Reviews with content warning for Grief - The Well of Ascension

A great sequel to the first book. The mysteries slowly unfold and makes for a book that's difficult to put down. I like how character-driven the books are and that the politics are actually interesting.
My only criticism would be the excessive repetition of information - I guess it's good conduct to write a book that doesn't expect of its readers to have read the first one in the series, but it also meant a lot of re-hashing.
On to the third book - can't wait to see what happens!

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chaitai00's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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ailsaod's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Well I finally got round to reading this chonker! I was a little worried that this book was going to be a bit flat without Kelsier but while it has a very different vibe I would say this is also pretty great.

Sanderson has a halfway comedic air at times in this book which had me giggling (anyone fancy an actual among us side plot? What about ANOTHER army laying siege to the city to add to your collection? How about watching a character fall victim to their own competence? No??). Despite everything going wrong Sanderson somehow made somewhat funny and I am definitely on board for that. I think the build up was better than in 'The final empire' as the exciting parts of the book were a bit more spread out which improved the overall reading experience but made the climax a little less dramatic. That being said, the resolution of the 'among us' subplot I mentioned earlier was like a punch to the face. Like I knew from the beginning that the reveal was going to sting but not quite like that??

The reason this book isn't five stars are primarily related to Vin and Elend's relationship. It was great seeing Elend really become his own character in this book but him and Vin having breakdowns in communication or being all sappy round each other was very meh. This book features a brief love triangle (Aah!) which I won't go into any further but was very frustrating. Vin just wafts around like 'but maybe Elend is too good for me and I should be with this actual rat instead' and I was just grinding my teeth and wishing I could reach into the book and shake her. Rat man has got to be one of the least likable love interests I have ever seen - he is very 'gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss' in a most unsexy way and every time I thought he was done being the worst he would have a new, even less appealing surprise for me (admitedly the resolution of the love triangle was one of the standout scenes of the book so there is that at least!). Also this book has an ending that despite not being a landslide disaster tricked my brain into feeling mildly crushed in a way I can only liken to a lighter version of finishing the Farseer Trilogy. Not a feeling I wanted thanks but this may have just been me.

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superstars111's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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sashafriese's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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fanboyriot's review against another edition

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adventurous 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? Yes

4.0

I can't get over the details in these books. The characters are all well written, the character development is so good to read as well. While this book was a lot slower-paced I still found it interesting, learning about the world building and how the magic system works made up for it. Having said that I didn't like it as much as the first book, though like the first book, nearing the end it got really intense; so much happened at the end I don't really know how to process it. Overall I really like this series far.

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vereadsbooks's review

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“It's easy to believe in something when you win all the time...The losses are what define a man's faith.”

The last 100 pages were a wild ride. Two years have passed since Vin defeated the Lord Ruler, and now Elend is trying to rule Luthanel the best way he can. But neither he, nor Vin, nor the others know how to achieve it. Not without Kelsier. Things start to go wrong when Straff's army besieges Luthadel demanding his surrender.

“Good men don't become legends," he said quietly.
"Good men don't need to become legends." She opened her eyes, looking up at him. "They just do what's right anyway.”

I was a little hesitant to read this book. Because I was still processing Kelsier's death. After finishing the first book, I felt that his death was really premature and that neither Vin nor we were ready to be without him.

“It was his ability to trust," she said. "It was the way that he made good people into better people, the way that he inspired them. His crew worked because he had confidence in them - because he respected them. And, in return, they respected each other. Men like Breeze and Clubs became heroes because Kelsier had faith in them.”

Sanderson definitely knows what he's doing. The pace was a bit slow, but it turned into something great. The last 100 pages were incredible! I like the political intrigue that went into the story, and I love seeing this group of people working hard to preserve Kelsier's legacy. The book gives us a lot of information about the magical, social, religious, and political system of this world which can be exhausting and challenging to read at times. But it was worth it.

“At first glance, the key and the lock it fits may seem very different," Sazed said. "Different in shape, different in function, different in design. The man who looks at them without knowledge of their true nature might think them opposites, for one is meant to open, and the other to keep closed. Yet, upon closer examination he might see that without one, the other becomes useless. The wise man then sees that both lock and key were created for the same purpose.”

Vin is an unstoppable force and watching her progress and how she learned to trust others is beautiful. His relationship with OreSeur is one of the precious gems of this book. She and Elend are so cute together. It's amazing how they have grown into a better version of themselves.

“You must love him enough to trust his wishes, even if you disagree with them. You must respect him - no matter how wrong you think he may be, no matter how poor you think his decisions, you must respect his desire to make them. Even if one of them includes loving you.”

I'm going to take a few weeks to process everything this story has given me, so I'll be ready to jump into the last book of the trilogy.

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