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figumaster3k 's review for:
The Eleventh Metal
by Brandon Sanderson
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A (NOT SO) SHORT REVIEW FOR A SHORT STORY
One thing Brandon Sanderson’s known is for his prolificity. And with his own prolificity, Sanderson expands and expands his Cosmere universe. Among with many other short stories collected in Arcanum Unbounded, The Eleventh Metal is the first Cosmere short story I lay my fingers on; and I have to say, it’s quite skippable… Don’t get me wrong, this not bad by any means. It just doesn’t seem to add anything after you’ve read the first book in the saga. Because the rules for alomancy presented are already very well known to us readers, so nothing new on that ground.
This story focus entirely on Kelsier’s training years, and we get to see a different side of Kelsier, learning, a pupil. And the additional character we get of Kelsier’s mentor is not particularly outstanding in my opinion. The thing with The Eleventh Metal, in retrospect, is that is feels like it’s more intended to work as an alternative entry gate to the Mistborn series instead of going your way in through The Final Empire. Sanderson himself has stated that this short story isn’t intended to stand on its own as it was originally published to work as a companion for an RPG game for the players to speed on the game if they haven’t read the books. And me the bastard that I am, I’m doing exactly that, judging it on its own and seeing if it stands. Well, it has one or two interesting things going on that I will praise.
The action is still great, coming from the Mistborn series and Sanderson the cinematic alchemist that he is, you’ll burn these 13 pages very quickly with gripping action going on. Also showing a different section of the Empire, having I only read The Final Empire, and having these passionate architectural descriptions of a significantly different section of Scadrial is quite interesting. Another thing, and huge spoiler warning if you haven’t finished reading The Final Empire yet, the way it presents the possibility of other metals beyond the ten known only builds more hype for anyone who’s finished the first book and is waiting to get into the second one, like me right now.
So, while not the most consequential bit of narrative in the Mistborn narrative, and still being a significantly skippable flashback of Kelsier’s past, I would still say this is enjoyable to an extent. Only that if you’re not a die hard fan of the series, or haven’t enjoyed the first Mistborn book all that much, this one definitely isn’t targeted at you.
6/10
One thing Brandon Sanderson’s known is for his prolificity. And with his own prolificity, Sanderson expands and expands his Cosmere universe. Among with many other short stories collected in Arcanum Unbounded, The Eleventh Metal is the first Cosmere short story I lay my fingers on; and I have to say, it’s quite skippable… Don’t get me wrong, this not bad by any means. It just doesn’t seem to add anything after you’ve read the first book in the saga. Because the rules for alomancy presented are already very well known to us readers, so nothing new on that ground.
This story focus entirely on Kelsier’s training years, and we get to see a different side of Kelsier, learning, a pupil. And the additional character we get of Kelsier’s mentor is not particularly outstanding in my opinion. The thing with The Eleventh Metal, in retrospect, is that is feels like it’s more intended to work as an alternative entry gate to the Mistborn series instead of going your way in through The Final Empire. Sanderson himself has stated that this short story isn’t intended to stand on its own as it was originally published to work as a companion for an RPG game for the players to speed on the game if they haven’t read the books. And me the bastard that I am, I’m doing exactly that, judging it on its own and seeing if it stands. Well, it has one or two interesting things going on that I will praise.
The action is still great, coming from the Mistborn series and Sanderson the cinematic alchemist that he is, you’ll burn these 13 pages very quickly with gripping action going on. Also showing a different section of the Empire, having I only read The Final Empire, and having these passionate architectural descriptions of a significantly different section of Scadrial is quite interesting. Another thing, and huge spoiler warning if you haven’t finished reading The Final Empire yet, the way it presents the possibility of other metals beyond the ten known only builds more hype for anyone who’s finished the first book and is waiting to get into the second one, like me right now.
So, while not the most consequential bit of narrative in the Mistborn narrative, and still being a significantly skippable flashback of Kelsier’s past, I would still say this is enjoyable to an extent. Only that if you’re not a die hard fan of the series, or haven’t enjoyed the first Mistborn book all that much, this one definitely isn’t targeted at you.
6/10