Reviews: The Mistborn Trilogy

Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson

I think it’s only fair to you to know that the whole trilogy is excellent and that is the first thing you should know. When I read the first book for the first time, I liked it so much that I had some fear that the remaining two books might not live up to it, but the trilogy as a whole is complete and satisfying.

Mistborn

is the book that starts it. The story centers on a street urchin named Vin who struggles to get by as part of a thief crew in the city of Luthadel in a land ruled by “The Lord Ruler” who has been around for a thousand years. This story is fantasy with its own unique “magic,” if you will, that deals with metals. Certain people can use specific metals for special feats and it turns out that Vin is one of the rare ones who can use them all, a Mistborn. She receives training at the hands of Kelsier, the Survivor, as he plans to overthrow the seemingly immortal Lord Ruler.

That’s the plot in a nutshell and it’s a fantastic one filled with great characters, life-lessons, and plot-twists. The world building of the book is thorough and well thought out. This book has the feel of a dystopian novel, which I love. The fantastical elements of the book are also well thought out with clear rules so that we, the readers, have confidence that the author won’t just throw unreasonable curveballs at us.

The Well of Ascension

follows. If you want a plot summary, check Amazon. I will say that the plot suffers slightly merely because we, the readers, have trouble envisioning an end or a final objective initially. The characters are still strong, the which drives the story in some ways, and the book ends well. Perhaps the most marvelous element of these books is that the characters are well thought out and we the readers get to know them quite well.

Finally, The Hero of Ages

Isn’t that a pretty epic title? The book is epic and is an epic finish to an epic trilogy. All the things that went unexplained in the previous two novels are explained and you begin to think “Duh!” while being amazed that you were so convinced that you knew what was going on. And the ending is spectacular. It appears evident that Sanderson knew the end from the beginning

What more can I say? It’s an impressive trilogy on all accounts. It’s even impressively long (~700+ per book) though you never feel like you have to force yourself through it. It is the sort of story that you don’t want to end, the which is my favorite kind of story.