The Final Empire

, #1

544 pages

English language

Published Aug. 7, 2006 by Tor.

ISBN:
978-0-7653-1178-8
Copied ISBN!

View on OpenLibrary

View on Inventaire

4 stars (9 reviews)

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. Only then does he reveal his ultimate dream, not just the greatest heist in history, …

23 editions

Review of 'The Final Empire' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I enjoyed this first Mistborn book quite a lot. Brandon Sanderson has created a very interesting world where the Skaa are repressed by the Emperor (who is acclaimed a god) and the hierarchy of noblemen, inquisitors, and obligators. The magic system has good logic and a good economic basis. The world-building is well done.

Not discussing specifics about the plot, but I did enjoy how uncertainty and layered aims were preserved until the end of the story. The secrets within secrets of Kelsier is great foreshadowing.

There are two areas where I think it could have been improved:

(1) Vin doesn't seem like a girl sometimes. Also, she is the only feminine character besides the rivals for Venture, so she is very much in masculine roles.
(2) I don't like the 3rd person omniscient pov that sometimes borders on head hopping. Why introduce tension and distrust if you are just …

Review of 'The Final Empire' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I really wish Goodreads had half stars, because I would give this book a solid 4.5. It's not quite a 5 for me, and I can't quite point my finger on it why not. Good things first, this is paced very well, and once the rebellion gets rolling, you really want to keep going and find out what's going on. Very action-packed. Allomancy and Feruchemy as magic systems are definitely unique and very interesting, and I think Sanderson does an excellent job describing the usage in sequences packed full of action.

I enjoyed the characters, in particular Kelsier, Sazed and Vin, and the rest of the crew. I will admit to shedding a few tears even when Kelsier died his martyr's death.

And yet my only concern is that as a huge fan of epic fantasy a la Martin and Williams, the novel felt just a little bit down to …

avatar for Strakul

rated it

5 stars
avatar for urmaul

rated it

4 stars
avatar for citoyen

rated it

4 stars
avatar for JoRo

rated it

4 stars
avatar for Briar

rated it

4 stars
avatar for joren

rated it

5 stars
avatar for Anditravel

rated it

4 stars

Subjects

  • Science Fiction And Fantasy
  • Fiction
  • Fiction - Fantasy
  • Fantasy
  • Fantasy - Epic
  • Fiction / Fantasy / Epic
  • Fantasy - General
  • Fantasy fiction