Mistborn: Secret History

Second review: I've decided this is my favorite Brandon Sanderson story. Even beyond The Emperor's Soul. I don't often cry in books, but even though I knew it was coming, I couldn't stop the tears from flowing. I laughed, I cried, I enjoyed reading it so much, and it makes me want to reread the Mistborn series again with all the others Cosmetic books.  Brandon Sanderson writes so well that, for this one in particular, it strums my heart strings.

*****

Mistborn: Secret History made me cry. If you're read the other Mistborn books by Brandon Sanderson, it explains so much where there seemed to be holes. If you haven't read them DON'T READ THIS ONE YET!!!! This has so many spoilers. I'd suggest reading it after Bands of Mourning or at least Hero of Ages. There are too many awesome things that will just be spoiled if you get to far ahead of yourself.

So if you haven't read Mistborn yet, don't read this one. Stop your reading of this post right now, otherwise I'll call you a cheaterpants.

******

This is Kelsier's story after he dies in the first book. The Lord Ruler kills him and he finds himself talking to Preservation, the God of their world, as we find out throughout Hero of Ages. Kelsier is able to stop himself from going to the Beyond and ends up imprisoning himself at the Well of Ascension. There he comes to figure out who Ruin and Preservation are as well as the fact that he knows nothing of the world or the cosmere. He meets up with a certain "witty" man whom we've come to love and adore throughout all of Sanderson's books. And he actually kicks Kelsier's trash.

Kelsier, being a spirit-like person, gets to move through the world differently after he is released from the Well, alongside Ruin. He meets Khriss from White Sands and is able to find other people from Elantris (which I haven't read yet, my bad) in hopes that he can save Preservation from being killed by Ruin. But when Preservation dies he hopes to take His power to defeat Ruin. It doesn't work out so well. Ruin has been at this for too long and is able to speak to the people he is controlling. Kelsier can only speak to madmen or to people in their sleep, which makes things very difficult.

He ends up helping Vin and gives up his power to her so she can defeat Ruin, as Preservation had planned when his mind wasn't broken.

OOOOOH it made me cry. Revisiting Dox, Clubs, Vin and Elend! I just about died. Again. So sad, but so happy at different times. I continuely love Sazed and Spook. I feel for them all!

Read it. Enjoy it. Love it!

It is a fantastic novella that answers so many of the Cosmere questions as well as gives insight to Wax and Wayne in Mistborn Era 2. So many answers yet so many secrets.

Hero of Ages

I have found that I'm very unsettled by the last book in the Mistborn series. I am a big fan of Brandon Sanderson, but.... I don't know.

Now that they found the Well of Ascension and released something called Ruin, ashe has come more hazardly down from the ashmounts and the world is really dying. How are Vin, Elend, and the rest of Kelsier's remaining crew supposed to handle the end of the world?

Vin, Elend, and Ham are down south helping gather villagers into the capital city where they are sure crops can grow. Then they head to the final cache location that the Lord Ruler had set up to supply his people. Though they are having a hard time with an obilgator playing king as though nothing bad were happening.

TenSoon went back to his people to pay for the betrayals he committed in telling Vin kandra secrets.

Spook is up north playing a spy where the fourth cache is hidden  under city with a king who is killing most everyone who was nobility. But what is this? Is he starting to see Kelsier? Also, how did he suddenly become so strong? He is no longer someone who is just ignored or a common scout. He tries to be so much like Kelsier, the leader the powerful one, the Survivor... And they end up giving him a name: the Survivor of the Flames, which is cool.

And Sazed is having a crisis of faith. Now that the love of his life is dead, he doesn't know where she has gone. So he searches all of the religions he's collected to find the answers. This is a very interesting plot line to me. His search for truth and trying to find faith. Breeze tells him he wouldn't be a good atheist and it is very true for Sazed. I'm sure many people found this annoying if they weren't religious at all, but the way Sanderson explores the process of finding faith, and that it isn't normally some grand thing that everyone sees, but often times something small that no one else really notices, was interesting to read about. (PS Breeze is with Sazed and they venture up to meet with Spook.)

I do like the explanations of what is going on in this world, though. The chapter headings were super helpful in world building that just couldn't happen through the normal story. The world building, well...the world in general, is engenious. Ruin and Preservation and their battle with balance and the people of the world have to endure it, or at least try too.

Through some thought, I think this is my third favorite of the Mistborn series. Third because it is the last in the trilogy (though don't get me wrong it was a good book). I think it was because more of it focused on everyone else but Vin more a large portion of the time. She got her moments of awesomeness, but they weren't nearly as many as in previous books. I love Vin. She is my favorite! I wanted more of her or Elend. Sazed is cool, but I wanted more of them.

Also, the ending had me in tears, which is okay. I can take some well earned crying. But there were too many people killed in this final battle to make me happy. The way they beat Ruin was awesome, and the mythology behind it was extremely well thought out, but SO MUCH DEATH!!!!

Lack of Vin and in my opinion unneeded deaths. I mean, I'm sure they are all happy in the afterlife, which is illuded too, but they could have been happy now that they have (SPOILER!) grass and flowers again. Instead now they have to have someone else run the kingdoms and govern everything now that most everyone is dead. Ugh, I think there was too much death for me. While it wasn't a pretty sight to begin with and it ended up very much better at the end.... *shakes head* Also, there wasn't nearly as much witty bantering as there were in the other two books. It seemed for more depressing, which I get fits the mood of the end of the world but still.

Good book and it finished out the series so then I can be mostly content. Not completely, but well enough. I'm super glad that there are three more books in this world that I can hopefully be more satisfied.

Well of Ascension

This is the second time finishing the Well of Ascension and, boy, was it worth it. There is so much I had forgotten but was very valuable to the story.

I remember reading this the first time around and thinking it being a very politically driven book. One that I could just skip through in order to get to the fighting or more interesting dialog--that was also a few years ago before I became a better reader. Now, my opinion has grown.

This story does have a lot of politics in it as Elend and the members of the crew, now that the Lord Ruler is dead, have to keep the city functioning and to keep the people from starving. But there is much more to this story. Vin has to find her place inside herself. Is she a girl who likes pretty dresses, a Mistborn who is a knife for Elend's Empire, a Mistborn like Kelsier? How is she supposed to compile all of these different parts of her into whoever she is? And it's not just Vin who gets a dose of growth, Elend has become King, but doesn't ask like it and must learn what makes a leader.

There is also a new metal found that helps Vin in many tight spaces. But does that mean there are more out there?

New characters make their debut. A friend for Sazed. A Mistborn who could be more dangerous than simply trying to kill her. A lady that is more aware of emotions than Breeze is. So many fun characters that throw some of our favorites for a loop at times.

As not one or two but three armies attack the new kingdom, they have to find a way to defend themselves. There are over 40,000 invaders, half of which are nearly impossible to kill large blue giants called the Koloss. Alongside an imposter in their ranks, but who is it?

Though the most troubling of all could be the mists. They are acting strangely. Staying longer in the day. Are they the cause of why people are being killed for no reason? Vin starts seeing things in the mists. Is she going crazy like the logbook writer?

This book was written in the fantastic way Brandon Sanderson does. He wrote the inner turmoil that Vin has accurately to someone who is trying to find themselves. It did take me a little longer to read than the other books I've gotten through, but that was not the books fault (ending school and the Christmas holidays got me sidetracked from reading). But I do love these books.

Mistborn: The Final Empire

Another book by Brandon Sanderson that is amazing. Mistborn is the first book that I read of his and I enjoyed it so so much. If you wanted to get into Sanderson's books this is one of the ones that I would suggest first. Like many of Sanderson's novels the ideas behind/concepts of his stories are fresh and new. Who else would think of "burning metals" as a way to have "magical" abilities. For a full description of the novel go to Mistborn on Brandon Sanderson's Website.

There are many things in this book that touch a lot of different hot topics that Sanderson isn't afraid to address. In Mistborn there is a discussion of Religion, Politics, Pain, Betrayal, Trust, and the importance of Hope. While these can be sticky questions, he explores and doesn't exclude ideas about how to cope with these topics.

There are moments that made me realize just how much of a hopeless romantic I can be sometimes. Vin, one of our main characters, was a street urchin who was able to survive so much in her thieving crew because of her Luck. She joins Kelsier's thieving crew, because she was almost found out by the Ministry, and their job to overthrow the Final Empire and the Lord Ruler, who has lived for centuries and is believed to be immortal. She dresses up as a noblewoman to infiltrate the Noble Houses, to gain their confidence,, learn information, and spread rumors among them. But while impersonating a noblewoman she runs into Elend Venture whom she starts falling for. Their conversations made me smile because it had just the right amount of cheesiness that it was cute without being too sappy. I loved it so much.

I also love how Kelsier is still in love with his wife, Mare, though she died. It is because of her that he starts this crew and the job. While he does this for revenge for his wife, even though it is believed that she betrayed him. He still loves her. It goes to show that you "can't help who you love" in that it can very hard to persuade your heart to hate someone who you love.

The idea of trust is a big component in the story as well. Vin, being around these other thieving crews, has learned to not trust anyone. Her brother's voice constantly reminds her that everyone will betray her. Vin slowly learns to trust her new crew. Kelsier's crew  works through trust, not fear like she has known.

I was asked a little bit ago when someone saw me reading this before a class started, if "you have to be a Mormon to understand" where Brandon Sanderson (who is LDS) is coming from. I would disagree. There are many people who enjoy it who aren't part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This book has been read all around the world and has been loved by millions of people. It has been loved so much that they have made a D&D type game based off this world and the concepts there. It is not only for Mormons. Everyone can enjoy this series.

I'll be reading Brandon Sanderson's Well of Ascension next--the next in the series. Read it with me and enjoy.