powers, and all of whom relish a high-stakes challenge. Then Kelsier reveals his ultimate dream, not just the greatest heist in history, but the downfall of the divine despot.

But even with the best criminal crew ever assembled, Kel's plan looks more like the ultimate long shot, until luck brings a ragged girl named Vin into his life. Like him, she's a half-Skaa orphan, but she's lived a much harsher life. Vin has learned to expect betrayal from everyone she meets. She will have to learn trust if Kel is to help her master powers of which she never dreamed.

Brandon Sanderson, fantasy's newest master tale-spinner and author of the acclaimed debut Elantris, dares to turn a genre on its head by asking a simple question: What if the prophesied hero failed to defeat the Dark Lord? The answer will be found in the Mistborn Trilogy, a saga of surprises that begins with the book in your hands. Fantasy will never be the same again.

Read on for my spoiler-free review.

Overall Impression

This is a great epic fantasy novel. It's setting is unique, helping break from traditional medieval settings, instead placing our heroes in something like a pre-industrial city, filled with ash and mists. There are some clever characters and some fascinating magic to explore here. And it sets the stage for several more books as it's the first of a trilogy.

Plot

Sanderson writes action-packed stories and Mistborn is no exception. There is a lot going on and each part ends with a satisfying climax. The very last part, though, suffers from his early novel Sanderlanche: an avalanche of high packed action as everything comes to a head. It's not as intense as the last part of Elantris, and he's gotten better in later books at distributing a bit more of the emotional pay off.

Characters

Vin is a young orphan, smart and talented, but deeply untrusting at the start. Kelsier is a scarred man, helping lead a revolution and always smiling no matter the circumstances. It's very interesting how much of Sanderson's characters resemble others from his books. It's not a perfect match, but there are parts of Kaladin and Shallan (from The Stormlight Archive) in Kelsier and Vin. Sanderson clearly has some archetypes he gravitates to when he designs his characters. Regardless, it works well- they certainly stay with us. And he writes them well, we get to see them evolve through the book as we journey with them.

Setting / World Building

Mistborn has a fantastic setting and great premise. The prophesized hero that was going to defeat evil... failed. Now a thousand years later, the world is governed by the Lord Ruler and people live in misery. Exactly what happened that far back is a mystery the book slowly reveals, though not fully as more tidbits are in the subsequent books. Regardless, it sets up a great world for our characters to shine in.

Even more impressive is the system of magic that is developed for this world. The chief one is Allomancy, the metallic art used by the mistborns. They drink vials with metal solutions and gain great powers of strength, senses, and can push and pull on metals. It's very cool and makes me eager to see how it will be implemented in the upcoming Cosmere RPG setting. We also hear a bit about Feruchemy, though that one is a bit more mysterious and you'll have to read the book to learn more.

Overall, Sanderson is great at conjuring up fantastical settings that break the mold of standard epic fantasy. Mistborn is a great example of this.

Final Thoughts

Many years later, Mistborn still holds up as a great introduction to Sanderson's work. It's more polished than Elantris and shorter than The Way of Kings. I recommend it as a good place to start and I'll be re-reading more of it since it's so fun.