Not very impressed I'm afraid, though I did finish the book. The story is OK but lacks believability, the characters are OK but lack depth, and the writing is just not very good. ( )

Loved this book, the world set up here is so well fleshed out that you really get into it. All the characters are either extremely lovable or you really loathe them, not because they are poor characters, just because you are supposed to hate them. ( )

I liked the unique magic system of this book, something new and different. The Allomancy concept, while not totally original, is certainly a bit out of the mainstream. It does feel a bit incomplete and limited though, hopefully something that will be fixed in the next book. I enjoyed the characters and the plot, even if it required some really obvious blind spots on the part of the bad guys. Enjoyable, but not great. ( )

A pretty good story in a very interesting world. I'm hoping Sanderson can up the level of his story to match the cool world he has created in the sequel. ( )

http://bactra.org/weblog/algae-2009-0... ( )

It was a pretty good story, but maybe I had my hopes up too much from all the rave reviews. While I never felt the book dragged or was hard to get into, I did enjoy the last third or so more than the first 2/3. The world is so different that a lot of setup was needed, but it was well done for the most part. An interesting system of magic, but it took a longer stretch than most. At the end, we find out more about the Steel Inquistors that didn't do a lot for me. I thought that revelation, along with other knowledge we gained tended to undermine some of the previous work.The book certainly left room for the rest of the trilogy to continue, but it also wrapped up pretty well. It didn't leave me on a complete cliff hanger, which I appreciate. ( )

Well-written story, but too much twistiness and hidden agendas and double- and triple-thinking for me. Sort of happy ending - they won, more or less - but the path to get there was nasty too many places. Good story, not for me. If you liked The Lies of Locke Lamora or Lackey's Italian renaissance series (Shadow of the Lion etc), you'd probably love this. It is well-written, good characterization, interesting universe with at least two unique forms of magic (not sure if the Inquisitors are something separate). Lots of coincidence, about evenly divided between helpful to the protagonists and the enemy(s). I'm still going to read the other two books, but if the series is consistent I doubt I'll reread it. ( )

Long ago, a hero rose to save the world from 'the Deepness'. That hero then became a tyrant, known as Lord Ruler, and oppressed the people in a dark wasteland where ash pours from the sky. Hope has been lost, except to one man--a skaa, or slave--called Kelsier. Kelsier, a thief and rebel, seeks to cause trouble for the Lord Ruler. He believes that Lord Ruler can be overthrown even when no one else does. It is Kelsier who intends to reintroduce faith to the world that lost hope so many centuries ago.

I picked up this novel because I had heard that Brandon Sanderson was the one chosen to fill Robert Jordan's rather large shoes. I figured it would be a good idea to check out his skills and see what put him forward as the first choice.

Now I completely understand, truly.

Mistborn starts out slowly. I was just reading until page 70 or 80, then I was hooked. Sanderson's world is ridiculously detailed and original. I suppose it's to be expected to have a near 100 page learning curve. And it is oh-so-worth-it. Because after those pages you delve into this beautifully crafted story about a small band of friends trying to take their world back. The characters are made in such a way that the story obviously revolves around Kelsier and Vin, who are both 'Mistborn' and thus are able to 'burn' metals into magic. I won't speak too much on the magic system, because it is apart of the fun of reading Mistborn to learn about it, but I do have to say that I've never encountered a magic system so involved or unique before.

I adore how the little details and characters matter in this book. Though the secondary characters don't necessarily get a lot of time on the page (which I think will change for the second in the series, or at least hope so) they do each fulfill important roles. This is even more true for Kelsier, Vin, and Sazed. But still, I can't help but want to know more about Dockson, Breeze, and Ham. Sanderson definitely gives you 'show' rather than 'tell' with his cast, which makes reading about all of them a pleasure.

In the end I could--and want to--talk about this book without end. Which, I think, is the greatest recommendation one can give a book. Therefore, get it! Read it! Love it! I can't imagine anyone being sorry that they decided to pick up Mistborn.

And here's a bit of a teaser, Sazed and Kelsier discussing the religions that were eradicated after Lord Ruler took power: Kelsier frowned, leaning back against the wall beside the balcony drapes. "Peace and harmony," he said slowly. "I'm not really looking for either right now, Saze."

"Ah," Sazed said.

Kelsier looked up staring at the ceiling. "Could you tell me about the Valla again? ... I just need ti be reminded that there were people who fought even when things looked hopeless."

Mistborn is written with skill, talent, and heart. The novel is a wonderful start to the Mistborn series, but doesn't leave the reader without a climax--and still manages to hook the reader for the next book. By far one of the best fantasies I've read in a long time. In fact, it just might be one of my favorites now. Don't hesitate to give Sanderson a try! ( )

I loved the book. the magic system was coolest part of the book. the setting was also great! ( )

Excellent read! be far one of the best books that I've found in a while. It's like sifting through the sands and finally finding a diamond. I checked out these books to see if he was fit for the new Robert Jordan predecessor. IMHO, I say so. ( )

This book completely surprised me. I had no idea that something new could come out of fantasy after all the Tolkein knock-offs of the last 20 plus years. But Mr. Sanderson (It sounds so like Mr. Anderson from the Matrix movie series) has done it. He takes the idea of "Crouching Tiger / Hidden Dragon" of roof-top flying and makes it so plausible. For me, this series has renewed my hope in the entire fantasy genre..... it is so much more than Tolkein (although I also really enjoy reading and re-reading LOTR). Also, I wanted to say thanks for making the protagonist - a female, rather than the male. And the twists at the end were worth the wait. So, all around I give the book (and the series in general) 5 stars. Paul ( )

I really really enjoyed reading this book. My frequent complaint about fantasy is that the heroes are "good" and the bad guys are "evil" and there is never really any doubt that the heroes are doing the right thing. In this novel, the heroes are good, but they also face complicated moral dilemmas and have to make compromises. Kelsier kills "innocent" nobles and Vin finds herself enjoying balls thrown at the expense of her fellow skaa. The realistic presentation of the people in this book made it so much more enjoyable than others I have read in the genre and made me anxious to read the next two. ( )

The start of a great trilogy, it stands on its own: The Final Empire is Brandon Sanderson's second published novel, after Elantris, and the first volume of his Mistborn trilogy. As in Elantris, Sanderson makes his mark by turning a fantasy cliche on its head, imagining a world where a hero arose to combat a Dark Lord -- and lost. For a thousand years since, the immortal Lord Ruler has held complete power over a blasted world where a red sun burns in a smoke-blackened sky, brown plants struggle to survive amid rains of ash, and every night mysterious mists cover the land. The Lord Ruler's early supporters were rewarded with noble status and magical powers of "allomancy"; his opponents were crushed and cast into slavery.

It's in this evocative setting that a crew of expert thieves and con men (with, of course, hearts of gold) puts together an audacious plan to rob the Lord Ruler himself, and if possible destabilize his regime. In the model of a "heist story" like Ocean's Eleven, each member of the crew has a particular specialty, and most are "Mistings" with a single allomantic ability. They are led by the charismatic Kelsier, who is the rarest and most powerful kind of allomancer, a full "Mistborn".

The real focus of the story, however, is on the development of Vin, a young girl brutalized by a childhood on the streets. Vin is also a Mistborn, and if she can learn to control her abilities, she could become a powerful and dangerous figure, perhaps even a threat to the Lord Ruler. Recruited as Kelsier's apprentice, Vin is put to work as the crew's spy within the nobility, where she falls for Elend Venture, the kindhearted son of a ruthless nobleman. Vin and Kelsier are the central figures in the book, with most other characters largely filling in their appointed roles.

As the heist plot unfolds, some members of Kelsier's crew try to unravel the history of the Lord Ruler's ascension, which could provide the key to understanding and countering his power. Clues to this mystery are provided at the start of each chapter, but in both this backstory and the Mistborn trilogy as a whole, "there's always another secret" hiding beneath the surface, helping to keep things interesting and engaging.

If you're new to Sanderson's work, The Final Empire is a great place to start, featuring a captivating setting, layered plot and creative magic system. Although the start of a trilogy, it stands up on its own and tells a complete story, even while hinting at deeper issues -- "another secret" -- lurking behind the scenes. As with all of Sanderson's novels, The Final Empire is further enhanced by author commentary provided in chapter-by-chapter annotations on Sanderson's Web site. ( )

I picked this up as a freebie during TOR's promotion last year. Also downloaded the free copy from Amazon. I really enjoyed it, and have the other two books in the trilogy queued up to read sometime in the future.Started reading 9 February and finished on the 17th. ( )

Like Sanderson's earlier Elantris, this is a remarkably original fantasy work with an unusual magic system. ( )

I was anticipating reading this book for quite a while. And it was worth the wait. ( )

A remarkable book that stands up extremely well on its own, and also accomplishes the difficult task of setting the stage for the rest of the (exceptional) Mistborn trilogy. Brandon Sanderson's prose is clean and very efficient, and he has an effortless knack for creating mysteries that puzzle not only his characters, but the reader. The characters are delightful, and Sanderson manages to introduce them in such a manner that they feel like old friends to the reader. An incredible work of fiction.

For those not convinced: My wife and I read this book, and immediately bought The Well of Ascension, the next book in the trilogy - resorting to dirty tricks to keep the other from reading it first before we were home from the bookstore. Our friends were actively bidding against each other to borrow The Well of Ascension from us before anyone else. Sanderson is definitely one of the rising stars of the SF community, and deserves all the praise these reviews heap upon his books and more. ( )

I was very impressed, beyond my moderate expectations. This is one of the best new fantasy worlds I've been introduced to in a while. It's a very intriguing setting, a world where the villain has already won his battle several hundred years ago and now the entire world is repressed by his tyrannical rule. Of course this calls for a rebellion, but it’s going to take a lot more than just rabble rousing in light of how many previous rebellions have failed. The book’s finest accomplishment is its portrayal of a people working desperately within the confines of an incredibly oppressive society but without the story bogging down in oppressive reading.

Bear with the mysterious italicized introductions to each new chapter, and the very curious magic system that involves swallowing and 'burning' metals, and you'll be well rewarded on both counts. As one character likes to say, "there's always another secret" and that applies to this novel as well. One criticism is that although I liked many of the characters and I do feel they're largely distinct, I found a general sameness in their calm, determined demeanor. As a solution the conspiracy members could have had more vibrant personality conflicts within their team to spice things up. I especially think the two leads, Kelsier and Vin, shouldn't have gotten along so well. ( )

And this, folks, is why I rarely give up on any author, particularly one writing out of his or her standard genre, after a single try!

Brandon Sanderson has created a mystical world that effortlessly envelops his reader. His prose is eloquent without being stuffy, and his characters' voices very well developed, so that no matter how many new friends or foes are brought into the fracas, it is simple to keep track of names, alliances, and actions.

Only a single item had me puzzled, though it was one I noticed right away and kept track of from the first mention. I will likely re-read this series in a couple of years, so I'll be on the watch for this singular potential inconsistency. It certainly wasn't enough to really distract from the book, but because of his well-crafted definitions and introductions of other pieces of his world that are not of our own, it stood out.

Overall, Sanderson has a gift for capturing the nuances of character, and for action that engages both mind and body. His style isn't such that you feel hurtled toward the end, but it is compelling enough that I often had to stop myself jumping to the next dialogue to see what was coming. A very strong start to a series; I'm greatly looking forward to the sequels. ( )

What fun. It's a novel experience to come across an author who in two out of two attempts has managed to create two different unique and imaginative magic systems. There are numerous beyond counting fantasy worlds out there, but in very few do you get the degree of inventiveness for their underlying magic that Brandon has managed in imbue in firslt Elantris and now this Mistborn. Although Elantris is crying for a sequel, this isn't it. Mistborn is the first of a new trilogy set in a very different universe.

Vin is skaa. And although this is clearly defined, (one of the only minor gripes in Mistborn is even by the end, a few concepts aren't clarified) the skaa are the slave class or race to the nobles. Vin however is one of the few rebels a member of a skaa thieving crew, for where there are humans in numbers there will be those brave/evil enough to prey on them. One day in their most audacious scam ever against the Ministries extremely scary Inquisitors the crew in which Vin is a member attracts the attention of Kelsier. He's also skaa, but a skaa they've never seen before, brash, outspoken, almost noble in bearing. And he has a cunning Plan. The Lord Ruler of the city isn't exactly a noble tyrant, but without his influence Kelsier reckons they can reclaim the land as it used to be. But this will require great co-ordination and an active rebellion amoungst the skaa. Vin's lucky talent turns out to be a huge boost to all their plans.

I really like the mgic in this world, by ingesting different metals those with the right bloodline can 'burn' them to effect the world, either Pulling or Pushing metal, emotions or senses. there are also downside sof overdoing it which is good, because otherwise they'd be too superhuamn.

The descriptions are vivid, and the joy as Vin first experiences life as Mistborn, Pushing and Pulling across the empty streets she once feared, is superbly caught. There's good dialog and humerous banter between the crew, and properly scary Inquisitors as the bad guys. The downsides are minor, there are a few ideas introduced and never developed. This is a bit annoying because so many are well developed you keep thinking that this idea will be explained soon, but no you are just left wondering. The action is very fast paced - at times Vin seems to come to terms with new situations improbably quickly. In a world filled with continually falling ash it seems a bit odd that no-one ever gets any in their eye. And then there's the world without flowers and full of brown plants which seems to violate so many biological principles, considering how well brandon does with the physics of forces this is also disappointing. However these are all very minor compared to the pace of the plot

It's fast, fun filled, fantasy. Go and read something truely original today.

.............................................................................................................................................
. ( )

Wow. Brandon Sanderson has made a huge fan out of me! I read Elantris first and loved it, and I think I like this book even more. The world he's created in the Mistborn trilogy is like nothing else I've encountered in the fantasy genre (true, I haven't read that much yet, but still). The magic comes from metals. Allomancers, the people with this power, consume and "burn" different kinds of metals which give different kinds of power. Certain Allomancers are Mistborns—people who can burn all the metals—and they are very rare. But of course the main character, Vin, is a Mistborn, and the most powerful one this world has seen in centuries. Sanderson writes characters incredibly well. I'm particularly impressed with how he writes female characters—I don't think I've read another male author who does it as well. The world is fully realized, there's plenty of action and mystery. Highly, highly recommended. ( )

Let it be known that, although I love fantasy books, I rarely go and find books of this genre by myself. My skill at finding great fantasy books isn’t good, as I am often fooled by the pretty images on the cover. After my man, and his mother, and his mother’s husband insisted that I really should read it, I had no other choice than to commit to it.

At first, the setting might seem to be the same as any other. Bad guy rules empire. Good-bad-guy wants to kill him, and save the world. Young woman helps him while discovering who she really is. But the story is much more than that; the characters are neither black nor white, but somewhere in between, and Sanderson’s writing describe their fears and joices and dilemnas with depth. The magic’s mechanics are interesting, but more than that, I enjoyed the author’s understanding of what is leadership: choices, consequences, difficult decisions, the power of the words, etc. Even the ending leaves you uncertain.

I won’t say more for now; this book is the first of the trilogy, so although I can give it a rating for itself, I can’t judge completely until I read the 3 books. This should be done soon, without a doubt! ( )

A unique fantasy is something that when you find it, you know that you are onto something great, or entirely the other way. Well, happily Sanderson has done something great. What makes this unique is not that the heroes have to overcome the evil ruler, because you know you've heard that before.

Or that the evil ruler has monstrous minions, because we have seen that before also. But that those evil minions are such that no one can remember ever defeating the minions, or the evil ruler who is immortal as far as everyone knows. Yet that too has been read elsewhere.

What separates The Final Empire is magic. Not everyone has the ability, but those that do access their magic in such a well described and unique way that the entirety of the magical world makes sense and is needful to its resolution. Complexity and depth make this work breakout from the others in the genre.

The plot moves at a decent pace though the buildup to the crescendo of the climax has some lulls. Once that climax triggers though, a great deal happens both expected and unexpected making the book a very worthwhile read. ( )

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson is the first book in his Mistborn trilogy, and if anything, he has outdone himself. If you enjoyed Elantris, Mistborn will knock your socks off.

The book deals withe the adventures of a band of rebels attempting to overthrow the evil ruler of the world, called "the Lord Ruler." The plot is thick with tweaked stereotypes and old news. A lot of this is a story heard hundreds of times before, and yet its never been told before.

When I first read an excerpt, I didn't think I'd like it, until I picked up a copy on a whim, and found myself addicted to it. The book is full of two things Sanderson excels at, political intrigue, and a new and inventive magical system. Two to be exact, Allomancy, and Ferucamy. Both deal with metals, unlike Elantris's symbol/energy based system.

All I can say is GO BUY THIS BOOK! If you like fantasy, you'll love this. Even if you don't, give it a try, because this is not your typical fantasy book. Its something more, much, much more.

Fantasy worlds are not easy to create. They have to be familiar enough that we can identify with the characters, yet exotic and different enough that we are interested. Brandon Sanderson has created just that in Mistborn. A world, in many ways like ours, yet apart. A creative and believable magic system, along with cultures and histories which are interesting and deep. Along with that, the characters in this book are wonderful. Vin, a girl on the cusp of womanhood, discovering her powers in Allomancy and in herself as a woman. Kelsier, a man of great power, wisdom and kindness, but is there something more there, something hidden? I think each character in the book is well defined, with growth and interest, even the villains. The Inquisitors are some of the creepiest, scariest bad guys I've read about in a long time. As you may have guessed, I enjoyed this book thoroughly and can't wait to read the next installment. ( )