Elantris by Brandon Sanderson [Spoiler Free Book Review]

Elantris

by Brandon Sanderson

Genre: Adult high fantasy

My Rating: ★★★★★

Description:

Elantris was a city of gods, a place of magic and miracles. People came from all across the world to experience the healing and power of the Elantrians. 

Anyone could become an Elantrian. They could be taken at any time, raised to a god-like state. They lived in their city, harmonious and peaceful for eternity. Eternity ended ten years ago. 

Overall Thoughts

I never expected anything less than awesome from a Cosmere novel, and this one definitely did not disappoint. The beginning was somewhat slow, but it picked up and soon I couldn't put it down. I loved the political aspect of the novel, as well as the whole "fantasy world post-apocalypse" concept. 

The Characters

There are three major POV characters: Raoden, a prince who is forced into exile in Elantris; Sarene, Raoden's betrothed, and Hrathen, a high priest of the religion spearheading an invasion into the free states of the world. 

I liked all three of them. Raoden was very much a hero-type character -- well meaning, optimistic, and kind. I loved seeing him step up into a leadership role throughout the course of the novel, and I liked how much he cared about his goals and the people he served. 

Sarene was great as well, suspicious, quick-witted, and smart-mouthed. There were moments when I wasn't sure that I would like her too much, but overall, I really liked her. She had to make some really difficult decisions throughout the novel, and I really admired how she was able to make those decisions. 

Hrathen was fascinating. He's the villain of the novel, but he's so much more than just a mustache twirling evil mastermind. He's logical, driven by wanting to serve his God. He also wants to avoid bloodshed and death, which was such an interesting twist on a villain, and not one that I've seen too often before (most villains are more on the murderous psychopath side of things.)

There were some great side characters, too. I especially liked Ashe, Sarene's Seon (basically a servant, but if a servant was a floaty ball of light.) I thought that his personality was great (and hilarious, at times.)

Plot/Pacing

The plot was definitely slow paced near the beginning. This seems to be a trademark with a lot of adult fantasy novels, but it is worth pointing out. It's way more politics centered than anything else, so if you're looking for an epic fantasy war story -- this isn't it. I like reading about politics in fictional worlds, though, so I was intrigued.
After the first 200 pages or so, the pacing picked up, and by the end was breathtakingly quick paced.
There were some good plot twists, as well. I felt that the reveal for some of the plot twists was slightly less than spectacular, but the twists themselves were good.
I felt like the plot did leave several major loose ends, as well, so it's definitely apparent why Sanderson has talked about writing a sequel to this book in the future. 

Worldbuilding

The entire concept of the world is that it was once full of magic, but now magic is basically a plague. I loved that concept so much, so of course, that part of the novel especially intrigued me. I loved the politics of the world as well -- both socially and religiously.
But -- magic plague, guys. Magic. Plague.
It's brilliant.

Content

Recommended for ages 15 and up.

Swearing is mostly made up swear words/phrases. There may have been one or two minor real world swears.
Sexual content is limited to a few sexual references and comments, including a reference to "the wedding night". Characters flirt with each other. There may have been one instance of kissing, but I can't recall for sure.
Violence is... definitely the most disturbing part of the novel. In this storyworld, obviously there are people who can't die. No matter how gruesome their wounds. Which can... obviously get disturbing at times. A man is clubbed in the head. A brief description of the scene after a battle, with gruesome injuries described (not in detail). A character witnesses a human sacrifice. Mentions and descriptions of blood and wounds.

Vicious [Villains, #1] by V.E. Schwab

Vicious [Villains, #1]
by V.E. Schwab

Genre: Adult superhero horror

My Rating: ★★★★★

Description:

10 years ago - A pair of ambitious university students set out to prove their thesis that ExtraOrdinary people are a scientific possibility -- but things go badly wrong.

Now - Victor Vale has just escaped prison, and he has vengeance on his mind. The target? His former friend, Eli Ever.


Overall Thoughts

The only word I can think of to describe this book is WHOA. It's a really quick read, just over 300 pages, and it feels even quicker because the chapters are so short, but WHOA. This book didn't need to be any longer to pack a real punch.

The Characters

The characterization is excellent. (I feel like I say this quite a lot, and I'm sorry. But that just means I'm reading a lot of excellent books, right?) We get to see the character development in a really interesting way. There are several different timelines running at the same time, with chapters alternating between ten years ago, last night, last fall, one hour until midnight, etc. and so we get to see the characters "before" and "after" before we understand exactly what happened to change them in that way. Throughout the book, you keep asking the question: what happened??? And it's really cool.
The characters are all morally grey, and it's impossible really to love or hate any of them. (With the exception of Eli Ever. I'm sorry, I did hate him.) (And yes, okay, I did love Sydney and Mitch.)
But Victor Vale is the prime example of a morally grey character that you can't quite love and you can't quite hate.

Plot/Pacing

The plot is engaging and original, definitely not your average superhero novel. The jumps back and forth between different timelines could easily have been confusing, but Victoria Schwab handled it masterfully.

Worldbuilding

The worldbuilding was also excellent. I found the concept of the EO's very interesting, and the powers, instead of being cheesy (like pretty much every superhero story ever conceived), just added to the overall storyline, theme, and tone of the book. The character's powers were actually really creepy/scary and make the book feel like a horror story. In a good way. ;)

My brother told me after he finished this book that it's "The Dark Knight of superhero novels" and I have to agree. It's really that good.

Content

Recommended for ages 16 and up.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Potential triggers for self-harm (not a result of depression, but it could be disturbing). A character overdoses on painkillers on purpose (not exactly a suicide attempt, but it could be triggering to some readers), and then tries to overdose again. A character electrocutes themselves on purpose.

Violence is definitely heavy in this book. Several on-page deaths, including several murders with details that could be disturbing. Descriptions of blood and wounds. Characters use guns, and the gunshot wounds are described. One character tries to kill a child. The characters' powers are not very "comic book", and scenes where the characters use their powers can be very disturbing.
In terms of sexual content, there are several kissing scenes, and two scenes that vaguely hint at sex. In one, two characters are lying on a bed kissing each other. In another, the same two characters lie in bed together, after a suggestive comment by the girl implying sex. Neither character is married. There is a couple in the book with a rather large age gap between them -- one character is college-age (maybe 19), and the other is close to thirty two. A female character manipulates another character into being intimate with her (being vague to avoid spoilers.)
Swearing includes several uses of the f-bomb, as well as other profanities. This is an adult book, and the language used definitely is more adult, as well as more frequent, than the majority of YA.
A character is known to deal drugs. A character uses painkillers to overdose (see triggers above.) A character attempts to use cocaine to overdose. Characters drink alcohol.

The Hero of Ages [Mistborn, #3] by Brandon Sanderson

This review contains spoilers for The Final Empire and The Well of Ascension. Follow the links to read my review for The Final Empire and my mini-review for The Well of Ascension. 

The Hero of Ages [Mistborn, #3]
by Brandon Sanderson

Genre: Adult high fantasy

My Rating: ★★★★★

Description:

The end is coming. The malevolent force known as Ruin has finally escaped from his imprisonment, after tricking Vin into releasing him at the Well of Ascension. The mists kill at random, striking down hundreds. Ash falls from the sky, poisoning the land.
Vin and Elend must find a way to save their world from Ruin -- but is it already too late?


My Review

I cried reading The Hero of Ages, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. This is actually the most I've cried reading any book I've ever read, and I consider that a big recommendation in its favor. Out of the three Mistborn books, this one has to be my favorite. It has a wonderfully paced plot, amazing character development, and the most wonderful and emotionally devastating conclusion to the trilogy that anyone could have asked for.

The Characters

The characters, of course, are amazing. The character arcs that were started in previous books is threaded through the plot of this book, and nothing about them disappointed. I'm always so impressed by the amount of though that Sanderson puts into his characters -- they clearly aren't secondary to the plot, which is something fantasy writing tends to be guilty of.
We also get to see a bunch of different POVs in this book -- Elend and Vin still get POVs, as well as Sazed, but Spook also gets his own POV, storyline, and character arc in this book as well, which I really liked.

Plot/Pacing

For a start, the pacing was perfect. Both The Final Empire and The Well of Ascension had rather slow starts -- at least for me. But The Hero of Ages kept a good pace throughout the whole book. The plot was good as well, building off of the concepts laid down in the previous books and then defying every expectation for the payoff.
The stakes were insane. The series started out with huge stakes, and each book kept adding to those stakes, so by this book, we're not just dealing with one ruler, or one city -- we're dealing with the fate of the entire world. And that world is ending. Fast. It was both terrifying and completely enthralling. I love the types of stories like this, with characters struggling against incredible odds.

Worldbuilding

The worldbuilding was also phenomenal. There are new concepts added in this book, and new layers added to the already complex magic system. However, none of these new layers were random -- all had clearly been foreshadowed since page one of The Final Empire. We get to see the magic system that gives the Steel Inquisitors their powers (which is horrifying, by the way), and we also get to see the kandra culture, which was super interesting, too.

And of course, the ending. The ending was perfect, and beautiful, and at the same time also one of the most emotionally devastating endings I've ever read. Don't expect to close this book with dry eyes. I know I didn't.

Overall, I absolutely loved The Hero of Ages, and though I'm so sad that this series is over, it couldn't have ended more perfectly.

Content

Recommended for ages 16 and up.

POTENTIAL TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions of suicide, suicidal thoughts.

Violence can get brutal at times, with descriptions of blood, wounds, and large-scale battlefields. There are a lot of deaths, and some characters are killed in really brutal ways. Some of these are definitely gory. Several disturbing descriptions of the Steel Inquisitors and the process of how they're created.
There wasn't much sexual content in this book, beyond a few references to couples sleeping together, and kissing.
Several instances of swearing.
Characters drink alcohol.

Oathbringer [The Stormlight Archive, #3] by Brandon Sanderson

This review contains spoilers for The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance. To read my reviews of The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance, follow the links here and here. 

Oathbringer [The Stormlight Archive, #3]
by Brandon Sanderson

Genre: Adult high fantasy

My Rating: ★★★★★

Description:

War looms as the Everstorm leaves Roshar's nations shattered and distrustful. Even with the newly refounded Knights Radiant at his back, Dalinar Kholin doesn't know if the world will be able to stand against the Voidbringers.
But someone has to stand. Darkness is coming, and the Knights Radiant are all that stands between Roshar and destruction.

Overall Thoughts

Finally getting to the end of the current published books in The Stormlight Archive was both a happy thing and a sad thing for me. On one hand -- oh wow, that ending was amazing!! On the other -- oh wow, I have to wait until November before I get to read book four? Which is probably nothing compared to some of you Stormlight fans have had to wait for, so forgive my whininess. Anyway, I still have Edgedancer to read. Let's get on with the actual review.
This book has a masterfully woven plot, intricate worldbuilding, and fantastic character development combined with a superb magic system. I am now out of adjectives.

The Characters

The Way of Kings was Kaladin's book, Words of Radiance was Shallan's, and now Oathbringer is Dalinar's. Which, if you know me, makes me very happy. Dalinar is probably my favorite character in the series (though you don't know how hard it is for me to say that, because picking favorites -- especially from so many amazing characters -- is really, really hard for me). Finally getting to see his backstory was really interesting.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again -- this series has some of the best character development I've ever read in fiction. The character arcs of all of the major characters -- as well as some of the side characters -- are really well thought out. Dalinar's character arc in this book, in particular, was very well written. We get to see a side of him that we haven't before, in the flashbacks, of the man he was before Gavilar's assassination.
There's also some character development with some of the other Knights Radiant that was really interesting to read about, as well as Shallan, Kaladin, and Adolin's continued character arcs from the previous books. There's also some character development with Eshonai's sister, Venli, which was interesting.

Plot/Pacing

The plot was excellent and engaging, especially considering just how long this book is (it's over 1300 pages in the mass market paperback edition). It never lagged, and it was amazing just how much the stakes were raised between this volume and Words of Radiance. And the plot twists were, as usual, stunning.
The climax (which lasted about 200-300 pages) literally had me glued to the book. It was really hard to put down.

Another thing I have to talk about is the emotions this book made me feel. There were some truly devastating scenes in this book, beautifully written, true, but devastating. However, one thing I love about this series is the feeling of hope. It gets really dark (darker than the other books in the series so far) but there's still hope, which I think is really nice, considering how much epic fantasy today strays into the grimdark realm.
Having it not be all gloom and doom -- while still not lowering the stakes -- is way more powerful to me than just straight up "everyone's gonna die now, but they're all evil anyway, so there you go".

I also wanted to talk really briefly about the supposed "love triangle" in this book. I'd heard that this was going to be a subplot in the novel, and I was kind of dreading it. I was expecting full on teenage angst, like 90% of love triangles I've read about, and then... it never happened? I mean, there was definitely a bit of a love triangle there, but at the same time... it didn't really ever become as big a deal as I'd heard some people say it was. In fact, I considered a lot of it to be part of a different subplot, which made a lot more sense to me. So if you're afraid of an angsty love triangle, that's really not what this book has, so don't be scared.

I ended up really enjoying Oathbringer, and honestly, I feel like I liked it better than Words of Radiance.  Only a little bit, but definitely a little bit. That might be partially due to my attachment to Dalinar as a character, but there you go.

Content

Recommended for ages 16 and up.

Violence is similar to the violence in the other Stormlight Archive books. There are a few scenes of violence that are really dark, and are maybe a bit darker than other scenes from the series. Descriptions of blood. Some descriptions of wounds and the battlefield border on being gory.
Sexual content is limited to some comments and jokes, as well as a few kissing scenes. Mentions of prostitution. In one scene, a character enters a sort of pleasure house, where people engage in sexual activity for fun. The character in question does not engage in any of this themselves.
One minor character is gay.
Swearing is, again, mostly limited to made up curse words.
Descriptions of starving people, as well as descriptions of the effects of a cult on people. Some aspects of the magic system, particularly the villains, could be disturbing for some readers.

The Last of 2019: Mini-Reviews for The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson and Wild Bird by Wendelin Van Draanen

Hey everyone! After taking a long break on book reviews over the holidays, I let the last few books I read in 2019 slip through my fingers without being reviewed. I'm shaking my head at my younger self right now.

But anyway, since I want to post reviews in 2020 that I actually read in 2020, I'm just going to get the last two books I read last year out of the way -- The Well of Ascension, which is the second book in the Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson, and Wendelin Van Draanen's contemporary stand alone Wild Bird. 
Both were five star books for me, which also makes me really happy. What a great way to end the year. :)

Wild Bird by Wendelin Van Draanen

Genre: YA contemporary

My Rating: ★★★★★

Description: A girl is sent to a wilderness rehabilitation program by her parents after her drug and alcohol abuse spiral out of control. 

I did not think I was going to like this book as much as I did, and I literally only picked it up because my book club was reading it that month. And what do you know? I actually ended up loving it. There's so much to like about this book -- an exploration of family and friendship, themes of forgiveness and self-forgiveness, a great female friendship, and wilderness survival.
One thing I liked was how clean the book was. It dealt with some really tough topics, but it did it in a way that wasn't graphic, while at the same time not diminishing the severity of the topics it was dealing with. I consider this a huge feat just by itself.
On top of that, there was some excellent character development, especially for Wren and her family members, as well as the camp counsellors and other kids in the program.
I highly recommend this book!
5/5 stars.


The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson (SPOILERS for The Final Empire)

Genre: Adult high fantasy

My Rating: ★★★★★

Description: After the events of The Final Empire, Vin and Elend struggle to hold the city together under the threat of an invasion.

This book ended up being my last completed book of 2019, which was somewhat disappointing, since I'd hoped to finish the entire Mistborn trilogy before the New Year. That never happened, but you know what wasn't disappointing? This book!
While I still ended up enjoying The Final Empire a tiny bit more, this book was excellent as well! There were a lot of fantasy politics, great character development carried over from the first book, and, of course, the truly epic magic system and worldbuilding.
I do have to recommend this book for older readers only; there is a number of violent and brutal scenes in the book, some, while not heavily graphic, do include gory details. There's also some (mostly implied) sexual content, and one or two descriptions of a woman's body (not hugely graphic, again, but definitely there.) I would say there's a bit more sexual content in this book than in The Final Empire, mostly because of a certain new POV. TRIGGER WARNING for self-harm.
The plot was well-put together, including a few excellent twists and a great cliffhanger ending.
Again, 5/5 stars.

Words of Radiance [The Stormlight Archive, #2] by Brandon Sanderson

This review contains spoilers for The Way of Kings. To read my review of The Way of Kings, please follow the link here.

Words of Radiance [The Stormlight Archive, #2]
by Brandon Sanderson

Genre: Adult high fantasy

My Rating: ★★★★★

Description:

Shallan Davar is finally coming to terms with her strange new abilities, but soon, events are set in motion that will force her ingenuity to the limit.

Kaladin has accepted his role as Captain of Dalinar Kholin's guard, but his task may prove harder than he ever anticipated, and keeping his powers hidden is becoming more and more difficult. 

Dalinar himself has stepped into his role as Highprince of War, but his plan to unite the highprinces is met by resistance... and even outright defiance. 

The threat of the Everstorm looms ever closer. And for some, that may not even matter. For the Assassin is coming. 

Overall Thoughts

These books are so hard to describe without giving away spoilers, so apologies for that awful book description. 

But. Let me tell you about Words of Radiance, because it was amazing! The characters are complicated and real, and I loved seeing their development between the two volumes. The plot was well paced and interesting without being too fast. And the worldbuilding is, of course, phenomenal.

The Stormlight Archive is probably my favorite epic fantasy series I've ever read. And I've read some really great epic fantasy.

The Characters

Words of Radiance continues the story begun in The Way of Kings, but this time focuses on Shallan's story (and backstory!) alongside Kaladin's, Dalinar's, and Adolin's.

I have grown so attached to all of these characters, it makes it really hard to pick just one favorite. There were some new characters introduced in this book as well that I have grown to love. I like how none of the characters in the book feel flat. They're all real people, even if we never necessarily get to see inside of their heads or know their full backstory. They still act like human beings, and I really like that about this series. I actually have a few favorite characters (*cough* Renarin *cough*) who never get POVs, but they're still amazing. 

Kaladin's character arc continues into this book, and I liked how it develops as he takes on his new role and position. His reactions to and struggles with his new position felt very real and convincing. 

We get to see some backstory for Shallan, which (without going into spoilers) is heart-wrenching. 

And of course, Dalinar continues to be his awesome self, though I do have to admit that I was frustrated with him after... ehem... certain events. 

Also, I loved the character interactions in this book, especially the ones between Kaladin and Shallan, and the ones between Kaladin and Adolin (because oh man, some of those were really funny.)

Plot/Pacing

I also love how complex the story is. We have so many pieces of worldbuilding, backstory, and plot coming together already, and new elements keep getting introduced. I have no idea how all of the plot threads will eventually tie together, but the plot right now, while complicated, is also not confusing. And oh man, the plot twists. I'm really horrible at predicting plot twists, so maybe it's only me that's constantly being shocked by the new directions the plot is taking? My brother says he called every plot twist in this book, which makes me wonder if a) I'm really clueless or b) he's just really smart. Maybe both, who knows? Anyway, I loved the reveals in this book, and I was genuinely surprised several times, especially near the end. 

Of course, most of what I can rave about this book is just falling into the same categories (worldbuilding, character development) that I already raved about when I reviewed The Way of Kings. So I'll leave my review relatively short, as opposed to being a broken record about how awesome these books are. If you've read them, you already know. If you haven't... well, I strongly suggest picking these books up!  

Content

Recommended for ages 16 and up.

Similar levels of violence to the violence in The Way of Kings. Some disturbing descriptions of dead bodies. Descriptions of domestic abuse (both physical and emotional abuse.) Descriptions of characters being killed in disturbing ways, including strangulation. A person is poisoned. Descriptions of blood. An implication that a character intended to commit suicide. 

A few sexual references, as well as references to prostitution. A few crude jokes, etc. Mentions of an adulterous affair.

A few instances of real world swearing, moderately offensive language. Mostly, however, the swearing is made up.

Characters drink alcohol; at one point, a character becomes drunk.

The Way of Kings [The Stormlight Archive, #1] by Brandon Sanderson

The Way of Kings [The Stormlight Archive, #1]
by Brandon Sanderson

Genre: Adult high fantasy

My Rating: ★★★★★

Description: 

Kaladin was once called Stormblessed. Once a soldier, now sold as a slave, he is forced to fight in one of the most horrendous wars of the age.
Shallan only wants to save her family's house from destruction. After the death of her father, she leaves home in the hope of gaining a wardship with Jasnah Kholin, one of the most brilliant scholars in Alethkar.
Dalinar has always been first and foremost a warrior. But strange visions have begun to plague him during the Highstorms, visions that foretell of an impending danger that will shake the foundations of the world.
Szeth is Truthless, an assassin who weeps as he kills. He has destroyed before. And now, he will destroy again.


Overall Thoughts

If you're still reading after that terrible, terrible book description -- I loved everything about The Way of Kings. The characters are vivid and lifelike. The worldbuilding is complex and interesting. The plot is edge-of-your-seat, with some truly mindblowing twists. The themes are intricate and beautiful, and the character arcs are phenomenal. This series is definitely a new favorite of mine.

Now how to talk about this book without spoiling everything...? You guys know I've loved 99% of all of Brandon Sanderson's books (that I've read, at least), but let me tell you. This one is the best one I've read so far. I love everything about it, and I couldn't think of a thing that I actually would like to see changed, because everything worked so perfectly in the story, and it was an absolute pleasure to read. Now, these books are 1000+ pages, and normally, that would be daunting. But with this book, it was 1007 pages of pure awesome, so I didn't care.

The Characters

The characters were incredible. I love how complex Kaladin is, and his determination to fight against the injustice that life has thrown at him and the other bridgemen.
Shallan is smart and resourceful, with some of the best comebacks I've ever read coming out of a fictional character's mouth.
Dalinar was probably my favorite character out of all of them (though it's really, really hard to choose!) I just love his sense of honor and justice, and how he stays true to his ideals even under a lot of pressure. Some of the decisions he made would have been so difficult, but he stuck with them. Once he committed to a course of action, he followed it through. Alright, that's enough about Dalinar, I'm going to bore you guys. ;)
Szeth is such a layered character as well. He's an assassin, but he doesn't want to be. If that sounds really stereotypical, let me tell you, the way Brandon Sanderson did it was not. Szeth is the reluctant assassin done right.
The side characters were awesome, too, but I feel like I've spent way too much time talking about the characters already. :P

Plot/Pacing

The plot is super complicated, drawing on each character's unique perspective and weaving them together into one overarching narrative. Because the plot of this book is just part of the overarching series plot, I won't get into a lot of depth about it. It's hard to without revealing spoilers! But do know that there are some stellar twists in this book, and the ending is tense, perfectly setting up even greater conflict in book two.

Worldbuilding

The worldbuilding was incredible. I could imagine the settings so well while I was reading. Roshar is such a different world from ours. There's no soil, the plants have adapted to surviving the unpredictable environment, Highstorms (like normal storms but 400 times worse) regularly sweep across the land, and most of the animals are crustaceans (the main beasts of burden, chulls, are like giant crabs.) I loved how the differences in the environment and the weather impacted every aspect of the characters' day to day lives. (Towns and cities are built with roofs sloping towards the direction of Highstorm winds, for instance.)
The magic system is super cool as well, but I don't want to spoil anything. Just read the prologue. It's awesome. (Though me and my brother have a joke about it -- that it's Szeth's "tutorial level" where you get to see every different aspect of the magic system.)

In summary: I have a new favorite series, guys, and that series is The Stormlight Archive.

Content

Recommended for ages 16 and up.

Most swearing is made up ("storms!") There are a few (very rare) instances of real-world swearing, though. Most is fairly mild. 

A few references to sex. Some crude jokes. Kissing between two characters; some tense situations between said characters as well, with romantic undertones. Mentions of prostitution. 

Violence is definitely heavy in this one. There's a high body count, and numerous descriptions of blood, along with some disturbing descriptions of people being killed in battle. Several characters experience profound joy when killing -- though the outcome of this is handled very well and I feel will continue to be addressed in subsequent books. The violence is not glorified, and characters face tough moral dilemmas about war and killing during the course of the book. Descriptions of poisoning. Many characters are slaves and are killed in some truly brutal ways. Several scenes describing surgeries in detail. One scene, in particular, is not for the squeamish.
One character attempts suicide.
Characters drink alcohol. Drugs are used medicinally.

Mistborn: The Final Empire [Mistborn #1] by Brandon Sanderson

The Final Empire [Misborn, #1]
by Brandon Sanderson

Genre: Adult high fantasy

My Rating: ★★★★★

Description: 
Can an evil that has ruled for a thousand years be defeated? 
A thousand years ago, a hero was supposed to save the world. He failed.
Now, the Lord Ruler dominates the crumbling ruins of the Final Empire -- a land of ash, blood, and decay. The only hope of bringing his tyranny to an end lies on the shoulders of a former thief and his young apprentice, the street urchin, Vin.
Where a hero fell, can a heroine rise?

Overall Thoughts

I really loved this book. I came to it with high expectations, as I've been impressed by more than one novel by Brandon Sanderson and have also heard glowing praises from other readers about it. I was not disappointed. The worldbuilding, the characterization, the plot... all worked together to create an absolute masterpiece of fantasy fiction.
The theme was probably, in a word, "trust." I loved to see the way it played out in the plot, and I definitely believe it gave the book a whole new layer of emotion. This is not your typical shallow fantasy in that regard.

The Characters

The characters were all well-developed, including the secondary characters. I loved the contrast between Kelsier's care-free attitude and his own internal struggles, Vin's quiet but intelligent personality, and Elend's idealism combined with his bookishness (what reader can't relate to a fellow bookworm?) I also really liked the secondary characters, particularly Ham, Spook, Marsh, and Sazed. I liked how they all had their own unique and contrasting personalities, and that each of them had their own viewpoints on the mission and their own reasons to be there. Vin's character arc was also incredibly well thought out. I won't say more because I don't want to get into spoilers, but it was very satisfying, and I'm looking forward to seeing how her character will go from here.

Plot/Pacing

The plot was excellent. Despite following a rather typical concept (defeat the evil overlord who's taken over the world), Mistborn does an excellent job in keeping the book original and engaging. Some of the plot twists were enough to take my breath away. The one at the end... oh my goodness. It's very hard to talk about plot twists without giving away spoilers, so suffice it to say that they were pulled off with true Sanderson expertise. 

My only issue with the pacing was the somewhat slow beginning. However, if you can get past it, I assure you the rest of the book is enough to make even the most picky reader forgive the opening.

Worldbuilding

The storyworld is basically a fantasy dystopia or post-apocalypse. The beginning lines of the prologue, which describe an "ash fall" (this world's equivalent of rain), were enough to set the tone for the rest of the book -- it's a bleak, harsh world, broken and burning. 

The magic system -- based on consuming different metals and "burning" them to gain superhuman abilities -- is well-developed and intriguing.

Content

Recommended for ages 16 and up.

This book was originally marketed to adults, so there is a bit of content. I don't recall any specific instances of cursing, though I believe there may have been one or two minor swears. In terms of sexual content, there are several mentions of noblemen "bedding" women and then killing them afterwards. It's not described past that. There are several mentions of prostitutes. Vin remembers being afraid of being raped by members of her thieving crew. 

Violence is moderate, bordering on gory at times. Steel Inquisitors are men who have metal spikes pounded through their eyes, and descriptions can be disturbing. Description of a man who has been killed by shoving a hook down his throat. Descriptions of blood. There is a scene where hundreds of people are beheaded by Inquisitors. Another scene where Vin witnesses the aftermath of a slaughter, semi-detailed. Descriptions of allomancers using their powers, including using coins as projectiles. Characters are wounded. Several scenes of combat involving the use of weapons. A character kills members of the nobility and seems to have little to no regret over his actions. There are slightly disturbing descriptions of fantasy creatures.