“The trick is to never stop looking. There’s always another secret.”
I’m unashamed to say, I fell head over heals in love with this book. To me its the perfect balance of world building, character building and intrigue, all wrapped up in a bundle of high fantasy! I’m really gutted I didn’t pick this book up sooner, but I’m so glad I now have. Thankfully this is the first in the Mistborn trilogy, and I can tell you with confidence, that it won’t be the last in Brandon Sanderson’s universe, the Cosmere.
I think what put me off this book initially was the size of it, along with the shear depth of the universe. I was afraid of being out of the loop and not understanding the rules of the ‘powers’ within. However, I shouldn’t have fretted or let it put me off, as reading this book was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. You are walked through the rules of the universe with the main character, Vin, as she is learning to master the power of Allomancy herself. She is also as new to the world as the reader, so you feel in capable hands and in no way out of your depth or overwhelmed. I have to admit that several times, over the course of the book, I drifted to coppermind.net, which answered every question I had. Unfortunately, the only issue with this was that it often gave me more information that I bargained for, you have been warned…!
“I’ll stay,” she said, “but not because I trust you.”
Kelsier Raised an eyebrow. “Why, then?”
Vin shrugged, and she seemed perfectly honest when she spoke. “Because I want to see what happens.”
As mentioned above, another merit of this book are the characters. You see them grow through the course of the book. Not just as characters, but their relationships with one another develop too. Each character is so real and distinct that I didn’t find myself getting lost in the sea of new faces.
One aspect I did struggle with however was keeping track of what was going on during the fight and battle scenes. This was mainly because of all of the different Allomantic powers that we are introduced to and then have to keep track of. However, during the course of this book I did find it became easier to follow and by the end I knew exactly what was happening, or at least imagine! I found the powers in this book fascinating and appreciated the character of Sazed. He allowed the reader to learn a little of the world prior, such as old traditions and religions. This gave the book a little more context and helped to flesh the world out further.
“If I regret one thing, it is the fear I have caused. Fear is the tool of tyrants. Unfortunately, when the fate of the world is in question, you use whatever tools are available.”
The short passages above every chapter also helped with the world building. Mind you, I possibly looked over them faster than I should at the beginning of the book. I’ll probably learn an awful lot more, and catch some more details, if I give this book another read through. There are bound to be bits I missed my first time around.
My only other qualm would be the epilogue. I feel things were wrapped up far too quickly and the book could have easily been another hundred pages longer, just to flesh the story out a little more completely. However, I’m only saying this as I was left wanting just that little bit more. I suppose thats why theres a whole universe to explore, and thats exactly what the other books are for!
I hope this has given you a little taste for the book and you’ll give it a go, that is, if you haven’t already. I’m so glad that I picked up this wonderful, rollercoaster of a book. Hats off to Brandon Sanderson, I can’t wait to read the next book in the Mistborn trilogy and learn even more about Cosmere. (5/5)
Bookish Misadventures 
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