Brandon Sanderson is my all time favorite author because of this series. After reading the last word, I closed the book and just sat in stunned awe. I didn't expect that ending. I won't get too in depth in this review because to do so would spoil it for other readers.

 

This series has one of the most incredible worlds and an amazing magic system. The fight scenes are epic! I loved Vin, Kelsier, Sazed, and the whole team. Sazed was, without a doubt, one of my most favorite characters because I empathized with his "what to believe" struggle. I went through it myself.

 

This series has some of my favorite quotes. The writing is flawless. If you love fantasy, you will love this trilogy.

 

Highly recommended.

I love series box sets. When I've finished one book, I can just plunge ahead into the next one.

At Kevin's Watch, when we talk about the fantasy authors we like besides Stephen R. Donaldson, Brandon Sanderson's name always comes up, along with Steven Erikson, Robert Jordan (but only the first few Wheel of Time books), Patrick Rothfuss and, to a lesser extent, Patricia McKillip. And yet I've put off reading Mistborn until now.

Sanderson has created an original system of magic for this series. Basically, there are some people on this world who gain magical powers by ingesting certain metals. Each of the so-called Allomantic metals (of which there are eight, or more, depending on how far along in the story you are) provides a certain ability. And they come in pairs -- so burning Steel allows the Allomancer to push against other metals nearby, while burning Iron allows them to pull against them. Most Allomancers can burn only one metal, but a few -- known as Mistborn -- can burn them all.

They operate in a world where a single man, the Lord Ruler, has been in power for centuries. As befits all emperors, he rules over a societal system where the nobles live posh lives in grand homes in cities, or on plantations, and the skaa are virtual slaves who live in hopeless, grinding poverty. Supposedly, only nobles can be Allomancers -- but nobles tend to take the liberties with skaa that you'd expect, so Allomancy does turn up among the skaa.

In the first book, we're introduced to Kelsier, a Mistborn skaa who is already a legend as the only man who has ever escaped the Pits of Hathsin. Kelsier plans to overthrow the Lord Ruler, and he has gathered a team of thieves to help him. The team includes Vin, an orphaned girl who doesn't trust anybody. Kelsier figures out that she's Mistborn, and sets her up to masquerade as a noble girl from the country, so she can gather information by attending the nobles' balls. There, she meets Elend, the rebellious son of one of the most important noble families -- although Elend's rebellion takes the form of reading banned philosophical texts and wondering whether the skaa aren't just like nobles underneath. These three are the pivotal players in the revolution that Kelsier sets in motion.

Sanderson is a capable author, but the occasional problem slips through. At one point in the third book, Elend refers to three people Vin has murdered as a "homicidal hat trick." The line made me chuckle, but it also pulled me out of the story. Hat trick, after all, is a sports term for scoring three goals in a game, and nowhere in any of the books does anybody play a sport -- not even the nobility.

Anyway. This omnibus edition is not a quick read by any means, but it's well-written and enjoyable. If you like epic fantasy, I'd highly recommend the Mistborn Trilogy.

This is the first, in what I hope will be a long line of T5W's. This originates in a Goodreads group found here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1608567-complete-list-of-wednesday-ers

 

I found this group while watching a book-tuber, WhyMermaids. Her channel is found here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd9B5bod9BC9z7nHK4wgV2Q

 

The Question for this week is (Drum roll please!)

 

 Books You'd Want to See as TV Shows (NOT movies)

 

1. Throne of Glass by: Sara J Maas (So much butt kicking!)

 

2. The Night Circus by: Erin Morgenstern (So enchanting!)

 

3. Mistborn by: Brandon Sanderson (So Enthralling plus butt kicking!)

 

4. Percy Jackson Series by: Rick Riordan (I know they have made a couple of movies, but a TV show would be better!)

 

5. Marking Time Trilogy: April White (This is a Time Travel book with Vampires!)

 

I loved all of these books and would love a TV show that I can watch weekly! This was a great question! If you haven't already go to the Goodreads link and join the Group. Leave a comment with a link to your blog/booktube channel and you can start T5W! Thanks for reading!

 

Have a fabulous day lovelies!

 

Yours Truly, signing off!

 

Kenzie

I know that my review might be seen as blasphemous and that I will probably be flogged by many for not only giving this trilogy 2 stars but not finishing it altogether. I'm not sure if I set the bar too high due to the voluminous accolades it continues to receive or whether it was due to the fact that my husband and I read these in small chunks every night before bed together but this trilogy was SOOO mind numbingly long winded that I had to give up on it. It got to the point where I'd be exhausted from the day and still dreading bedtime because I had to face this trilogy again. So after I plead and pleaded to the hubby that we give up the ghost he finally gave in to my begging at the 73% mark in the trilogy. I did go to Wikipedia to finally get some long overdo answers and even then I rejoiced knowing that had I kept with it I'd be seriously disappointed anyway. Most people liken this series to many of my favorites including the much beloved Lightbringer series or The Name Of The Wind which is a travesty because in my opinion Sanderson is in no way remotely in the same league as Patrick Rothfuss but again I probably have said too much. If you are directed to this series after reading something epic (like those I have mentioned or more) please be warned that you are in for a world of boredom with extremely rare bouts of Meh! I know a lot of you really enjoyed this series so it pains me to hit post on this review, I have always been told not to Yuck someone's Yumm, but I wished someone would have given me advanced warning.

This review was originally posted at Little Miss Reader (http://little-missreader.blogspot.com/ )

That summary is kind of vague, don't you think? But it still sums up the story, without hinting the slightest about whats to come, and I love that!

The reason I wanted to read this book was that I thought the idea was so original. The evil guy has one, and this story takes place 1000 years after - seriously, the EVIL GUY WON! Also, instead of just plain old magic that originates nowhere. Magic is allomancy, and only certain people have powers and they only have powers if they have the right metals - that is genious!

It took me quite a while to get into this book, but that was mostly because I had no idea what they where talking about in the beginning. When I reached a 100 pages, pieces started to fit together and I started to understand the book.
I love the way Brandon Sanderson teaches you about the world and Allomancy. You get to learn about it with Vin, she has no clue about anything either, so you are kind of in the same boat. Also, Kelsier is an amazing teacher, I understood everything when he started to explain what Allomancy was.

The world building is amazing, Sanderson really knows how to build up a world and describe it just so you have enough information to know the world, but exactly the right amount to let your brain take over and figure some things out for yourself.
When I read The Final Empire, I felt like I was in the world and after about 200 pages, I felt like I knew everything about the world - even though it kept surprising me and let me learn new things.

One of the things I loved most about this book was the "missing" love-element. This was a very great book, and I find that great books can be ruined by the love element. This book had the love-element, but it did not matter that much. I loved every part of the book that Elend was in, but that was because thpse parts were short and cute - and that was fine!. Also, it is not insta-love. It takes quite a while before any of them realizes it!

I loved all the characters in this book, I feel like good vs. evil is not really a thing here. The "good" guys do some things, but the "bad" guys do some good things as well. In the end you understand the Lord Ruler, you know why he did certain things, and in a way you feel with him - but on the other hand you really do not like him.
Sazed is magnificent, I actually thought that he and Vin would get together, but no. I love how he is so serious but still have a sensitive and funny side. He would be the perfect friend. Kelsier and Vin are like father and daughter, I love that, normally the hero gets the girl, but this time they are like a family.
I loved seeing Vin turning from the skaa thief to Vin the mistborn. She has a hard time dealing with who she is, but in the end she just IS. No more thinking, she suddenly becomes the one she is supposed to be.
The "crew" is wonderful. I loved every single person, I even started liking Breeze! I really like how they were all friends instead of just partners in crime, that gave the story something. Normally I feel like the groups in books are together because they can each get something out of it. This time they are there because they trust each other and this is something they want to do.

Since this is a high fantasy series, there is a bunch of things that you have to learn, because it is a completely new world you are reading about. I took notes whilst reading this, and I am so glad I did, because sometimes I had a hard time remembering certain things.


Explanations:
But lets get on with it. In this book, people who can perfom allomancy are called Mistings or Mistborns. Mistings can burn (=use) one of the basic eight allomantic metals, and Mistborns can burn all eight. And there is nothing in between, so if a person can burn 2 of the basic metals, he or she is a Mistborn, and can actually burn all eight.
There is also something calld Feruchemistry, and people who can "perfom" that, is called Feruchemists. They have a different way of using metals.

Then there is the hierarchy of the people, there is "skaa" which is basically everybody. If you are a skaa, you are either a slave, a thief or you live on the street without a job.
Then there is the lesser nobility and the higher nobility. The higher nobility is where everything political is, and the lesser nobility is, well you can say that they are just more fortunate that skaa, but not nearly as fortunate as the higher nobility.
There is also the Garrison, their primary duty is to maintain order in the city - so they are basically the police.
There is also the Steel Ministry, which consists of obligators and Steel Inquisitors. Steel Inquisitors are quite a strange creature, they are fighting machines and very hard to kill. The obligators are Prelans, and the tattoo's they have around their eyes tells you where in the hierarchy they are. The Lord Prelan is head of the entire Steel Ministry.
Hazekillers are men who are trained to fight allomancers.


I have to give this book 5 hearts because OMG this book is wonderfully written, the world is amazing and the characters are just lovely. An Allomancy is just so fantastic and I have never read a book this intriguing - except from The Hunger Games and Harry Potter.