For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the “Sliver of Infinity,” reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler’s most hellish prison. Kelsier “snapped” and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark.
Kelsier recruited the underworld’s elite, the smartest and most trustworthy allomancers, each of whom shares one of his many powers, and all of whom relish a high-stakes challenge. Then Kelsier reveals his ultimate dream, not just the greatest heist in history, but the downfall of the divine despot.
But even with the best criminal crew ever assembled, Kel’s plan looks more like the ultimate long shot, until luck brings a ragged girl named Vin into his life. Like him, she’s a half-Skaa orphan, but she’s lived a much harsher life. Vin has learned to expect betrayal from everyone she meets. She will have to learn trust if Kel is to help her master powers of which she never dreamed.
There is something special about re-reading a book years after you read it for the first time. At times it can feel almost like coming home, knowing what will happen, but at other times your life in that time gap can change you, and through that change your viewpoint. It really is a unique experience, and the 7+ years that I’ve lived inbetween reading this for the first time and now have certainly skewed my views, not necessarily in a bad way, more giving myself a more realistic look at the story. Realising that characters I once thought hero’s might not be so infallible, writing I once felt overwhelmed by might seem easier to access. I know my review will simply add to the hundreds that came before it for this book, but I really enjoyed the fact that I get to review it now, for the second time around and with years of experience both reading and not behind me.
Sanderson is an expert storyteller, there is no denying that. His ability to create these worlds, and the characters that inhabit them, characters that you can’t help but want to succeed is masterful, and there is definitely a reason why he is so highly regarded within the SFF world. Mistborn, and The Final Empire, were my first foray’s into his wider universe, and I do think it’s the perfect place to start for those who maybe get a little overwhelmed by, not only the amount of books, but the length of some of them. It’s an easier read than some of his other books, not just in length but writing style, and I do feel the plot itself is the perfect one to drag you into his world.
On my first read everything seemed so black and white, clear cut between good and evil, but this time around I saw how Sanderson creates this grey light over his characters. For me, this was most obvious with Kelsier. On my first read I worshipped him, much like some of the characters in the book, but now I can see that he isn’t the wholly good person I originally thought. He is, in fact, simply human, and he carries all the flaws that comes with. He’s cocky and so sure of himself through most of the book, but as the story progresses, as their goal starts seeming harder and harder to enact, we see him come to realise that it’s not only his life on the line. He’s one of those lovable rogue style characters, you know he isn’t wholly good, in fact for some parts of the book he is no better than the villain, but you can’t help but love him, want him to succeed.
But this isn’t Kelsier’s story, it’s Vin’s. Vin is one of those underdog characters that you can’t help but root for. She has known pain in her life, betrayal, fear, but she’s never really known love, warmth, care, never had people she can rely on. When she first gets recruited by Kelsier and co she is wary, a young women surrounded by men older and stronger than her would be silly not to be, but she also doesn’t trust the easiness they have with each other, the trust they seem to show sharing all the information, asking for nothing in return. She does, eventually, start to trust the crew and I defy you not to get a little emotional when you see her at ease with them, sharing idea’s, joking around, something she would have been terrified to do previously. Her character is the one that shines, she is the beacon of hope in such a dark world, there is a lot of weight on her shoulders, whether she realises it or not, but she really grows as a characters, not just in terms of her mistborn powers, but in her inner strength and confidence, until she becomes someone other people rely on for safety.
The magic system is unique, one that would make a truly brilliant transition to the big screen, and Sanderson effortlessly introduces us to it throughout the book. There are a few info dumps, I wont lie, but these are shown through teaching scenes. Kelsier explaining the Mistborn powers to Vin, showing her how to use this unique ability. I wont go too deep into the magic system because I can guarantee there are boat loads of reviews out there that can explain it better than I could, but it was unlike anything I had read before, and Sandersons writing style makes it as visually stunning in your head as it reads on the page.
Despite it being quite a dark read, one filled with danger and death and betrayal, it’s also one filled with hope. One that follows a young girl as she creeps out of her shell to become something more, something bigger. A girl who learns to trust, to love even – I really do love the romance between Vin and Elend, I love how Sanderson allows him to be the bookish nerd and her the warrior. In fact my favourite parts of the book are when Vin is building relationships, not just with Kelsier and Elend, but the other members of the crew. People that may not get the same amount of page time, but still tug on your heartstrings nonetheless. If you like your fantasy epic, with morally grey characters who you still love, despite them not always doing the right thing, an intricate and well built magic system and plot twists that will have you screaming and crying… I can’t recommend this one enough. Now to get to the rest of the series.
