A review by goofymango
The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective 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

4.0

I'm kind of conflicted about this book. Although I'm giving it 4 stars, most of that comes down to the last few chapters, and the incredible world-building throughout. I won't lie - it was hard to get through all of the book. I'm not sure if it was simply the length, the slow pace (for 3/4 of the book - the last quarter really picked up), or maybe the audiobook narrator. There were a lot of times where I had to force myself to keep listening, which frustrated me, because on paper, this book is right up my alley. And it was good - there is no denying Sanderson's incredible talent not only for writing, but for the imaginative, original and in-depth worldbuilding. The magic system has got to be one of my favourites of all time, and is like nothing I've read before. The character development was really good, especially in the case of Vin, and I really liked the supporting characters; they felt authentic and dimensional, and didn't fall into cliché roles. I think really my qualms come down to how long the book was; I feel as though a fair amount of it could have been shorter. The final quarter of the book, however, was fantastic, and had plot twists that left my jaw actually hanging open. Hence the confliction! 

This is the second series of Sanderson's that I've listened to - the first being his recent Skyward series. The pace, tone and style of these two series are completely different, which definitely threw me; I honestly don't think I'd have twigged they were by the same author. Still, all in all, this is a great example of fantasy worldbuilding, and I'm sure I'll continue the series. 
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