Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy gave me hours of enjoyment for the past two weeks.
Now, how am I to review a trilogy? I suppose I talk about book 1 (a bit) and then leave the rest up to you. OK, so book 1, The Final Empire...
The Final Empire is ruled by a tyrant. The skaa are forced to work as slaves, receiving only meal tokens in payment for their services while the nobility attend balls and enjoy the riches of a better life. This is enforced by obligators and inquisitors. Surviving is difficult. Mists shroud the land at night, terrifying the skaa into remaining indoors, and ash falls from the sky, covering the world (and plants) making everthing dirty and food hard to grow. Vin is a teenager who has grown up as a thief on the streets. Life is horrid for her, until the day she meets Kelsier, a mistborn, who shows her that she also has the rare power. Of course, Kelsier is also planning a rebellion...
Mistborn was marketed for a YA audience so it is really quite an easy read. It does not mean that the plot is simple or that there are aspects of adult fantasy that are missing. It has a complex and magnificent magic system which makes so much sense. It is simple to understand, but I admire Sanderson for thinking of it. I have never encountered a system like it before. The world is also well done. Even the religions are detailed and interesting. In the later books, even the politics is advanced. I liked how Sanderson didn't have the characters have all the answers, and make mistakes.
Characters grow and develop during these books. In the beginning of book one, Vin is a quiet girl who aims to not be seen. That is not her at the end of that book, and the character she becomes by the final book is a gazillion miles away from that timid mouse she was initially. Her change is gradual and logical. Oh, and can I just state here how awesome it is, again, to have a female character who can kick butt. I liked how Sanderson did not remove her femininity even though she was the fighter.
I also enjoyed that all the characters had their own distinctive voices. Oh, and even the main characters had flaws in their logic and prejudices. That was pleasant, as I thought it was far more realistic and gave them more depth. It also allowed for me to be able to make my own opinions and not rely on the characters too much. That is also rather rare in books.
I would recommend this series particularly to readers who are wanting to get into fantasy. I think readers who are used to Tolkien and other adult fantasy writers might find some aspect of this series a bit young, but even then, as this is an enjoyable read, it is still very possible they would enjoy it too. Folks with severe ADHD might suffer a bit through books 2 and 3 where the politics is being dealt with, as there is little action.
These are the 42nd to 44th books I have read for the 2015 TBR Pile Reading challenge.
I gave The Final Empire (#1) and The Hero of Ages (#3) 5 stars and The Well of Ascension (#2) 4 stars on Goodreads. If I had to rate the series as a whole, I would probably give it 5 stars. It was really well-constructed and definitely not tossed together like a green salad. Sanderson put a lot of thought into this!
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