Mike's Reviews > Mistborn Trilogy Boxed Set

I read this book as part of a deeper look into fantasy novels which have taken on the typically science-fiction task of enumerating and exploring their systems of magic. Sanderson does a wonderful job throughout the series with his magic systems. I think of it is as "internalized alchemy", which is a fun concept. I think of magic from an Eastern perspective (Chi/Ki/Prana/Meridians/Chakras) so I find the alchemy angle refreshing.

Outside of magic systems, the story is well developed, the language is aimed at the YA crowd, so a bit tedious at times (ex: "maladroit" is overused throughout the series), and the middle book suffers the typical problems of trilogy middle books. Additionally, Sanderson brings in a weak fictional adaptation of America's Founding Fathers story in the second book, only to abandon the political science aspect in the third.

I find Sanderson's great ideas lie in the underlying mythology and study of religions through the Sazed character. Sanderson has a lot of thought provoking and inspiring ideas about the role of religion and spirituality that aren't typical in Fantasy.

Overall I enjoyed the series and would recommend it for Fantasy lovers.