Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson | 2009 | Tor | Boxed set $24.97
Once, a hero arose to save the world. A young man with a mysterious heritage courageously challenged the darkness that strangled the land.
He failed.
For a thousand years since, the world has been a wasteland of ash and mist ruled by the immortal emperor known as the Lord Ruler. Every revolt has failed miserably.
Yet somehow, hope survives. Hope that dares to dream of ending the empire and even the Lord Ruler himself. A new kind of uprising is being planned, one built around the ultimate caper, one that depends on the cunning of a brilliant criminal mastermind and the determination of an unlikely heroine, a street urchin who must learn to master Allomancy, the power of a Mistborn.
Why did it take me so long to get around to reading this series?!?!
Loved it. Practically every piece of it. I loved trying to guess at the mysteries, and I loved the plot twists, even when I anticipated them — though the most important twists were true surprises, which is something I definitely appreciate. There were two things that really kicked this series into “favorite” shelf territory.
First, I loved loved loved the really organized magic system and its accompanying religious elements. Which, honestly usually I’m not a fan of too much religion in my fantasy, especially when it feels arbitrarily shoehorned in, or when religious mythology is clumsily alluded to but never directly referenced. But Sanderson managed to avoid those issues. And of course the author is well-known for his sensical magic systems for good reason. (Is “sensical” even a word? I might not actually care.)
I was also really impressed by the obviously well-planned overarching plot. You know, sometimes it’s just so obvious that the author maybe wasn’t planning much for the future of his or her series, or sometimes the middle book in a trilogy just feels like filler that could have been better managed, or sometimes you stumble across those gaping plot holes and chronological inconsistencies and you wonder how no one noticed this before the final product hit the shelves — yeah, none of that here.
I know a book is going on the “favorites” shelf when my immediate reactions upon finishing it are to insist that my spouse read it NOW so we can talk about it, and to spend far too much time browsing online looking for fellow fans, and to immediately go shopping for more stuff from the author.
Links:
- Official website of author Brandon Sanderson
- Articles with Mistborn tag at Tor
- 17th Shard, a Sanderson fan forum
Publication information: Sanderson, Brandon. Mistborn. New York: Tors, 2006. Print. ; Sanderson, Brandon. The Well of Ascension. New York: Tor, 2007. Print. ; Sanderson, Brandon. The Hero of Ages. New York: Tor, 2008. Print.
Source: Purchased for personal collection
Disclaimer: I am not compensated, monetarily or otherwise, for reviews of books or other products.