“Wow” pretty much sums this up for me. After about 50 pages or so, I couldn’t put it back down again (and was annoyed whenever I ‘had’ to)
The Awesome bits
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Almost all main characters & character building - Almost all of them are instant-lovable. They all feel real and exzibit a specific trait that sets them apart from other novels I’ve read.
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Amazing world & lore that really comes alive through the writing. A world where the sun is ALWAYS red and ash rains from the sky most of the time is just intriguing.
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Ingenious and outstanding magic system - How do you even come up with something like this?
Mistborn delves into political intrigue, into religion, into the masks people use to hide who they truly are, into superstition and into everyday human emotions. In many ways Mistborn addresses very deep philosophical issues while also being very entertaining. And that in my eyes is the mark of a great writer: a man or woman capable of creating an enjoyable story full of hidden depth.
- Multiple unexpected plot twists left me wondering how things could ever work out - I actually verbalized a wtf?? at a couple of occasions
The could-have-done-better bits
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Pacing makes some crazy jumps, sometimes the story feels like a high speed train and then at times more like a “stroll in the park” with strange bits that don’t really make sense to me (
Vin trying to figure out what to wear to the ball e.g ) -
Focusing the entire story on 2 main characters (however awesome they may be) seemed like it is only half an effort for each of them. Sanderson could have focussed more on either one of the 2 characters to have a better character in the end. I really feel that we could have gone so much deeper with Kelsier and his twisted emotions and ‘sunny’ world view, or with Vin and her mental traumas from her times on the street.
Conclusion
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the characters and the world feel real, the writing style is very enjoyable and the whole lore is so intriguing that I just want to continue to delve into it. On to “The Well of Ascension”!
