A review by lilifane
The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Read No 2 - 15.06.2024

After reading every Cosmere book Brandon Sanderson has written, rereading The Final Empire didn't quite reach 5 stars again. I still think the atmosphere and plotting are fantastic. But I caught myself skipping the action scenes to get to the parts that interested me more this time. It was fun to see all the foreshadowing, though. And I mean ALL the foreshadowing, it wasn't even subtle. Love this about rereading. 

17.10.2022

I was expecting to like this book. But I was not prepared for HOW much. I looove the characters. So so much. Vin is an amazing protagonist. Kelsier… my love. And their relationship is so precious. 🥺 I have a lot of feeling for the side characters, too.
The setting and atmosphere are woah. The mists, the ashfall. And the action/fighting scenes surprised me so much. I normally don‘t care for those but I saw them play out in my mind super vividly. They remind me of Wuxia movies and I enjoyed them immensely. The Inquisitors (and the Lord Ruler) are SCARY! The scenes with them were epic! I don‘t know if I had such goosebumps because of a villain of a book before. I can‘t remember. 
At the same time the humor was great, too? Loved the balance between witty banter and seriousness, action and emotions.
Another surprise were the mysteries in the plot. I was expecting the rebellion, I was not expecting the past history, the prophesies, the secrets. 
Can‘t wait to read the rest of the series. 

Initial rating: 5 stars
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