Mistborn: Secret History

* Please don't read this review if you haven't read the Mistborn trilogy, although in that case, you should not be reading this book either*
This book satiated a longing I hadn't known I had. Kelsier's sudden death in book 1 had left me a bit bereft. Also, a lot of things about Ruin and Preservation, which were left to imagination and deduction, were explained here. Why the mists stabbed Elend, why Vin had a love/hate relationship with them, these were just a few of the things that suddenly made a whole lot more sense. And Kelsier, oh this book does justice to his character. Only he could have managed to hold on longer and help the world even after death. Nice!

I was told by a couple of colleagues who are Sanderson fans that this was a must-read if I liked Mistborn, saying that it would fill in a lot of blanks from the Era 1 trilogy. So I grabbed a copy several months ago not sure exactly when I would get to it. Not that I didn't think it would be good, but I just didn't understand what else could be added to that story. After not being overly impressed by the short works added to the Elantris world (The Hope of Elantris and The Emperor's Soul), I just figured I would get to it when I got to it.

But wow! I am so glad I finally read it! This novella offers an alternate POV of some of the events in the original Mistborn trilogy and it fills in so many details that you will look at the story show more through completely different eyes. I thought the foreshadowing in Warbreaker was amazing, but I think this goes beyond that. It's genius. Sanderson says in the Author's Note at the end of this that this story was essentially written concurrently with the trilogy, though never published and was refined over the years. But all the groundwork and hints were worked into those three books to make way for this.

It's so interesting to me that the trilogy stands on its own without this book required for context, but after reading Secret History, the first three books feel even richer and vast and more interesting than they did before. This is brilliant storytelling.

The only reason I'm not giving 5 stars is because I thought it was slightly disjointed in a few spots which made it a tad hard to follow at points. A few times I had to go back to re-read a few pages to figure out something that I didn't fully get at first. I think that's partly due to the huge amount of time this short book covers.

Do not read Secret History if you haven't yet read the original Mistborn trilogy, but once you do, jump right into it! I don't think you will regret it for a moment. show less

If you are looking for context to help make sense of some of the confusing incidents in the original Mistborn trilogy this is quite helpful. As a stand-alone exercise in storytelling it really didn't do much for me. I struggled a bit with the core concept of this novella, in that it sort of undermined one of the things I found particularly compelling about the first Mistborn book.

My blog : Hi Books! It's me JethPlain

“There's always another secret"

By now, I think it's obvious that the Mistborn series has a special place in my heart. I was very excited with this particular book as it's written in the POV of my favourite Mistborn character : Kelsier!

The 149 pages of this book covers what happened to Kelsier after he was struck down by the Lord Ruler in The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) up to the end in Hero of Ages (Mistborn #3). Punching gods and stealing important orbs trying to rescue a dying world aside, I love how Kelsier's relationship and feelings for Vin as a daughter was reinforced, it made tears and snot roll down my face.

"Vin glanced at Kelsier and smiled. A welcoming, warm smile. A smile of joy and show more acceptance, which filled him with pride. How he wished he’d been able to find her earlier, when Mare was still alive. When she’d needed parents.

He stepped closer to Vin. “I . . .” What did he say? Hell, he didn’t know.

For once, he didn’t know.

She embraced him, and he found himself weeping. The daughter he’d never had, the little child of the streets. Though she was still small, she’d outgrown him. And she loved him anyway. He held his daughter close against his own broken soul.

“You did it,” he finally whispered. “What nobody else could have done. You gave yourself up.”

“Well,” she said, “I had such a good example, you see.”

I highly suggest you read this book after the first trilogy. Brandon Sanderson also mentioned that if you read the Wax and Wayne series you'd get and idea what Kel's been up to. It somehow worries me like Vin, what he turned into, he might become one of those cases who " either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain " which surely hope not, and technically he isn't in the physical realm anymore but we will never know with Kel. show less

I'm so torn between thinking this story was unnecessary (although I understand why he wrote it, just personally didn't need it to enjoy the main series) and completely amazed that he can make me seriously anticipate and feel for events I already know are coming.

“Oh, hell,” Kelsier said. “There’s actually a God?” “Yes.” Kelsier decked him.

If you've read the Mistborn series, read Secret History. If you haven't, read the Mistborn series, then read Secret History. It's worth the read just for for the the crazy intertwined universe-building that Sanderson has been pulling off for years now.

If you aren't aware, a great many of Sanderson's work take place in a shared universe known as the Cosmere. More than many of the other stories, Secret History ties together various parts of that Cosmere together, bringing in characters such as Kelsier from Mistborn, Hoid from everything, and Kriss from White Sands. There are details about just who beings like Preservation and Ruin are, along with show more history thousands of years in the making.

If this is where the Cosmere will go when Mistborn reaches the Forth Age and when we get to the second series of the Stormlight Archives... I can't wait. It's going to be an awesome ride.

“Your mind is too fragile. It will break.” “I broke that damn thing years ago, Fuzz. Do it. Please.”

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The Survivor, the man whose sacrifice led to the downfall of the Lord Ruler and freedom for the oppressed skaa on Scadrial, died in the first book of the original Mistborn trilogy. Mistborn: Secret History by Brandon Sanderson follows Kelsier after death during the events of the climax of the first novel and then Well of Ascension and The Hero of Ages.

Throughout the original trilogy, the reader knew Vin’s life was being influenced by greater forces that were playing out on a different plain or Realm and in this novella the reader learns that Kelsier prevented himself from going to the Cosmere’s afterlife (the Beyond). Then we follow Kelsier through the background events of the next two books from the Well of Ascension to the final show more showdown as the Hero of Ages emerges. The supernatural elements of the Cosmere are explained, especially those specific to Scadrial, and other characters from the Cosmere appear for knowledgeable readers through are also intriguing introductions for beginning readers. Absolutely this should be read only after finishing the Mistborn trilogy.

Mistborn: Secret History is exactly that, the now revealed background events that affected Vin’s story in the original trilogy. show less