[Book Review] Mistborn

[Barmacral]

*******WARNING*******

Minor Spoiler's cannot be avoided, I've done my best to avoid major ones. Read at your own risk.

*******WARNING*******

 

So, given as Harriet has found us a new author, having never heard of him before I picked up a couple of his books to read. Harriet read Mistborn when she chose him, and as such, thats the one I read first. I'm currently reading Elantris.

 

I give him an 8 out of 10. He's a very good author, and he really know's how to make his character's seem real. Vin and Kelsier, the main character's of the book both appeared to be real, and in certain respects I could identify with both of them.

The book is not a slow paced book, and it certainly doesn't get boring. Its not a straight up action book either, which I like, there is a pleasant mixture of scenery.

One thing that stood out in particular is how much he involves history in his book, keeps you in suspense, and manages to reveal things in a nice pace, so that as a read I never got tired of being in suspense, and yet I never felt that I got the information prematurely.

 

My favourite part of the book was the magic system. Its a system that is entirely unique, and doesn't give me the impression of being too powerful. Its limitations make it feel more real, like it could actually exist in our world, rather than being something that just seems way too powerful. I also rather like how the system can influence society as much as it does by merely existing... its not a strange cult like the Aes Sedai or Bene Gesserit, where everyone fear's the unknown, but rather something where people do know enough about it to fight it.

 

That said, every book has its flaw's, including Mistborn, starting with our favourite God-Emperor Leto Atreidies... oops, did I say that aloud?

All in all, the book manages to stand apart from other books in the genre, and does not feel like I'm re-reading a plot for the 2nd or even 5th time. Some of his model's for his book do stand out rather easily though, the Lord Ruler being notably based off of the God Emperor from Dune, and so on.

My real concerns though were some of the action scenes. Some of them were written extremely well and I could follow exactly what was happening, whereas others seemed to move too fast, and I'd stop reading for a moment and thing "huh?"

The other part was the politics. Kelsier's part in politics seemed very in-depth to me, and really showed political maneuvering and power plays. Vin's part in politics however, while it showed to an extent the results of Kelsier, seemed shallow. Like there could have been more depth to it.

 

That said, the end result was a lot of fun to read, and the next time I'm in a city with a half decent sized bookstore (the local one sucks) I intend to pick up the second book, and I can't wait till he releases the 3rd one.

[Silver]

Is the second one even out yet? All I've found is the first one so far.

[JenniferL]

I just finished Mistborn too. It's been awhile since I've had a book I have trouble putting down. It actually made me late for work on Friday. Luckily it was a teacher work day, so no one cared. =)

 

This was a very good book and one I'd recommend. I think there are parts that feel rushed, and there are certain subplots that I would have liked to see fleshed out more.  In Brandon's annotations on his website, he says there are at least two subplots that could have been their own novel. However, he was determined to deliver a trilogy, so those only get a few pages.

 

I think his characters were extremely well done, especially Vin and Kelsier. Those two felt like real people.  The world, while unique, didn't feel as well drawn. I think that's a side affect of his sparse, action oriented prose. There wasn't much space given to describing clothes, rooms, etc. 

 

All in all, a throughly enjoyable book.

 

[CUBAREY]

I finisfed "the Final Empire" and just started "The Well of Ascension".  Found the premise quite interesting. Its a world where the DO seems to have won. I disagree with Barmacal's description of the final Ruler, you approach him from a totally different perspective then the God Emperor. Moreover, the Twist in the end is quite imaginative and frankly left me with the thought of "its so logical, why didn't I see that". A sign of a very good author makes the final resolution of the mystery seem logical but you never really considered the possibility.

 

Vin's limited role in the politics of the plot mirrors the development of Rand in the WOT universe. It was not until the 4th book that Rand became the main protagonest, before Moiraine seemed to be playing the more important role.

 

The world was not only unique but considering the Dark nature of the universe is quite well done.  I agree that the pose was sparse and not a lot of attention was paid to clothes, furnishings etc., but considering the dark proleterian existance of most of the people populating the universe its not surprising. Afew words describes their drab existance. When Vin goes to a ball the description of the gowns and siuts is quite descriptive. but I will admit that the prose, compared to RJ, is sparse.

 

However, the phycological motivation of the characters is quite well covered  and at least is as good as anything that RJ acomplished(and in the case of Kel and Vin surpasses Rj).

 

I would of liked more pov's by secondary and minor characters but the fact that Mistborn is meant to be a trilogy and the first two books are approximately 530 and 570 pages, obviously required BS to prune down the subplots and povs from secondary characters.