Book Review: The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson

This is the 2nd book in the original Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson. It's been a long time since I read these, but I'm making my way slowly through them again. Here is the blurb from the Kindle version:

Vin, the street urchin who has grown into the most powerful Mistborn in the land, and Elend Venture, the idealistic young nobleman who loves her, must build a healthy new society in the ashes of an empire. Three separate armies attack. As the siege tightens, an ancient legend seems to offer a glimmer of hope. But even if it really exists, no one knows where to find the Well of Ascension or what manner of power it bestows.

Read on for my spoiler-free review.

Overall Impression

This was a good book, though suffers a bit from being a middle-book in a trilogy. We have the usual cast of characters and an intriguing setting, but the plot is a bit slower as the situation unfolds. It's still a good book, but it serves to set the stage for the third and final book. The last few hundred pages are very good as nearly all the revelations are there (unless you have a clear eye for foreshadowing).

Plot

This book has a much slower pace than the prior novel, and many other of Sanderson's works. There is a lot of back and forth with the political situation in Luthadel, but unlike the prior novel with tense moments of action, some of the situations here are resolved via dialogue or political posturing. It's still interesting, especially the subplot about what's going on with the mists, but it's only towards the later half or third of the book that we get to a similar pace as the prior novel. Overall, this feels very much like a second book with lots of information to set the state for the third novel.

Characters

We see a return of many of the characters from the prior novel, including Vin, Elend, Sazed, Ham, Breeze, and others of Kelsier's gang. We also get to spend a bit more time with OreSeur, a kandra who was revealed only towards the end of the prior novel. We see Tindwyl, a new Terris character that helps contrast with Sazed and show of their culture. Overall, there is a tension between Elend and Vin's relationship that is a major point in the story.

Setting / World Building

This book really starts opening the mythology of the world of Mistborn. From the first book, we have a general understanding of the metallic arts, but they are expanded here, especially for ferruchemy. We also see more of the creatures of the Final Empire, such as kandra and koloss. And we spend a lot of time pondering what the Deepness was that the Lord Ruler was protecting the world from. There's still a lot of mysteries, though the final chapters help answer some of them. These answers, however, lead to even more questions and encourage the reader to part 3 with The Hero of Ages.

Final Thoughts

A good book that sets the stage for The Hero of Ages, the final book in the first Mistborn trilogy. Overall, this was good with a familiar characters and a great setting. It suffered a bit from a slower plot, but not enough to detract from it. It just made the ending that much more rewarding as all the pieces fall into place and you're left wanting even more.