Post — Aaron Ngo

Welcome! Thank you for taking the time to read my first book review. Yeah, I've been putting out TV reviews like crazy, but I finally finished this novel, which I've been reading since the end of March. It took the whole month because I had mood swings, other things going on, paused to read Love, Simon and the overall density this book possessed.

This trilogy was recommended by a friend and I decided to give it a chance once I realized I let my reading habit suffer a bit. He said this book was the one that got him into the fantasy-magic genre and I can definitely see why. I also believed it would help my current novel and how I'm detailing my magic system.

Mild-spoilers ahead. Gonna do my best to avoid.

Before getting into it, let's talk about what the book is actually about. Mistborn (released in 2006) takes place in a fictional world called Scadrial, specifically in a place called The Final Empire. It is ruled by the Lord Ruler who saved the world a 1000 years. He is considered "God" and is also the main antagonist.

The main protagonists are Vin, a street urchin, and Kelsier, a thief. The latter recruits Vin in his plot to take down the Lord Ruler, a cause the other supporting characters consider "insane". The story centers around these two because they are the Mistborn, Allomancers (magic-users) who can burn all the metals rather than just one, thus the title of the book. Mistings are those who can only burn one metal and the ability is inherited rather than studied and practiced.

I praise Sanderson for his hard magic system because it felt powerful but also possessed realistic limitations. Which means I thought more about what the characters couldn't do rather than what they could do. This magic system is called Allomancy, which is the burning of metals to gain certain abilities. Burning pewter gives you strength, tin for enhanced senses, etc. There is another type called Feurchemy, but it's not really explored in this book compared to Allomancy.

Sanderson also knows how to worldbuild. He did so in a way that wasn't overwhelming the reader but also contributed to the plot like the class systems, the political strife, and how the Lord Ruler stayed in power.

Currently writing a novel with my own magic system (still in progress), reading how Sanderson crafted his own and the rules he implemented has helped me in many ways.

Surprisingly, the plot was not the reason I stuck around. It was rather the compelling and interesting characters: Vin, Kelsier, Sazed, and Elend are rightfully given the most screentime in the first book.

At times, I struggled to get through because slow plot progression or something would happen and then it would escalate for a hot minute.

I WISH I COULD SPOIL THE AMAZING CLIMAX BECAUSE I BLASTED THROUGH WHEN I REACHED IT!

It still haunts me.

Kelsier is the one I would consider the "fun protagonist" with his charisma and his tortured past involving his late wife and Lord Ruler. Those types of characters tend to get my upmost attention. Vin also had her fun and exciting moments when she interacted with the characters I mentioned above.

There are also other supporting characters like Breeze, Dockson, Clubs, etc. but they were not developed enough in this book compared to the other four characters. Their amusing interactions with Kelsier and Vin though, in addition to their assigned roles for the skaa rebellion, kept them relevant.

Would I recommend this book to a friend? Absolutely 100%. Am I reading the second book in the trilogy? You bet your ass I am. Will I ever be the same again? I'm too invested at this point to turn back.

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