Mistborn: The Final Empire

by Brandon Sanderson

mass market paperback, 672 pages

Published Sept. 24, 2019 by Tor Fantasy.

ISBN:: 978-1-250-31854-1
ASIN:: B001QKBHG4

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 …

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, and gotten it. She will have to learn to trust, if Kel is to help her master powers of which she never dreamed.

This saga dares to ask a simple question: What if the hero of prophecy fails?

27 editions

Fatu reviewed Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn Era One, #1)

Great fantasy novel

4 stars

It's got everything I would want in a fantasy novel. Great beats, vivid landscapes and world building, an incredibly terrifying antagonist, and pretty great twists at the end. My partner is excited to read the rest of the trilogy. I'm actually somewhat wary because as a standalone this book works incredibly well

Lars SGS reviewed Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

I dag har jeg lært at "pewter" ikke har et norsk navn

4 stars

Koste meg. Godt etablert magisystem, akkurat som alle andre sier om Sanderson. Likte figurene godt, og er nysgjerrig på serien videre, og så får vi bare se når/om jeg treffer et metningspunkt for halvskjulte messiaser.

Når jeg tenker meg om, tror jeg at noe av det som gjorde beskrivelsene av magien så lett for meg å henge med på, var at de fleste kreftene vi ser bli brukt er ganske klassiske videospillkrefter, så når vi ser allomantikere bruke forskjellige metaller, kjenner jeg meg igjen fra ganger jeg har vært i flytsonen i spill med liknende krefter – og dermed føles det som at jeg i større grad enn vanlig er en del av historien.

Løs tanke i én helsetning.

Men ja, likte boka.

Michael Gouker reviewed The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn, #1)

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 …

Kadomi reviewed The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn, #1)

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 …