Brandon Sanderson has a vivid imagination and great writing skills, although I feel, when compared to the Stormlight series, Mistborn doesn’t quite reach the same level of greatness, even if it shares a theme of oppression. Of course that comparison is not necessarily fair, since this trilogy came much earlier in his career. A similar trait, though, is that Brandon takes his time establishing the world, but benefits from it in the end as everything comes together.
My one beef with this trilogy is the fact that it is not a completely satisfying experience, reading the three books in one go.
Book 1 is intriguing and satisfying, whereas the second and third book, for some reason, feel the need to constantly confirm and repeat, what has already been established. This almost killed my enjoyment and it felt as if everything was being dumbed down, when it was in no way necessary. Fortunately, patience with all this treading water is handsomely rewarded, when action arrives, and it is with the action sequences that Brandon’s writing truly shines and the books become page turners of the highest caliber, where words simply fly off the page.
I was surprised to find that the relationship between the main characters Elend and Vin was not the emotional catalyst of the book for me, rather, I was most affected by the interaction between Sazed and Tindwyl.
All in all a good trilogy, which doesn’t really hit bullseye, but is excellent entertainment for most of its time.
Written By Steen
Online: Saturday, September 3, 2016