Booklog 51/2018 - Brandon Sanderson: The Final Empire - Mistborn #1

[jacey]

This book reminds me of why I'm reluctant to commit to reading long series these days. I'm simply too busy to devote so much time to getting involved with a trilogy which leads into yet more books in the same series. I know this has hundreds and thousands of good reviews and a huge fan following, but all I was thinking was 'How much longer before I reach the halfway point / then the 70% marker that tells me I'm on the home stretch / near the end? I think this review is saying way more about me than it is about the book, which is a bit sad really. Sanderson is a phenomenal world-builder. He's created a world that has a well thought out magic system, internal logic and consistency, and he's peopled it with three-dimensional characters… and yet… I'm not sure I'm going to continue to read books 2 and 3. The main character in this is Vin, a street brat who turns out to be a magically talented allomancer (someone who uses metals to perform feats impossible for a regular human). She throws in her lot with Kelsier and his thieving crew who are planning a revolution rather than a heist. Why a revolution? The Skaa are oppressed by the upper classes, but there's more. Kelsier has his own agenda, having been caught and imprisoned by the Lord Ruler, not just a ruler but effectively a god, eternal, invincible. Kell's former life (and his wife) were destroyed, so he's vowed death to the immortal. Vin isn't sure he knows what he's doing, but it turns out that Kelsier had a plan all along

Comments

[cgbookcat1]

I got through the first book and enjoyed the world building but not the characters. Once I realized I was dreading starting book 2, I returned it to the library and haven't tried again. Maybe some day.

[jacey]

Yes, I felt a bit like that. I wouldn't say 'dreading' starting the next book, but I don't have the time to commit to it right now. Of course, though this wasn't his first published book it was a very early one, so perhaps I should read something more recent. I've watched some of his online writing classes and he certainly knows what he's doing, so it's probably my short attention span that's the problem. When I'm writing I find it difficult to pay attention to my reading because my head's in another place entirely.