A POETIC, PERFECTLY ROUNDED TRILOGY: MISTBORN | BOOK REVIEW

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Ash fell from the sky, and I am, unfortunately, the hero of ages.

Two seemingly trivial sentences, when taken out of context.

Yet, after reading three books about a young street urchin, they hold so, SO much weight.

I am, of course, referring to the incredible trilogy that is Brandon Sanderson's 'Mistborn: Era 1'.

Funnily enough, I did not enter Brandon Sanderson's world through his novels, though this was his first book that I ever read. No, I first learnt of Sanderson through his incredible lecture series on YouTube. Featuring a full creative writing course (FOR FREE) in video format, I found the series to be invaluable as I started my own authorial journey, which would eventually end in me publishing my own fantasy series, The Zashin Legacy.

Since delving into Mistborn, I have discovered The Cosmere - Sanderson's MCU equivalent. A blend of fantasy and sci-fi, interconnected worlds and ultimately, incredible storytelling. I will surely return to post more reviews of all these series, but for now, let me focus on Mistborn.

I will include a note here that I did not read the physical copies of these books; I listened to Michael Kramer's brilliant narration of the books via Audible. If you have a problem with this, leave and never return! Ha!

My honest Mistborn book review

This is a brilliant introduction to this series, Brandon Sanderson's writing style and The Cosmere as a whole.

The book, while part of multiple bigger storylines, can be enjoyed as a self-contained novel.

It follows Vin, a teenage Skaa girl who has been enslaved and lived on the street for the entirety of her life. She is able to use some sort of supernatural power to influence things around her, which she calls her 'luck'.

She stumbles into the path of a certain man named Kelsier, a renowned thief and heist crew leader amongst the enslaved race of Skaa.

In this world, allomancy is the ability of some people to consume and use metals for supernatural abilities. Consuming different metals grants the user different powers i.e. steel grants the user the ability to push on steel, while iron lets them pull it.

Mistings are allomancers that can consume and use one of these power types.

Kelsier is Mistborn: a rare breed of 'allomancers' who can consume and utilise all of the metals. We then discover then Vin's 'luck' is this power; she is Mistborn.

Their world is ruled by the tyrant the Lord Ruler, whose dynasty has lasted a thousand years, in which Skaa have remained in slavery.

Kelsier puts together a crew to conduct the ultimate heist on the Lord Ruler, and Vin becomes a crucial part of his plan.

The story unfolds from there, twisting and turning until you reach the 'Sanderlanche'-- a trope that has become typical of his books, where the multiple separate plots that have been woven throughout the book eventually come together in one epic conclusion.

While it took me a few chapters to get into this book, from that point on I was HOOKED. I felt like I was sitting in the room with the crew during their planning meetings, I felt like I was flying through the ashy sky as an allomancer, and I felt like I knew the lovable Vin personally by the end of it all.

This book really reignited my love for fiction anf fantasy in particular. It reminded me how incredible world-building can be, how awesome power systems can be, and how emotionally immersive stories can be.

Allomancy, while confusing at first, is an epic power system that makes for incredible fight scenes with complex problem solving and well thought-out strategy.

Kelsier is a hilarious, relatable anti-hero. Vin is a lovable, lost teenage girl. Elland is a brilliant academic-in-shining-armour. Sazed is... well. Sazed is a beautiful soul. Every character feels special, the plot is unexpected and Sanderson's writing really shines.

If you are a fantasy reader, you absolutely must delve into Mistborn. If you are looking for a route into reading, into fantasy or into The Cosmere, I cannot recommend Mistborn enough.

And that concludes my Mistborn book review!

If you loved the plot complexity, hard magic system and storytelling devices of Mistborn, I think you'd like my own fantasy series, The Zashin Legacy. I was immersed in this story while writing my own, so there are intentional overlaps. Copies are available in print and online here.