Once, a hero arose to save the world. He failed.
Ever since, the world has been a wasteland of ash and mist controlled by the immortal emperor known as the Lord Ruler.
But hope survives. A new uprising is forming, one built around the ultimate caper, the cunning of a brilliant criminal mastermind, and the determination of an unlikely heroine: a street urchin who must learn to master the power of a Mistborn.
Brandon Sanderson
This book was a Christmas present from 2024. As you can see, it took me quite a while to pick it up in the first place, and then also three whole months to get through it. I even considered not starting it at all because it was so long and I was not yet mentally prepared to dive into a new fantasy epos. Eventually, I am indescribably glad that I gave this story a shot as I certainly became a fan of not only the characters but also of the worldbuilding and writing of Brandon Sanderson. I had heard a lot about this author, but only now did I delve into his storytelling. If his books were not of the volume they are, I’d immediately follow up with the next one.
The World Building
As a newcomer to anything Brandon Sanderson, it surely took me a bit of time to get used to his storytelling. The worldbuilding thankfully and quickly intrigued me, as it also showed some interesting parallels to slavery within the US, for example, with its plantation infrastructure and dehumanization of the Skaa. This is where we start of, even before we meet one of my favorite characters, Vin, an orphan girl within a gang of thieves, living every day under constant threat of being mistreated. When Kelsier, one of our other protagonists, enters her life, she is certainly not going to trust him easily. And that is even before she meets his rather ragtag crew and the individuals within it—all more or less determined to overthrow the system. I loved getting to know them all through this first book and discovering their characters and backstories.
The Magical System
What I especially loved about this opening of the series is our introduction into the magical system. Just like us, Vin is not very familiar with it but gets to know that she can indeed use quite a lot of the metal-based alomancy, that her body can burn small portions of metal which give her extraordinary powers. Thanks to Kelsier, we get an introduction and visualization of these alongside Vin. The book further offers an overview of the different functions and different functionaries in the book’s world in its back, so it is easy to follow along or to take another helpful look. I got increasingly intrigued and fascinated by the possibilities of the magic and its users, especially in moments of conflict or all throughout the planning of the overthrow of the Final Empire.
Our Points of View
Most of the time, we either explore the world through Kelsier’s or Vin’s perspective and therefore get quite distinguished perspectives on what is happening. Kelsier surely has way more experience with the politics of the capital, while Vin allows us to doubt his preset assumptions about the royal houses and their members. Of course, we also get a romance between Vin, who’s going to infiltrate the “royalty” of this world, and one of the sons of the most influential houses. Although it certainly is not a focus all throughout the rebellion with all its intriguing steps of plotting, recruiting, and manipulating, it secures a point of hope and humanness in the chaos. More than trough Elend and Vin, we get that through humorous conversations of the crew members in between all the plot twists, fights, and even deaths to be encountered.
In conclusion
This first book of the trilogy is not only intriguing due to its worldbuilding and magical system, but also breathtaking through its plot twists and action-packed moments, as much as moving thanks to the strong bounds established between the crew members as well as other characters.
The author:
Brandon Sanderson grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska. He lives in Utah with his wife and children and teaches creative writing at Brigham Young University. His bestsellers have sold 50 million copies worldwide and include the Mistborn saga; the Stormlight Archive novels; and other novels, including Tress of the Emerald Sea, The Rithmatist, Steelheart, and Skyward. He won a Hugo Award for The Emperor’s Soul, a novella set in the world of his acclaimed first novel, Elantris. Additionally, he completed Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time®. Visit his website for behind-the-scenes information on all his books. Source