How to sum up Mistborn…
The end.
Wait, did you want more than that? You want to know my thoughts on the plots, the characters, the world, be convinced that you should read this? Fine. I’ll oblige.
Here’s what you need to know up front: This is 600+ pages of fantasy goodness. This is not for everyone, but if that doesn’t intimidate you, or at least you’re open to the idea, then this book probably is for you. One of my first inclinations of the book after I had started reading was that the story is a bit of a slow burn. Let me emphasize: it’s not a slow, drawn-out beginning with massive info dump and waiting for the story to begin. But the story takes its time to develop. The characters take time to develop. That’s part of what makes this story so worthwhile, because in the end it will impact you in ways a lesser developed story just could not have done. It’s all completely worth it and it’s never boring, even when things are moving slower. I never felt that Sanderson was just feeding me unnecessary filler.
The book focuses mainly on Kelsier and Vin, both born as skaa (slaves, essentially), both gifted, but otherwise pretty different. Vin is a 16 year old girl; Kelsier is a 30-something year old man. Kelsier has spent much of his adult life leading people; Vin just tries to scrape by unnoticed and unharmed. Kelsier has developed his abilities; Vin is only vaguely aware of hers. But when the two meet, Kelsier recruits Vin and takes her under his wing, and though she believes he intends to use her for whatever purpose he has and then dispose her, she slowly learns to trust him and his friends as they work and train together.
After a while, we also get introduced to my favorite character ELEND! It seems I have a thing for young noblemen who are a little defiant (Prince Kai in The Lunar Chronicles, Kiggs in Seraphina, Nikkolai in the Grisha trilogy…), but seriously, he brings books to balls and reads them there! What is not to love about that? And his interactions with Vin are gold. In fact, my only complaint for this book is that I think the development between Elend and Vin ended up being a little rushed (which feels crazy to say about this book); they seem to go from flirtatious banter to relationship suddenly. Not that it was too soon, but there is no explanation that I recall about them talking outside the balls, so I don’t when they established things because suddenly it was like bam, they’re a couple. I just wanted more of those interactions, dang it. But hopefully there will be more in the next two books.
This book is hard to explain because it is a fantasy with an intricate world and magic system, and the plot has a little bit of everything going for it: action, adventure, drama, comedy, romance… But seriously, it was all good. It’s character-driven but the plot is great too. And while the ending for this book was satisfying and does not leave you on a cliff-edge, I am certainly anticipating more. (But Nikki did warn me that I will need to read books two and three back-to-back, so that has been noted!)
By the way, just as a warning, not everything in the ending is happy. But the ending is still good and worth it, I promise. There are feels of all kinds in this book.
So basically, if any of this sounds appealing to you at all, you should read it. I think you’ll love it. I know I’m glad I gave it a shot. And I’m happy to give my first read of 2015 5 stars!
If you’re a Mistborn fan, feel free to gush in the comments!
Content advisory: Mild language, moderate violence
I’ve been meaning to give this one a go for a while, and after this great review I’ll have to bump it up to the top of my TBR list! Cheers!
Hope you enjoy it! I certainly think it’s worth bumping up on your TBR!
I have heard how good this book is, so it’s fantastic to get such a comprehensive and glowing review from you too! I will definitely read this – it’ll be exciting to immerse myself in the world!
I think you would really enjoy it, Charlene!
“But the story takes its time to develop. The characters take time to develop. That’s part of what makes this story so worthwhile, because in the end it will impact you in ways a lesser developed story just could not have done.” <– YES YES YES YES THIS. GAHHH. I love this review so much. SO MUCH. I'm so glad you loved this!!! <333333
Thanks! I’m looking forward to reading the next two books! 🙂
I finally finished the trilogy in December, and it was every bit as good as you say. One of the best, if not the best, endings to a fantasy trilogy that I have ever seen.
And can I just say that I really want hardcover editions with the e-book art you posted? SO much better than the original covers.
I’m looking forward to reading the second and third book, so glad you loved them! The cover art I posted is actually the same as the paperback I got, though as far as I know they don’t have those covers in hardback.
Nice, I thought it was only for the e-book version.
Oh my gosh, EVERYONE has read Brandon Sanderson except me. (Okay, that may be an exaggeration but my boyfriend has read his books so I feel like a total slacker :P) I think my main hesitation right now is how big it is, and seeming how I’m only reading like ten pages a day right now a 600+ page book just doesn’t seem possible. But I do plan on reading one Sanderson book before the year ends, just need to decide if it’s going to be one of these big epic fantasies everyone raves about or one of his smaller books like The Rithmatist or Steelheart. Decisions, decisions.
I liked Steelheart well enough, but this was on another level. However, I totally understand the hesitation with wanting to read something so long, especially when you’re not able to read a lot right now. I’m not sure if I’ll ever be at the point where I’ll feel like I can read his 1000+ page books. I would maybe recommend to you one of his shorter books for now, but definitely keep in mind Mistborn for a day when you might have more time to read it, because it’s worth it!
Haha, the initial review is SO accurate 😀 I love Mistborn so so much, and I’m reading the second book right now. So glad to be back in that world again <3
i just finished reading this as well & i feel like i have a book hangover! i cannot wait to read the next one (& i’m also wondering why i didn’t just buy the whole series). i’ve also got STEELHEART on my tbr list, but this one was definitely a good introduction into the magic that is brandon sanderson.
Yeah, I had to read Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire next to ensure I didn’t suffer from a bad book hangover! But like you, I was so sad I didn’t have the next two books already!
MISTBORN MISTBORN YES YES YES I’M SO GLAD YOU LOVED IT! It’s really long and kind of draggy BUT SO WORTH IT and plus it’s Sanderson so it’s expected. I have Well of Ascension and I will be started that soon 😀
I have Well of Ascension and Hero of Ages is one its way here, I just have to decide when in the next few months I’ll be ready to dedicate time to read both books back to back!
I only have a few pages left to read of this book. I love it! I understand what you mean about it being a little slow; but it’s not a bad slow. It just flows well and takes you along on their journey. And, yes it isn’t all happy towards the end; I saw it coming and was hoping that it wouldn’t. I really like the relationships in the book and I’m glad that Vin learnt to trust more. I can’t wait to read the next two!
I agree, it’s definitely not a bad slow. So glad you loved it too!
I recently read Mistborn and it is as wonderful as you said- a perfect dystopian book according to me! I have already started the second book and it’s great too.
Thanks for the suggestion!
So glad you loved it!