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A review by picklesoup
Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
4.0
Rating: 4.5/5
Going into this story I wasn't 100% sure what I would get into since I didn't really bother to read the description but wow this was such an enjoyable read. I picked this book up for two reasons: one, so many people have recommended this to me and I wanted a long high fantasy book to read at the moment. Needless to say that after hearing so many good things about this book it did not disappoint so let's get into the review!
Plot: The Final Empire by Bradon Sanderson follows our two protagonists, Vin and Kelsier, as they navigate in a world where they have an evil tyrant control the land and work towards overthrowing him. This is probably the most straightforward way I can describe this book, however, it's so much more to the plot that I won't go in-depth with due to spoiler reasons. This story was so engaging from start to finish as there was always some sort of action happening in each chapter, but not too much that it gets overwhelming and feels overdone. The story itself was easy to get into and follow all the way through since goals and motives were placed down almost immediately which I greatly appreciate due to lots of high fantasy books tend not to reveal these aspects, causing the story to fall flat. However, here with the Final Empire, we were immediately thrown into action with no waiting. However, I would like to mention a bit about the pacing. During the first two and a half parts of the book, it does feel rather slow due to this being a lot of the planning session. I've seen lots of people dropping the book around this point since this time can get very tedious but I rather enjoyed this part of the book however I would have to agree that the second half of this book is significantly better than the first half.
World: I am obsessed with this world and the magic system I tell you. Obsessed. I would admit that I was a bit terrified to get into this since I was under the impression that it would take forever for me to understand the magic system and the way this world in general works. However, I had quite the exact opposite. Very quickly in this story, you understand how this world runs with the society's hierarchy, the way this world looks (which honestly looks utterly terrifying if you think about it), how the people live, just about everything you need to know to imagine yourself in this world. This type of information was given to you from the start and gradually built upon itself so you never felt overwhelmed with so much information, however you didn't feel confused either due to not having enough information. It was just the perfect amount given at the perfect time. Now let's talk about the magic system that this world is built off of, Allomancy, which is when we have people who are either Misting or Mistborns who can consume certain metals and burn them in order to get certain abilities. This type of information was info-dumped into the book however it was done in a very clever and clear way when Kelsier is explaining and training Vin on how to use her powers. I love how Sanderson makes it clear very quickly the action and consequences of using Allomancy right from the start and shows these characters dealing with the consequences of going past what they are capable of. I feel that many authors when writing a magic system never show the consequences of the magic and never show their characters suffering from it, which is why this is a huge factor in why I enjoyed this book. I feel like I can explain how Allomancy works and give you a very detailed description of it, and that's how a magic system should be to readers.
Characters: This book has a big cast of characters, however not so many that you feel overwhelmed and confused about who’s who. Just the right amount of characters to keep up. As I said previously, this book follows both Kelsier and Vin, however every once in and while we’d get another character's POV mixed into it, however, those two are the most recurring POVs you’d see. Now I can go into every single character that had a featured role in this book but we’d be here all day so I’ll only be really speaking on Vin since she is considered to be the main character of the series itself. I’ve heard from multiple people how Sanderson doesn’t write women well and in this book, you can see that claim show through every once in and while. With Vin being the only prominent female character and all of her morals going out of the window when she began to develop a crush on a character that shows later in this book. I can go on about how upset I got when Vin started to like someone and suddenly it’s as though we’re looking at a completely different character. I utterly hate when authors completely dismiss all of the character growth in their female characters in order for them to be in love. It’s almost as if we can’t have an independent and confident female character while she is also in love without compromising her morals, goals, personality, etc. Those scenes really hindered my experience, but luckily it came and it passed quickly despite it being the most irritating part of the book. However, looking past the strange romance that I’m still trying to figure out whether or not I like, I love how all of the characters in this book are morally grey. While they are fighting for good, they’re all thieves and murderers still. Every single character felt human and real to me and their growth was all subtle that you would’ve missed it if you weren’t paying close attention, however when comparing them at the start of the book to the end, Vin especially, it’s two completely different characters. While there were parts that I absolutely despise with these characters, their character growth was done so naturally and seamlessly, they really do feel human and real.
Needless to say, I really enjoyed this book and will be reading the rest of the series. I have already bought the rest of the books so I am excited (and terrified) to watch this world and these characters unfold as the series continues! Highly recommend this to anyone who is trying to get into an easy adult high fantasy book, with an amazing magic system and complex characters!!
Going into this story I wasn't 100% sure what I would get into since I didn't really bother to read the description but wow this was such an enjoyable read. I picked this book up for two reasons: one, so many people have recommended this to me and I wanted a long high fantasy book to read at the moment. Needless to say that after hearing so many good things about this book it did not disappoint so let's get into the review!
Plot: The Final Empire by Bradon Sanderson follows our two protagonists, Vin and Kelsier, as they navigate in a world where they have an evil tyrant control the land and work towards overthrowing him. This is probably the most straightforward way I can describe this book, however, it's so much more to the plot that I won't go in-depth with due to spoiler reasons. This story was so engaging from start to finish as there was always some sort of action happening in each chapter, but not too much that it gets overwhelming and feels overdone. The story itself was easy to get into and follow all the way through since goals and motives were placed down almost immediately which I greatly appreciate due to lots of high fantasy books tend not to reveal these aspects, causing the story to fall flat. However, here with the Final Empire, we were immediately thrown into action with no waiting. However, I would like to mention a bit about the pacing. During the first two and a half parts of the book, it does feel rather slow due to this being a lot of the planning session. I've seen lots of people dropping the book around this point since this time can get very tedious but I rather enjoyed this part of the book however I would have to agree that the second half of this book is significantly better than the first half.
World: I am obsessed with this world and the magic system I tell you. Obsessed. I would admit that I was a bit terrified to get into this since I was under the impression that it would take forever for me to understand the magic system and the way this world in general works. However, I had quite the exact opposite. Very quickly in this story, you understand how this world runs with the society's hierarchy, the way this world looks (which honestly looks utterly terrifying if you think about it), how the people live, just about everything you need to know to imagine yourself in this world. This type of information was given to you from the start and gradually built upon itself so you never felt overwhelmed with so much information, however you didn't feel confused either due to not having enough information. It was just the perfect amount given at the perfect time. Now let's talk about the magic system that this world is built off of, Allomancy, which is when we have people who are either Misting or Mistborns who can consume certain metals and burn them in order to get certain abilities. This type of information was info-dumped into the book however it was done in a very clever and clear way when Kelsier is explaining and training Vin on how to use her powers. I love how Sanderson makes it clear very quickly the action and consequences of using Allomancy right from the start and shows these characters dealing with the consequences of going past what they are capable of. I feel that many authors when writing a magic system never show the consequences of the magic and never show their characters suffering from it, which is why this is a huge factor in why I enjoyed this book. I feel like I can explain how Allomancy works and give you a very detailed description of it, and that's how a magic system should be to readers.
Characters: This book has a big cast of characters, however not so many that you feel overwhelmed and confused about who’s who. Just the right amount of characters to keep up. As I said previously, this book follows both Kelsier and Vin, however every once in and while we’d get another character's POV mixed into it, however, those two are the most recurring POVs you’d see. Now I can go into every single character that had a featured role in this book but we’d be here all day so I’ll only be really speaking on Vin since she is considered to be the main character of the series itself. I’ve heard from multiple people how Sanderson doesn’t write women well and in this book, you can see that claim show through every once in and while. With Vin being the only prominent female character and all of her morals going out of the window when she began to develop a crush on a character that shows later in this book. I can go on about how upset I got when Vin started to like someone and suddenly it’s as though we’re looking at a completely different character. I utterly hate when authors completely dismiss all of the character growth in their female characters in order for them to be in love. It’s almost as if we can’t have an independent and confident female character while she is also in love without compromising her morals, goals, personality, etc. Those scenes really hindered my experience, but luckily it came and it passed quickly despite it being the most irritating part of the book. However, looking past the strange romance that I’m still trying to figure out whether or not I like, I love how all of the characters in this book are morally grey. While they are fighting for good, they’re all thieves and murderers still. Every single character felt human and real to me and their growth was all subtle that you would’ve missed it if you weren’t paying close attention, however when comparing them at the start of the book to the end, Vin especially, it’s two completely different characters. While there were parts that I absolutely despise with these characters, their character growth was done so naturally and seamlessly, they really do feel human and real.
Needless to say, I really enjoyed this book and will be reading the rest of the series. I have already bought the rest of the books so I am excited (and terrified) to watch this world and these characters unfold as the series continues! Highly recommend this to anyone who is trying to get into an easy adult high fantasy book, with an amazing magic system and complex characters!!