Mistborn: The Final Empire - Brandon Sanderson
The first book in the 'Mistborn' trilogy: 'The Final Empire'; 'The Well of Ascension'; 'The Hero of Ages.'
Brandon Sanderson is an author I have heard about for a long time, without ever having read his books, until now. With fantasy fiction - and particularly fantasy fiction written for adults - some books can get quite dark or sordid, and so I can be wary committing to a large book by an untested author. However, recently YouTube began recommending to me a series of lectures about writing given by Brandon Sanderson, and as I have been listening my way through them (very interesting and helpful advice for a wannabe author like myself) I have become more interested in giving his books a go - particularly once I learned he was Mormon and therefore has relatively conservative morals.
So I got out Mistborn from the library. And I really liked it.
Set in a world where the 'Lord Ruler' has reigned for a thousand years and the world has been covered with mist and ash, The Final Empire follows a group of rogues and thieves led by Kelsier who seek to disrupt, and possibly overthrow, the government. Kelsier is a 'Mistborn', someone who can use all eight of the types of Allomancy (a magic system that involves consuming small amounts of metal and 'burning' them internally to power various super-power-like talents), where most Allomancers can only use one. Early on in the novel, Kelsier and his gang encounter Vin, a teenage girl who may also have Allomantic powers, and invite her in on their plans.
The novel is told primarily through the eyes of Vin, who is taught about the various Allomantic skills by the various team members, and who also must infiltrate the nobility of Luthadel (the capital city of the Lord Ruler's empire). Vin finds it hard to trust people, having been abandoned by her brother Reen and abused by the various gangs she has been a part of, and much of the story is flavoured by this mistrust. For example, mistrusting Kelsier causes her to follow him more often than she should, with the result that we are witness to more events than we would be otherwise. It also adds an extra complication to a mildly predictable subplot when Vin catches the eye of a young noble, though the noble in question is an interesting character in his own right.
This is a fascinating world. Allomancy is an interesting magic system, but Sanderson doesn't stop there. As the story progresses we learn more about this world, including about a magic system called Feruchemy used by a different tribe of people and the existence of a role, or perhaps a creature, called a "kandra" - something which is mentioned occasionally but not explained until near the end of the novel, so which I will not spoil here.
I really liked this book. I have been reading through a number of books lately, but when I got Mistborn out the rest took a brief hiatus. I will definitely be returning to the world of Mistborn again in the future, and will also look forward to discovering more of Sanderson's work.
Completed 27 July 2022.
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