[A quick note: I have been sitting on this book for YEARS! I heard the hype, and I knew that Sanderson was an amazing author based on all the hearsay. It’s one of those books I intended to get to, and just didn’t. A friend recommended that I dive into Mistborn before any of Sanderson’s other books. So I finally decided to give audiobooks a try again. I’d tried audiobooks a few years back and they just weren’t for me. I’m so glad I tried them again because I loved the experience this time around. Also, how pretty are the edges on this copy of Mistborn? I love the color I sprayed them.]
“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.” —Brandon Sanderson
For a thousand years, the world has rained ash, no flowers have bloomed, and the Skaa have been subjugated to the tyrannical rule of the Lord Ruler. All that changes when a half-Skaa with a vision recruits the ultimate crew to topple the empire. Vin is the linchpin in his plan. On the surface, she’s a street urchin, but deeper than that, she’s a Mistborn, and only she possesses the power to overthrow the kingdom’s ruler.
ALL THE HYPE IS DESERVED. I mean…WOW, this book was as AHHH-mazing. It was my first audiobook, so I was a little nervous. I loved the story, the narrator, the writing, the plot, the characters. All of it was PERFECTION! There was so much to unpack—so much goodness and wonderfulness. Also, this was my first Sanderson novel and I’m hoooookkkeeeddd. Give me all the Sanderson books NOW. Every aspect of this book was deftly handled with skill, creativity, and ingenuity.
The world building was extremely unique. I can’t think of many books that compete, except perhaps The Founders Trilogy. There was EXCELLENT political intrigue, with great houses who scheme against each other and suppress the people. The pages are filled with glittering balls and parties as Vin infiltrates the nobility and attempts to topple them. The magical system was incredible. Mistings and Mistborn have the ability to enhance physical characteristics like speed, better hearing, strength, pushing and pulling, etc. by ingesting various metals into their bodies. They burn these metals to activate their power. Overall, the setting is dark an ominous as ash falls, darkening the world, and nightly mists swirl. It’s almost a post-apocalypse setting.
“𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐤, 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤. 𝐈𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐢𝐭 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞.” —Brandon Sanderson
Now, the characters? FANTASTIC. There was a host of unique characters, each with their own personalities. The main characters we follow are Vin and Kelsier. I loved them both for different reasons, but Vin’s journey was the most enjoyable. Her story was a coming of age, as she discovered her abilities, and learned about herself. She begins as a desperate street urchin who can’t trust anyone. As she discovers her “found family” she grows. Kelsier was a gruff, idealistic renegade desperate to topple an empire. He’s the glue that holds the crew together. I loved the found family we find in these pages. The other minor character we follows some, Elend Venture, was my favorite bookish teddy bear.
The plot was SO COOL. I’m not a huge fan of heist-type books. This was a different kind of heist; instead of stealing a powerful artifact, or breaking someone out of a prison, the goal was to topple an empire. That alone had many facets like killing the lord ruler, raising an army, etc. The complexity of the plot was layer upon layer of intrigue. Every person in the crew had a vital part to play.
You’re probably wondering: Well, Melissa, what about the romance?
Everyone knows I’m a romantic and that I crave romance in every book I read. Guess what?! There is a little romance!!! This was not something I expected. With male authors, I never expect it, so I’m always pleasantly surprised when it appears. Vin finds herself a love interest and I am SOOOO looking forward to this aspect in later books. It’s mostly in the background, but it’s there. Yay!
This story HOOKED me. I loved the narrator for the audiobook who used different voices for each character. I was utterly engrossed. I found myself looking for any excuse to pop my earbuds in and give it a listen. I’m not an auditory person, so I’m sure there are small details I missed, but that’s okay. That just means that some day when I reread this story, I’ll find new aspects to enjoy. Overall, this book was hands-down amazing! 𝐌𝐘 𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆: 𝟓/𝟓⭐️