My rating:
add to my books
Loading...
The Well of Ascension (Mistborn #2)
by
Brandon Sanderson (Goodreads Author)
They did the impossible, deposing the godlike being whose brutal rule had lasted a thousand years. Now Vin, the street urchin who has grown into the most powerful Mistborn in the land, and Elend Venture, the idealistic young nobleman who loves her, must build a healthy new society in the ashes of an empire.
They have barely begun when three separate armies attac...more
They have barely begun when three separate armies attac...more
Mass Market Paperback, 796 pages
Published
June 3rd 2008
by Tor Fantasy
(first published 2007)
There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!
sign in »
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is currently not featured on any Listopia lists.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
19,607)
Becky
rated it
Oh my gosh, this book should have been called "The Well of Absolute Tension". Tense is the perfect word to describe this book. Luthadel is surrounded on all sides by enemies, they have a weak but idealistic king, no food, a small army and winter is coming. There are spies everywhere it seems, and murders keep occurring with no explanation... *gnaws fingers* Tense, I say!
I loved the political and espionagical (I know that's not a real word... I just made it up.) feel of this ...more
I loved the political and espionagical (I know that's not a real word... I just made it up.) feel of this ...more
view all 10 comments
I really wanted to like this book. I liked the first one a lot. But it turns out that putting together a government is far less interesting and exciting than overthrowing one. It's possible the pace picked up later, but after reading well over 100 pages it just wasn't working for me. I think there's actually a point to be made that overthrowing a government is easy and exciting, creating one from the ground up is much more difficult and not nearly as exciting. Still, I genuinely like politi...more
This is a very good book, although a little slow to start picking a good pace. However, as with the first one, I couldn't put it down once I started it. Will get the next one un about two weeks.
The plot and the characters are as likable as ever, and the books is realistic when it deals with the very difficult issue of trying to lead people you are in charge of (for instance when you are the boss). You can not be too friendly and informal because they will not respect you, but that ...more
The plot and the characters are as likable as ever, and the books is realistic when it deals with the very difficult issue of trying to lead people you are in charge of (for instance when you are the boss). You can not be too friendly and informal because they will not respect you, but that ...more
Erica (daydreamer)
rated it
Shelves:
adult,
lds-authors,
i-own,
absolute-favorites,
2011-reads,
best-characters,
best-endings,
brilliant-authors,
favorite-romance,
i-recommend-it,
incredible,
love-love-it,
love-with-all-my-heart,
made-me-cry,
novels-that-inspire-me,
purely-brilliant,
strong-heroines,
swoon-worthy-male-love-interests,
treasured-keeps,
unbearable-cliffhangers,
would-love-if-it-were-a-movie,
played-with-my-emotions,
outstanding-worldbuilding,
heroes-i-respect-and-praise
Warning: this review is long, and may contain spoilers of Mistborn. If you don’t read it, let me tell you the gist of my rambling praise. Read this book. Now. Or forever regret your decision. And now, for my stark love of this awesomely stupendous book.
This book is utterly brilliant. Brilliant says I! I bow down before Sanderson for his startling ingenious mind. I cower before him. I envy him, I admire him. He is my ultimate role model in how to write a novel that will stand out for ...more
This book is utterly brilliant. Brilliant says I! I bow down before Sanderson for his startling ingenious mind. I cower before him. I envy him, I admire him. He is my ultimate role model in how to write a novel that will stand out for ...more
oliviasbooks
rated it
I have stopped reading the sequel to The Final Empire after 131 pages although I liked it. And if there were not so many other books waiting to be read, to be ordered, added, re-read, discovered ... I would have read "The Well of Ascension" until its very last page and would have been quite contented with the time spent with Vin, Elend and the rest of their crew. Probably I even would have rated the reading experience four stars. A strange mixture of feelings made me let it simmer, ask...more
I read Well of Ascension immediately on the heels of Mistborn The Final Empire, which was a relief and a race. I wanted to finish the second book since the third book was "in the mail" to me, signed by the author.
While not as riveting as the first book of the series, I enjoyed the continued struggles of Vin and Elend, as they pick up the pieces after shattering the Lord Ruler's Empire. Most of the characters from the first book are present, except for Kelsier, of cours...more
While not as riveting as the first book of the series, I enjoyed the continued struggles of Vin and Elend, as they pick up the pieces after shattering the Lord Ruler's Empire. Most of the characters from the first book are present, except for Kelsier, of cours...more
I'm continually impressed with Brandon Sanderson, and as a Christian, I appreciate the subtle (at least to me) morality in his books. As most people who read his books will know, Sanderson comes from a Mormon background, and I think this only enhances his ability and perspective as a writer.
I read his first widely published novel Elantris a few years back. The pace, magic, character development, etc., was all good, esp. for a first novel. I eventually picked up Mistborn a few mo...more
I read his first widely published novel Elantris a few years back. The pace, magic, character development, etc., was all good, esp. for a first novel. I eventually picked up Mistborn a few mo...more
"The Well of Ascension", the sequel to "Mistborn" is good, but not as good as its predecessor. Sanderson does display the same skill with pacing and character as he does in "Mistborn", but I didn't find myself caring as much about what was happening as I did with the first book. I do give it four stars because I did enjoy it and it was a fun, exciting read. It just suffers in comparison to the first book. I just can't pinpoint why.
This is That Book.
You know the one.
The one you've daydreamed about.
The one you hope, deep in your little reader heart, you'll finally find.
The one with the plot that is both wide-ranging and intensely personal; with the characters who are all nuanced and flawed; with the complicated political intrigues to keep you guessing; with the shocking twists that are, true to form, both surprising and inevitable.
You've slogged through the morass ...more
You know the one.
The one you've daydreamed about.
The one you hope, deep in your little reader heart, you'll finally find.
The one with the plot that is both wide-ranging and intensely personal; with the characters who are all nuanced and flawed; with the complicated political intrigues to keep you guessing; with the shocking twists that are, true to form, both surprising and inevitable.
You've slogged through the morass ...more
Spectacular followup to the first book of the Mistborn series, "The Final Empire". Now that Vin and the crew have liberated Luthadel and its people from the tyrannical reign of the Lord Ruler, they begin to learn the hard way what it takes to be true leaders. Elend claims the throne and seeks to create a palimentary-monarchy government based on his vast studies, but complications inevitably arise. In less than two years, word has spread among the Central Dominance that the Lord Ruler h...more
Let me first say that The Well of Ascension is an excellent book. It continues the story of Vin and the Kelsier crew in their struggle to save the world from certain doom. With out giving away spoilers, I can't really say much more than that. I will however say how I felt about the book in general. The Well of Ascension is a lot slower paced than the first it the series. It honestly takes about 3/4 of the book to really feel like something significant in the overall story has progressed. A main ...more
I just finished it and am writing while the impact of its ending echoes in my head, like credits rolling at the end of a great film.
It has been said that the middle book of a trilogy is the dark one... where the plot thickens and things are left "up in the air", awaiting the final resolution at the end.
This book lives up to that promise... as one gets swept up in the ongoing saga of the Mistborn. More is revealed about various characters and creatures introdu...more
It has been said that the middle book of a trilogy is the dark one... where the plot thickens and things are left "up in the air", awaiting the final resolution at the end.
This book lives up to that promise... as one gets swept up in the ongoing saga of the Mistborn. More is revealed about various characters and creatures introdu...more
I am having a very hard time beginning this book, largely because I hate Vin as a character and I could not care less about Elend, yet those two are apparently the focus of this entry in the series. Felicia Day's review of this book leads me to believe that things do not improve. *sigh*
UPDATE: Sazed has his own chapters! This is a very good thing as he was my favorite character in the first novel, and the only one to whom I could fully relate (three guesses as to why). I hope it does...more
UPDATE: Sazed has his own chapters! This is a very good thing as he was my favorite character in the first novel, and the only one to whom I could fully relate (three guesses as to why). I hope it does...more
Before I say anything, let me make clear: THIS. WAS. AWESOME.
... I don't know how to rate it ...
4.4? How's that?
See, there were parts in this one that I liked better than the last one, but... that ending in the last one killed me, which makes it a much stronger book. Yeah... 0.01 isn't much, but honestly, what else am I supposed to do? 4 just feels too low, 4.5 won't be fair to the first book -- OH! Wait, I think I got it! I'll bump the last one to 4.7, and ...more
... I don't know how to rate it ...
4.4? How's that?
See, there were parts in this one that I liked better than the last one, but... that ending in the last one killed me, which makes it a much stronger book. Yeah... 0.01 isn't much, but honestly, what else am I supposed to do? 4 just feels too low, 4.5 won't be fair to the first book -- OH! Wait, I think I got it! I'll bump the last one to 4.7, and ...more
What an astounding sequel to a brilliant original book. Probably one of the stronger sequels I've ever read. And in many ways I enjoyed this almost more than the original.
It focused more on the character of Eland Venture, opened up on more of the insecurities of Vin, introduced the new character of Zane and also provided insight into creatures such as the kandra and koloss.
I loved how Sanderson not only addresses such fascinating world-building ideas but cobbled them tog...more
It focused more on the character of Eland Venture, opened up on more of the insecurities of Vin, introduced the new character of Zane and also provided insight into creatures such as the kandra and koloss.
I loved how Sanderson not only addresses such fascinating world-building ideas but cobbled them tog...more
To sum up my feelings about this book: It was really good, . . . but I am disappointed.
I admit that it may be unfair of me to be disappointed. Brandon Sanderson has simply set the bar too high in the previous books of his that I have read. I now think of Sanderson as an author who writes phenomenal, mind-blowing endings, and in my opinion, The Well of Ascension simply did not fit that mold. (view spoiler)...more
I admit that it may be unfair of me to be disappointed. Brandon Sanderson has simply set the bar too high in the previous books of his that I have read. I now think of Sanderson as an author who writes phenomenal, mind-blowing endings, and in my opinion, The Well of Ascension simply did not fit that mold. (view spoiler)...more
This book really frustrated me. The wonderful momentum present in the first book ground to a halt. Rebuilding a government is obviously less exciting than tearing it down, but that wasn't the main issue for me.
Sanderson spent so much time rehashing the first book, that I never felt like we were in the present story. There was way too much reflecting, and not enough acting; especially since most of the reflection felt expository. It's a trilogy-- we know there was another book. ...more
Sanderson spent so much time rehashing the first book, that I never felt like we were in the present story. There was way too much reflecting, and not enough acting; especially since most of the reflection felt expository. It's a trilogy-- we know there was another book. ...more
Reading through the reviews, I see that most people really liked this second installment of the Mistborn series. I must admit that after the first read-through, I was more than a little bummed. If I had written my review then, I would probably have rated it lower.
Luckily I didn't. About two months later, I reread it, and discovered that it is an interesting, fast-paced book transitioning from the end of Mistborn:Final Empire to the absolutely necessary third installment. The char...more
Luckily I didn't. About two months later, I reread it, and discovered that it is an interesting, fast-paced book transitioning from the end of Mistborn:Final Empire to the absolutely necessary third installment. The char...more
I think Mistborn (the first book in this trilogy) is a better book, but Sanderson's "good" still surpasses just about any other author's best. For one, Sanderson managed to avoid the drop in energy that usually afflicts the middle book(s) of a fantasy epic. The book has its share of plot twists and surprises, and we also find out more about the history of the Final Empire. However, it is the development of the characters that give Sanderson the opportunity to show off his writing talen...more
So now the battle really begins. One would think that after the amazingly awesome ending of The Final Empire, there just wasn't any where for this book to go. I mean after you pull of that ending, where's the rest of your story?
Well Brandon Sanderson found it. Everyone you'll read a review from will talk about how "Now that the characters have saved the empire they must learn how to rule it!" And I'll be perfectly fucking honest, cause I know you're thinking the same thing,...more
Well Brandon Sanderson found it. Everyone you'll read a review from will talk about how "Now that the characters have saved the empire they must learn how to rule it!" And I'll be perfectly fucking honest, cause I know you're thinking the same thing,...more
Jake
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Fantasy Fans, Star Wars Fans
Shelves:
fantasy
This review contains spoilers.
This book should really be sub-titled 'The Final Empire Strikes Back".
I liked this book as much as Volume one. From the first line to the last I think this book is a triumph for Sanderson and a must read.
The story picks up one year after the events of 'Mistborn Volume one, the Final Empire'. Kelsier is dead, the empire is splintering, and the chaos is threatening to overwhelm Luthadel. The parallels to The Empire Strikes B...more
This book should really be sub-titled 'The Final Empire Strikes Back".
I liked this book as much as Volume one. From the first line to the last I think this book is a triumph for Sanderson and a must read.
The story picks up one year after the events of 'Mistborn Volume one, the Final Empire'. Kelsier is dead, the empire is splintering, and the chaos is threatening to overwhelm Luthadel. The parallels to The Empire Strikes B...more
I am continually amazed at the story. I am unable to guess what the characters are about to do before it happens. A refreshing way to read a book!
I started this book with a bit of pessimism based on my feelings from the first book. I was pleasantly surprised, however. Sanderson is an incredible writer and that is shown in this book. The story is fantasy, but it doesn't need to be. It is so specific, yet so vague, that a reader can relate to any or all of the characters and their challenges. It shows that overcoming great obstacles does not lead to "happily ever after" and that our choices, even our well-intentioned ones, wi...more
Definitely a good second to the first. At the beginning of this book I wasn't sure about Elend Venture. I didn't dislike him from the first book, but he seemed a poor "substitute" for other characters. (Those of you who know book 1 will know what I'm talking about.) However, I was very surprised that he grew on me, as did the other characters.
Like Mistborn, this story is all about the characters. You really feel for the heroes. You really can't stand the villains. Per...more
Like Mistborn, this story is all about the characters. You really feel for the heroes. You really can't stand the villains. Per...more
***Contains spoilers***
Book 2 of the Mistborn saga, this picked up where the other left off. Much like the first book in the series, this novel suffers from poor editing. I generally expect exceptional quality from a Tor release, but there were numerous issues in this book (and the first book) which should have been corrected in editing.
First of all, the general construction issues. A character turns away from another character, and yet in the next line sees that other ch...more
Book 2 of the Mistborn saga, this picked up where the other left off. Much like the first book in the series, this novel suffers from poor editing. I generally expect exceptional quality from a Tor release, but there were numerous issues in this book (and the first book) which should have been corrected in editing.
First of all, the general construction issues. A character turns away from another character, and yet in the next line sees that other ch...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This book is a continuation on the first, and so it has a lot of the same things going for it. The storyline continues to be compelling and unique. For the most part the characters continue to be likable, my only gripe about this book is that it reads more like a bad YA romance than an actual adult fiction novel.
It feels a bit like Sanderson looked about and said, hey this YA love triangle thing is really popular so let me throw one in here. Vin goes from being a kick individual with ...more
It feels a bit like Sanderson looked about and said, hey this YA love triangle thing is really popular so let me throw one in here. Vin goes from being a kick individual with ...more
This was a long sequel, but appropriate in its thematic consistency. If the first book asked the question "what happens if Sauron succeeded in Lord of the Rings?", then this sequel asks, "What happens after a 1000-year Empire falls?". The answer is not what you expect.
While characters are more fully explored, and further mysteries of this world are explained, the book simply harped on a few main ideas far, far too much. Of course, I gave this book four stars, so whi...more
While characters are more fully explored, and further mysteries of this world are explained, the book simply harped on a few main ideas far, far too much. Of course, I gave this book four stars, so whi...more
This walks the line between being TOO detailed and really excellent world building very well. While I like detailed, realistic worldbuilding, I don't like getting bogged down in minutiae just so I can spend time in the world of the author. I want things to happen, but I also want them to be realistically complex. If the hero always wins the battles or a situation conveniently resolves by having a critical item just happen to be where the protagonist needs it just when they need it the world feel...more
In book two of this trilogy, we are taken inside the fall of an empire and it's aftermath. In some aspects it is definitely slower than Mistborn, but not unexpected. The author gives us much more to chew on in the form of challenges that Elend & Vin face in the wake of the Lord Rulers death. The daunting task of establishing a new government and convincing the people of a new way to live. It is a fascinating look at human psychology with the complicated political intrigues that keep you wonder...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Readers Also Enjoyed
Brandon Sanderson is an American fantasy author. A Nebraska native, he currently resides in Provo, Utah. He earned his Master's degree in Creative Writing in 2005 from Brigham Young University. He has been nominated twice for the John W. Campbell Award.
Sanderson married on July 7, 2006 and is a member of the LDS church. Sanderson's writing is noteworthy for its epic fantasy tone, uniqu...more
More about Brandon Sanderson...
Sanderson married on July 7, 2006 and is a member of the LDS church. Sanderson's writing is noteworthy for its epic fantasy tone, uniqu...more
Share This Book
15 trivia questions
1 quiz
More quizzes & trivia...
1 quiz
“It's easy to believe in something when you win all the time...The losses are what define a man's faith.”
—
128 people liked it
“A man can only lead when others accept him as their leader, and he has only as much authority as his subjects give to him. All of the brilliant ideas in the world cannot save your kingdom if no one will listen to them.”
—
47 people liked it
More quotes…
