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November 30, 2015
I cannot recall the last time I powered through all three books of a series, one after the other, working magic, battling enemies, completing epic quests, all right along with the heroes. It’s a commitment, that’s for sure. And finishing this trilogy certainly felt like an accomplishment, though on a slightly lesser scale than saving the world like the characters did!
Mistborn
The Well of Ascension
The Hero of Ages
Those are the three titles. Each one a fantastic book, making the whole trilogy absolutely remarkable. It was exhausting to finish and now, strangely difficult to write about. I think that my overwhelming feeling is no matter how I praise these books, it really doesn’t matter. Because these novels are so long. And you really have to love reading, fantasy and magic in order to pass the challenge and finish them. So basically, if you do read the trilogy, you’re pretty much guaranteed to love the books because it takes a very devoted word-worm to get to the end.
Just for the sake of putting SOME relevant content down here, here are some points of interest that stood out for me:
The Mistborn magic system really is unique, well thought out, and very cool. Sanderson explains it all smoothly and consistently, yet he constantly surprises us with new wrinkles. The characters basically internally “burn” tiny flakes of metals and in doing so, they receive various powers and ability enhancements. Oh but there is so, so, much, much more to it.
Speaking of characters, we have Kelsier the master thief, the crew leader, a Mistborn warrior, whose mission is to free the land from the tyrannical rule of the Lord Ruler. There’s also Vin, our main heroine, a runaway from the streets who finds herself thrust on a path to becoming a mystical Mistborn legend. And Elend the nobleman turned emperor who loves Vin fiercely. Maybe my favorite is Sazed the quiet scholar and history-keeper whose subtle brilliance lends so much thoughtfulness and introspection to the overall story. And this is just to pluck a few big ones from the huge cast of names and faces. All of them brilliantly written and since they have SOOOO long to develop during the three books, you get these magnificent character arcs and you truly learn to admire and respect (most of) them.
This trilogy has tons of political intrigue, alliances, double-crosses and all manner of other interactions between empires, kingdoms, cities, and all the way down to intriguing in-fighting between individual noble houses. Normally this type of thing is a snore for me but Sanderson lays it all out so well and again, the characters are awesome as they drive everything and keep making these fascinating twists and turns.
But it’s certainly not all negotiating and deal-making so you can expect awesome action absolute everywhere. There are one-on-one fights, army skirmishes, a couple of those epic “a few stood against many” heroic type efforts, massive siege attacks, empire wars, and even formless fights between gods! And again, as I’ve written over and over, Sanderson tells it all masterfully since he’s a remarkable pro at writing action. You are there, in the mists, cloak rippling behind you, arcing through the night sky, daggers raised, relentlessly pursuing your foe from roof-top to roof-top, knowing that he must not escape. And that soon, he’ll have to face you, which means one of you will fall.
As I mentioned at the top, writing this review just feels like tossing pebbles in the ocean. The trilogy is phenomenal and I highly recommend it for high schoolers and older. This is because it’s quite violent and spectacularly complex. And long. It takes a mature reader to keep all the people, places and things straight and to be able to focus on and finish these books in a somewhat timely manner. You’ve got to stay after it or you’ll lose all the various, intricate plot lines.
Before stopping, I have to mention, one last time, the incredible writing job Mr. Sanderson did with these three novels. I would LOVE to find out how he charted this epic adventure out, how he created all the characters, what inspirations he had for all the intricate plot moves...basically just how in the world he made it all work together so seamlessly and come out so flawlessly. I was constantly shocked by the various levels in the book and how proficiently he navigated us readers through his vision of this incredible world, introduced us to its intriguing people, and showed how their collective stories changed everything..
Well done, sir and thank you for bringing the Mistborn trilogy to us. Trust me - if you like creative, challenging, awe-inspiring high fantasy, go get these books now!
Happy Reading!
Mistborn
The Well of Ascension
The Hero of Ages
Those are the three titles. Each one a fantastic book, making the whole trilogy absolutely remarkable. It was exhausting to finish and now, strangely difficult to write about. I think that my overwhelming feeling is no matter how I praise these books, it really doesn’t matter. Because these novels are so long. And you really have to love reading, fantasy and magic in order to pass the challenge and finish them. So basically, if you do read the trilogy, you’re pretty much guaranteed to love the books because it takes a very devoted word-worm to get to the end.
Just for the sake of putting SOME relevant content down here, here are some points of interest that stood out for me:
The Mistborn magic system really is unique, well thought out, and very cool. Sanderson explains it all smoothly and consistently, yet he constantly surprises us with new wrinkles. The characters basically internally “burn” tiny flakes of metals and in doing so, they receive various powers and ability enhancements. Oh but there is so, so, much, much more to it.
Speaking of characters, we have Kelsier the master thief, the crew leader, a Mistborn warrior, whose mission is to free the land from the tyrannical rule of the Lord Ruler. There’s also Vin, our main heroine, a runaway from the streets who finds herself thrust on a path to becoming a mystical Mistborn legend. And Elend the nobleman turned emperor who loves Vin fiercely. Maybe my favorite is Sazed the quiet scholar and history-keeper whose subtle brilliance lends so much thoughtfulness and introspection to the overall story. And this is just to pluck a few big ones from the huge cast of names and faces. All of them brilliantly written and since they have SOOOO long to develop during the three books, you get these magnificent character arcs and you truly learn to admire and respect (most of) them.
This trilogy has tons of political intrigue, alliances, double-crosses and all manner of other interactions between empires, kingdoms, cities, and all the way down to intriguing in-fighting between individual noble houses. Normally this type of thing is a snore for me but Sanderson lays it all out so well and again, the characters are awesome as they drive everything and keep making these fascinating twists and turns.
But it’s certainly not all negotiating and deal-making so you can expect awesome action absolute everywhere. There are one-on-one fights, army skirmishes, a couple of those epic “a few stood against many” heroic type efforts, massive siege attacks, empire wars, and even formless fights between gods! And again, as I’ve written over and over, Sanderson tells it all masterfully since he’s a remarkable pro at writing action. You are there, in the mists, cloak rippling behind you, arcing through the night sky, daggers raised, relentlessly pursuing your foe from roof-top to roof-top, knowing that he must not escape. And that soon, he’ll have to face you, which means one of you will fall.
As I mentioned at the top, writing this review just feels like tossing pebbles in the ocean. The trilogy is phenomenal and I highly recommend it for high schoolers and older. This is because it’s quite violent and spectacularly complex. And long. It takes a mature reader to keep all the people, places and things straight and to be able to focus on and finish these books in a somewhat timely manner. You’ve got to stay after it or you’ll lose all the various, intricate plot lines.
Before stopping, I have to mention, one last time, the incredible writing job Mr. Sanderson did with these three novels. I would LOVE to find out how he charted this epic adventure out, how he created all the characters, what inspirations he had for all the intricate plot moves...basically just how in the world he made it all work together so seamlessly and come out so flawlessly. I was constantly shocked by the various levels in the book and how proficiently he navigated us readers through his vision of this incredible world, introduced us to its intriguing people, and showed how their collective stories changed everything..
Well done, sir and thank you for bringing the Mistborn trilogy to us. Trust me - if you like creative, challenging, awe-inspiring high fantasy, go get these books now!
Happy Reading!