Mistborn. Book 1, The Final Empire

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Experiencing an epiphany within the most daunting prison of the monstrous Lord Ruler, half-Skaa Kelsier finds himself taking on the powers of a Mistborn, and teams up with ragged orphan Vin in a desperate plot to save their world.

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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Incredible world building submitted by marielle on June 26, 2011, 12:29pm This book is the new favorite of all my (adult, fantasy reading) friends and I agree with them. Brandon introduces a unique magical world that feels fresh and exciting. The main character grows and provides us with a gripping narrative, as do the villains.

That said, I feel like the sequel falls quite flat and I'd personally recommend stopping at this one.

Great Fantasy submitted by j.carbon06 on June 15, 2012, 10:07am This is a great fantasy book. The plot is great, and the world is incredible. Highly recommended for fantasy lovers.

The Beginnings of Endings submitted by yooth4556 on June 22, 2012, 6:00pm The Lord Ruler, who is told to be piece of God rules all. May young Vin, apprentice to the Kelsier, who escaped Lord Ruler's grasp prevail.

Good story, bad writing. submitted by eknapp on August 28, 2012, 8:02am I didn't actually read the whole thing.

Mistborn is classic humble-nobody-must-overthrow-the-all-powerful-evil-emperor fantasy story. Repackaged Star Wars or LotR. The world-building is decent. The magic system is excellent: Allomancers consume metals then burn them to perform magic; different metals grant different abilities.

But the characters are paper-thin, and it was painfully obvious when they were speaking to me rather than to each other...BAD dialogue. It felt like someone had come up with an excellent story idea and then handed it to their 13-year-old kid to write. I gave up less than halfway through; my to-read pile is just too big to waste time on stuff like this.

Great story submitted by kmoon3 on July 8, 2013, 10:15am I enjoyed Mistborn and everything Sanderson has written. His writing and world building style is somewhat more direct than you might get from other fantasy authors. However, this allows you to actually understand the mythology and magic systems within the world instead which I found refreshing.

I also found the sequels enjoyable. They expand the world even more and give further glimpses into it.

Great introduction submitted by thatssuper1 on August 3, 2015, 8:35pm Mistborn is fantastic and a great introduction to quite possibly the most prolific fantasy author working today.

Amazing story submitted by ishhewitt on July 15, 2016, 10:39am Brandon is a really great author. I especially appreciate the magic system developed here. It obeys laws of physics which is quite refreshing.

Best book I read in 2017 submitted by steveiew on June 22, 2018, 12:46pm I enjoyed Sanderson's books that finished off The Wheel of Time series but I've put off reading some of his other works. That was a mistake. Mistborn was the best book I read in 2017! I loved the strong female lead and the cast of characters around her. The magic system was new and inventive while the plot was fascinating and unexpected. This is a must read for all fantasy lovers.

What would happen if you planned a revolution? submitted by Susan4Pax -prev. sueij- on July 20, 2018, 11:49pm This is at least the second time I've read this, but it was long enough ago that I had forgotten most of the details.

Sanderson is an amazing author. His world building is outstanding. He frames everything from the geography to the currency, and understands how each of these affect the lives of the people who lives under them. His characters have broad personalities and individual quirks, acting in ways that are true to their agendas but still responding to the events that unfold.

_The Final Empire_ asks, "What would happen if you planned a revolution?" It follows a small group who attempts to pull this off, some for the money, some for the fun, some for the belief in it. The journey is a pleasure, and it won't be the last time I reread this outstanding book.

Behind the scenes at a revolution submitted by cekandera on June 14, 2019, 1:50pm This story treated revolutions differently than any other book I'd read. Sanderson never let you forget the scale and weight of the monumental task of overthrowing the Final Empire. Contrasted nicely to the larger-than-life scale of events are the characters, who feel so real because of the minute details and traits Sanderson gives them. All around, a fantastic, unique spin on revolution stories. I can't wait to get the next book!

Creative submitted by pepemama on June 15, 2019, 10:14am The new magic system is very innovative, but the dialogue is very bland.

Liked it, didn't love it submitted by kassafrass on July 13, 2019, 9:31am Love the magic system, but I was underwhelmed by the characters. Not impressed by any of them, and the character development was... eh. So I liked it. I might continue with the series, but it's low on my to-do list. As other reviewers have said, the dialogue is also lackluster.

Fun book, good start to a great series submitted by bahr on July 25, 2021, 10:06pm This book has a great intro to this world and magic system, but it doesn’t reveal all the secrets. From all the Sanderson books these characters aren’t my favorites but I still had a ton of fun with them. I found the surprises in the book great and this continued into the next two.

Time for a re-read submitted by bookasaurusray on July 27, 2022, 5:31pm My favorite fantasy of all time -

the best submitted by Nu on August 23, 2022, 7:14pm such brilliant world building

Not Sanderson's best, but still a fun read submitted by ohheyitselle on June 9, 2023, 9:33am This is a VERY approachable entry point to Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere. Highly recommend for beginning Fantasy readers!

A fast series to read through submitted by 16macleod_ian on June 15, 2023, 8:53pm I think the story has some holes but the world building and hard magic system are very fun in a gothic setting.

loving this submitted by xzli on June 30, 2023, 1:08pm very well written.
i like how vin sees how she changed, the plot twist about copper and lord ruler is amazing

Amazing submitted by lopezhin on July 26, 2023, 6:46am If you are new to Brandon Sanderson this is a great place to start. The action scenes are well written, the politics is so engaging, the world building is chefs kiss!