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A review by onejadyn
The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This review contains spoilers.
This book was a lot of fun.
I was hooked from the beginning, reading about Kelsier in the prologue, and though I thought initially that Vin would be a fairly cliché street girl, I loved reading about her too.
This story had what I consider masterful pacing, with the action in the mists perfectly balanced with Vin's spying in the ball and other slower scenes to take a breath.
Though their romance felt more than cliché, and it moved all too quickly, I also still really enjoyed Vin and Elend. It was a breath of fresh air between moments of tense action, and I wish we'd seen more of them getting to know the other. Though their romance moved far too quickly, with Vin declaring love for him after we as a reader got only a few scenes, I found it almost fitting. Vin, after all, was starved for emotions like love, and it wouldn't be surprising to have her fall too quickly.
I do think his foreshadowing as love interest was laid on a bit thick, with Vin entranced by him from the get-go, but I do think it added a lot of interest to the ball scenes.
Notably, the ball scenes, and this romance, is really only a small part of the larger picture here. I loved the Mistborn practice that Vin underwent with all her metals. The magic system was simple but also addicting to hear about it, and I was as excited as Vin to find the nuances in it, the amount of skill she could find in studying soothing as well as pewter, and of course the ironpulling and steelpushing.
I wish she was slightly less of a prodigy, but obviously the raw strength and instinctive skill she possessed was important to the story as well.
Also notably, I loved her much of a god that the Lord Ruler really did present as. He was the sole religion left, and so powerful he couldn't be conquered. His mere presence drove depression through his powerful soothing magics. He was immortal and would never fall. Taking him down was so unbelievably ludicrous, that you couldn't help but agree with the characters. What an impossible task, how can these people ever manage it? Comparatively, their brainstorming sessions felt almost like the optimistic meddling of small children, and I love that he managed to evoke that feeling in the reader.
It all fell into place in the end when Kelsier died. Suddenly an impossible mission came into fruition, and the nature of their challenge suddenly clicked. Though we wondered about Kelsier painting himself almost as a god-like figure, and worried he wouldn't be able to give it up, the whole time he was preparing for this—to die for them. To become the Skaa's belief and religion. To push them to fight.
I loved a lot of the characters here. Kelsier without a doubt, but also Spook, Breeze, Ham, and don't get me started on Sazed, who might be my favourite of them all, with his studying of religion and his attempt to preserve his own culture—or what little he knew of it. He was loyal to a fault, but a strong and pragmatic character that I couldn't help but love.
Notably though, I was frustrated by Vin's motives more that once. Often she would convey to the reader or her own thoughts no reason to be with Kelsier and his team, but then explain it in a one-liner at the end of a chapter. "I guess I want to see what happens" kind of style. I think she was meant to be aimless, but after she had started learning all the metals, and before she began to trust them, there was an awkward point where she felt like she was just being pulled along by the plot despite not deciding much for herself about whether this impossible mission was worth it.
Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot. I'm excited to continue with it, and it was nearly a 5 stars for me. Though I did notice a difference in the writing style between this book and his later Stormlight Archives, the improvement I see in the later books is only natural, and good if anything, as you can see he's grown as a writer. Though I noticed his comparatively less polished writing style in the first couple chapters, it all fell away eventually.
The pacing was superb, and the characters lots of fun. The magic system was both simple to understand but hard to master, and I was holding on close throughout the entire climax, which in Sanderson fashion, picked up near the end of the book and did not let go until the book fell to an end.
This book was a lot of fun.
I was hooked from the beginning, reading about Kelsier in the prologue, and though I thought initially that Vin would be a fairly cliché street girl, I loved reading about her too.
This story had what I consider masterful pacing, with the action in the mists perfectly balanced with Vin's spying in the ball and other slower scenes to take a breath.
Though their romance felt more than cliché, and it moved all too quickly, I also still really enjoyed Vin and Elend. It was a breath of fresh air between moments of tense action, and I wish we'd seen more of them getting to know the other. Though their romance moved far too quickly, with Vin declaring love for him after we as a reader got only a few scenes, I found it almost fitting. Vin, after all, was starved for emotions like love, and it wouldn't be surprising to have her fall too quickly.
I do think his foreshadowing as love interest was laid on a bit thick, with Vin entranced by him from the get-go, but I do think it added a lot of interest to the ball scenes.
Notably, the ball scenes, and this romance, is really only a small part of the larger picture here. I loved the Mistborn practice that Vin underwent with all her metals. The magic system was simple but also addicting to hear about it, and I was as excited as Vin to find the nuances in it, the amount of skill she could find in studying soothing as well as pewter, and of course the ironpulling and steelpushing.
I wish she was slightly less of a prodigy, but obviously the raw strength and instinctive skill she possessed was important to the story as well.
Also notably, I loved her much of a god that the Lord Ruler really did present as. He was the sole religion left, and so powerful he couldn't be conquered. His mere presence drove depression through his powerful soothing magics. He was immortal and would never fall. Taking him down was so unbelievably ludicrous, that you couldn't help but agree with the characters. What an impossible task, how can these people ever manage it? Comparatively, their brainstorming sessions felt almost like the optimistic meddling of small children, and I love that he managed to evoke that feeling in the reader.
It all fell into place in the end when Kelsier died. Suddenly an impossible mission came into fruition, and the nature of their challenge suddenly clicked. Though we wondered about Kelsier painting himself almost as a god-like figure, and worried he wouldn't be able to give it up, the whole time he was preparing for this—to die for them. To become the Skaa's belief and religion. To push them to fight.
I loved a lot of the characters here. Kelsier without a doubt, but also Spook, Breeze, Ham, and don't get me started on Sazed, who might be my favourite of them all, with his studying of religion and his attempt to preserve his own culture—or what little he knew of it. He was loyal to a fault, but a strong and pragmatic character that I couldn't help but love.
Notably though, I was frustrated by Vin's motives more that once. Often she would convey to the reader or her own thoughts no reason to be with Kelsier and his team, but then explain it in a one-liner at the end of a chapter. "I guess I want to see what happens" kind of style. I think she was meant to be aimless, but after she had started learning all the metals, and before she began to trust them, there was an awkward point where she felt like she was just being pulled along by the plot despite not deciding much for herself about whether this impossible mission was worth it.
Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot. I'm excited to continue with it, and it was nearly a 5 stars for me. Though I did notice a difference in the writing style between this book and his later Stormlight Archives, the improvement I see in the later books is only natural, and good if anything, as you can see he's grown as a writer. Though I noticed his comparatively less polished writing style in the first couple chapters, it all fell away eventually.
The pacing was superb, and the characters lots of fun. The magic system was both simple to understand but hard to master, and I was holding on close throughout the entire climax, which in Sanderson fashion, picked up near the end of the book and did not let go until the book fell to an end.