Mistborn: The Final Empire

Brandon Sanderson's “The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)” is insanely good, but you do not need me to tell you that. I flipped a coin (picture Watto saying, “Let's let fate decide.”) when deciding to start either the Stormlight Archive or the Mistborn series, and well, Stormlight won out, but I eventually made my way back to Mistborn, and I am SO glad I did.

Oh, boy. I sopped up and devoured the political intrigue, the world-building, and the battle sequences while feasting on my favorite snack, hummus and naan, each day during lunch. Which allomantic metal do I have to burn to get an endless supply?

Hmmm. What is the best way to describe the book? Basically, a thief by the name of Kelsier (do names get any cooler than that?) is setting up an ultimate heist to bring back stability and peace among the lands. He must conquer someone by the name of the Lord Ruler, with whom he has a checkered past. However, he cannot complete his quest alone. He channels his inner Danny Ocean and puts together a rag-tag group of ‘magic' users, thugs, miscreants, scholars, and impersonators. Can he trust this group to help him secure the land and overthrow pure evil? Kelsier has a leg up on some of his foes. He can use allomancy. A special power that allows him to consume and burn metals. These metals give short bursts of power. But we all know what comes with great power. No, not great responsibility; these guys are thieves. It comes with great caution. Because if an allomancer burns a metal that is not pure, they can get sick and even die!

This book has a little bit for everyone. Do you like political upheaval? Check! Do you like a good revenge story? Check! Do you like a teeny tiny bit of romance with your exploratory magic system? Check, check! Do you like descriptive action sequences as much as you like spending time masquerading at balls? Check! Okay, enough of the check marks. You basically want to root for each and every character. Most are flawed, but it's easy to pick a few that you can relate to. You will undoubtedly become embroiled in the plot, and when you do, it will spark a fun sense of creative adventure, page after page.

|| “While I may wonder about my stature as the hero, there is one thing that I have never questioned: the ultimate good of our quest.”

In my opinion, the book is less epic fantasy and more urban fantasy. It's not quite YA, either. Well, I guess you could consider it that; let's just say it has a YA underpinning but can be enjoyed by anyone and everyone! I love how the book focuses most of its energy on the ‘fish out of water' character named Vin. She is strong, fierce, caring, and a down-right bad-to-the-bone character. Without giving too much away, she's the Linus Caldwell of the group (if we are still running with the Ocean's Eleven analogy. You know, Matt Damon's character). She must keep up appearances in a noble setting to gain information as well as train her inherent abilities so that she is ready for the long fight ahead. It's enduring to see how the character changes throughout. Her fawning over a certain someone was a bit trying at times, but I kind of warmed up to it after a while.

**Note: – have tried the “Oh, I am just here in the library at the same table as you” reading move back in the day; it does not work. Not in the slightest. Come to think of it, maybe it's because I was reading a horror novel. Oh, well, I digress.|| “Our belief is often strongest when it is weakest; that is the nature of hope.”So, okay, the story is great, and the character development is superb. What about the action? Right. Well, it's sort of a conglomeration of all your favorite hero and villain tropes. We have rooftop running and jumping, ala TMNT and Batman; aerial battles similar to any Marvel comic; restorative and regenerative powers not unlike any good video game; but what this has that sets it apart from all those things is time to explain its fun and exciting alloy-based ‘magic' system.Now please, advert your eyes, because now I would like to focus on a few nit-picks I have with my somewhat limited Sanderson scope. For all the minutia put behind the power systems he creates (generalizing here), I feel like his take on battles can be a bit too long. Do not get me wrong, though. The beginning of Way of Kings has one of the most eye-opening and exciting battle sequences I have read, but, more often than not, the battles are simply *cough ordinary. The initial training stages between Vin and Kelsier are great, but, for me, most of the fight sequences kind of run together. It's not that my eyes were glazing over or anything; it's just that the stakes are not well defined. As nuanced as the alomancy system is, there are a few too many “If it bleeds, we can kill it!” moments and not enough cause-and-effect cerebral fist-a-cuffs.

|| “Plots behind plots, plans behind plans. There was always another secret.”

What makes this novel so great is that even though Vin has these incredible powers at her disposal and can inflict much pain on her foes, she is ultimately vulnerable emotionally. There is an underlying sadness that she carries with her, and it endures you to her plight. Conjuring those heavy emotions and using them to help defeat evil like Skywalker (too many Star Wars references, I know!), Wonder Woman, or Bruce Wayne hits you harder in the gut than any exciting action sequence can. It's a glorious tale that anyone can appreciate and sink their teeth into.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm writing this review while hanging from a cliff I fell off after reading the last few pages. I really need to make it back up so I can start book two.