Okay, it's time to get this Reviews section off the ground. Since we're a Wheel of Time site, I think most of us are already convinced that at least some of the WOT novels are great. I'll leave the WoT reviews to people who are rereading the series, and would perhaps like to debate the relative strengths and weaknesses of each installment.

So, what better work to start off with than one of the major achievements of Brandon Sanderson? If you haven't yet started this series by the author who has been chosen to finish The Wheel of Time, you're missing something incredible. Hit this bold link to grab the new paperback edition from Amazon...

Mistborn: The Final Empire

This Better Be Good...

I approached Mistborn with some caution at first. Although I read most of The Chronicles of Narnia and all of Lord of the Rings before finishing 6th grade, I had no idea there was more out there. Wheel of Time opened my eyes to contemporary fantasy when I was introduced to it by a college friend. I read more, and these other books were very fun, and I was very glad I'd found some of them. But nothing else had been as gripping, impressive, genuinely epic as WoT.

Mistborn was on my reading list for some fuzzy future time when I got around to it. The news that Sanderson had been chosen to complete WoT pushed it up to the top. I was anxious. What if I hated this guy's style? And it looked so small.

It was a very pleasant shock when Mistborn seized my interest and shook me around with all the same force that Robert Jordan did at his best moments.


What Makes It Good


Characterization. We follow Vin, who is part of an oppressed race called the skaa, a people who are relegated to slavery in the countryside and second-class citizenship in city life. Some, including this girl, have turned to lives of crime to support themselves. Vin is part of a crew of thieves and con artists who make their living by scamming and stealing from the pampered nobility. After years of abuse at the hands of her brother and other crew members, she is quiet, timid, used to surviving by escaping attention.

Kelsier is a man who responds to the brutality of the evil Lord Ruler's regime by becoming obviously stronger and more outgoing, building partnerships and friendships, investing his energy in others. When he meets Vin, they begin to change each other.

These characters have their own well-developed strengths and weaknesses, personalities and attitudes that clearly grow as the book progresses. You cannot agree with both of them all the time, because they often disagree, but you can find things to love about each of them. And many of their friends, too.

Being smaller than a loaf of bread, there is not enough room in this book for Sanderson to give POV or full character development to everyone, but he does what he can. The interplay between members of Kelsier's crew as they joke with and annoy each other is pleasing and authentic. This is the first in a series, and if you crave more of the other characters, it is there in the second volume, The Well of Ascension.


Unique Ideas. The premise for the novel is often summarized as, 'What if the prophesied hero failed to defeat the evil menace?' Of course, there is a lot more to it, and this is not a completely new concept (*cough*LewsTherin!*cough*), but the way this is done in Mistborn is unique enough to be very refreshing. The odds are stacked so heavily against our heroes that most of them have serious doubts their plans to topple the Empire will work. Compared to the tyrannical grip the Lord Ruler has on his empire, the Emperor from Star Wars was a pushover. The Lord Ruler has held total control of the world for over a millenium, and successfully crushed all militant insurrection. How do you oppose such power? This setup is a great way to hold reader interest.

The magic system is another comparatively original idea. I won't spoil all the details, but some people are gifted with the ability to "burn" metals they consume in a liquid solution. The powers of metals can be used to influence others' emotions, enhance the senses, increase strength and endurance, telekinetically push or pull metallic objects, hide or detect the use of metal-burning power, and see the next move an opponent is about to take in combat. The well-thought-out strengths and limitations of these abilities make for some very exciting fight scenes, and realistically, the characters who do the most thinking about how to best use these powers are the ones most likely to succeed; they even make some new discoveries.


The Payoff. Let's face it: with forces so harshly opposed, you have to have a good final fight. In fact, if the rest of the book is rave-worthy but the climactic battle fails to get me anxious, fails to surprise me - if I never feel like clenching a fist or pumping an arm enthusiastically - then the whole experience of the novel is a letdown. So I'm happy to report that the final action in The Final Empire is more intense and satisfying than the "Rand vs. 'The Forsaken of the Day' " battles that have become a staple of WoT novel closings. Not only is this a great novel that I highly recommend... I can't wait to see Sanderson pull off the finish of WoT itself. It seems he is able to do it better than anyone but Robert Jordan could.


And the Twist. Twists and revelations can drive you crazy if they aren't handled right. But when done well, they are invaluable for keeping you interested in a story, and making the world come alive. Life is uncertain, and knowledge is limited. There's more out there for us to learn about how the universe works. When a writer can use this reality in a work of fiction to keep us guessing and keep us entertained, the experience rises to new levels. Mistborn: The Final Empire is one of the best examples of this kind of writing I have ever seen. The sequel, The Well of Ascension, gets even better with its twist/revelations.

Verdict: Must-Read / 5-star / A+