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The Mistborn Saga #2
趩丕賴 賲毓乇丕噩
賵蹖賳貙 丿禺鬲乇讴蹖 蹖鬲蹖賲 讴賴 丿乇 禺蹖丕亘丕賳鈥屬囏� 亘夭乇诏 賵 亘賴 賯丿乇鬲鈥屬呝嗀臂屬� 賲賴鈥屫藏ж� 丕蹖賳 爻乇夭賲蹖賳 鬲亘丿蹖賱 卮丿貙 亘賴 賴賲乇丕賴 丕賱賳丿 賵賳趩乇貙 賳噩蹖亘鈥屫藏ж団€屫й� 噩賵丕賳 賵 丕蹖丿賴鈥屫①勨€屭必� 讴賴 毓丕卮賯 賵蹖賳 丕爻鬲貙 丕讴賳賵賳 亘丕蹖丿 噩丕賲毓賴鈥屫й� 亘賴鬲乇 賵 亘賴蹖賳賴 亘丕 丌乇賲丕賳鈥屬囏й� 賲鬲毓丕賱蹖 乇丕 丕夭 丿賱 禺丕讴爻鬲乇賴丕蹖 亘乇噩丕 賲丕賳丿賴 丕夭 亘乇丕賳丿丕夭蹖 蹖讴 丕賲倬乇丕胤賵乇蹖 鬲兀爻蹖爻 讴賳賳丿. 爻賴 丕乇鬲卮 賯賵蹖 亘賴 丌賳鈥屬囏� 丨賲賱賴 讴乇丿賴鈥屫з嗀�. 乇賵夭亘賴鈥屫辟堌� 賲丨丕氐乇賴 鬲賳诏鈥屫� 賲蹖鈥屫促堌�.
丕賮爻丕賳賴鈥屫й� 亘丕爻鬲丕賳蹖 讴賵乇爻賵蹖蹖 丕夭 丕賲蹖丿 亘乇丕蹖鈥屫簇з� 丿乇 亘乇丿丕乇丿. 丕賲丕 丨鬲蹖 丕诏乇 丕蹖賳 丕賮爻丕賳賴 丨賯蹖賯鬲 丿丕卮鬲賴 亘丕卮丿貙 賴蹖趩鈥屭┴� 賳賲蹖鈥屫з嗀� 趩丕賴 賲毓乇丕噩 讴噩丕爻鬲 蹖丕 趩賴 賳蹖乇賵蹖蹖 丿乇 丌賳 賳賴賮鬲賴 丕爻鬲!
讴鬲丕亘 丿賵賲賽 爻乇蹖賽 賲賴鈥屫藏ж� 讴賴 禺賵丿 丿乇 丿賵 賯爻賲鬲 賵 丿乇 丿賵 噩賱丿 噩丿丕诏丕賳賴 鬲賵爻胤 丕賳鬲卮丕乇丕鬲 丌匕乇亘丕丿 賲賳卮鬲乇 卮丿賴 丕爻鬲.
丕賮爻丕賳賴鈥屫й� 亘丕爻鬲丕賳蹖 讴賵乇爻賵蹖蹖 丕夭 丕賲蹖丿 亘乇丕蹖鈥屫簇з� 丿乇 亘乇丿丕乇丿. 丕賲丕 丨鬲蹖 丕诏乇 丕蹖賳 丕賮爻丕賳賴 丨賯蹖賯鬲 丿丕卮鬲賴 亘丕卮丿貙 賴蹖趩鈥屭┴� 賳賲蹖鈥屫з嗀� 趩丕賴 賲毓乇丕噩 讴噩丕爻鬲 蹖丕 趩賴 賳蹖乇賵蹖蹖 丿乇 丌賳 賳賴賮鬲賴 丕爻鬲!
讴鬲丕亘 丿賵賲賽 爻乇蹖賽 賲賴鈥屫藏ж� 讴賴 禺賵丿 丿乇 丿賵 賯爻賲鬲 賵 丿乇 丿賵 噩賱丿 噩丿丕诏丕賳賴 鬲賵爻胤 丕賳鬲卮丕乇丕鬲 丌匕乇亘丕丿 賲賳卮鬲乇 卮丿賴 丕爻鬲.
832 pages, Paperback
First published August 21, 2007
29.2k people are currently reading
175k people want to read
About the author
Brandon Sanderson
468听books264k听followersI鈥檓 Brandon Sanderson, and I write stories of the fantastic: fantasy, science fiction, and thrillers.
Defiant, the fourth and final volume of the series that started with Skyward in 2018, comes out in November 2023, capping an already book-filled year that will see the releases of all four Secret Projects: Tress of the Emerald Sea, The Frugal Wizard鈥檚 Handbook for Surviving Medieval England, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, and Secret Project Four (with its official title reveal coming October 2023). These four books were all initially offered to backers of the #1 Kickstarter campaign of all time.
November 2022 saw the release of The Lost Metal, the seventh volume in the Mistborn saga, and the final volume of the Mistborn Era Two featuring Wax & Wayne. The third era of Mistborn is slated to be written after the first arc of the Stormlight Archive wraps up.
In November 2020 we saw the release of Rhythm of War鈥攖he fourth massive book in the New York Times #1 bestselling Stormlight Archive series that began with The Way of Kings鈥攁nd Dawnshard (book 3.5), a novella set in the same world that bridges the gaps between the main releases. This series is my love letter to the epic fantasy genre, and it鈥檚 the type of story I always dreamed epic fantasy could be. The fifth volume, Wind and Truth, is set for release in fall 2024.
Most readers have noticed that my adult fantasy novels are in a connected universe called the Cosmere. This includes The Stormlight Archive, both Mistborn series, Elantris, Warbreaker, and various novellas available on Amazon, including The Emperor鈥檚 Soul, which won a Hugo Award in 2013. In November 2016 all of the existing Cosmere short fiction was released in one volume called Arcanum Unbounded. If you鈥檝e read all of my adult fantasy novels and want to see some behind-the-scenes information, that collection is a must-read.
I also have three YA series: The Rithmatist (currently at one book), The Reckoners (a trilogy beginning with Steelheart), and Skyward. For young readers I also have my humorous series Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians, which had its final book, Bastille vs. the Evil Librarians, come out in 2022. Many of my adult readers enjoy all of those books as well, and many of my YA readers enjoy my adult books, usually starting with Mistborn.
Additionally, I have a few other novellas that are more on the thriller/sci-fi side. These include the Legion series, as well as Perfect State and Snapshot. There鈥檚 a lot of material to go around!
Good starting places are Mistborn (a.k.a. The Final Empire), Skyward, Steelheart,The Emperor鈥檚 Soul, and Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians. If you鈥檙e already a fan of big fat fantasies, you can jump right into The Way of Kings.
I was also honored to be able to complete the final three volumes of The Wheel of Time, beginning with The Gathering Storm, using Robert Jordan鈥檚 notes.
Sample chapters from all of my books are available at brandonsanderson.com鈥攁nd check out the rest of my site for chapter-by-chapter annotations, deleted scenes, and more.
Defiant, the fourth and final volume of the series that started with Skyward in 2018, comes out in November 2023, capping an already book-filled year that will see the releases of all four Secret Projects: Tress of the Emerald Sea, The Frugal Wizard鈥檚 Handbook for Surviving Medieval England, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, and Secret Project Four (with its official title reveal coming October 2023). These four books were all initially offered to backers of the #1 Kickstarter campaign of all time.
November 2022 saw the release of The Lost Metal, the seventh volume in the Mistborn saga, and the final volume of the Mistborn Era Two featuring Wax & Wayne. The third era of Mistborn is slated to be written after the first arc of the Stormlight Archive wraps up.
In November 2020 we saw the release of Rhythm of War鈥攖he fourth massive book in the New York Times #1 bestselling Stormlight Archive series that began with The Way of Kings鈥攁nd Dawnshard (book 3.5), a novella set in the same world that bridges the gaps between the main releases. This series is my love letter to the epic fantasy genre, and it鈥檚 the type of story I always dreamed epic fantasy could be. The fifth volume, Wind and Truth, is set for release in fall 2024.
Most readers have noticed that my adult fantasy novels are in a connected universe called the Cosmere. This includes The Stormlight Archive, both Mistborn series, Elantris, Warbreaker, and various novellas available on Amazon, including The Emperor鈥檚 Soul, which won a Hugo Award in 2013. In November 2016 all of the existing Cosmere short fiction was released in one volume called Arcanum Unbounded. If you鈥檝e read all of my adult fantasy novels and want to see some behind-the-scenes information, that collection is a must-read.
I also have three YA series: The Rithmatist (currently at one book), The Reckoners (a trilogy beginning with Steelheart), and Skyward. For young readers I also have my humorous series Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians, which had its final book, Bastille vs. the Evil Librarians, come out in 2022. Many of my adult readers enjoy all of those books as well, and many of my YA readers enjoy my adult books, usually starting with Mistborn.
Additionally, I have a few other novellas that are more on the thriller/sci-fi side. These include the Legion series, as well as Perfect State and Snapshot. There鈥檚 a lot of material to go around!
Good starting places are Mistborn (a.k.a. The Final Empire), Skyward, Steelheart,The Emperor鈥檚 Soul, and Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians. If you鈥檙e already a fan of big fat fantasies, you can jump right into The Way of Kings.
I was also honored to be able to complete the final three volumes of The Wheel of Time, beginning with The Gathering Storm, using Robert Jordan鈥檚 notes.
Sample chapters from all of my books are available at brandonsanderson.com鈥攁nd check out the rest of my site for chapter-by-chapter annotations, deleted scenes, and more.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39,533 reviews
May 26, 2022
A relatively slow-paced book containing an utterly powerful climax sequence; a spectacular middle book for the Mistborn trilogy.
When I first read The Well of Ascension, my experience dictated that I thoroughly loved it. It鈥檚 not until later I discovered that apparently, a lot of people found this book disappointing. Because of this, I was a bit scared that my reread experience would be ruined. Apparently, there鈥檚 nothing to worry about. Yes, it鈥檚 a different kind of book in comparison to The Final Empire, but I honestly don鈥檛 mind; my overall experience of this reread concludes that my investment with the characters and narrative in The Well of Ascension remains REAL.
Picture: The Well of Ascension by breath-art
The storyline in The Well of Ascension begins a year after the end of The Final Empire. The majority of the plotline revolves around the siege of Luthadel, and now Vin, Elend, and everyone must do everything in their power to stop the upcoming threat. In the meantime, they also have to deal with Luthadel鈥檚 internal political turmoil. The Well of Ascension, at its core, is slow-paced and intense political intrigues; Sanderson never lets up in making sure the character鈥檚 motivation ends up in the right development before the final installment of the trilogy. This indeed means there鈥檚 a lot of talking, contemplation, with minimum battle scenes. However, despite all of these, I was never once bored; just like Elend, I lost the track of time.
I love reading slow-paced books; I think there鈥檚 a lot of room for excellent characterizations within books that take their time to develop the characters. And in my opinion, The Well of Ascension delivers on that front greatly; this was especially true for Vin, Elend, Sazed, and OroSeur. I know a lot of readers have mentioned that they found the first half of this novel to be too slow due to the lack of action sequences, but for me, the mystery, the character developments, the magic system, and the world were more than enough to give me elation. I didn鈥檛 think the first half of the book was useless at all; it was addictive, and the exploration of leadership, identity, love, and faith was incredibly well written. The slow and tense politic plus the methodical build-up truly made the last 150 pages of Sanderlanche so breathtaking.
There was also a magnificent new metal to burn for the Mistborn here: duralumin. This single metal addition is magnificent. It expanded the complexity of the magic system and action sequences in the entire trilogy exponentially. Back when I first read the first book, I thought Allomancy wouldn鈥檛 go beyond what I鈥檝e read in the first book, and I couldn鈥檛 be more wrong. Sanderson ceaselessly expanded the intricacies of the magic system within each installment; this includes The Hero of Ages and also Mistborn: Wax and Wayne. But I鈥檓 getting ahead of myself here. The existence of duralumin made all the action sequences鈥攅specially the last 150 pages鈥攊n the book imbued with greatness; some of the action sequences here actually reminded me of the actions in Attack on Titan, which means it was bloody brilliant.
Picture: Interior artworks for the The Well of Ascension Leatherbound edition by Charles Tan (left) and Miranda Meeks (right)
In terms of world-building, Sanderson鈥攐nce again鈥攄id a great job in utilizing the epigraph to explore the lore and heightened the mystery aspect in this book. Specifically on The Deepness and the Well of Ascension itself. Plus, the nature and secret of the Kandra and Koloss revealed here were beneficial in gaining my interest in the book, and it never lets up.
I won鈥檛 deny that there were elements of infamous second book syndrome, but this was just one of the rare cases where I still end up enjoying it. SO MUCH. First-time readers of this book may not know it yet, but The Well of Ascension served its purpose as a terrific middle book installment. Whether the reader loved the book or not, that鈥檚 another story. But for me, it worked superbly; in my opinion, Sanderson has masterfully set the stage for the transcending conclusion of the series. Once again, even upon reread, I must say that I鈥檓 still amazed by how much this book holds up for me.
You can find and the rest of my reviews at | I also have a
Special thanks to my Patrons on for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing!
My Patrons: Alfred, Alya, Annabeth, Ben, Blaise, Devin, Diana, Dylan, Edward, Ellen, Gary, Hamad, Helen, Jimmy Nutts, Joie, Luis, Lufi, Melinda, Mike, Miracle, Nicholas, Sarah, Sarah, Seth, Shaad, Summer, Wendy, Wick, Zoe.
When I first read The Well of Ascension, my experience dictated that I thoroughly loved it. It鈥檚 not until later I discovered that apparently, a lot of people found this book disappointing. Because of this, I was a bit scared that my reread experience would be ruined. Apparently, there鈥檚 nothing to worry about. Yes, it鈥檚 a different kind of book in comparison to The Final Empire, but I honestly don鈥檛 mind; my overall experience of this reread concludes that my investment with the characters and narrative in The Well of Ascension remains REAL.
Picture: The Well of Ascension by breath-art
The storyline in The Well of Ascension begins a year after the end of The Final Empire. The majority of the plotline revolves around the siege of Luthadel, and now Vin, Elend, and everyone must do everything in their power to stop the upcoming threat. In the meantime, they also have to deal with Luthadel鈥檚 internal political turmoil. The Well of Ascension, at its core, is slow-paced and intense political intrigues; Sanderson never lets up in making sure the character鈥檚 motivation ends up in the right development before the final installment of the trilogy. This indeed means there鈥檚 a lot of talking, contemplation, with minimum battle scenes. However, despite all of these, I was never once bored; just like Elend, I lost the track of time.
鈥淓lend: I kind of lost track of time鈥�
Breeze: For two hours?
Elend: There were books involved.鈥�
I love reading slow-paced books; I think there鈥檚 a lot of room for excellent characterizations within books that take their time to develop the characters. And in my opinion, The Well of Ascension delivers on that front greatly; this was especially true for Vin, Elend, Sazed, and OroSeur. I know a lot of readers have mentioned that they found the first half of this novel to be too slow due to the lack of action sequences, but for me, the mystery, the character developments, the magic system, and the world were more than enough to give me elation. I didn鈥檛 think the first half of the book was useless at all; it was addictive, and the exploration of leadership, identity, love, and faith was incredibly well written. The slow and tense politic plus the methodical build-up truly made the last 150 pages of Sanderlanche so breathtaking.
鈥淎 man can only lead when others accept him as their leader, and he has only as much authority as his subjects give to him. All of the brilliant ideas in the world cannot save your kingdom if no one will listen to them.鈥�
There was also a magnificent new metal to burn for the Mistborn here: duralumin. This single metal addition is magnificent. It expanded the complexity of the magic system and action sequences in the entire trilogy exponentially. Back when I first read the first book, I thought Allomancy wouldn鈥檛 go beyond what I鈥檝e read in the first book, and I couldn鈥檛 be more wrong. Sanderson ceaselessly expanded the intricacies of the magic system within each installment; this includes The Hero of Ages and also Mistborn: Wax and Wayne. But I鈥檓 getting ahead of myself here. The existence of duralumin made all the action sequences鈥攅specially the last 150 pages鈥攊n the book imbued with greatness; some of the action sequences here actually reminded me of the actions in Attack on Titan, which means it was bloody brilliant.
Picture: Interior artworks for the The Well of Ascension Leatherbound edition by Charles Tan (left) and Miranda Meeks (right)
In terms of world-building, Sanderson鈥攐nce again鈥攄id a great job in utilizing the epigraph to explore the lore and heightened the mystery aspect in this book. Specifically on The Deepness and the Well of Ascension itself. Plus, the nature and secret of the Kandra and Koloss revealed here were beneficial in gaining my interest in the book, and it never lets up.
鈥淚t's easy to believe in something when you win all the time...The losses are what define a man's faith.鈥�
I won鈥檛 deny that there were elements of infamous second book syndrome, but this was just one of the rare cases where I still end up enjoying it. SO MUCH. First-time readers of this book may not know it yet, but The Well of Ascension served its purpose as a terrific middle book installment. Whether the reader loved the book or not, that鈥檚 another story. But for me, it worked superbly; in my opinion, Sanderson has masterfully set the stage for the transcending conclusion of the series. Once again, even upon reread, I must say that I鈥檓 still amazed by how much this book holds up for me.
You can find and the rest of my reviews at | I also have a
Special thanks to my Patrons on for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing!
My Patrons: Alfred, Alya, Annabeth, Ben, Blaise, Devin, Diana, Dylan, Edward, Ellen, Gary, Hamad, Helen, Jimmy Nutts, Joie, Luis, Lufi, Melinda, Mike, Miracle, Nicholas, Sarah, Sarah, Seth, Shaad, Summer, Wendy, Wick, Zoe.
June 9, 2023
Sorry in advance about the bad language but....
WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK.
Okay, everyone just read this series, okay? okay.
WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK.
Okay, everyone just read this series, okay? okay.
June 13, 2016
The overall book is a solid 4 stars bUT THE LAST 100 PAGES IS 5 STARS NO QUESTION OMG
August 3, 2012
*plot point occurs*
"Wow!" said Elend, "I can't believe that plot point just occured! That means these four explicit things: 1, 2, 3, and 4!"
That means 1, 2, 3, and 4 won't be far behind, Vin thought uneasily. She smiled at Elend and felt wishy-washy about her feelings toward him.
Ham nodded. Breeze grinned.
"1, 2, 3, and 4 won't be easy," said Sazed. "Do you remember when X, Y, and Z happened? That explains why 4 will follow 3."
Vin wasn't sure if she wanted to wear a dress or pants. It was a big deal to her.
/repeat
"Wow!" said Elend, "I can't believe that plot point just occured! That means these four explicit things: 1, 2, 3, and 4!"
That means 1, 2, 3, and 4 won't be far behind, Vin thought uneasily. She smiled at Elend and felt wishy-washy about her feelings toward him.
Ham nodded. Breeze grinned.
"1, 2, 3, and 4 won't be easy," said Sazed. "Do you remember when X, Y, and Z happened? That explains why 4 will follow 3."
Vin wasn't sure if she wanted to wear a dress or pants. It was a big deal to her.
/repeat
December 15, 2017
Please don鈥檛 hate me, but I just didn鈥檛 love this one as much as the first. As someone else described, I think it suffered from 鈥淢iddle Book syndrome鈥�, and really that鈥檚 on me. I almost always struggle with the middle installment of a trilogy, even if I 5 STAR Books 1 and 3. There were things I loved, but it felt like the flow didn鈥檛 build as well in this one as before. I will say that Sazed鈥檚 plot line was the crown jewel of this book! I adore that man and I love his development throughout as well as his struggle coming to grips with what he really believes. Still very excited to read Hero Of Ages and will post a full review after we settle down from our move this weekend!
July 15, 2020
dead from sanderson ending syndrome
October 19, 2017
Re-read on audio and just as awesome the second time! Vin is still my hero! 鉂わ笍
Holy son of a biscuit eater!!! THIS BOOK! I loved it, loved it, loved it! Sanderson tackled most of my feels in this book and YES I cried here and there but most of it was happy crying. My dog even looked at me like I was crazy when I was laughing and crying and yelling YES at certain parts.
Vin landed softly on the damp cobblestones, watching as the mists began to form around her. They puffed into existence as darkness fell, growing like tangles of translucent vines, twisting and wrapping around one another.
The great city of Luthadel was still. Even now, a year after the Lord Ruler's death and the rise of Elend's new free government, the common people stayed in their homes at night. They feared the mists, a tradition that went far deeper than the Lord Ruler's laws.
Vin slipped forward quietly, senses alert. Inside herself, as always, she burned tin and pewter. Tin enhanced her senses, making it easier for her to see in the night. Pewter made her body stronger, made her lighter on her feet. These, along with copper--which had the power to hide her use of Allomancy from others who were burning bronze--were metals she left on almost all the time.
Some called her paranoid. She thought herself prepared. Either way, the habit had saved her life on numerous occasions.
I love Vin and she grew so much in this book. She had a very bad life growing up and Kelsier (sob) saved her from all of that and showed her how to be what she is: A Mistborn. (An Allomancer who can burn all of the Allomantic medals) and she became the most powerful Mistborn around.
Elend is the King but he wasn't doing such a great job. He needed to be whipped into shape. I think Tindwyl (a Keeper from Terris) did a wonderful job and getting Elend where he needed to be. I feel Elend figured the rest out on his own and I began to love his character later on in the book.
Tindwyl nodded. "Sazed also mentioned your humility. It could be an asset-assuming you don't let it get in the way. Now, I believe that your Mistborn has returned."
Elend turned toward the side window. The shutter swung open, allowing mist to begin streaming into the room and revealing a crouching, cloaked form.
"How did you know I was here?" Vin asked quietly.
Tindwyl smiled--the first such expression Elend had seen on her face. "Sazed mentioned you as well, child. You and I should speak soon in private, I think."
Vin slipped into the room, drawing mist in behind her, then closed the shutter. She didn't bother to hide her hostility or mistrust as she put herself between Elend adn Tindwyl.
"Why are you here?" Vin demanded.
Tindwyl smiled again. "It took your king there several minutes to get to that question, and here you ask it after a few bare moments. You are an interesting couple, I think."
Vin's eyes narrowed.
"Regardless, I should withdraw," Tindwyl said. "We shall speak again, I assume, Your Majesty?"
"Yes, of course." Elend said. "Um. . . is there anything I should begin practicing?"
"Yes," Tindwyl said. "Stop saying um."
"Right."
Tindwyl had a lot of work to get the king where he needed to be but she did well.
So many of the characters I loved.
Vin
Elend
Sazed
OreSeur
Ham
Dockson
Clubs
Spook
Breeze
Tindwyl
Allrianne
Some of them didn't make it in the battles and that is sad but that is the way of the world.
I also really liked Zane but . . . .
*I loved the characters, I loved the book, I loved everything about it but a few things.*
NOW ON TO THE SPOILER PORTION OF THIS BOOK. DO NOT READ BELOW THIS LINE IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK!
Okay lets get down to the nitty gritty. I'm going to be all over the place with this so just bear with me.
Zane is the other mistborn that would visit with Vin and sometimes fight with her. We find out that he is Elends half-brother. I really liked him and wanted him to be good but he had some major issues cause by their father that is/was a complete jerk. I really hated to see him die but it had to happen. I certainly didn't see it coming.
Elend's father along with two other army's are parked outside the city, they all want to take over Luthadell so they can all have the atium. It's a big time metal that lets mistborns see into others futures and when they are burning it they normally can't be killed. Until Vin proved that wrong!
When Vin killed Straff (Elend and Zane's father) I was freaking out of my mind with joy! I didn't like what happened to the horse but still. It was freaking awesome that she finally took his sorry arse out!
Another camp had king Cett in it and he was just stupid, that's all I got. But his daughter, Allrianne was pretty cool. I liked her.
The last camp had an old friend of Elend as the leader and he had these monster things called Koloss, they were these blue giant things and they were not stable at all. They killed each other as much as they killed other people. He controlled them through money and luck, in the beginning anyway.
Most of the beginning of the book is learning about Vin and Elend, trying to get them where they need to be, learning things from Sazed and Tindwyl, figuring out how to defeat the armies and not knowing where the atium was in the city. They never did find it so it seemed like they were all going to get killed for nothing.
Sazed really surprised me. He was a Keeper but had some issues back home, but he still did his work. But he freaking used all kinds of powers and turned into Hulk Sazed when it was time to fight the Koloss! He was freaking amaze balls! He had sent Vin, Elend and Spook away on a wild goose chase for the well of ascension and Vin had to rush back (pun intended) to help everyone. The town was going to die without her. She was so mad but she understood what Sazed was trying to do. She got there in the nick of time!
The koloss loomed over Sazed, who still lay half sprawled in the bloody slush, and raised its sword. Over the creature's shoulder, Sazed could see the red sun hanging just above the top of the wall. He focused on that, rather than on the falling sword. He could see the rays of sunlight, like . . . shards of glass in the sky.
The sunlight seemed to sparkle, twinkling, coming for him. As if the sun itself were welcoming him. Reaching down to accept his spirit.
And so, I die . . .
A twinkling droplet of light sparkled in the beam of sunlight, then hit the koloss directly in the back of the skull. The creature grunted, stiffening, dropping it's sword. It collapsed to the side, and Sazed lay, stupefied, on the ground for a moment. Then he looked up at the top of the wall.
A small figure stood silhouetted by the sun. Black before the red light, a cloak flapped gently on her back. Sazed blinked. The bit of sparkling light he'd seen. . . it had been a coin. The koloss before him was dead.
Vin had returned
Just typing that scene out gave me chills once again and made me tear up in joy! Vin is bad to the damn bone, there is no doubt about that. At one point after killing hundreds of the monsters, Vin figured out how to control them so that was even more awesome!
I was really sad for Sazed for losing Tindwyl, they had finally admitted their love for each other in a sense and it was so sad to see him go through his grief.
I also hated that Clubs and Dockson had to die but this is what happens. I dread to see how else will die in the next book =(
Oh, I forgot to mention how much I loved OreSeur (Vin's Kandra). Kelsier had given him to her when he died and the kandra have contracts to do what you say. They are slaves basically. They take on forms of humans or animals by eating their bones after they are already dead. They don't kill people themselves. Vin at one point turned OreSeur into a wolfhound. So awesome, but he wasn't happy about being a dog. But he finally got used to it. But then I find out that OreSeur was killed and replaced with Zane's kandra (TenSoon) to spy on Vin. I was crushed, but it turned out that TenSoon wasn't so bad. There is a lot more to it but you can read about it.
Vin finds the well of ascension in the town. It calls to her. She's not supposed to be there. Sazed tries to stop her but doesn't quite make it. She goes into the well to save Elend's life (her husband, yeah they got married in a quick little ceremony with Sazed while was stitching her up) and she let loose something that wasn't supposed to be let loose on the world. But she saved Elend and turned him into a freaking Mistborn. I mean wow. I can only imagine what's going to happen in the next book!
I'm going to shut up now as I have left a long rambling review of this book. It just thrilled me that much!
Thank you Brandon Sanderson for these characters I love so much!
MY BLOG:
Holy son of a biscuit eater!!! THIS BOOK! I loved it, loved it, loved it! Sanderson tackled most of my feels in this book and YES I cried here and there but most of it was happy crying. My dog even looked at me like I was crazy when I was laughing and crying and yelling YES at certain parts.
Vin landed softly on the damp cobblestones, watching as the mists began to form around her. They puffed into existence as darkness fell, growing like tangles of translucent vines, twisting and wrapping around one another.
The great city of Luthadel was still. Even now, a year after the Lord Ruler's death and the rise of Elend's new free government, the common people stayed in their homes at night. They feared the mists, a tradition that went far deeper than the Lord Ruler's laws.
Vin slipped forward quietly, senses alert. Inside herself, as always, she burned tin and pewter. Tin enhanced her senses, making it easier for her to see in the night. Pewter made her body stronger, made her lighter on her feet. These, along with copper--which had the power to hide her use of Allomancy from others who were burning bronze--were metals she left on almost all the time.
Some called her paranoid. She thought herself prepared. Either way, the habit had saved her life on numerous occasions.
I love Vin and she grew so much in this book. She had a very bad life growing up and Kelsier (sob) saved her from all of that and showed her how to be what she is: A Mistborn. (An Allomancer who can burn all of the Allomantic medals) and she became the most powerful Mistborn around.
Elend is the King but he wasn't doing such a great job. He needed to be whipped into shape. I think Tindwyl (a Keeper from Terris) did a wonderful job and getting Elend where he needed to be. I feel Elend figured the rest out on his own and I began to love his character later on in the book.
Tindwyl nodded. "Sazed also mentioned your humility. It could be an asset-assuming you don't let it get in the way. Now, I believe that your Mistborn has returned."
Elend turned toward the side window. The shutter swung open, allowing mist to begin streaming into the room and revealing a crouching, cloaked form.
"How did you know I was here?" Vin asked quietly.
Tindwyl smiled--the first such expression Elend had seen on her face. "Sazed mentioned you as well, child. You and I should speak soon in private, I think."
Vin slipped into the room, drawing mist in behind her, then closed the shutter. She didn't bother to hide her hostility or mistrust as she put herself between Elend adn Tindwyl.
"Why are you here?" Vin demanded.
Tindwyl smiled again. "It took your king there several minutes to get to that question, and here you ask it after a few bare moments. You are an interesting couple, I think."
Vin's eyes narrowed.
"Regardless, I should withdraw," Tindwyl said. "We shall speak again, I assume, Your Majesty?"
"Yes, of course." Elend said. "Um. . . is there anything I should begin practicing?"
"Yes," Tindwyl said. "Stop saying um."
"Right."
Tindwyl had a lot of work to get the king where he needed to be but she did well.
So many of the characters I loved.
Vin
Elend
Sazed
OreSeur
Ham
Dockson
Clubs
Spook
Breeze
Tindwyl
Allrianne
Some of them didn't make it in the battles and that is sad but that is the way of the world.
I also really liked Zane but . . . .
*I loved the characters, I loved the book, I loved everything about it but a few things.*
NOW ON TO THE SPOILER PORTION OF THIS BOOK. DO NOT READ BELOW THIS LINE IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK!
Okay lets get down to the nitty gritty. I'm going to be all over the place with this so just bear with me.
Zane is the other mistborn that would visit with Vin and sometimes fight with her. We find out that he is Elends half-brother. I really liked him and wanted him to be good but he had some major issues cause by their father that is/was a complete jerk. I really hated to see him die but it had to happen. I certainly didn't see it coming.
Elend's father along with two other army's are parked outside the city, they all want to take over Luthadell so they can all have the atium. It's a big time metal that lets mistborns see into others futures and when they are burning it they normally can't be killed. Until Vin proved that wrong!
When Vin killed Straff (Elend and Zane's father) I was freaking out of my mind with joy! I didn't like what happened to the horse but still. It was freaking awesome that she finally took his sorry arse out!
Another camp had king Cett in it and he was just stupid, that's all I got. But his daughter, Allrianne was pretty cool. I liked her.
The last camp had an old friend of Elend as the leader and he had these monster things called Koloss, they were these blue giant things and they were not stable at all. They killed each other as much as they killed other people. He controlled them through money and luck, in the beginning anyway.
Most of the beginning of the book is learning about Vin and Elend, trying to get them where they need to be, learning things from Sazed and Tindwyl, figuring out how to defeat the armies and not knowing where the atium was in the city. They never did find it so it seemed like they were all going to get killed for nothing.
Sazed really surprised me. He was a Keeper but had some issues back home, but he still did his work. But he freaking used all kinds of powers and turned into Hulk Sazed when it was time to fight the Koloss! He was freaking amaze balls! He had sent Vin, Elend and Spook away on a wild goose chase for the well of ascension and Vin had to rush back (pun intended) to help everyone. The town was going to die without her. She was so mad but she understood what Sazed was trying to do. She got there in the nick of time!
The koloss loomed over Sazed, who still lay half sprawled in the bloody slush, and raised its sword. Over the creature's shoulder, Sazed could see the red sun hanging just above the top of the wall. He focused on that, rather than on the falling sword. He could see the rays of sunlight, like . . . shards of glass in the sky.
The sunlight seemed to sparkle, twinkling, coming for him. As if the sun itself were welcoming him. Reaching down to accept his spirit.
And so, I die . . .
A twinkling droplet of light sparkled in the beam of sunlight, then hit the koloss directly in the back of the skull. The creature grunted, stiffening, dropping it's sword. It collapsed to the side, and Sazed lay, stupefied, on the ground for a moment. Then he looked up at the top of the wall.
A small figure stood silhouetted by the sun. Black before the red light, a cloak flapped gently on her back. Sazed blinked. The bit of sparkling light he'd seen. . . it had been a coin. The koloss before him was dead.
Vin had returned
Just typing that scene out gave me chills once again and made me tear up in joy! Vin is bad to the damn bone, there is no doubt about that. At one point after killing hundreds of the monsters, Vin figured out how to control them so that was even more awesome!
I was really sad for Sazed for losing Tindwyl, they had finally admitted their love for each other in a sense and it was so sad to see him go through his grief.
I also hated that Clubs and Dockson had to die but this is what happens. I dread to see how else will die in the next book =(
Oh, I forgot to mention how much I loved OreSeur (Vin's Kandra). Kelsier had given him to her when he died and the kandra have contracts to do what you say. They are slaves basically. They take on forms of humans or animals by eating their bones after they are already dead. They don't kill people themselves. Vin at one point turned OreSeur into a wolfhound. So awesome, but he wasn't happy about being a dog. But he finally got used to it. But then I find out that OreSeur was killed and replaced with Zane's kandra (TenSoon) to spy on Vin. I was crushed, but it turned out that TenSoon wasn't so bad. There is a lot more to it but you can read about it.
Vin finds the well of ascension in the town. It calls to her. She's not supposed to be there. Sazed tries to stop her but doesn't quite make it. She goes into the well to save Elend's life (her husband, yeah they got married in a quick little ceremony with Sazed while was stitching her up) and she let loose something that wasn't supposed to be let loose on the world. But she saved Elend and turned him into a freaking Mistborn. I mean wow. I can only imagine what's going to happen in the next book!
I'm going to shut up now as I have left a long rambling review of this book. It just thrilled me that much!
Thank you Brandon Sanderson for these characters I love so much!
MY BLOG:
June 10, 2015
I FINISHED THIS AGES AGO AND IT WAS AWESOME : here's my booktalk!
February 10, 2016
Reviewed by:
3.5 stars
Anytime I'm reading fantasy for review, I take copious notes. In fact, most of the time, my review is pretty much written by the time I finish the book, I just need to make slight alterations to account for any last minute goings on.
And I like that, b/c your average fantasy is 2 - 3x longer than any other book. Trying to go back after the fact and recall all the key details would be a nightmare.
BUT.
Brandon Sanderson has consistently thwarted me in this area. And by consistently, I mean every, single time.
Why do you hate me, Mr. Sanderson? WHY?!
If I were to rate a Sanderson book--any Sanderson book--prior to the last 20%, almost all of them would hover around the 3.0 star range.
But unlike most books that benefit from higher ratings b/c OMG, THAT ENDING!, my experience with Sanderson has been very different.
Yes, there is definitely an element of OMG and FEELS overwhelming your brain stem, making you instantly forget whatever had you feeling so MEH for the majority of the book, but that's only one small aspect of the turnaround. I'll get to the greater part in a minute.
I've called Sanderson a master of misdirection several times, but I'm finding it to be especially true in this first MISTBORN trilogy.
You know what happened last time . . . This time . . . it wasn't quite as drastic, but it had a greater impact on my overall reaction to the book.
B/c initially, I didn't much like this one.
We know from THE FINAL EMPIRE that the Well of Ascension is where the shit went down. The Lord Ruler traveled to the mountains of Terris as prophecy dictated to seize its power and defeat the Deepness . . .
A power that wasn't meant to be contained but released, and in selfishly keeping that power to serve his own purposes, the Lord Ruler became the new Evil.
With his death the Deepness is returning.
His ominous last words proved truthful, and whatever had been holding it back is now absent. Strange shapes take insubstantial form and stalk the Mist by night, and by day . . . no longer banished by light, the Mist attacks and kills defenseless villagers.
And Vin is drawn by a distant thrumming, a constant drum beat in the distance that only she can hear . . . calling her to the Well.
You'd think that a journey across a land filled with various and dangerous threats would make for an excellent second installment, and it would have . . . if the book had been about a journey across a land filled with various and dangerous threats.
But it wasn't.
It was about about a city besieged by not one, not two, but THREE armies, one full of the remnants of one of the Lord Ruler's monstrous creations.
It was about a naive manboy who needed to lose the boy and become a king. It was about a insecure girl who loves Manboy, but thinks he deserves far better than her. It was about grasping factions in a fledgling government and political scheming and backstabbing, and while that may sound marvelous in theory . . .
After roughly 600 pages, it's dreadfully dull.
Especially after an action-packed first installment, which brings up another complaint . . .
This is the second time I've encountered a lackluster sequel in a Sanderson series, so while I'm not 100% that it's a pattern, it is 2:2 which dramatically increases the likelihood . . .
It goes like this:
Book 1 - first 80% can be slow and consists primarily of misdirection, false trails, etc. leading to the brilliant chaos of the last 20%. World-building and character development are typically enough to keep you engaged.
Book 2 - favors political scheming over action, lots of agonizing(ly boring) soul searching, angst-fueled love triangle, and above all else, miscommunication and refusal to confront emotional problems directly.
If this is a pattern, Mr. Sanderson, you need to break it.
Sooners rather than laters, baby.
But despite my annoyance with the lack of progress towards the ultimate goal being somewhat neutralized by last minute revelations (which, by the way, is as frustrating as it is gratifying), those revelations cannot mitigate how completely over I was the Vin/Elend relationship drama.
Part of me feels like it would've been more honest to call this book: I'M NOT GOOD ENOUGH, HE'S GOING TO LEAVE ME, WHEN WILL HE LEAVE ME?, HE'S GOING TO LEAVE ME.
Long, I know. Probably one of the many reasons they went with something else. But it would have been more accurate than THE WELL OF ASCENSION.
And as I said, this is the second time Sanderson has done this to us.
I'm baffled. This kind of teen-angsty melodrama has no place in adult high fantasy.
NONE.
But, also again, a handful of new characters (Zane and Tindwyl) and careful threading of impossible-to-detect-foundations for later plot twists kept it from being a total loss. <------If there had been just slightly less drama, those things alone would have made this a strong 4.0 star read for me. BUT. Drama.
Recommended with qualifications. Book 3 is up next, so I'll let you know how it goes.
8/26/15: BUDDY READ with my peeps in Sanctum of Fantasy .
My other reviews for this series:
Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)
3.5 stars
Anytime I'm reading fantasy for review, I take copious notes. In fact, most of the time, my review is pretty much written by the time I finish the book, I just need to make slight alterations to account for any last minute goings on.
And I like that, b/c your average fantasy is 2 - 3x longer than any other book. Trying to go back after the fact and recall all the key details would be a nightmare.
BUT.
Brandon Sanderson has consistently thwarted me in this area. And by consistently, I mean every, single time.
Why do you hate me, Mr. Sanderson? WHY?!
If I were to rate a Sanderson book--any Sanderson book--prior to the last 20%, almost all of them would hover around the 3.0 star range.
But unlike most books that benefit from higher ratings b/c OMG, THAT ENDING!, my experience with Sanderson has been very different.
Yes, there is definitely an element of OMG and FEELS overwhelming your brain stem, making you instantly forget whatever had you feeling so MEH for the majority of the book, but that's only one small aspect of the turnaround. I'll get to the greater part in a minute.
I've called Sanderson a master of misdirection several times, but I'm finding it to be especially true in this first MISTBORN trilogy.
You know what happened last time . . . This time . . . it wasn't quite as drastic, but it had a greater impact on my overall reaction to the book.
B/c initially, I didn't much like this one.
We know from THE FINAL EMPIRE that the Well of Ascension is where the shit went down. The Lord Ruler traveled to the mountains of Terris as prophecy dictated to seize its power and defeat the Deepness . . .
A power that wasn't meant to be contained but released, and in selfishly keeping that power to serve his own purposes, the Lord Ruler became the new Evil.
With his death the Deepness is returning.
His ominous last words proved truthful, and whatever had been holding it back is now absent. Strange shapes take insubstantial form and stalk the Mist by night, and by day . . . no longer banished by light, the Mist attacks and kills defenseless villagers.
And Vin is drawn by a distant thrumming, a constant drum beat in the distance that only she can hear . . . calling her to the Well.
You'd think that a journey across a land filled with various and dangerous threats would make for an excellent second installment, and it would have . . . if the book had been about a journey across a land filled with various and dangerous threats.
But it wasn't.
It was about about a city besieged by not one, not two, but THREE armies, one full of the remnants of one of the Lord Ruler's monstrous creations.
It was about a naive manboy who needed to lose the boy and become a king. It was about a insecure girl who loves Manboy, but thinks he deserves far better than her. It was about grasping factions in a fledgling government and political scheming and backstabbing, and while that may sound marvelous in theory . . .
After roughly 600 pages, it's dreadfully dull.
Especially after an action-packed first installment, which brings up another complaint . . .
This is the second time I've encountered a lackluster sequel in a Sanderson series, so while I'm not 100% that it's a pattern, it is 2:2 which dramatically increases the likelihood . . .
It goes like this:
Book 1 - first 80% can be slow and consists primarily of misdirection, false trails, etc. leading to the brilliant chaos of the last 20%. World-building and character development are typically enough to keep you engaged.
Book 2 - favors political scheming over action, lots of agonizing(ly boring) soul searching, angst-fueled love triangle, and above all else, miscommunication and refusal to confront emotional problems directly.
If this is a pattern, Mr. Sanderson, you need to break it.
Sooners rather than laters, baby.
But despite my annoyance with the lack of progress towards the ultimate goal being somewhat neutralized by last minute revelations (which, by the way, is as frustrating as it is gratifying), those revelations cannot mitigate how completely over I was the Vin/Elend relationship drama.
Part of me feels like it would've been more honest to call this book: I'M NOT GOOD ENOUGH, HE'S GOING TO LEAVE ME, WHEN WILL HE LEAVE ME?, HE'S GOING TO LEAVE ME.
Long, I know. Probably one of the many reasons they went with something else. But it would have been more accurate than THE WELL OF ASCENSION.
And as I said, this is the second time Sanderson has done this to us.
I'm baffled. This kind of teen-angsty melodrama has no place in adult high fantasy.
NONE.
But, also again, a handful of new characters (Zane and Tindwyl) and careful threading of impossible-to-detect-foundations for later plot twists kept it from being a total loss. <------If there had been just slightly less drama, those things alone would have made this a strong 4.0 star read for me. BUT. Drama.
Recommended with qualifications. Book 3 is up next, so I'll let you know how it goes.
8/26/15: BUDDY READ with my peeps in Sanctum of Fantasy .
My other reviews for this series:
Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)
July 1, 2008
This book was...not very good. I absolutely loved the first book, it was sooo good! I still love the magical device he uses, but honestly this book did not live up to the first. The main character becomes pretty stupid, and the love interest was never that interesting. I will read the third book, but my hopes are not high.
November 1, 2016
This nearly destroyed me and I absolutely loved it.
July 11, 2021
this had the potential to be a 5 star reading experience if i hadnt accidentally spoiled the ending for myself. :/
once again, the end is where BS really makes his stories shine. the bulk majority of this sequel is about government, politics, and strategy; which makes sense considering how 鈥榯he final empire鈥� ends. its a logical next step, but this type of content isnt my favourite as it tends to overshadow fantasy elements. so where i found my enjoyment was in the characters.
i love all the character development in this, particularly for vin and elend. they both started to feel like completely different characters than the ones i met in the previous book, but in a good way. i could see exactly how they grew and why and i understood the circumstances and events that caused that change. it was a journey seeing them develop, all the way to the last page.
which brings me back to the ending. beyond the war and lawmaking, i already knew a big thing was coming, and its pretty major in terms of a certain characters identity and the fantasy elements. had i not already known, it would have completely blown my mind and would have made the previous 700 pages worth it for me. so its unfortunate i didnt get to experience the full effects of a really shocking ending.
so heres me, trying not to accidentally spoil the next book and hoping for more character development and fantasy elements.
鈫� 4.5 stars
once again, the end is where BS really makes his stories shine. the bulk majority of this sequel is about government, politics, and strategy; which makes sense considering how 鈥榯he final empire鈥� ends. its a logical next step, but this type of content isnt my favourite as it tends to overshadow fantasy elements. so where i found my enjoyment was in the characters.
i love all the character development in this, particularly for vin and elend. they both started to feel like completely different characters than the ones i met in the previous book, but in a good way. i could see exactly how they grew and why and i understood the circumstances and events that caused that change. it was a journey seeing them develop, all the way to the last page.
which brings me back to the ending. beyond the war and lawmaking, i already knew a big thing was coming, and its pretty major in terms of a certain characters identity and the fantasy elements. had i not already known, it would have completely blown my mind and would have made the previous 700 pages worth it for me. so its unfortunate i didnt get to experience the full effects of a really shocking ending.
so heres me, trying not to accidentally spoil the next book and hoping for more character development and fantasy elements.
鈫� 4.5 stars
November 4, 2022
"My name is Kwaan. Philosopher, scholar, traitor."
The na茂vet茅 of me to think that The Final Empire was thrilling and eventful... turns out that was just Sanderson warming up the audience.
"This last year I've read every pertinent book on leadership and governance in the four libraries."
Yes, there were some loose ends by the end of Book 1 along which he could've easily continued here in the second book, but I thought at least the author would not be able to sustain that incredible pace for another lengthy novel. But Well of Ascension clearly shows that The Final Empire was only a strong foundation: As eventful as the latter was, I felt like this second book is where the reader gets a clear idea of what the series is actually about. This second installment has been nothing short of a massive concoction of mystery, adventure, politics, chaos, success, failure, disappointment and war.
"Do not deride someone's faith simply because you do not share it."
Just like with The Final Empire, world building, magical system, characters, plot, story-telling and everything else (with the exception of romance... again) are phenomenal. To avoid making this review unnecessarily long, I'll link my review of Book 1 here. Everything is as good as it was with Book 1, if not better, most significant improvement being the continued expansion of magical system. I love the reasoning and logic behind Allomancy and it looks like we have yet to discover a lot down the line.
"You know, Ham, the only thing about your jokes is how often they lack any humor whatsoever."
Now, for the major changes: One of the most noticeable changes for me was Sanderson's frequent use of humor this time. True, there were many witty remarks from Breeze, Ham and the like in first book, but it wasn't as predominant as here in The Well of Ascension. The author handled it quite well in my opinion, while never letting those small respites affect the flow nor changing the overall emotional tone of the story. Although, considering the way things ended here, I don't think I should be looking forward to more humor in the next one. Still, this has been a nice change.
"Slovenly clothing invites other slovenly habits - such as your posture."
We also get introduced to a new set of characters, bringing some additional complications to the plot. I don't think any of them surpassed my favorites from Book 1, but they did a wonderful job here in exploring some new areas. It was also great to see the growth of Vin's character, as well as Elend's. With Kelsier no longer belonging in the cast, the extra bit of attention was dedicated to Sazed, which, for me, was a great thing, for, the Terrismen happens to be one of my to favorites so far. However, considering how things ended here, I'm beginning to think that I should be careful as to how much I should become attached to them: It looks like Sanderson has a way of making the endings more realistic by creating a scary balance between victories and losses, and the latter continuing to dish out some major grief. I'm already beginning to fear how the Book 3 would end.
"When you struggle so hard for life, you grow strong - but you can grow harsh too."
It has been quite a while since I have become this invested in a series, this quickly. And with the amount of loose ends and mysteries which have yet to be explained, I don't think I'll be able to rest well until I'm through with the last book. Perhaps I should remember this when reading Sanderson's future books if the series in question is not yet complete, for it's hard to imagine how I'd be able to cope with waiting for a next-in-series to be released..
"A man was defined not by his flaws, but by how he overcame them."
The na茂vet茅 of me to think that The Final Empire was thrilling and eventful... turns out that was just Sanderson warming up the audience.
"This last year I've read every pertinent book on leadership and governance in the four libraries."
Yes, there were some loose ends by the end of Book 1 along which he could've easily continued here in the second book, but I thought at least the author would not be able to sustain that incredible pace for another lengthy novel. But Well of Ascension clearly shows that The Final Empire was only a strong foundation: As eventful as the latter was, I felt like this second book is where the reader gets a clear idea of what the series is actually about. This second installment has been nothing short of a massive concoction of mystery, adventure, politics, chaos, success, failure, disappointment and war.
"Do not deride someone's faith simply because you do not share it."
Just like with The Final Empire, world building, magical system, characters, plot, story-telling and everything else (with the exception of romance... again) are phenomenal. To avoid making this review unnecessarily long, I'll link my review of Book 1 here. Everything is as good as it was with Book 1, if not better, most significant improvement being the continued expansion of magical system. I love the reasoning and logic behind Allomancy and it looks like we have yet to discover a lot down the line.
"You know, Ham, the only thing about your jokes is how often they lack any humor whatsoever."
Now, for the major changes: One of the most noticeable changes for me was Sanderson's frequent use of humor this time. True, there were many witty remarks from Breeze, Ham and the like in first book, but it wasn't as predominant as here in The Well of Ascension. The author handled it quite well in my opinion, while never letting those small respites affect the flow nor changing the overall emotional tone of the story. Although, considering the way things ended here, I don't think I should be looking forward to more humor in the next one. Still, this has been a nice change.
"Slovenly clothing invites other slovenly habits - such as your posture."
We also get introduced to a new set of characters, bringing some additional complications to the plot. I don't think any of them surpassed my favorites from Book 1, but they did a wonderful job here in exploring some new areas. It was also great to see the growth of Vin's character, as well as Elend's. With Kelsier no longer belonging in the cast, the extra bit of attention was dedicated to Sazed, which, for me, was a great thing, for, the Terrismen happens to be one of my to favorites so far. However, considering how things ended here, I'm beginning to think that I should be careful as to how much I should become attached to them: It looks like Sanderson has a way of making the endings more realistic by creating a scary balance between victories and losses, and the latter continuing to dish out some major grief. I'm already beginning to fear how the Book 3 would end.
"When you struggle so hard for life, you grow strong - but you can grow harsh too."
It has been quite a while since I have become this invested in a series, this quickly. And with the amount of loose ends and mysteries which have yet to be explained, I don't think I'll be able to rest well until I'm through with the last book. Perhaps I should remember this when reading Sanderson's future books if the series in question is not yet complete, for it's hard to imagine how I'd be able to cope with waiting for a next-in-series to be released..
"A man was defined not by his flaws, but by how he overcame them."
August 19, 2024
4.5 stars. Didn't love this book the first time I read it, but it's extremely enjoyable on a reread.
June 1, 2024
5 Stars!
Reread#1 鉁�
鈥淓lend: I kind of lost track of time鈥�
Breeze: For two hours?
Elend: There were books involved.鈥�
Many say that this was a downgrade from what 'The Final Empire' was but for me this was such an upgrade, a perfect continuation of the first book, picking up a year after the events of the first book, where ash still fell in Scadriel and Vin still struggles to cope up with the revelation at the end of the first book. It is relatively a very slow paced book and I enjoyed that aspect of the book the most because I got more time with the characters and I needed it. It was mostly building and setting up with A LOT of foreshadowing scattered across the book and it all came tumbling down during the last 30% because the way it still managed to shock me after reading it for the second time, I just loved that feeling.
鈥淎 man was defined not by his flaws, but by how he overcame them.鈥�
The world building was amazing!! Sanderson never fails on that front. He is the king of world building, even if you don鈥檛 like the plot or the characters you will always be inclined to agree on one thing, his world building is top notch. This expanded the world unravelling the mystery, the questions that 'The Final Empire' raised revolving around koloss and kandra and gave us more insight on the forces binding the entirety of the Cosmere together; the shards. Although we only get to know about two of them ruin and preservation. Both having autonomy over Scadriel and even the shards had such good character depth each so flawed and complex. It was perfect. As for the Magic system, there was a new metal added to the intricate system of allomancy with it's own weaknesses and strength and it was overall a masterpiece.
The side characters like Sazed, Ham, Dockson and Breeze easily stole the show but even out of all of them Sazed was the one that had the spotlight in a chokehold because I love that man so much, I would just want to go out with him and talk and talk and talk all day.
鈥淚 write these words in steel, for anything not set in metal cannot be trusted.鈥�
The main reason why I liked it slow paced nature was because of it contribution to the character development, there was so much that they had to cope through especially Vin as she went through a major loss and the way she coped up with that and how it reflected her decisions, the rage and how she was in denial and then passed through the stages of grief, I love it. Elend, burdened with such a huge responsibility, tries to handle his relationship with his Vin and the country and the way his mind works, the way he goes around doing stuff, his decisions and the respect that he has towards Vin and the sheer love that he felt towards her, nothing compares to it.
鈥淕ood men don't become legends," he said quietly.
"Good men don't need to become legends." She opened her eyes, looking up at him. "They just do what's right anyway.鈥�
The plot and the action sequences. The plot was not the main focus, the characters were but it was in the background and the way it was setting up and the way it just blasted everything with a fucking massive sanderlanche shocked me through my fucking core and if you've read secret history your mind will be blown further. As for the action sequences, they were minimal for the most part but sufficient enough to keep me invested. Nothing beats the plot twist though, had me shocked to my core.
鈥淚f you perpetuate the dreams of the past, you stifle your own dreams of the future.鈥�
____
Rereading the whole Cosmere in prep for SA5! (was supposed to read this last month but ambuddy reading this with my non-goodreads using friend)
Yes, I did like this one more than the first one!!
Reread#1 鉁�
鈥淓lend: I kind of lost track of time鈥�
Breeze: For two hours?
Elend: There were books involved.鈥�
Many say that this was a downgrade from what 'The Final Empire' was but for me this was such an upgrade, a perfect continuation of the first book, picking up a year after the events of the first book, where ash still fell in Scadriel and Vin still struggles to cope up with the revelation at the end of the first book. It is relatively a very slow paced book and I enjoyed that aspect of the book the most because I got more time with the characters and I needed it. It was mostly building and setting up with A LOT of foreshadowing scattered across the book and it all came tumbling down during the last 30% because the way it still managed to shock me after reading it for the second time, I just loved that feeling.
鈥淎 man was defined not by his flaws, but by how he overcame them.鈥�
The world building was amazing!! Sanderson never fails on that front. He is the king of world building, even if you don鈥檛 like the plot or the characters you will always be inclined to agree on one thing, his world building is top notch. This expanded the world unravelling the mystery, the questions that 'The Final Empire' raised revolving around koloss and kandra and gave us more insight on the forces binding the entirety of the Cosmere together; the shards. Although we only get to know about two of them ruin and preservation. Both having autonomy over Scadriel and even the shards had such good character depth each so flawed and complex. It was perfect. As for the Magic system, there was a new metal added to the intricate system of allomancy with it's own weaknesses and strength and it was overall a masterpiece.
The side characters like Sazed, Ham, Dockson and Breeze easily stole the show but even out of all of them Sazed was the one that had the spotlight in a chokehold because I love that man so much, I would just want to go out with him and talk and talk and talk all day.
鈥淚 write these words in steel, for anything not set in metal cannot be trusted.鈥�
The main reason why I liked it slow paced nature was because of it contribution to the character development, there was so much that they had to cope through especially Vin as she went through a major loss and the way she coped up with that and how it reflected her decisions, the rage and how she was in denial and then passed through the stages of grief, I love it. Elend, burdened with such a huge responsibility, tries to handle his relationship with his Vin and the country and the way his mind works, the way he goes around doing stuff, his decisions and the respect that he has towards Vin and the sheer love that he felt towards her, nothing compares to it.
鈥淕ood men don't become legends," he said quietly.
"Good men don't need to become legends." She opened her eyes, looking up at him. "They just do what's right anyway.鈥�
The plot and the action sequences. The plot was not the main focus, the characters were but it was in the background and the way it was setting up and the way it just blasted everything with a fucking massive sanderlanche shocked me through my fucking core and if you've read secret history your mind will be blown further. As for the action sequences, they were minimal for the most part but sufficient enough to keep me invested. Nothing beats the plot twist though, had me shocked to my core.
鈥淚f you perpetuate the dreams of the past, you stifle your own dreams of the future.鈥�
____
Rereading the whole Cosmere in prep for SA5! (was supposed to read this last month but ambuddy reading this with my non-goodreads using friend)
Yes, I did like this one more than the first one!!
June 18, 2012
I feel here as if I ought to apologize to my friends who love these books. The first was okay but I found the pacing a bit slow and had a "my interest comes and goes" experience. Sadly if I compare the pacing of the first volume of the series to the pacing in this one (the second volume) the story in volume 1 moved like the wind.
I know that some are very involved here and love these, and I can see why. The characters have depth and you get an "in depth" view of their lives. Not only their lives but their conversations, their internal struggles, their dietary preferences...the kind of clothes they like, on and on and on.
I found myself slowly getting involved in the story but then we'd hit a spot where we had to go through an internal dialogue concerning doubts, paranoia...or possibly psychosis ("no one will ever stay with you, everyone will leave you". This should have been followed by a "bwa-ha-ha" when it popped into Vin's mind).
When I was reading as I said I was mildly interested but when I'd laid the book aside I didn't think about it. I was hard pressed to get back to it there were just things I'd rather read. I finely got "re-interested" about the end of part three as the story of the throne moved on and plots started to come to light only to get thrown back into
So in the end, two stars for my recognition of the writer's ability and the story telling I can see buried under what seems to me a lot of excess verbiage. If it's your cup of tea enjoy. I doubt I'll finish the trilogy. I mean how many 800+ page tomes do we need? Don't get me wrong, I love a good long epic fantasy, it's just that so often any more, people choose to tell a story in 1000 pages that could be told in 250.
My opinion throughout of course.
I know that some are very involved here and love these, and I can see why. The characters have depth and you get an "in depth" view of their lives. Not only their lives but their conversations, their internal struggles, their dietary preferences...the kind of clothes they like, on and on and on.
I found myself slowly getting involved in the story but then we'd hit a spot where we had to go through an internal dialogue concerning doubts, paranoia...or possibly psychosis ("no one will ever stay with you, everyone will leave you". This should have been followed by a "bwa-ha-ha" when it popped into Vin's mind).
When I was reading as I said I was mildly interested but when I'd laid the book aside I didn't think about it. I was hard pressed to get back to it there were just things I'd rather read. I finely got "re-interested" about the end of part three as the story of the throne moved on and plots started to come to light only to get thrown back into
So in the end, two stars for my recognition of the writer's ability and the story telling I can see buried under what seems to me a lot of excess verbiage. If it's your cup of tea enjoy. I doubt I'll finish the trilogy. I mean how many 800+ page tomes do we need? Don't get me wrong, I love a good long epic fantasy, it's just that so often any more, people choose to tell a story in 1000 pages that could be told in 250.
My opinion throughout of course.
January 8, 2021
5th reread and this will probably be the best, my top fantasy story I will have ever read.
--------------------------------
1st read: Nov 2014
2nd read: March 2015
3rd read: April 2016
This trilogy is becoming as loved and cherished as Harry Potter.
First off, if you haven't read this trilogy, get it together, read it. And you're welcome, in advance. :D
Secondly, as I'm reading this book again for the third time round, I keep thinking how incredible it is that it still has the capability to blow my mind! I still can't, and probably never will, be able to fathom how Brandon Sanderson is able to come up with a world so vast and intricate, where every detail of the story just fits and comes together so beautifully, and how he is able to explain and fill every plot hole. He is an absolute mastermind! Flawless in every sense of the word.
--------------------------------
1st read: Nov 2014
2nd read: March 2015
3rd read: April 2016
This trilogy is becoming as loved and cherished as Harry Potter.
First off, if you haven't read this trilogy, get it together, read it. And you're welcome, in advance. :D
Secondly, as I'm reading this book again for the third time round, I keep thinking how incredible it is that it still has the capability to blow my mind! I still can't, and probably never will, be able to fathom how Brandon Sanderson is able to come up with a world so vast and intricate, where every detail of the story just fits and comes together so beautifully, and how he is able to explain and fill every plot hole. He is an absolute mastermind! Flawless in every sense of the word.
February 17, 2025
The Well of Ascension is the 2nd installment of the famous Mistborn series and, as expected, it suffers from the middle book syndrome. I enjoyed reading the new adventures of Vin and the crew but not as much as in The Final Empire. The majority of the plot revolves around the siege of Luthadel by enemies and the planning to protect the city. While some aspects were interesting I believe the talking went on and on for too long. Secondly, the Vin鈥檚 teenage angst and doubts about herself and her relationship with Elend drove me mad after pages and pages of interior debates.
I miss Kelsier, I thought that his character was what made the first book shine but I loved Sazed and OreSeur in this one. I also enjoyed the plot twist at the end and I can鈥檛 wait to read the final book in the trilogy.
I miss Kelsier, I thought that his character was what made the first book shine but I loved Sazed and OreSeur in this one. I also enjoyed the plot twist at the end and I can鈥檛 wait to read the final book in the trilogy.
February 9, 2017
I like a story that surprises me, and this series keeps doing it. The ending of the last book was undoubtedly epic. I don鈥檛 know how Brandon Sanderson does it. It felt like the closing chapter for these characters, but, in reality, it was only the beginning of the series. The Lord Ruler鈥檚 death could have been the ending, but he was only the surface issue. Indeed, with his death a whole host of problems arose, and none of them are as simple as they appear. This proved that the generic plot of the first book was, in fact, a mere illusion. Nothing is as straightforward as it looks in this world.
The survivors must work together
The Empire is in complete turmoil. Despite the Lord Ruler's tyranny, he did keep the empire together. With him gone there is no anchor; there is no fear: there is only chaos. Vin and Ellen must attempt to keep the city from descending into complete anarchy. This is no easy task because without the ultimate symbol of power, others will come to take advantage. The threat of three invading armies suddenly dawns on them. They have no real defence; they have no solid army. All they have is their wits and a group of charismatic rogues to save the day. And, if that threat wasn鈥檛 enough, the shadow of a deeper enemy approaches.
"That's the point, isn't it? We have to live on, no matter how hard it gets. We'll win in the end."
The plot turns and alliances twist, factions form and breakdown, whilst more questions are raised as to the origins of the Lord Ruler. What power did he have to keep the people in line? Why is this shadow only approaching now with his demise? Surely, if he kept this evil at bay, he may not have been pure evil? Well, that is what some of the characters begin to realise; they begin to see that his reign of terror may have been for a purpose. And, in this, resides my true reverence of this series. Sanderson has disguised his novels; he made the story initially look basic, in which it harboured the same tired old plot with seen several times since The Lord of the Rings.Then, he slowly reveals what is actually happening, and at the same time shocked me to the core.
The awesome, awesome, characters
Although this book is a little slow, in places, it鈥檚 still fantastic. The character development throughout this series is almost explosive. In this novel Vin has become so much more than she initially was. Her training with Kelisar was merely the beginnings in her exploration of her capabilities; her battle with the Lord Ruler changed her; she has become more powerful and confident; she knows how to wield her powers in new and interesting ways: she knows how to kill, and how to do it well. In this, she has become the leader Kelisar鈥檚 rogues. She has filled the gap he left behind. And, in addition, what happens to the bookish Ellen, at the end of the novel, changes a lot of things.
"Elend: I kind of lost track of time鈥�
Breeze: For two hours?
Elend: There were books involved."
He鈥檚 a little more that the book reading leader of the city now, I鈥檒l say no more, but I really didn鈥檛 see THAT coming. This is such a great series that never fails to surprise me, as soon as I begin to predict the plot I should know that something else entirely is going to happen. But, I鈥檒l keep trying anyway.
鈥淭here's always another secret.' -碍别濒蝉颈别谤鈥�
The Mistborn Series
1. The Final Empire - A misty four stars
2. The Well of Acsension- A suprising four stars
3. The Hero of Ages - An awesome four stars
The survivors must work together
The Empire is in complete turmoil. Despite the Lord Ruler's tyranny, he did keep the empire together. With him gone there is no anchor; there is no fear: there is only chaos. Vin and Ellen must attempt to keep the city from descending into complete anarchy. This is no easy task because without the ultimate symbol of power, others will come to take advantage. The threat of three invading armies suddenly dawns on them. They have no real defence; they have no solid army. All they have is their wits and a group of charismatic rogues to save the day. And, if that threat wasn鈥檛 enough, the shadow of a deeper enemy approaches.
"That's the point, isn't it? We have to live on, no matter how hard it gets. We'll win in the end."
The plot turns and alliances twist, factions form and breakdown, whilst more questions are raised as to the origins of the Lord Ruler. What power did he have to keep the people in line? Why is this shadow only approaching now with his demise? Surely, if he kept this evil at bay, he may not have been pure evil? Well, that is what some of the characters begin to realise; they begin to see that his reign of terror may have been for a purpose. And, in this, resides my true reverence of this series. Sanderson has disguised his novels; he made the story initially look basic, in which it harboured the same tired old plot with seen several times since The Lord of the Rings.Then, he slowly reveals what is actually happening, and at the same time shocked me to the core.
The awesome, awesome, characters
Although this book is a little slow, in places, it鈥檚 still fantastic. The character development throughout this series is almost explosive. In this novel Vin has become so much more than she initially was. Her training with Kelisar was merely the beginnings in her exploration of her capabilities; her battle with the Lord Ruler changed her; she has become more powerful and confident; she knows how to wield her powers in new and interesting ways: she knows how to kill, and how to do it well. In this, she has become the leader Kelisar鈥檚 rogues. She has filled the gap he left behind. And, in addition, what happens to the bookish Ellen, at the end of the novel, changes a lot of things.
"Elend: I kind of lost track of time鈥�
Breeze: For two hours?
Elend: There were books involved."
He鈥檚 a little more that the book reading leader of the city now, I鈥檒l say no more, but I really didn鈥檛 see THAT coming. This is such a great series that never fails to surprise me, as soon as I begin to predict the plot I should know that something else entirely is going to happen. But, I鈥檒l keep trying anyway.
鈥淭here's always another secret.' -碍别濒蝉颈别谤鈥�
The Mistborn Series
1. The Final Empire - A misty four stars
2. The Well of Acsension- A suprising four stars
3. The Hero of Ages - An awesome four stars
![Profile Image for Anna [Bran. San. Stan].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1593184464i%2F98245866._UX200_CR0%2C0%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
March 3, 2024
5th read. Seems I can鈥檛 go too long without getting a Sanderson fix. 馃槀 2020: "When a person is lucky enough to live inside a story, to live inside an imaginary world, the pains of this world disappear. For as long as the story goes on, reality no longer exists鈥� (Paul Auster). Sanderson has made me that lucky person; yet it is his accomplishment, not my own. Granted, the capacity to experience a book this way lies within you, but I don't want to take any credit for the spell this series has put me under.
Again, I loved immersing myself in the brilliance of this intricate, magical world Sanderson has created; to learn more about the Deepness and the kandra, to live and suffer along our heroes. I loved how, despite its fantastic setting, this book is a realistic exploration of human nature; how it鈥榮 about idealists struggling against greed and self-interest in the aftermath of a revolution; how it鈥檚 about what comes after, about identity, about finding your "self" amidst the chaos that a new order brings. And though, as a reader, facing those impediments with your characters is quite sobering, this story still remains magical. This book consumes you and while it truly makes you feel reality no longer exists, it still makes you wish for an extended respite from everyday responsibilities so you can just keep on reading and keep on living in that world.
Dear future reader, prepare to be enchanted, prepare to be deceived, to be misled; nothing and nobody is what it seems. Prepare to suffer with our characters in this elaborate post-dystopian world of allomancers and feruchemists and experience the magical ride that is this series. I certainly can't wait to get started with The Hero of Ages.
Before you leave, why don't you check out my review of The Final Empire (Mistborn #1).
PS: In light of my deep love for these books, I felt it was only appropriate that I change my name to Bran. San. Stan.
___________________________________
2nd read: After listening to the audiobook read by the amazing Michael Kramer, I still absolutely love it. Permit me a silly, random thought though: so many characters keep raising a single eyebrow; people always envy me for being able to do it so I always figured that was a rather rare thing. 馃槀 Thoughts, anyone?
Again, I loved immersing myself in the brilliance of this intricate, magical world Sanderson has created; to learn more about the Deepness and the kandra, to live and suffer along our heroes. I loved how, despite its fantastic setting, this book is a realistic exploration of human nature; how it鈥榮 about idealists struggling against greed and self-interest in the aftermath of a revolution; how it鈥檚 about what comes after, about identity, about finding your "self" amidst the chaos that a new order brings. And though, as a reader, facing those impediments with your characters is quite sobering, this story still remains magical. This book consumes you and while it truly makes you feel reality no longer exists, it still makes you wish for an extended respite from everyday responsibilities so you can just keep on reading and keep on living in that world.
Dear future reader, prepare to be enchanted, prepare to be deceived, to be misled; nothing and nobody is what it seems. Prepare to suffer with our characters in this elaborate post-dystopian world of allomancers and feruchemists and experience the magical ride that is this series. I certainly can't wait to get started with The Hero of Ages.
"You wonder if we should just give up. Well, we鈥檙e not going to do that. . . . We鈥榣l fight, and we鈥榣l die with dignity. Then, the city will burn - but we鈥榣l have said something. The Lord Ruler pushed us around for a thousand years, but now we skaa have pride. We fight. We resist. And we die.鈥�
Before you leave, why don't you check out my review of The Final Empire (Mistborn #1).
PS: In light of my deep love for these books, I felt it was only appropriate that I change my name to Bran. San. Stan.
___________________________________
2nd read: After listening to the audiobook read by the amazing Michael Kramer, I still absolutely love it. Permit me a silly, random thought though: so many characters keep raising a single eyebrow; people always envy me for being able to do it so I always figured that was a rather rare thing. 馃槀 Thoughts, anyone?
August 26, 2024
鈥淚t's easy to believe in something when you win all the time. The losses are what define a man's faith.鈥�
...
My soul was slain upon finishing this book, and I'm now writing this review from beyond the grave.
You know what I did when I turned the last page of The Well of Ascension? Well, I shrieked like a banshee into my pillow first (because I'm a considerate roommate, thank you very much). I cried. A LOT. And then, I curled up into a ball on my bed and stared at the wall in silence.
I'm an incoherent mess and it's been over a month since I finished this masterpiece. How am I supposed to cope with that ending? My mind is still completely reeling.
The Well of Ascension takes place a year after the finale of The Final Empire. We follow Vin and Elend as they grapple with the ramifications of the first book. The first installment in the Mistborn series was an epic heist novel, but the sequel was so different. This book is a sweeping political fantasy brimming with tension, action, magic, and secrets. I was enthralled from page one.
Brandon Sanderson is a genius at world building. I'm continuously swept away by his stories. The world of Mistborn is rich, expansive, and so so so interesting. Every facet of Scadriel (look up his Cosmere worlds, they're insane), from its history to its religions and myths, are intricately structured and grandiose. I would read an entire textbook on this world. Truly, Sanderson has a gift at giving the reader little tidbits here and there while keeping up the intrigue and mystery.
I can't wait to find out more. I have so many thoughts and theories.
And the characters. I thought I liked Vin in the first book, but in here? Woah. Vin is a total fucking BADASS. Dear Lord, she's grown so much. Vin's character arc throughout this second installment was so great. Her inner struggles, her insecurities, grief, and fears were relatable, and the way she overcame her struggles in this book made her one of my favorite characters in this story. I truly love Vin.
I'm also surprised with Elend's character development. I thought he was a bit of a snobby boyscout in The Final Empire, and I didn't have particularly strong feelings towards Vin and Elend's relationship.
But in this book? I loved them together. It also helped that Elend became a strong, capable leader in this book. My son is all grown up. *sniffles* And it's all thanks too a new favorite of mine...
Tindwyl. God damn. She's an intellectual badass with the air of a Slytherin and the heart of a Gryffindor. I love this woman. SO MUCH. And my favorite character, Sazed, has a history with her and I just wanna swoon. I love these two. Sazed is my absolute favorite and I adore them both. Can I just have an entire book about them? That would be amazing.
All of the side characters continue to endear me. Breeze, Ham, Clubs and Spook. I adore this band of criminals turned revolutionaries. There was even a new character, Zane, that I found to be really compelling. I hope to see more of him in the next book. Even the main antagonist of this story, Lord Venture, was a great villain: deceitful, manipulative, and a frustrating foil to our heroes.
Even though the plot was a bit slower-paced than the previous book, I was never bored with this installment. The political scheming and machinations made for some nail-biting tension, leading to a finale that blew my fucking mind. What a glorious, bloody, batshit crazy ending that was. SO MUCH HAPPENED.
I'm in awe. And I'm also devastated. And blown away.
I have a feeling the next book will ruin my life.
I adored this book, if you couldn't already tell. I can't fully convey how much I love this series, and how truly EPIC it is. All I can do is scream from the rooftops and recommend these books to everybody. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH.
Whelp...I need to get to The Hero of Ages. FAST.
...
My soul was slain upon finishing this book, and I'm now writing this review from beyond the grave.
You know what I did when I turned the last page of The Well of Ascension? Well, I shrieked like a banshee into my pillow first (because I'm a considerate roommate, thank you very much). I cried. A LOT. And then, I curled up into a ball on my bed and stared at the wall in silence.
I'm an incoherent mess and it's been over a month since I finished this masterpiece. How am I supposed to cope with that ending? My mind is still completely reeling.
The Well of Ascension takes place a year after the finale of The Final Empire. We follow Vin and Elend as they grapple with the ramifications of the first book. The first installment in the Mistborn series was an epic heist novel, but the sequel was so different. This book is a sweeping political fantasy brimming with tension, action, magic, and secrets. I was enthralled from page one.
Brandon Sanderson is a genius at world building. I'm continuously swept away by his stories. The world of Mistborn is rich, expansive, and so so so interesting. Every facet of Scadriel (look up his Cosmere worlds, they're insane), from its history to its religions and myths, are intricately structured and grandiose. I would read an entire textbook on this world. Truly, Sanderson has a gift at giving the reader little tidbits here and there while keeping up the intrigue and mystery.
I can't wait to find out more. I have so many thoughts and theories.
And the characters. I thought I liked Vin in the first book, but in here? Woah. Vin is a total fucking BADASS. Dear Lord, she's grown so much. Vin's character arc throughout this second installment was so great. Her inner struggles, her insecurities, grief, and fears were relatable, and the way she overcame her struggles in this book made her one of my favorite characters in this story. I truly love Vin.
I'm also surprised with Elend's character development. I thought he was a bit of a snobby boyscout in The Final Empire, and I didn't have particularly strong feelings towards Vin and Elend's relationship.
But in this book? I loved them together. It also helped that Elend became a strong, capable leader in this book. My son is all grown up. *sniffles* And it's all thanks too a new favorite of mine...
Tindwyl. God damn. She's an intellectual badass with the air of a Slytherin and the heart of a Gryffindor. I love this woman. SO MUCH. And my favorite character, Sazed, has a history with her and I just wanna swoon. I love these two. Sazed is my absolute favorite and I adore them both. Can I just have an entire book about them? That would be amazing.
All of the side characters continue to endear me. Breeze, Ham, Clubs and Spook. I adore this band of criminals turned revolutionaries. There was even a new character, Zane, that I found to be really compelling. I hope to see more of him in the next book. Even the main antagonist of this story, Lord Venture, was a great villain: deceitful, manipulative, and a frustrating foil to our heroes.
Even though the plot was a bit slower-paced than the previous book, I was never bored with this installment. The political scheming and machinations made for some nail-biting tension, leading to a finale that blew my fucking mind. What a glorious, bloody, batshit crazy ending that was. SO MUCH HAPPENED.
I'm in awe. And I'm also devastated. And blown away.
I have a feeling the next book will ruin my life.
I adored this book, if you couldn't already tell. I can't fully convey how much I love this series, and how truly EPIC it is. All I can do is scream from the rooftops and recommend these books to everybody. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH.
Whelp...I need to get to The Hero of Ages. FAST.
August 2, 2017
Such a thrilling sequel.
September 29, 2021
It was because she understood her purpose. And she agreed with it. She could fight, could kill, if it meant defending those who could not defend themselves. Kelsier might have been able to kill for shock or retribution, but that wasn鈥檛 good enough for Vin.
And she would never let it be again.
.
SPOILERS FOR BOOK 1 BELOW猡�
A year has passed since the Lord Ruler was killed and the Skaa liberated. Things should be getting better right? Except they aren't. The city of Luthedel is in constant danger of invasion from armies lead by greedy noblemen in search of the big treasure that is the hidden stash of priceless Atium. Vin, Elend and our crew are doing their best to ensure that Luthedel does not fall. But with every step they take new problems arise.
Vin and the rest of the crew are still grieving Kelsier (so am I tbh) and figuring out how to take on this immense duty he left, with his sacrifice.
The Lord Ruler's last words haunt Vin. She knows that there is a danger greater than the armies surrounding them, a danger much much older. Everyone thought that the Hero of Ages defeated the Deepness but Vin thinks maybe he just delayed it.
Like with my experience reading The Final Empire I was not bored for one second. The Well Ascension had a huge focus on politics and I can say that I did not mind at all. Even though this book is often described as 鈥榮low paced鈥� I found every bit of information intriguing and fascinating.
The politics, the religions, histories and relationships was so freaking interesting!! The hardships and inner conflict the characters went through meant so much to me and I wanted to see them all thrive.
We meet some new and interesting characters; some of which I loved (Allrianne; Oreseur; Tindwyl) and some I did not love so much (*cough*Zane*cough*).
Even though Mary ( my buddy read partner in crime) and I were able to figure out most of the twists we were still blown away by how they were executed.
I am honestly just in awe of how this plot played out. Sanderson is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors and I'm genuily upset with myself that it's taken me this long to get to his books.
"We spent a thousand years fighting off the Lord Ruler鈥攊f I do things the same way he did, then what will be the difference?鈥�
____
My reviews for:
Era One
0.5 (short story): The Eleventh Metal
Book 1: The Final Empire
Book 3: The Hero of Ages
Book 3.5: The Secret History
Era Two
Book 4: The Alloy of Law
Book 5: Shadows of Self
Book 6: The Bands of Mourning
August 3, 2017
This series has been AMAZING. Just brilliant!
I did a BR with my pal ChopinFC. Aaaand, I turned into Usain Bolt while reading this book. Sorry Rod! 馃槵
Both books have gone in completely different directions and I鈥檝e enjoyed that so much. Usually the 2nd book in a series is not as strong but that鈥檚 not the case in .
I鈥檓 so impressed with on this series. He has written a world that is detailed and complicated. It's always on the edge of war, starvation or total collapse from The Deepness. A magical, allomancy system that鈥檚 just so complex and unique.
From political turmoil to betrayals, it鈥檚 all so well written in these books. I never figure out the plot twists and god damn, I love that!
In the 2nd book, Luthadel is surrounded by enemies, Elend is a weak but idealistic king and winter is coming.
Dun dun dun! *cue serious music*
One thing that I鈥檝e enjoyed in both books is how subtle Sanderson writes about morality. I've enjoyed watching Elend go from an idealistic and weak nobleman to something much more.
Vin is amazing as always and I loved how she struggled with being a Mistborn in this book. Trying to understand her role in Elend's life and whether she's a good person with how often she has to kill assassins.
I can鈥檛 wait to see where Sanderson takes the characters of Elend and Vin in the next book!
The pacing was a bit slow in some places but I didn鈥檛 mind. I looked at it as developing the story, the betrayals and the battle at the end. Wow, the battle at the end with the koloss was just epic.
There's just so much going on with the main characters, the Assembly, secondary characters to the whole story of understanding The Deepness.
The end left me with a lot of questions to be answered in book #3. I can鈥檛 wait to go back to Luthadel and the Dominances.
This book is just packed with TENSION?!!
Rack up the T E N S I O N ! !
I just couldn鈥檛 put this down.
I fully recommend the first two books of the Mistborn trilogy to anyone - whether or not you're a fantasy genre fan. The books are a joy to read! They鈥檙e also thought provoking and deep.
Seriously, what are you waiting for? Go pick up this series now and read it!
DO. IT. NOW!
I did a BR with my pal ChopinFC. Aaaand, I turned into Usain Bolt while reading this book. Sorry Rod! 馃槵
Both books have gone in completely different directions and I鈥檝e enjoyed that so much. Usually the 2nd book in a series is not as strong but that鈥檚 not the case in .
I鈥檓 so impressed with on this series. He has written a world that is detailed and complicated. It's always on the edge of war, starvation or total collapse from The Deepness. A magical, allomancy system that鈥檚 just so complex and unique.
From political turmoil to betrayals, it鈥檚 all so well written in these books. I never figure out the plot twists and god damn, I love that!
In the 2nd book, Luthadel is surrounded by enemies, Elend is a weak but idealistic king and winter is coming.
Dun dun dun! *cue serious music*
One thing that I鈥檝e enjoyed in both books is how subtle Sanderson writes about morality. I've enjoyed watching Elend go from an idealistic and weak nobleman to something much more.
Vin is amazing as always and I loved how she struggled with being a Mistborn in this book. Trying to understand her role in Elend's life and whether she's a good person with how often she has to kill assassins.
I can鈥檛 wait to see where Sanderson takes the characters of Elend and Vin in the next book!
The pacing was a bit slow in some places but I didn鈥檛 mind. I looked at it as developing the story, the betrayals and the battle at the end. Wow, the battle at the end with the koloss was just epic.
There's just so much going on with the main characters, the Assembly, secondary characters to the whole story of understanding The Deepness.
The end left me with a lot of questions to be answered in book #3. I can鈥檛 wait to go back to Luthadel and the Dominances.
This book is just packed with TENSION?!!
Rack up the T E N S I O N ! !
I just couldn鈥檛 put this down.
I fully recommend the first two books of the Mistborn trilogy to anyone - whether or not you're a fantasy genre fan. The books are a joy to read! They鈥檙e also thought provoking and deep.
Seriously, what are you waiting for? Go pick up this series now and read it!
DO. IT. NOW!
Want to read
September 2, 2024 I'm so obsessed with the covers in this edition set. So freaking gorgeous.
Anyway, jumping right back into Cosmere and letting Sanderson continue to save fantasy this year for me lol. Here we go!
藲 嗉樷湺 鈰嗭健藲 鈦€鉃� 鈥淚t's easy to believe in something when you win all the time...The losses are what define a man's faith.鈥� 嗉樷媶
Anyway, jumping right back into Cosmere and letting Sanderson continue to save fantasy this year for me lol. Here we go!
藲 嗉樷湺 鈰嗭健藲 鈦€鉃� 鈥淚t's easy to believe in something when you win all the time...The losses are what define a man's faith.鈥� 嗉樷媶
December 9, 2016
Loved it even more than the first one... just read it!! NOW!
PS. Can we all agree that Straff is a POS? Ok? Good!
PS. Can we all agree that Straff is a POS? Ok? Good!
August 2, 2018
Whew. That was long.
There was quite a time lapse between my reading of this one and the first one, which can be attributed solely to the length of these books.
750+ fucking pages, people. Don't get me wrong, I've read some long books in my decades of dedicated reading, but still...quite the commitment, no?
But enough about the completely self-evident length of this book, which - being that this is a Brandon Sanderson book - is a surprise to no one.
I adored book one in this series.
ADORED it.
Like, we are talking first rate adoration here, my friends. The slap this thing on my tops reads of all time shelf and spend the ensuing year trying to force my dad to read it level of adoration.
It also left me with quite the book hangover in the form of the complete and utter devastation a reader only experiences when (don't click this if you haven't read book one yet. It will wreck the utter wonder of that book for you.) AKA shit goes down.
You can find my review for book one HERE
Needless to say, my expectations for this were high, folks.
And, while I'm not saying this book didn't...deliver...I will say that it didn't hold me quite as spellbound as book one.
This one had a lot of politics and bureaucracy which really bogged the beginning and middle of the story down. There was a lot less action and a lot more contemplation - in the form of "does he love me?" teenage angst variety, which I didn't love - than the first book, which also made the story trudge along in certain areas.
Other than that though, the middle/ending really picked up and I enjoyed it immensely.
Book three promises to be EPIC.
I just hope I don't drag my feet getting to it.
There was quite a time lapse between my reading of this one and the first one, which can be attributed solely to the length of these books.
750+ fucking pages, people. Don't get me wrong, I've read some long books in my decades of dedicated reading, but still...quite the commitment, no?
But enough about the completely self-evident length of this book, which - being that this is a Brandon Sanderson book - is a surprise to no one.
I adored book one in this series.
ADORED it.
Like, we are talking first rate adoration here, my friends. The slap this thing on my tops reads of all time shelf and spend the ensuing year trying to force my dad to read it level of adoration.
It also left me with quite the book hangover in the form of the complete and utter devastation a reader only experiences when (don't click this if you haven't read book one yet. It will wreck the utter wonder of that book for you.) AKA shit goes down.
You can find my review for book one HERE
Needless to say, my expectations for this were high, folks.
And, while I'm not saying this book didn't...deliver...I will say that it didn't hold me quite as spellbound as book one.
This one had a lot of politics and bureaucracy which really bogged the beginning and middle of the story down. There was a lot less action and a lot more contemplation - in the form of "does he love me?" teenage angst variety, which I didn't love - than the first book, which also made the story trudge along in certain areas.
Other than that though, the middle/ending really picked up and I enjoyed it immensely.
Book three promises to be EPIC.
I just hope I don't drag my feet getting to it.
April 13, 2020
鈥淚t's easy to believe in something when you win all the time... The losses are what define a man's faith鈥�.
隆QU脡 JODIDA MARAVILLA! Cuando crees que Sanderson no puede superar el final y el plot twist de The Final Empire llega The Well of Ascension para dejarte con la boca abierta y los ojos como platos. 隆Una verdadera pasada! 驴Por qu茅 esper茅 tanto tiempo para leer este libro? Creo que es algo que nunca me voy a perdonar. Aunque, si lo veo de otra manera, puede ser que, inconscientemente, est茅 intentando que la saga me dure lo m谩s posible.
Despu茅s de que Kelsier se sacrificara en el libro anterior para quedar como un m谩rtir y una figura de la resistencia y de que Vin matara al Lord Ruler, Luthadel queda en manos del equipo, especialmente de Elend, que ahora es rey. Ha pasado un a帽o desde esa noche de motines y asesinatos y, aunque Elend lo intenta, siente que el control de la ciudad se le est谩 escapando de las manos. La Asamblea que cre贸 para darle poder el pueblo no lo respeta y, encima de todo, la ciudad est谩 bajo el asedio del poderos铆simo ej茅rcito de su padre, Lord Straff. Vin, por su parte, es m谩s poderosa que nunca, pero debe intentar desenmascarar a un traidor del equipo y luchar contra unas pulsaciones extra帽as que siente en medio de la bruma.
The Well of Ascension es un libro incre铆ble, pero debes ser paciente para leerlo. No est谩 lleno de acci贸n y de enfrentamientos, excepto en momentos muy puntuales, pero s铆 que tiene una carga de estrategia pol铆tica y de mitolog铆a muy interesante. Aqu铆 todos los personajes est谩n intentando salvar el legado que Kelsier les dej贸. 驴C贸mo es posible que s贸lo un a帽o despu茅s de la victoria la ciudad est茅 a punto de caer en manos enemigas? Adem谩s, poco a poco todos se dar谩n cuenta de que no s贸lo deben pelear contra los enemigos que asedian Luthadel, sino contra fuerzas mucho m谩s antiguas y peligrosas como The Deepness.
En este punto de la historia me encant贸 ver c贸mo evolucionaron los personajes y todas las dudas y retos que tuvieron que superar. Elend no s贸lo tiene que aprender a ser un l铆der, sino a ser firme con sus decisiones y a confiar en que, a pesar de que no tiene poderes especiales, s铆 que tiene influencia sobre todo un reino. No les voy a mentir, a veces la honradez de Elend me superaba y quer铆a golpearlo. La pol铆tica, y mucho menos la monarqu铆a, no se navega con honestidad y democracia, sino con estrategias, frialdad y firmeza. Era muy desesperante ver c贸mo Luthadel se iba a pique s贸lo porque Elend no pod铆a tomar decisiones que traicionaran su sentido de la moral y la 茅tica. A veces hay que sacrificar eso por el bien com煤n. Sin embargo, su cambio a lo largo del libro es muy satisfactorio y, a pesar de que al final me sigue pareciendo bastante ingenuo, creo que definitivamente est谩 m谩s preparado para su papel en The Hero of Ages.
Vin, por su parte, con cada d铆a que pasa siente que es m谩s poderosa y que, por ende, es menos adecuada para Elend. Siente que es una herramienta, una asesina, y que las personas nunca la podr谩n ver como algo m谩s. Y no s贸lo eso, sino que el camino de Vin es a煤n m谩s dif铆cil, pues conocer谩 a otro Mistborn que va a intentar crear una brecha enorme entre ella y Elend para que deje la ciudad desprotegida. Vin es un personaje incre铆ble y amo leerla. No solamente da una sensaci贸n de libertad y de poder infinitos, sino que es terriblemente inteligente. Me encantaba leer sus peleas, sus entrenamientos y sus planes. Ahora, lo que ella siempre ha querido es librarse de los traumas de su pasado y poder confiar en las personas que tiene a su alrededor... lo malo es que cuando precisamente lo est谩 logrando, alguien la traiciona y todo se va al demonio. Nunca pens茅 que Vin se convertir铆a en la protagonista de esta primera trilog铆a, pero me fascina, pues es un personaje de luces y sombras, que son precisamente los que m谩s me gustan.
Creo que este es un libro enga帽oso. Al principio pensamos que todo es s煤per lento y muy de estrategia de asedio pol铆tico y de guerra, pero cuando vamos avanzando y uniendo las piezas del rompecabezas entendemos lo importante que fue todo. 驴Y c贸mo no iba a serlo, si Brandon Sanderson es un genio? De verdad, admiro c贸mo funciona el cerebro de ese hombre y su capacidad para relacionarlo todo de alguna manera. Cuando llegamos al final y vemos ese gran giro que prepar贸 con cada inicio de cap铆tulo, con cada investigaci贸n y textos antiguos de Sazed, no podemos hacer m谩s que mirar hacia el infinito y maldecir, tirar el libro hacia alguna parte o parar un momento a asimilar lo que acaba de suceder. 隆Es absolutamente 茅pico y aterrador!
Ahora, voy a comentar algunos puntos que no me puedo callar en una peque帽a secci贸n de spoilers, as铆 que est谩n avisados.
EMPIEZAN LOS SPOILERS SIN ORDEN ALGUNO
1. 驴Podemos hablar de que amaba a Zane, el medio hermano de Elend, hijo de Straff y Mistborn? Yo s茅 que estaba tratando de manipular a Vin y estaba loco porque escuchaba una voz en su cabeza que le ped铆a que matara a todo el mundo, pero a煤n as铆 me ca铆a extra帽amente bien. Eso s铆, nunca entend铆 qu茅 era ese "bulto" que intentaba ocultar. Y su muerte... uf. Me doli贸, pero fue muy 茅pica porque Vin le gan贸 en una batalla en la que 茅l estaba usando Atium y ella no. So badass!
2. S贸lo voy a decir por aqu铆 que la relaci贸n-no-relaci贸n de Sazed con Tyndwil me pareci贸 rar铆sima. RAR脥SIMA.
3. Una de las cosas m谩s 茅picas del libro fue cuando Vin regres贸 desde el norte, a donde la hab铆a enviado Sazed con mentiras para protegerla a ella y a Elend, y vuelve a Luthadel cuando est谩n en medio del ataque de los koloss (que, btw, QU脡 ASCO DE SERES). Amo todas esas escenas de pelea y de ella demostrando sus habilidades como Mistborn. Y CUANDO EMPIEZA A CONTROLAR A LOS KOLOSS GRACIAS AL BRASS Y AL DURALUMIN... ES TREMENDA.
4. La muerte del cabr贸n de Straff es taaaaaan satisfactoria. Llega Vin y boom! Off with his head!
5. 驴Podemos hablar de que el esp铆a siempre fue OreSeur? O sea, no 茅l, sino el kandra que lo reemplaz贸. Joder, eso s铆 que no lo vi venir y me doli贸 un mont贸n. Resulta que OreSeur era el kandra (el ser que puede asumir el cuerpo de un muerto y servir a un amo por un Contrato) que Kelsier le leg贸 a Vin. Ella lo odiaba en un principio porque, despu茅s de todo, se comi贸 en su momento al cad谩ver de Kelsier. Pero, poco a poco, y en su nueva forma de perro, Vin fue aprendiendo a convivir y a querer a OreSeur. PERO AL FINAL REVELAN QUE ORESEUR NO FUE ORESEUR LA MAYOR PARTE DEL TIEMPO, SINO OTRO KANDRA CONTROLADO POR ZANE QUE SE LLAMA TENSOON Y QUE ESTUVO PRETENDIENDO SER ORESEUR. Fue tan triste. Sobre todo porque, de nuevo, es una traici贸n m谩s para Vin viniendo de alguien que ella cre铆a conocer.
6. Y, por supuesto, tenemos que hablar de ESE final. Fue el enga帽o m谩ximo. 驴Recuerdan que durante todo el libro Vin ha estado sintiendo unas pulsaciones? Eventualmente, y leyendo el logbook que dej贸 quien fue el Lord Ruler, Vin empez贸 a pensar que deb铆a encontrar el Pozo de la Ascensi贸n para obtener el poder, liberarlo y derrotar a The Deepness porque pensaba que era the Hero of Ages. Todo apuntaba a que deb铆a liberar ese gran poder, pero, al final, cuando encuentran el Pozo bajo la residencia del Lord Ruler, un esp铆ritu de la niebla hiere de muerte a Elend y Vin se sumerge pensando en tomar el poder para salvarlo, pero al final recuerda los textos y decide liberar el poder... justo para escuchar despu茅s a una voz mal茅fica decir que por fin es libre. Y que eso lo diga una voz creepy NO son buenas noticias. Luego se dan cuenta, gracias a la investigaci贸n de Sazed, que los textos prof茅ticos han ido cambiando sutilmente a lo largo de las eras. Primero empezaron diciendo que el poder del Pozo NUNCA pod铆a liberarse, pero parece que una fuerza misteriosa los fue modificando para que al final todo el mundo pensara que ese poder s铆 deb铆a liberarse. So... lo que Vin hizo fue liberar a una fuerza maligna. DAMN.
7. Lo 煤ltimo que comentar茅 es WHAT THE ACTUAL F*CK a Elend convirti茅ndose en Mistborn al final por la cosa rara que pas贸 entre Vin y el Pozo de la Ascensi贸n. No, no, no, no. O sea, ahora van a ser iguales, pero yo quer铆a que Vin siguiera siendo la 煤nica Mistborn de ese grupo. Jo. Y es que, adem谩s de Mistborn, AHORA ES EMPERADOR. Well... that escalated quickly.
8. Minuto de silencio por las muertes de Clubs y Dockson en el asedio y el ataque a Luthadel.
隆QU脡 JODIDA MARAVILLA! Cuando crees que Sanderson no puede superar el final y el plot twist de The Final Empire llega The Well of Ascension para dejarte con la boca abierta y los ojos como platos. 隆Una verdadera pasada! 驴Por qu茅 esper茅 tanto tiempo para leer este libro? Creo que es algo que nunca me voy a perdonar. Aunque, si lo veo de otra manera, puede ser que, inconscientemente, est茅 intentando que la saga me dure lo m谩s posible.
Despu茅s de que Kelsier se sacrificara en el libro anterior para quedar como un m谩rtir y una figura de la resistencia y de que Vin matara al Lord Ruler, Luthadel queda en manos del equipo, especialmente de Elend, que ahora es rey. Ha pasado un a帽o desde esa noche de motines y asesinatos y, aunque Elend lo intenta, siente que el control de la ciudad se le est谩 escapando de las manos. La Asamblea que cre贸 para darle poder el pueblo no lo respeta y, encima de todo, la ciudad est谩 bajo el asedio del poderos铆simo ej茅rcito de su padre, Lord Straff. Vin, por su parte, es m谩s poderosa que nunca, pero debe intentar desenmascarar a un traidor del equipo y luchar contra unas pulsaciones extra帽as que siente en medio de la bruma.
The Well of Ascension es un libro incre铆ble, pero debes ser paciente para leerlo. No est谩 lleno de acci贸n y de enfrentamientos, excepto en momentos muy puntuales, pero s铆 que tiene una carga de estrategia pol铆tica y de mitolog铆a muy interesante. Aqu铆 todos los personajes est谩n intentando salvar el legado que Kelsier les dej贸. 驴C贸mo es posible que s贸lo un a帽o despu茅s de la victoria la ciudad est茅 a punto de caer en manos enemigas? Adem谩s, poco a poco todos se dar谩n cuenta de que no s贸lo deben pelear contra los enemigos que asedian Luthadel, sino contra fuerzas mucho m谩s antiguas y peligrosas como The Deepness.
En este punto de la historia me encant贸 ver c贸mo evolucionaron los personajes y todas las dudas y retos que tuvieron que superar. Elend no s贸lo tiene que aprender a ser un l铆der, sino a ser firme con sus decisiones y a confiar en que, a pesar de que no tiene poderes especiales, s铆 que tiene influencia sobre todo un reino. No les voy a mentir, a veces la honradez de Elend me superaba y quer铆a golpearlo. La pol铆tica, y mucho menos la monarqu铆a, no se navega con honestidad y democracia, sino con estrategias, frialdad y firmeza. Era muy desesperante ver c贸mo Luthadel se iba a pique s贸lo porque Elend no pod铆a tomar decisiones que traicionaran su sentido de la moral y la 茅tica. A veces hay que sacrificar eso por el bien com煤n. Sin embargo, su cambio a lo largo del libro es muy satisfactorio y, a pesar de que al final me sigue pareciendo bastante ingenuo, creo que definitivamente est谩 m谩s preparado para su papel en The Hero of Ages.
Vin, por su parte, con cada d铆a que pasa siente que es m谩s poderosa y que, por ende, es menos adecuada para Elend. Siente que es una herramienta, una asesina, y que las personas nunca la podr谩n ver como algo m谩s. Y no s贸lo eso, sino que el camino de Vin es a煤n m谩s dif铆cil, pues conocer谩 a otro Mistborn que va a intentar crear una brecha enorme entre ella y Elend para que deje la ciudad desprotegida. Vin es un personaje incre铆ble y amo leerla. No solamente da una sensaci贸n de libertad y de poder infinitos, sino que es terriblemente inteligente. Me encantaba leer sus peleas, sus entrenamientos y sus planes. Ahora, lo que ella siempre ha querido es librarse de los traumas de su pasado y poder confiar en las personas que tiene a su alrededor... lo malo es que cuando precisamente lo est谩 logrando, alguien la traiciona y todo se va al demonio. Nunca pens茅 que Vin se convertir铆a en la protagonista de esta primera trilog铆a, pero me fascina, pues es un personaje de luces y sombras, que son precisamente los que m谩s me gustan.
Creo que este es un libro enga帽oso. Al principio pensamos que todo es s煤per lento y muy de estrategia de asedio pol铆tico y de guerra, pero cuando vamos avanzando y uniendo las piezas del rompecabezas entendemos lo importante que fue todo. 驴Y c贸mo no iba a serlo, si Brandon Sanderson es un genio? De verdad, admiro c贸mo funciona el cerebro de ese hombre y su capacidad para relacionarlo todo de alguna manera. Cuando llegamos al final y vemos ese gran giro que prepar贸 con cada inicio de cap铆tulo, con cada investigaci贸n y textos antiguos de Sazed, no podemos hacer m谩s que mirar hacia el infinito y maldecir, tirar el libro hacia alguna parte o parar un momento a asimilar lo que acaba de suceder. 隆Es absolutamente 茅pico y aterrador!
Ahora, voy a comentar algunos puntos que no me puedo callar en una peque帽a secci贸n de spoilers, as铆 que est谩n avisados.
EMPIEZAN LOS SPOILERS SIN ORDEN ALGUNO
1. 驴Podemos hablar de que amaba a Zane, el medio hermano de Elend, hijo de Straff y Mistborn? Yo s茅 que estaba tratando de manipular a Vin y estaba loco porque escuchaba una voz en su cabeza que le ped铆a que matara a todo el mundo, pero a煤n as铆 me ca铆a extra帽amente bien. Eso s铆, nunca entend铆 qu茅 era ese "bulto" que intentaba ocultar. Y su muerte... uf. Me doli贸, pero fue muy 茅pica porque Vin le gan贸 en una batalla en la que 茅l estaba usando Atium y ella no. So badass!
2. S贸lo voy a decir por aqu铆 que la relaci贸n-no-relaci贸n de Sazed con Tyndwil me pareci贸 rar铆sima. RAR脥SIMA.
3. Una de las cosas m谩s 茅picas del libro fue cuando Vin regres贸 desde el norte, a donde la hab铆a enviado Sazed con mentiras para protegerla a ella y a Elend, y vuelve a Luthadel cuando est谩n en medio del ataque de los koloss (que, btw, QU脡 ASCO DE SERES). Amo todas esas escenas de pelea y de ella demostrando sus habilidades como Mistborn. Y CUANDO EMPIEZA A CONTROLAR A LOS KOLOSS GRACIAS AL BRASS Y AL DURALUMIN... ES TREMENDA.
4. La muerte del cabr贸n de Straff es taaaaaan satisfactoria. Llega Vin y boom! Off with his head!
5. 驴Podemos hablar de que el esp铆a siempre fue OreSeur? O sea, no 茅l, sino el kandra que lo reemplaz贸. Joder, eso s铆 que no lo vi venir y me doli贸 un mont贸n. Resulta que OreSeur era el kandra (el ser que puede asumir el cuerpo de un muerto y servir a un amo por un Contrato) que Kelsier le leg贸 a Vin. Ella lo odiaba en un principio porque, despu茅s de todo, se comi贸 en su momento al cad谩ver de Kelsier. Pero, poco a poco, y en su nueva forma de perro, Vin fue aprendiendo a convivir y a querer a OreSeur. PERO AL FINAL REVELAN QUE ORESEUR NO FUE ORESEUR LA MAYOR PARTE DEL TIEMPO, SINO OTRO KANDRA CONTROLADO POR ZANE QUE SE LLAMA TENSOON Y QUE ESTUVO PRETENDIENDO SER ORESEUR. Fue tan triste. Sobre todo porque, de nuevo, es una traici贸n m谩s para Vin viniendo de alguien que ella cre铆a conocer.
6. Y, por supuesto, tenemos que hablar de ESE final. Fue el enga帽o m谩ximo. 驴Recuerdan que durante todo el libro Vin ha estado sintiendo unas pulsaciones? Eventualmente, y leyendo el logbook que dej贸 quien fue el Lord Ruler, Vin empez贸 a pensar que deb铆a encontrar el Pozo de la Ascensi贸n para obtener el poder, liberarlo y derrotar a The Deepness porque pensaba que era the Hero of Ages. Todo apuntaba a que deb铆a liberar ese gran poder, pero, al final, cuando encuentran el Pozo bajo la residencia del Lord Ruler, un esp铆ritu de la niebla hiere de muerte a Elend y Vin se sumerge pensando en tomar el poder para salvarlo, pero al final recuerda los textos y decide liberar el poder... justo para escuchar despu茅s a una voz mal茅fica decir que por fin es libre. Y que eso lo diga una voz creepy NO son buenas noticias. Luego se dan cuenta, gracias a la investigaci贸n de Sazed, que los textos prof茅ticos han ido cambiando sutilmente a lo largo de las eras. Primero empezaron diciendo que el poder del Pozo NUNCA pod铆a liberarse, pero parece que una fuerza misteriosa los fue modificando para que al final todo el mundo pensara que ese poder s铆 deb铆a liberarse. So... lo que Vin hizo fue liberar a una fuerza maligna. DAMN.
7. Lo 煤ltimo que comentar茅 es WHAT THE ACTUAL F*CK a Elend convirti茅ndose en Mistborn al final por la cosa rara que pas贸 entre Vin y el Pozo de la Ascensi贸n. No, no, no, no. O sea, ahora van a ser iguales, pero yo quer铆a que Vin siguiera siendo la 煤nica Mistborn de ese grupo. Jo. Y es que, adem谩s de Mistborn, AHORA ES EMPERADOR. Well... that escalated quickly.
8. Minuto de silencio por las muertes de Clubs y Dockson en el asedio y el ataque a Luthadel.
June 10, 2023
鈥榃ell鈥� doesn鈥檛 Brandon Sanderson reign supreme as the master storyteller. One of the best, adult Fantasy writers out there and having delivered another spectacular odyssey through time and across battling kingdoms in this book, he has become one of my favourite fantasy authors out there.
This guy knows how to tell a story, weave a magnificent and explosive plot, creates such interesting and engaging characters with world building that is second to none.
An explosion of imagination that is immersive, gripping, and treacherous.
One small niggle is that this large book. 鈥榃ell鈥� at over 700 pages it is a long story 鈥� too long with lots of padding in the middle. So I can understand why this was a bit of disappointment for other readers but not me. I loved it.
The Plot
鈥榃ell鈥� it鈥檚 one year later. The unthinkable has happened, the Lord Ruler is dead after reigning for over a thousand years, thanks to Mistborn Vin. Yet Luthadel is far from safe, with a siege by two fearless leaders, Vin must find the 鈥榳ell of ascension鈥� is they are to protect the kingdom and its people.
鈥淚t's easy to believe in something when you win all the time...The losses are what define a man's faith.鈥�
There was a lot of 'defining' in this novel with so much deception, conflict, and mistrust among the characters and with endless battles and a full on action packed novel - this one is a treat.
Review and comments
Storyline and Plot 猸愨瓙猸愨瓙猸� Bloody brilliant. Fantastic especially the last 100 pages. I was totally gripped. The tension was fierce and the plot was neatly wrapped up in the end - enough to satisfy the reader whilst at the same time set us up nicely for the 鈥楬ero of Ages鈥�. ahhhhhh
Main Characters 猸愨瓙猸愨瓙猸� The character development was superb. In fact I would say much of the added pages was spent in developing these characters, only to kill a few off!!!! Deliciously evil, cunning, clever and dangerous - just about everyone would fit into this category :)
Writing Style 猸愨瓙猸愨瓙猸� simple, easy to read, captivating and theatrical.
Romance 猸愨瓙 Come on Brandon give us more steam. Not asking for sizzle just a bit to make us women happy.
A writer for all, a story 鈥� 鈥榳ell鈥� just superb, with characters you will love.
This guy knows how to tell a story, weave a magnificent and explosive plot, creates such interesting and engaging characters with world building that is second to none.
An explosion of imagination that is immersive, gripping, and treacherous.
One small niggle is that this large book. 鈥榃ell鈥� at over 700 pages it is a long story 鈥� too long with lots of padding in the middle. So I can understand why this was a bit of disappointment for other readers but not me. I loved it.
The Plot
鈥榃ell鈥� it鈥檚 one year later. The unthinkable has happened, the Lord Ruler is dead after reigning for over a thousand years, thanks to Mistborn Vin. Yet Luthadel is far from safe, with a siege by two fearless leaders, Vin must find the 鈥榳ell of ascension鈥� is they are to protect the kingdom and its people.
鈥淚t's easy to believe in something when you win all the time...The losses are what define a man's faith.鈥�
There was a lot of 'defining' in this novel with so much deception, conflict, and mistrust among the characters and with endless battles and a full on action packed novel - this one is a treat.
Review and comments
Storyline and Plot 猸愨瓙猸愨瓙猸� Bloody brilliant. Fantastic especially the last 100 pages. I was totally gripped. The tension was fierce and the plot was neatly wrapped up in the end - enough to satisfy the reader whilst at the same time set us up nicely for the 鈥楬ero of Ages鈥�. ahhhhhh
Main Characters 猸愨瓙猸愨瓙猸� The character development was superb. In fact I would say much of the added pages was spent in developing these characters, only to kill a few off!!!! Deliciously evil, cunning, clever and dangerous - just about everyone would fit into this category :)
Writing Style 猸愨瓙猸愨瓙猸� simple, easy to read, captivating and theatrical.
Romance 猸愨瓙 Come on Brandon give us more steam. Not asking for sizzle just a bit to make us women happy.
A writer for all, a story 鈥� 鈥榳ell鈥� just superb, with characters you will love.
December 20, 2024
bradnon sanderson... the man that you are.
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