A review by noellelovesbooks
Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

 

Content Warnings:
Graphic: Slavery, abuse, murder, executions, torture, attempted murder, and death of a loved one.
Mentioned: Rape, death of a loved one, and infanticide.


A few months back one of my gaming friends rekindled their love of reading and we started talking books. When they brought up the idea of starting a book club I was all in. A bit apprehensive as I tend to binge through books and have never attempted to tandem read, [other than reading one non-fiction while also reading one fiction book at the same time] I wasn’t sure I’d be able to pace myself for a book club.


Though we agreed we’d have a laid-back, no-pressure, book club I thought it was time to attempt to read multiple fictions books at once. Then I could spread out my Mistborn read while continuing to read other books at the same time. This was also the first time that instead of just highlighting passages, while I read, I decided to also write notes in the margins to keep track of my thoughts while reading. And let me tell you, there are many notes, questions, and highlights throughout my copy. 😅


Having heard amazing things about The Cosmere, the world Sanderson has created, I was excited to jump in.


Throughout the book, we get multiple perspectives, seven if I counted correctly, which I love in fantasy novels. We see two perspectives the most, that of Kelsier and Vin, which gives us a mentor and mentee perspective. I absolutely adored the relationship between Kelsier and Vin, from complete strangers to, [at least from Vin] wary teacher/student, to friends/family. Watching the evolution of their relationship grow, throughout the book, was probably my favorite part, aside from all their bantering.


Like many fantasy stories, we get a lot of deep and heavy topics discussed and the story is full of so many shades of gray when it comes to decisions the crew needs to make. While reading, although I knew the main goal of the journey, I loved how I really couldn’t see, or guess, all the many different directions we took before getting to the end.


While reading every time I finished a section/part I found myself more invested than the last. Throughout the book I found myself going through…I want to say EVERY emotion, furious to giddy, overwhelmed with sadness, and then filled with hope…this book hit so many strong emotions.


My one regret is that I didn’t already have book two on hand to jump directly into upon finishing this book. If you’re looking for a fantasy with amazing world-building, found family, strength in the face of hopelessness, and so much more…I highly recommend diving into this book! 

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