Mistborn

“Belief isn't simply a thing for fair times and bright days...What is belief - what is faith - if you don't continue in it after failure? Anyone can believe in someone, or something that always succeeds...but failure...ah, now, that is hard to believe in, certainly and truly. Difficult enough to have value. Sometimes we just have to wait long enough...then we find out why exactly it was that we kept believing. There's always another secret.”

A billion stars, truly and completely, give this book the whole damn sky Oh. My. God. This book...I mean holy shit this book! Did I just...did Sanderson just...oh. my. GOD.

Alright, let me find some semblance of normalcy so that I can actually talk to you about this book. If you can't already tell that I found it to be one of the best books I've read this year, if not one of my new favorites of all time, you may want to check your reading skills in the nicest way possible because this is about to be a shitstorm of emotional reviewing. So let's start with the basics. In this world, namely the Final Empire which the all powerful Lord Ruler presides over, the sun is red. Not just a little bit, not an extended sunset, no. Red. There are no green leaves or flowers. Ash falls like rain from ashmounts far in the distance. And mists consume the night, a seeping cloak across the population struggling to sleep, to survive. This is the world we find ourselves thrown into. There is magic here, a unique magic that I've never seen before and will never see again. To access powers, people must ingest metals, one of ten that yield different control over different things. For instance, if you 'burn' (use) zinc, you can dampen the emotions of others around you, but if you burn brass, you ignite or 'riot' them. Each metal is unique and has a counter balance with an alloy to work with. Awesome, right? I know. Our two main characters, Vin and Kelsier, are mistborn, meaning that they control allAllomantic metals, rather than being a misting, who only control one. And may I just say that they are incredible? Kelsier is at times an arrogant piece of shit but is overall an amazing leader and teacher and friend that you can't help but love. And Vin, well...she's a badass thief and I wouldn't get in the queen's way. This is pretty much how I imagine them:

They're one hell of a team, and it's not just them. Every character in this book is so well defined, unique not only in their powers, but in their very presence and power in the novel. There are no cookie cutter characters, and even minor ones have their special moments that I'll always hold onto and remember. The pretense of this novel is that shit is about to go down. In this society, there are strong divisions between the upper and lower class, between the nobility and so called skaa (think serfs in feudalism-era Europe). All the main characters we see are half breeds between the classes, forgotten and shamed people that have powers and can bring hope to the skaa, and are thereby exterminated by the powers that be. This is a heist. This is a revolution. This is an ascension. The plot of this book blew me away. At every turn there was something unexpected, but there were also so many sweet moments that I cherished like the passing of handkerchiefs and the stealing of reading nooks. The action was so well done I was jumpy for half an hour after reading all fight scenes; the romance was sweet, but not oppressive to the story; and the emotional pain of this glorious book left me in a puddle after I finished the last page. The writing was perfectly fine, and at times incredibly poignant, and was a perfect balance between figurative language and the overwhelming imagination of Sanderson's mind. I think if it had been any more elevated, like many high fantasy novels are, it would have drawn away from the incredible masterpiece that Sanderson created. Overall, I loved it from the world to the characters to the emotions and I cannot say enough praise to the author for letting me see a piece of this incredible story. Truly, I think I might have just found my favorite book, and that's saying something for sure. And can we all just appreciate Vin a little more for that ending, cause holy shit, major slaying by the queen right there.

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