Mistborn, by Brandon Sanderson, is Book One of the Mistborn Original Trilogy. Although I read a good amount of fantasy, I have, for some reason, never read any Brandon Sanderson. But, since this year is the 20th anniversary of the original publication of Mistborn, I thought I’d give it a shot.
And I’m glad I did. Mistborn is a very good book. The world-building is phenomenal, from the political system to the actual sad, gray, ash-covered lands. The magic system is new and interesting, and the characters are well-developed. And in addition to mists and mistwraiths and Mistings and the titular Mistborn, there is also a very good mystery (or three) at play.
The predominant mystery is that of the Lord Ruler. Considered both God and emperor, the Lord Ruler has ruled The Final Empire for thousands of years with an iron fist. He came to power on the back of a prophecy, having defeated the mysterious “Deepness” and is now immortal, far-seeing, infinitely powerful, and a big ol’ fascist.
The Lord Ruler maintains his fascist grip by taking George Orwell to heart; “Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.” With his spying Obligators, his brutal Inquisitors, his murderous Mistborn nobility, and his skaa slave-class, The Lord Ruler controls everything.
Or at least he thinks he does. Which is where Kelsier comes in. Kelsier is a rare skaa Mistborn with unique abilities and one hell of a grudge. And Kell has a plan to both take down The Lord Ruler and get rich in the process. So he puts together a crew of low-born skaa thieves and scammers, including Vin, a street urchin with surprising abilities.
All of this results in a heist-y, adventure-filled, magical, mist-filled book where some mysteries are answered, but a proper number remain for the second book, which is exactly right. I did end up giving it 4 stars, but I feel like once I read the whole trilogy it’ll be a 5-star experience. We’ll see!
CBR18 Bingo Circle : One
