Post — Aaron Ngo

I finished the trilogy. Vin’s grand adventure is over. Brandon Sanderson is an amazing writer, and how he tells these stories are the best I’ve ever read. I’m on the verge of declaring him my favorite author based on how attached I feel to his characters. Vin, Elend, Sazed, Kelsier, Spook, Clubs, Breeze, Cett, TenSoon, Ruin, Marsh, Human, and even the Lord Ruler himself + more are distinct and fleshed-out people. All complex and tragic characters who are developed beautifully through the entire series.

Published in 2008 and the final book in the original Trilogy, I went into this book purely excited. After Well of Ascension and Final Empire, I was ready to learn how it would end for Vin and friends. Upon examining and rethinking what I read the week after I put the book down, I realized the multilayered storylines (Spook and TenSoon in particular) didn’t add to anything in the long run. Spook’s discovery was ultimately useless because Vin already figured it out on her own.

Spook’s storyline adding to nothing doesn’t mean it wasn’t good. I actually enjoyed his entire POV story in Urteau and the romance he earned. At one point, I considered him a potential Hero of Ages candidate to find a reason for this storyline. I guess I was grasping at straws with that theory…

However, Sanderson’s action scenes, dialogue, world-building and tying the loose ends worked in his favor concluding the series. We got all the answers concerning Ruin, Inquisitors, Zane and the spikes, kandra, koloss, etc. which hold for the most part.

Unfortunately, this final volume had to take on a plot-driven pace instead of a character-driven one to get us those answers. Well of Ascension and Final Empire are superior when it comes to the character stories, and in a way, having secondary characters like Spook and TenSoon getting POVs took us away from Elend and Vin’s last book.

Overall, I loved the entire trilogy and this last volume had me screaming. The fight scenes are amazing and felt more video game than ever. My Writer friend told me Brandon Sanderson is a Dungeons and Dragons player and now I see how that reflects in his writing. I bought the next trilogy, the successor to this one, yesterday, and I’m excited to start. The Mistborn journey is not over.

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