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paleale's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
aceinit's review against another edition
5.0
To be fair, I wasn’t prepared to like Mistborn. In fact, I was very much prepared not to like this novel. I had tried Sanderson once before (not this book), found him dry, and promptly went about resolving to never read him again. And there is the issue of this book’s official description, which sells it way short. Though I had been recommended it several times, reading the inside label was always enough to make me quickly put it back on the shelf. The only thing that convinced me to give it a try was someone’s fancast on Tumblr, which had a lot of my favorite faces. Fancasts being primarily wish-fulfillment and of course no indication of a work's merit, I went into this one prepared to put it down within the first 50 pages, smug and justified that it wasn’t worth my time.
I have never been so glad to be proven so very, very wrong about a book.
Mistborn is a lot of things. It’s a heist book. It’s a social commentary. It’s about revolution and class warfare. It’s about courtly intrigue. It’s a coming-of-age story. It’s funny. It’s poignant. It’s a slightly unlikely love story. It’s a story about prophecies, and what happens if the unthinkable happens and the Chosen One fails or. It will surprise you and kick you in the gut when you’re least expecting it. Oh, and there’s a wicked-cool magic system that revolves around different types of metal.
Sanderson knows how to write dynamic characters. Kelsier, Breeze, Ham and the rest of the team had me drawn in almost from their introductions. For me, the one stumbling block was Vin, the young protagonist of the novel. Her initial characterization is highly repetitive (ok, I get it, she has a hard time trusting people), and a bit erratic (her initial interactions with Ulef are a bit all over the place given how much time is spent reminding us that Vin Doesn’t Trust People, and how wary she is of Ulef in her opening scene). But once everyone is brought together, they gel well and I was willing to overlook Vin.
I have this thing about youthful protagonists. I generally don’t like them. When surrounded by a cast of highly charismatic and capable adults, they tend to come off as whiny, weak, and annoying. Kip Guile in Brent Week’s Lightbringer series is the perfect example of this. I cringe every time I get to one of his chapters, and spend most of said chapter waiting for it to just be over already. I figured I’d be adding Vin to this list, and was more than prepared to do so, right until the moment when I found myself liking her. And rooting for her. And, damn it, wanting her to be happy. So when she meets Elend and they begin their awkward, quirky not-quite-courtship, of course I was rooting for them as well.
Mistborn is one of those books that hooked me so thoroughly that I actually didn’t realize how badly it had hooked me until that inevitable moment when the best-laid plans start falling apart. Then, I found myself having to set the book down every two or three chapters, not because it was boring me or I was distracted, but because I was so involved that I actually needed a break before dealing with any more emotions connected to the lives of fictional characters.
For me, the mark of a good writer is not how quickly I can finish a book, but how many times I have to put it down, walk away for a bit, and recover. At this, Sanderson is a master.
I am now trekking to the local used book store to see if I can luck out and find the entire trilogy in hardback. I can’t wait to see what adventures await Vin, Elend and company in the future. Sanderson has already hinted at what's to come, and it looks like we're in for quite a journey.
I have never been so glad to be proven so very, very wrong about a book.
Mistborn is a lot of things. It’s a heist book. It’s a social commentary. It’s about revolution and class warfare. It’s about courtly intrigue. It’s a coming-of-age story. It’s funny. It’s poignant. It’s a slightly unlikely love story. It’s a story about prophecies, and what happens if the unthinkable happens and the Chosen One fails or
Spoiler
the sidekick/spirit guide gets a major case of hero-envy and one hell of a superiority complex, and decides he’d make a Chosen OneSanderson knows how to write dynamic characters. Kelsier, Breeze, Ham and the rest of the team had me drawn in almost from their introductions. For me, the one stumbling block was Vin, the young protagonist of the novel. Her initial characterization is highly repetitive (ok, I get it, she has a hard time trusting people), and a bit erratic (her initial interactions with Ulef are a bit all over the place given how much time is spent reminding us that Vin Doesn’t Trust People, and how wary she is of Ulef in her opening scene). But once everyone is brought together, they gel well and I was willing to overlook Vin.
I have this thing about youthful protagonists. I generally don’t like them. When surrounded by a cast of highly charismatic and capable adults, they tend to come off as whiny, weak, and annoying. Kip Guile in Brent Week’s Lightbringer series is the perfect example of this. I cringe every time I get to one of his chapters, and spend most of said chapter waiting for it to just be over already. I figured I’d be adding Vin to this list, and was more than prepared to do so, right until the moment when I found myself liking her. And rooting for her. And, damn it, wanting her to be happy. So when she meets Elend and they begin their awkward, quirky not-quite-courtship, of course I was rooting for them as well.
Mistborn is one of those books that hooked me so thoroughly that I actually didn’t realize how badly it had hooked me until that inevitable moment when the best-laid plans start falling apart. Then, I found myself having to set the book down every two or three chapters, not because it was boring me or I was distracted, but because I was so involved that I actually needed a break before dealing with any more emotions connected to the lives of fictional characters.
For me, the mark of a good writer is not how quickly I can finish a book, but how many times I have to put it down, walk away for a bit, and recover. At this, Sanderson is a master.
I am now trekking to the local used book store to see if I can luck out and find the entire trilogy in hardback. I can’t wait to see what adventures await Vin, Elend and company in the future. Sanderson has already hinted at what's to come, and it looks like we're in for quite a journey.
crickedcactus's review against another edition
5.0
*No Spoilers*
I learnt about this book via the podcast http://www.writingexcuses.com/ , where the author, Brandom Sanderson, participates actively and mentions a few times this book. I was really intrigued byt the way he had constructed the story. He never gave any major detail away in the podcasts, just enough to get you interested.
I added it to my to-read list and it wasn’t until my boyfriend began listening to the audiobook and told me how hooked he was on it, that I decided to read it. (By the way, I haven’t listened to the audio book but apparently the narrator is amazing)
Anyway, Mistborn is one of those books that gets you hooked from the beginning and when you finish the book you realize how every single passage of it had been planned in advance very meticulously... I love the world that it depicts, as horrible as it is, and the way it manages to mix science fiction and fantasy, and introduce it in a world of EPICNESS (I don’t know how else to describe it). But what I loved the most is how in this world, magic kind of makes sense, it is not just moving a wand and making a rabbit appear. The main characteristic of magic here is that every action has a reaction, so that battles are formed around a completely new strategy never seen before. The strategies used here are different.
Anyway, I consider this a must-read and recommend it to anybody who likes science fiction and fantasy books.
I learnt about this book via the podcast http://www.writingexcuses.com/ , where the author, Brandom Sanderson, participates actively and mentions a few times this book. I was really intrigued byt the way he had constructed the story. He never gave any major detail away in the podcasts, just enough to get you interested.
I added it to my to-read list and it wasn’t until my boyfriend began listening to the audiobook and told me how hooked he was on it, that I decided to read it. (By the way, I haven’t listened to the audio book but apparently the narrator is amazing)
Anyway, Mistborn is one of those books that gets you hooked from the beginning and when you finish the book you realize how every single passage of it had been planned in advance very meticulously... I love the world that it depicts, as horrible as it is, and the way it manages to mix science fiction and fantasy, and introduce it in a world of EPICNESS (I don’t know how else to describe it). But what I loved the most is how in this world, magic kind of makes sense, it is not just moving a wand and making a rabbit appear. The main characteristic of magic here is that every action has a reaction, so that battles are formed around a completely new strategy never seen before. The strategies used here are different.
Anyway, I consider this a must-read and recommend it to anybody who likes science fiction and fantasy books.
hauntedchaossandwich's review against another edition
Did not enjoy lisening to audiobook, will try to read again
cynthiaannem's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
alexia_15's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
sunny_r's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 - had all of the elements of an incredible story, and it really was, but the feeling wasn’t all there (like it is in those books you keep w you forever)
mmmmadde's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
snorkmidden's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0