Reviews

First Sanderson read complete, and he holds up to the hype!
Mistborn was a very good fantasy book (but maybe not as good as the general consensus claims…)

Pros: plot and pacing. This is a huge strength for the author. The book dragged at some parts but for the majority he kept the plot moving and threw in shocking twists or intriguing developments that - by the end - had me flying through the story. And the book is just fun. That’s not always present in self-serious fictional tales but he makes it a fun read and keeps it up throughout the bulk of the text.

Cons: character development. I never felt as connected to any of the protagonists as the books high rating would suggest. He stuck to only a few POVs throughout the book but even within those two main characters there was a clear limit on how much depth he was willing to give. And then when he did reveal another nugget it didn’t add much to their character - just window dressing.

Overall- really solid entry into the fantasy world. A bit of steampunk. Really well developed magic systems. If Fantasy is your thing you should definitely give this a read and see where you fall on the spectrum of Sanderson and his writing prowess.

n3rdybookworm's review against another edition

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4.0

Very solid fantasy book, not too predictable and with a decent amount of social criticism. Very different magic system from most other fantasy settings. Am torn between 4 and 5 stars, because it's not quite as good as Patrick Rothfuss' stuff, but that is a very high bar and I've rated other things that are also not as good 5 stars, so 5 stars it gets.

edit: After continuing to read the trilogy, decided that it only deserved 4 stars

kappo's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

kotletka_polina's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Really good book but was tough for me to get through. Spent quite some time reading, especially enjoyed the second half of it, not sure about continuing the series tho.

fluttertutter's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful 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? No

5.0

this is a really good book wow and really a lot better than elantris i’m glad i started cosmere with elantris when i was searching up the reading order. for such a lengthy book the pacing was very well done - it doesn’t feel slow at the start?? it dives right in and the story progresses because it does???? the ending didn’t feel rushed and even when the rebellion happens “earlier than expected” in the book, it doesn’t even feel that way the events happening after one another felt very very natural. in elantris the rules of the magical system and world building was abit confusing and hard to grip but it’s obvious sanderson’s writing got better here it doesn’t feel… difficult?? and idk if it’s a result of kelsier having to teach vin and hence the explaining doesn’t feel so much like the author throwing info about allomancy at me HAHHAHA and also how in the world did sanderson come up with allomancy and feruchemy and how they work?!?

and the way the metals are being used HOW DID HE COME UP WITH IT and the fight scenes was written so masterfully wow

magical systems aside, the story progression the twists and turns, the characters and their development their stories were all so well written?!? especially vin and kelsier 🥲 the motivations between kelsier’s action and insanity, vin’s character development

from the timid invisible girl to the mistborn she is, her learning how to trust and forming relationships with people it all transitioned so well and the growth was so clear and natural in the story?!?

idk how sanderson does it there is so much in the book and yet at the same time it doesn’t feel cramped and forced?? i’m scared to read the whole cosmere HAHHAHAHAH

honestly the more i think about it the crazier this book is. it’s hard enough to write the characters well, but combined it with a whole magical system and a full blown overthrowing an empire?? for a whole story to work this well i think sanderson is really a wizard omg and for kell’s motivation and intention to only be revealed after he sacrifice himself??? to kill off such an influential character and yet make that character central to the whole plan????????? and then referencing back to ‘there’s always another secret’?!?!?? this is really some mad writing skills.

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