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A review by dermonik
The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson
4.0
I finished the first book with the feeling that Sanderson gave most of his worldbuilding away. And for the first 100 pages or so, I still held that belief, and felt a bit disappointed. After all, the pacing was getting slower, and he even downplayed it in the preface. So I dropped it for a while.
What a fool I was! I forgot that this was the same issue I had with the The Final Empire. Sanderson likes to layer his conflicts, and tension builds over the middle. Then, each one resolves with a banger of a twist, page after page. Except, Empire felt like a standalone. Sure, the sky was still ashy and grey, but the main threat was eliminated and the people triumphed.
The Well of Ascension DOES NOT end happily. And all power to it! Each character ends off with new problems, along with the overarching mist-related issue, possibly apocalyptic. It's like a scale not playing the final note, or in other words, it's more of a part one to the final book in the trilogy. Still a fantastic plot full of intrigue and nuanced characters, but make sure you have The Hero of Ages on standby.
What a fool I was! I forgot that this was the same issue I had with the The Final Empire. Sanderson likes to layer his conflicts, and tension builds over the middle. Then, each one resolves with a banger of a twist, page after page. Except, Empire felt like a standalone. Sure, the sky was still ashy and grey, but the main threat was eliminated and the people triumphed.
The Well of Ascension DOES NOT end happily. And all power to it! Each character ends off with new problems, along with the overarching mist-related issue, possibly apocalyptic. It's like a scale not playing the final note, or in other words, it's more of a part one to the final book in the trilogy. Still a fantastic plot full of intrigue and nuanced characters, but make sure you have The Hero of Ages on standby.