A review by isabellarobinson7
The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

5.0

Rating: 5 stars

Holy. Freaking. Moly. I loved The Final Empire way too much. Heck, I love Brandon Sanderson way too much and this is my first book of his that I’ve read! Everything about The Final Empire was just so incredibly well done and perfectly executed and I need The Well of Ascension right now give it to me I need it.

One thing I loved about The Final Empire was that it was a story in itself. Like, the novel certainly felt like part of a series, but it also felt really "rounded-off" at the end. We had a beginning, a middle and an end; as opposed to a beginning, a middle and a cliffhanger like most books in series tend to feel like. It’s almost as if Brandon Sanderson is giving you the option of reading the rest of the Mistborn series, but isn’t forcing you to do so because he doesn't leave everything so unfinished that the story isn’t complete and the reader physically needs more. Big spoiler here:

Spoiler

In The Final Empire, we start out by meeting Vin, Kelsier (*cue tears*) and the rest of the crew; follow them through their scheming and plotting while the world begins to take shape and the magic system becomes more clear; and then end by defeating the Lord Ruler - not without obstacles and sacrifices (*cue more tears*) along the way - completing the overall goal in the novel.

What the characters started out wanting to do was achieved. It comes full circle. Then, once you finish The Final Empire, you can decide to continue with the series and read The Well of Ascension (which I, for one, am most definitely going to do) or you can leave it at that (if the world, characters or writing style doesn’t really work for you) and still feel satisfied.

I had a love/hate relationship with Vin. Sometimes I adored her character, other times I was so frustrated with her. She talked in circles constantly and was so infuriating at times. But, this doesn’t bring The Final Empire down any stars. Why? Because Vin is a teenager and I can’t be mad at Brandon Sanderson for writing a teenager exactly how a teenager should be written.

Spoiler

I know that lots of people don't like Vin's romance with Elend because it was poorly done or whatever, but to be completely honest, I didn’t really mind her and Elend together, though, coming from me, that statement doesn’t hold much weight. I don’t really pick up on what characters do or don’t have chemistry with each other, I kind of just recognise the actions or attitudes they have towards the other person and relate that with relationships I’ve seen before to deduce whether or not they will end up together. That is if I pay attention to the romance at all, something I rarely do. So if the romance in The Final Empire was badly implemented, I either didn't notice it or didn't pay enough attention to the romance in general and so the poor execution didn't effect my overall opinion of the story.

I also really loved Elend as a character. When we are introduced to him, he is reading - instant favourite! He was quite well read (get it? Because he's in a book and reads lots of books and because he was smart? Haha, I'm hilarious) and I really enjoyed how he practically shattered all of Kelsier's expectations of him and of noblemen in general.

Spoiler

Also, did not expect him to lead the Final Empire in place of the Lord Ruler. Kudos to Brandon Sanderson for that twist.

But Kelsier. Oh man. What a character! Keeping it spoiler-free first up, Kelsier was so involved and complex but so genuine at the same time. He was the perfect example of the flawed father figure that so many authors try to create. He cared for Vin so much, but he wasn't without fault. He made mistakes, he didn't do everything right the first time around, he had a nasty habit of stereotyping people, but he was human and so I expected nothing less. In the same way that Vin had her teenage imperfections, Kell had his adult ones, and while the former is significantly more obvious to the reader, adolescent or not, both are present and neither character should be criticized for these shortcomings. And that’s about all I can say for the spoiler-free part.

Spoiler

WHY DID HE HAVE TO DIE?! Well, I know why, but I’m still sad about it. The thing is, his death was such a integral and well crafted part of the story that it had to be there, but at the same time, was so painful to read. Kell was my favourite character, and his death confirmed this, but that doesn't mean I have to be happy with it.

So, don't really have any bad things to say about The Final Empire. The authenticity of the world and the world-building reminded me so much of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth from The Lord of the Rings etc. There almost needs to be a Silmarillion-type novel for Brandon Sanderson's Luthadel and all those religions Sazed has stored up in his mind/metals; Sanderson's work is certainly the closest a fantasy writer has ever come to reaching Tolkien's Middle-earth proportions.