Have you read and what did you think?

[BubblesTheMonkey]

I just recently finished this book and I LOVED IT! It had a creative, addicting story and lovable/memorable characters. I was completely absorbed until the end.

[Jonathan]

I love dit as well. Top 10

[Christine]

The end of the trilogy is one of the most satisfying endings. There are slow points in books 2 and 3 but push through! It's completely worth it!!

[Matt]

I can't wait to read the second book. If you are looking for books to read though check out my blog at http://www.geniusbookreviews.wordpres...

[Neal]

The entire trilogy is great. The very end had me swearing never to read another of his mistborn books, but his reasoning was well done. Book 4 however does not have the same level of epicness as the original trilogy, but then it is a shorter book meant to be more of a quick read/filler material.

[[deleted user]]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I love the innovative use of magic and the characters.

[James]

One of my favorite series...

[Sadie]

I've only read the 1st two, but I really liked them. I defiantly plan to read more and follow B. Sanderson.

[Shayna]

Definitely in my top three! Such a good series!!!

[Jess]

i loved the entire the original trilogy, though the ending i had to read and reread so many times to try and figure out why he did that.

is book 4 worth reading? i have read the synopsis on the back cover but cant decide if i should or not because how wonderful the first 3 were.
opinions please?

[Shayna]

Jess wrote: "i loved the entire the original trilogy, though the ending i had to read and reread so many times to try and figure out why he did that.

is book 4 worth reading? i have read the synopsis on the b..."

The fourth book isn't as good as the first three, but I really enjoyed it.
I especially have a lot of respect for it, because the continuing series for Mistborn is written so Brandon Sanderson can have a break while he is writing Way of Kings, which will be the greatest series ever!
Anyway, to answer your question, yes, it is worth reading.

[Dana]

I seem to be the only person on the planet who really disliked this book. I think I threw it at a wall halfway through (one benefit of sticking to printed books) and never finished it. I found the characterization incredibly ham-fisted and Sanderson's writing unsophisticated. I felt like Sanderson kept bashing me over the head with "Look how cool this character is!" It had none of the well-balanced self-awareness that made Patrick Rothfuss's The Name of the Wind so refreshing and delightful. Mistborn's magic system was creative and interesting, but I couldn't get over the feeling that I was reading the screenplay for a cool, flashy movie rather than a novel. Vin was flat and dull, and I didn't care if she lived or died.

Considering how many truly awful fantasy books are out there, you could do a lot worse than Mistborn, and Sanderson certainly seems to appeal to a lot of people, but I think I'll avoid him in the future. Of course, I in no way mean to disparage anyone who enjoyed the book, but am I really the only person who felt this way?

[Christine]

You could try "Etlantris", Dana.

My husband still hasn't finished this trilogy but only because he can't get past the slow parts in Hero of Ages. So you aren't alone in your distaste.

I understand what you said about Vin. She was, by far, not my favorite character. Sazed, Breeze, and even Elend were far more interesting. Oh , Sazed... <3

Rothfuss is amazing but much older than Sanderson. He's still young and he hasn't written very many books. "Elantris" is an earlier work but simpler.

Robert Jordan had chosen Sanderson though to finish his Wheel of Time series, so he has some good stuff in him.

[Judah]

Dana wrote: "I seem to be the only person on the planet who really disliked this book. I think I threw it at a wall halfway through (one benefit of sticking to printed books) and never finished it. I found the ..."

While I actually enjoyed this series well enough to finish it, I completely get where you're coming from in regards to Sanderson's writing. I've picked up....and quickly put down...several of his other books.

[Judah]

Dana wrote: "I seem to be the only person on the planet who really disliked this book. I think I threw it at a wall halfway through (one benefit of sticking to printed books) and never finished it. I found the ..."

Oh....and the benefit of e-books? The Nook (I don't know about Kindle/others) offers free samples, some quite lengthy--the one for Sanderson's last book was 100+ pages--of books so you don't have to waste money on books you're going to throw through a wall!

[BubblesTheMonkey]

Dana wrote: "I seem to be the only person on the planet who really disliked this book. I think I threw it at a wall halfway through (one benefit of sticking to printed books) and never finished it. I found the ..."

One book I thought seemed VERY poorly written and exact words for screenplay was I am Number Four. It didn't use any kind of descriptions that made it very exciting and he could have written it a ton better.

[Shane]

Currently in the middle of book 2. I thought book 1 was really good because you could read it and it had closure. You didn't feel like you HAD to read the other books in the series. I'm doing these on audio and the narrator is great. Definitely not my favorite fantasy series or even top 5 but pretty good/worth reading. Not as cool as -Lies of Locke Lamora-. The magic system is interesting but almost seems like it should be in a role-playing game or something. -Elantris- is a lot lighter - I didn't like it as much.

[Dana]

Christine wrote: "You could try "Etlantris", Dana.

My husband still hasn't finished this trilogy but only because he can't get past the slow parts in Hero of Ages. So you aren't alone in your distaste.

I underst..."

Thanks for the responses. I just wanted to note that Patrick Rothfuss is actually only two years older than Brandon Sanderson, and that Sanderson has written about a dozen books to Rothfuss's two. :) I'm actually amazed looking at the list of publication dates on Sanderson's wikipedia page. He's had a new book out almost every year since 2005 (in comparison, I think Rothfuss once said he worked part-time on NotW for 13 years, and we NotW fans all know how many long years it took for its sequel, Wise Man's Fear!) That kind of productivity is impressive, and obviously I don't know what kind of publishing pressure he's under or how he likes to work, but I wonder if Sanderson might be better served by letting his works marinate a bit longer.

[Christine]

I thought he was much older! Maybe I just think Sanderson is a lot younger...

[Judah]

Dana wrote: "I wonder if Sanderson might be better served by letting his works marinate a bit longer.
..."

I think the answer to that is a solid yes. I'd rather read something by an author who has been honing their craft, even if it means a longer wait between books, than reading a new book each year by a voice that hasn't grown/changed.

[Noelle]

Major "LIKE" ... The mistborn books got better and better. I really was sad when I finished the last one.

[Shayna]

Once you guys read Way of Kings, you'll realize that Sanderson is starting a VERY long series that he is planning on taking his time to write. He's planning on 10+ books over a long period of time. So... don't worry, marinating is in progress :)

[Noelle]

I will be starting Way of Kings shortly ... and I have no doubt it will be a great book. Sanderson's writing takes you in little by little .... I just need to finish a couple of other books i am reading at the moment. I did like the Mistborn series though ....quite a bit ... after a fashion.

[Neal]

Elantris and the Mistborn series were release fairly close together, but he wrote them a considerable time apart.

I guess Mistborn just isn't for everyone. Tons of people like Martin, but I couldn't get past 60 pages of the first book without giving up.

[Dee]

Dana wrote: "It had none of the well-balanced self-awareness that made Patrick Rothfuss's The Name of the Wind so refreshing and delightful."

I find this really intriguing, because I really loved Mistborn, found Kelsier marvellously faceted and balanced in his heroism and darkness - but in contrast, I found Name of the Wind tedious, self-centred and unbalanced, the hero uncomfortably Marty-Stu.

I guess the point is that it would be a boring world if we were all alike. :)

[Stuart]

I think the "young urchin who has hitherto undiscovered magical powers" has been done to death but this is a pretty good effort and I am happily working through the series

[Chris]

I read the trilogy and loved it. first Brandon Sanderson book that I read. couldn't believe when Kelsier died, but what he did after that was awsome!!! This trilogy was imagination at its best.

[Shane]

Just finished book 2. Definitely will be reading book 3.

[Cy]

I'm not a huge fantasy reader anymore. The famous books are a bit too...paint-by-numbers for my tastes. This book was no different. That said, I sat down and read this book and found myself charmed regardless. Allomancy was creative and had the right mix of real-world physics and fantasy. I also rather liked how the author kept laying out tantalizing hints that there was more to the history and the mythology that was covered in the book. Looking forward to reading the rest of the books, especially if they answer the questions raised in the first one.

[Mike]

I like Sanderson but I don't love him yet. I find his world craft & magic systems to be original & top notch. I love the work he's doing on WoT. I haven't been able to love his characters. I've read all of his work & I really want him to succeed. "But" his characters don't seem well rounded & don't envince that empathy I get from other writers. But I'll stick around for a few more books to see how he progresses. Just my opinion no insults implied or intended.

[Kevin]

Judah wrote: "I think the answer to that is a solid yes. I'd rather read something by an author who has been honing their craft, even if it means a longer wait between books, than reading a new book each year by a voice that hasn't grown/changed. "

I have read all Sanderson's adult books released so far, and I have to say that while his 'voice' hasn't changed much it has definitely grown. When you put his books in chronological order you notice a clear progress in terms of pacing, plotting and character development. From a technical point of view he gets better with each book. (Though Mistborn: the Final Empire is still my favorite of his, and that was his second released book.)

I'm obviously a fan, but I can see where you guys are coming from and even agree that prose isn't Sanderson's strong point. His writing is ... functional, I'd call it. He is nowhere near the master word smith Patrick Rothuss, for example, is.
I can also follow, up to a point, the critiques on his characters being relatively flat and one dimensional. (Mistborn's Vin is still one of my favorite characters ever.)

But that's okay, I read Sanderson for his creativity, for his clever magic systems, for his in dept world building and intricate plotting. And those he does really well. Mistborn's Allomancy is really clever and the most awesome and funnest magic system I have encountered. The Way of Kings, is a real feat of world building, not just a medieval europe template with extras, but a unique ecological system and societies that are heavily shaped by major electrical storms ravaging the continent every few days. I didn't like the 4th Mistborn book, the alloy of law, as much as I liked the original trilogy, (It is more detective/urban fantasy in style, and that isn't really my flavor of fantasy. The opening, chapter however, might be the best thing he has ever written.) but the way he took the Mistborn world and advanced its culture, mythology and technology 300 years into the future was pretty impressive IMO, I haven't seen that done anywhere else.

[Cthulwho]

i thought they were fucking awful.

[Aloysius]

I think the first book was great. The magic system was brilliant, and I loved the interesting back-story explaining how the world of Mistborn had gotten so rotten.

[Guy]

Good story, satisfying end to the trilogy. At some points I wondered if the sadness would ever end(BMTH reference, anyone?) but it did!

[Andrew]

Cthulwho wrote: "i thought they were fucking awful."

Got no problem with you hating them but why would you read all 3 if you thought they were crap?

[Cthulwho]

Ive got that whole, stubborn, ive-started-so-ill-finish thing going on. I actually quite liked the first one, to be fair, but the last two were just painful.

[Monica]

I just finish the first one and i really enjoyed it. The magic sysyem was very clever and i enjoyed the history of why certain events came to be. The character i love is not in the next books and i really dont like vin and dont find her interesting enough to want to read the next book. But if the writing in the others r like the first then i truly am missing out because i like his creativity

[Scott (Ozziespur)]

Cthulwho wrote: "i thought they were fucking awful."

So insightful ...

[Cthulwho]

I just didn't find it particularly challenging in anyway. Nothing surprised me, quite the opposite for the most part.

[Laura]

I think the Mistborn trilogy is a lot of fun to read and exciting. Different people read books differently and for different purposes. I enjoyed them, but I can see how other people would not.

[Scott (Ozziespur)]

Cthulwho wrote: "I just didn't find it particularly challenging in anyway. Nothing surprised me, quite the opposite for the most part."

Fair enough. I can definately see where you're coming from. I enjoyed the books but wouldn't say they are a must read by any means. The magic system was unique but the plot was somewhat predictable. I did tire of the constant 'Vin pulled on x and pushed off y'.

[Cthulwho]

Yes! The magic system was fantastic, very thoughtful, but i didn't need it explaining to me every time someone used it "Vin burned X and Y happened". Someone could've just jumped somewhere and i would have been able to figure out what had happened.

[Michael]

I just finished the first book yesterday. It was a good read, I'd give it 4 stars. The last 70 pages or so were quite amazing, and Sanderson definitely has me interested in seeing how circumstances progress from here.

I guess my main problem with the book is the lack of world building. It's not particularly deep is what I am getting at, and the only glossary in the book is to explain the magic system, which I did find unique all things considered.

This the first book I've read by Sanderson, and for sure I'll be following what remains of this series as well as The Way of Kings series.

[Kary]

My first Brandon Sanderson book was Elantris, and I thought it was only OK. Didn't really care for it.

Then some friends of mine told me Mistborn was much better, so I bought the trilogy in a box-set. I had a really hard time getting into it. I didn't feel drawn to any of the characters; they just didn't seem sympathetic to me. The world was dark, dreary and too dystopian to make me want to spend time there.

The magic system was well-crafted, yes, but I find that if I don't care about the characters, I don't keep reading.

So I tried the first book a couple of times and kept putting it down. Finally I picked it up again and made myself keep reading just to figure out what my buddies liked.

I did finish it. But it was still only ok. I was disappointed, as I wanted to like the books, wanted to find a new author where I'd have to obsessively read everything he's written. Alas, not to be.

[Jamie]

I Liked Final Empire as a stand alone story, a new concept for the magic, an interesting take on what could happen if the bad guys won in your usual fantasy, and an interesting final reveal of who the bad guy was (though the failure and corruption of the prophesied hero was potentially more interesting).

I hated book 2 as I didn't see the point in furthering a story which had finished itself quite well. ( I'm not one of those people who needs every single thread of every story I read which isn't exactly like my life fully explored and explained by the end or by prequels and sequels.)
I read book 3 coz I'm a bit obsessive and will always try to finish any book I start and any series they carry on publishing. It did seem to make sense as a whole trilogy and I liked the whole thing better. I still think it would have been better if it was left as just a stand alone book in the same way Star Wars was better as the original trilogy even if Lucas had the Idea for the prequels at the time - Sometimes you need to know when to quit whilst still ahead.

I recently read Way of Kings by Sanderson and I think the world he has created here has some great potential and a few of the characters are really interesting. I'm quite looking forward to the next installment of this but fear that he may have spent so much time creating multiple storylines in book one that it will take ages for him to refine the story down to a publishable book.

[Goran]

Finished the book one, and I'm underwhelmed to say the least, after reading all the positive reviews.
I don't know if Sanderson intended this book for teens or is he just constantly underestimating his readers. It would be unfair to say it wasn't fun at times, but it was just that - mildly entertaining flick that I'll forget very fast.

[Nermin]

I loved the first book. Admittedly, it was a little slow in the beginning but i loved the rest of the book. Now I'm almost halfway through the second book. I like it better than the first one so far, so many surprises, mysteries.

[Gianluca]

I loved it. The whole series is brilliant. A perfect balance between exciting action and an intriguing, original story. The ending is epic as well.

[Heather]

I have read all of the Mistborn novels and ..... well I did like the first one the best but as the books contnued I found them to be dry compared to the first one.

[Ema]

It is nothing less than a masterpiece, the whole serie