Those of you that know me know I devour books like chocolate. I often have the best intentions of blogging some sort of review, but I usually get distracted by the next book I start and before I know it I'm into another universe and all hopes of blogging about a book are gone. I tend to focus on a series when I'm reading it and then when I'm done I let it go and focus on the next. This is problematic for those epic stories where not all the books are out yet (The Game of Thrones books or the Wheel of Time books are good examples). Usually I will just go back and re-read the series to prepare for the new release. This isn't going to work for me when the last Wheel of Time book comes out because that series is 13 books long with the 14th book coming out god only knows when. I really like trilogies, and that is what I am reading now. On to my actual review!
I have been reading, and thoroughly enjoying, the
Mistborn Series by
Brandon Sanderson. I'm writing about this as a whole rather than the three books because I'm lazy and because we downloaded the trilogy as one book so I have a good reason. This world consists of your good and evil, and then your evil that might not be so evil because there is something just more evil around the corner. The world is ruled by the Lord Ruler. His law is the law. He has Nobles (supporters, minions, puppets) that help him rule the land and the Skaa to help work the land. Skaa are pretty much the lowest of the low and treated like they are expendable, which they apparently are.
In this world Sanderson has introduced the concept of Allomancy. What is this you ask? It is about the coolest thing since coffee! An allomancer is able to use abilities in metal by drinking/eating the metals and then burning them to release the power. Anyone can swallow metal, but the ability to sense it in the body and burn it is what makes them really special. I should also mention that only those with noble blood can be an allomancer, it was like a door prize the Lord Ruler gave the first nobles because they supported him (maybe one of the wives baked him a really awesome chocolate cake). There are 16 specific metals and they each have a different ability. There are two different groups of allomancers, Mistborns which can burn all of the metals and are not as common, and Mistings which can only burn one of the metals. The use of metals, and the the abilities they hold are pretty cool, and complex. Depending on the person/creature and the method used can give you some really unexpected outcomes. I'm not going to say much more because I don't want to give anything away, and because it gets pretty complex and then I'd have to give secrets away. Lets just say, the ability to heal faster or hear better or leap from one place to another all because of allomancy is really really cool.
The story is about a group of Skaa "rebels" who are planning to throw over the Lord Ruler because it is his fault the world is off balance and unfair. They want to make the world a better place for all. It is a small group of people gifted in various ways be it Misting or not (Dockson, Hammond, Breeze, Clubs, Spook, Marsh) and a Mistborn (Kelsier). Marsh is Kelsier's brother, and the one who started working for the rebellion long before Kelsier was involved. Marsh also leads Kelsier to Vin, who is a young girl living a hard life with a band of thieves. Part of the story is her learning about who (or what) she really is, and learning that it is okay to trust people. The other part of the story is ultimately finding a way to defeat evil and give the people a better world to live in. As the books progress you meet new characters that are helping with the rebellion like Elend who is a noble with a desire for the world to be better for everyone, and Sazed who is a keeper that gathers, stores and shares knowledge.
I love the interactions between the characters and how the different skills are used for all the tasks involved in over throwing and rebuilding a kingdom. Sanderson does a good job of not over complicating his ideas, they make sense in his use and application and that makes it easy to just believe. I also like his character development; he doesn't try to dump everything on you all at once. You get enough information to get an idea of the character and as the books progress you learn more about everyone. I like this, for me it feels like I'm getting to know a new friend. Sanderson also does a good job of introducing twists and turns and hints of things to come, and then actually answers all your questions. By the time I finished the series all my questions had been answered; I wasn't left hanging or confused.
This series was a delightfully, creative, fun and satisfying read. And some good news-there is a game and possibly a movie in the future of this trilogy. I'd read the books first ;)
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