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midnacine's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Okay so I really enjoyed this book, however there were a few things that prevented me from giving the full five stars, primarily the fact that the beginning was on the slow side and the magic system was very confusing to understand until about 100 pages in when it was finally explained to the MC. It was also a little tough to keep track of all of the characters and perspective changes until about halfway through. Once I got past all of that though, really a fun fantasy adventure with a unique magic system, compelling plot, and some great characters! Though I could do without the 5 year age gap between Vin and Elend, and I wish it passed the Bechdel test. Definitely gonna read the rest of the main trilogy!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Murder, Slavery, and Classism
Moderate: Blood, Abandonment, Grief, Body horror, Misogyny, and Gore
Minor: Rape, Child death, and Sexual harassment
remuslibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Grief, Abandonment, Violence, Blood, Classism, Death, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
jmitchell20's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Gore
verafogel's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
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
4.5
Although the first third if the book was rather slow I just got better and better. The hole philosophical debate of what would be a good nation, who should be in charge and why oppression is never justified was excellent.
By the end Elend and Vin's relationship felt a little as instant love but I still liked them though I would've appreciated to see the relationship develop a little more.
I still refuse to accept Kel died.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Gore
andreiflorea's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
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
This book was a breath of fresh air. I am quite an avid fantasy reader and have always been fascinated by self-consistent magical systems, but wow. Brandon goes out of his way to create this very detailed account of how the magical system would work. It is so hard it is almost tangible.
Also I have to say this magical system is certainly the first of its kind. I have never seen anything like it before. The use metal based aracane arts blew my mind. It feels like alchemy meets bending the elements.
Wit and character development drive the story. Brandon is not afraid to use his characters to full story arcs until they outlast their usefulness and then doing away with them. The writing is female centric, focusing on the main heroine, Vin.
As the book says, a retale of "what if the badguys won"? There is a darklord, it deals with a broken society divided in between nobles and slaves. My favourite topic is the persistance of hope despite the mountain of systemic despair. A must read.
Wit and character development drive the story. Brandon is not afraid to use his characters to full story arcs until they outlast their usefulness and then doing away with them. The writing is female centric, focusing on the main heroine, Vin.
As the book says, a retale of "what if the badguys won"? There is a darklord, it deals with a broken society divided in between nobles and slaves. My favourite topic is the persistance of hope despite the mountain of systemic despair. A must read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Slavery, and Violence
nyquilla's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, War, Murder, and Racism
Moderate: Violence and Gore
Minor: Rape and Vomit
fox_at_the_circus's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
I loved this book and the world it was set in. The premise of it is so good and so is the magic system. And the characters are all just so good and well-written.
Vin and Kelsier as the main characters, a newby and a master, are a great way to give exposure and explain things to the readers, too, without it seeming out of place. And having them both as the POV characters is also a great way to show their relationship developing. And I loved their (father-daughter) relationship and also the other relationships in this book. The heist crew as found family planning a revolution, but also just joking around with each other was so fun to read. And the ball scenes with Vin and Elend were adorable and gave me YA-vibes.
I liked that, with the heist crew and rebellion leader working togethere, there were interesting discussions about what is needed and ethical for a rebellion. And even the crew having varying opinions on it, like Kelsier and Vin treating the skaa guards differently. Also Sazed and his mission to find a fitting belief for everyone and his thoughts on religion as something that suits you rather than fitting yourself into one was really interesting. Both very cool ideas and a fantasy book is such a good place to explore different ideas and views.
Also, the writing was so good! There were scenes in the beginning, that made me wonder about certain truths the world/setting, that later got resolved so perfectly. And also some plot twists where kinda pretictable, but the the real plot twist would be so much more than I could have predicted. Which really made me feel respected as a reader, because the puzzle pieces where all there and it didn't just ocme out of nowhere. And there's questions left open for me to definitely read the other books in the series!
Vin and Kelsier as the main characters, a newby and a master, are a great way to give exposure and explain things to the readers, too, without it seeming out of place. And having them both as the POV characters is also a great way to show their relationship developing. And I loved their (father-daughter) relationship and also the other relationships in this book. The heist crew as found family planning a revolution, but also just joking around with each other was so fun to read. And the ball scenes with Vin and Elend were adorable and gave me YA-vibes.
I liked that, with the heist crew and rebellion leader working togethere, there were interesting discussions about what is needed and ethical for a rebellion. And even the crew having varying opinions on it, like Kelsier and Vin treating the skaa guards differently. Also Sazed and his mission to find a fitting belief for everyone and his thoughts on religion as something that suits you rather than fitting yourself into one was really interesting. Both very cool ideas and a fantasy book is such a good place to explore different ideas and views.
Also, the writing was so good! There were scenes in the beginning, that made me wonder about certain truths the world/setting, that later got resolved so perfectly. And also some plot twists where kinda pretictable, but the the real plot twist would be so much more than I could have predicted. Which really made me feel respected as a reader, because the puzzle pieces where all there and it didn't just ocme out of nowhere. And there's questions left open for me to definitely read the other books in the series!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Violence, Slavery, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Death, Gore, Torture, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Body horror
another_avid_bookreader's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Death
nienora's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
There's a reason why these books have such high ratings.
There's so many twists and turns. Their plans fell through, they've lost people when maybe they shouldn't have. People made stupid, impulsive decisions not for the plot, but because they're flawed and they believed in a cause that, in their eyes, was doomed to fail from the start.
When you finally think you've got it all figured out, there's something more. Like Kelsier likes to say "There's always another secret".
I wasn't utterly confused for the first 100 pages, which practically never happens in any high fantasy setting. Sanderson occasionally stops in the middle of the story to offer explanation about lore and history. But it feels very natural and it's a big help in understanding the world and makes it that much easier to read.
Vin has grown so much. I found her very annoying in the first part. It's all very understandable considering what she went through, but that doesn't mean I have to enjoy it. But she did get better.
Kell is chaotic and it works. I love him. He's not a hero, and he definitely isn't a good person, but he tries in his own (twisted) way. I really liked his inner conflict, especially how Vin starts to question just how much of his plans and behavior is absolutely necessary.
Elend is a strange mixture of Christopher Lightwood and Nikolai Lantsov and it doesn't get much better than that. He's cute and a little bit dumb and definitely too idealistic for someone in his position.
There's so many twists and turns. Their plans fell through, they've lost people when maybe they shouldn't have. People made stupid, impulsive decisions not for the plot, but because they're flawed and they believed in a cause that, in their eyes, was doomed to fail from the start.
When you finally think you've got it all figured out, there's something more. Like Kelsier likes to say "There's always another secret".
I wasn't utterly confused for the first 100 pages, which practically never happens in any high fantasy setting. Sanderson occasionally stops in the middle of the story to offer explanation about lore and history. But it feels very natural and it's a big help in understanding the world and makes it that much easier to read.
Vin has grown so much. I found her very annoying in the first part. It's all very understandable considering what she went through, but that doesn't mean I have to enjoy it. But she did get better.
Kell is chaotic and it works. I love him. He's not a hero, and he definitely isn't a good person, but he tries in his own (twisted) way. I really liked his inner conflict, especially how Vin starts to question just how much of his plans and behavior is absolutely necessary.
Elend is a strange mixture of Christopher Lightwood and Nikolai Lantsov and it doesn't get much better than that. He's cute and a little bit dumb and definitely too idealistic for someone in his position.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
nicoleterego's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and War
Moderate: Suicide