The challenge with deciding that you're going to read something by Brandon Sanderson is that he's quite prolific and there's quite a bit to choose from. But I eventually settled on Misborn since the idea of a world where evil had won intrigued me, and I really enjoyed a three episode story from Farscape about infiltrating a 'shadow depository', so the idea of a heist in a fantasy world sounded appealing.
I'm just glad I didn't realize this was almost 700 pages when I started it. Big page counts can really stress me out, especially with a new to me author. By the time I found out I was well in and on my way. Just wanted to throw that in there. 😅
But the question remains: does Brandon Sanderson know what he's doing, or does he fall under the idea that "those who can't, teach."? Read on and find out.
The Plot
(Summary from GoodReads)
What if the whole world were a dead, blasted wasteland?MistbornFor a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the "Sliver of Infinity," reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler's most hellish prison. Kelsier "snapped" and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark.Kelsier recruited the underworld's elite, the smartest and most trustworthy allomancers, each of whom shares one of his many powers, and all of whom relish a high-stakes challenge. Then Kelsier reveals his ultimate dream, not just the greatest heist in history, but the downfall of the divine despot.But even with the best criminal crew ever assembled, Kel's plan looks more like the ultimate long shot, until luck brings a ragged girl named Vin into his life. Like him, she's a half-Skaa orphan, but she's lived a much harsher life. Vin has learned to expect betrayal from everyone she meets. She will have to learn trust if Kel is to help her master powers of which she never dreamed.Brandon Sanderson, fantasy's newest master tale-spinner and author of the acclaimed debut Elantris, dares to turn a genre on its head by asking a simple question: What if the prophesied hero failed to defeat the Dark Lord? The answer will be found in the Mistborn Trilogy, a saga of surprises that begins with the book in your hands. Fantasy will never be the same again.
My Thoughts
It's quite a risk starting your story from the point of view of a villain, and in a way, Brandon Sanderson does this twice. This isn't a big deal in the long game of the story, so far as our first point of view character is concerned. But as a writer, it's something that caught my attention because I had loved ones get very confused when I did this in one of my own books. So while it doesn't have the heaviest story releveace, it does have some personal weight and it caught my attention.
But then, there was a lot that caught my attention in Mistborn. A fantastic cast of characters come together to undertake a seemingly impossible task. A young girl rises from a place of despair and betrayal, and actually finds herself slowly opening up to what can best be described as a found family. There are glittering balls, gritty streets lined with impoverished skaa (essentially slaves), cunning nobles, a creepy-ass mandatory religion, and allomancy. A magic system that grants people power by consuming and burning metal in their bodies.
My favorite characters were Vin, Bree, and Kelsier. Vin is the center of the story and watching her grow from a world wary sixteen year old (doesn't that sound screwed up?) into a well rounded young lady was fun. Bree's willingness to use his ability to manipulate emotions without hesitation or apology made him stand out from the large cast of secondary characters. I enjoy the fact that while he is on the 'good' side, he was not above using his gifts as he damn well pleased. Lastly, Kelsier is basically Vin's Obi-Wan-Kenobi and it was interesting to watch Brandon Sanderson slowly shift the torch from him to Vin as the novel ran its course. (This may irritate some people--there is a great sensitivity in male characters passing the torch to female characters in fiction--but I'm pretty sure this was written before all that crap so I'm not going to hold this against it.)
I mentioned in the beginning that the book is nearly 700 pages long. I think one of the things that helped with this is the fact that the book is broken into parts. (And the fact that I'm not trying to put due dates on my reading.) The timeframe of the story is roughly a year and this gave Brandon Sanderson some leeway to move time forward and get to the story bits he wanted to tell without the reader feeling too jarred.
There is a sprinkle of romance in this book between Vin and a nobleman named Elend and I really enjoyed this. It added to the plot, and eventually tied into the main story. It helped showcase Vin's emotional growth and her willingness to get closer to people. It also allowed her to be a bit more of a teenager and have something she was, to some extent, rebelling against her allies over. The majority of the crew Vin run with hate nobles--and do so with good reason. While this romance is not the core of the book, it added to it nicely and I think that Brandon Sanderson handled it well.
Purchase or Pass?
Mistborn is a fantastic fantasy novel that kept my attention from start to finish. The worldbuilding is excellent, the cast is fun, and the task they are trying to complete is equal parts crazy and compelling. If you enjoy adventure stories with an interesting magic system, found family, and a sprinkle of romance, Mistborn is not to be missed.
My Rating
💜💜💜💜
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