The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson

The Hero of Ages

The Well of Ascension

The Final Empire

In Autumn 2014 I embarked on a journey through the incredible world created by Brandon Sanderson, namely the Mistborn Trilogy. Recently, I finished the third and last book, and this blogpost will work as a kind of review, but contains more of a description of my experience reading the books. There will be no spoilers in this post.

I have always loved fantasy universes. I love the mystical, the magnificent, the magical. All of this is found in this trilogy. The first time I heard of the books I knew instantly that I had to get my hands on them. First of all, they look absolutely beautiful and the storyline seemed captivating. And by the first line of the book, I was drawn in. 

"Ash fell from the sky" (Book One, pp. 1)

Already at this point, my mind was set in motion and I began to wonder. Ash falling from the sky? How is this possible? I needed to know more right away. Throughout the whole series I had this feeling of not only wanting to know more but needing it. I got to love the characters and the world and I desperately needed to know just how everything was connected. Sanderson writes stunningly; his language is easy-to-read but still fantastical. He draws you into the world that he creates whilst doing an incredibly job at character building. 

Look at these beauties with the matching blue colours
 and lovely drawings. Absolutely stunning!

He creates a whole new world where the sun is a burning red, ash is falling from the sky and mist is present throughout everyday, day and night. Some noblemen have special abilities, Mistborns; by burning metals they can enhance sight, hearing, Push and Pull via coins, and control your mood to a certain degree. And then there is the skaa, a slave like people. Our main character, Vin, has grown up with as skaa, but suddenly she finds that she has enormous powers - she is a Mistborn. Through her narrative we experience the development, the struggles and the great experience of suddenly becoming a Mistborn. Vin and her crew sets out to try and save the world, and this by overcoming the Lord Ruler, who has reigned for more than a thousand years; a tyran, or maybe even a god? No one knows. They embark on this journey, trick, and fight and learns, slowly but surely, of the state of the earth as they know it and the history behind.

Creatures of great power and powerful forces are introduced throughout the storyline and raises even more questions. Only in the third book do we get answers to all of the many questions. Speculations have been offered on the way but we learn the truth only as the characters themselves stumble across the answers.

"Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I'd remained there, in that lazy village of my birth. I'd have become a smith, like my father. Perhaps I'd have a family, sons of my own. Perhaps someone else would have come to carry this terrible burden. Someone who could bear it far better than I. Someone who deserved to be a hero." (Book One, pp. 276).

The narrative is structured in an unusual way that allows the reader to explore and relate to even more characters. Every chapter, and sub-chapters, are written in the point of view of different character. Additionally, every chapter includes a small paragraph by an unknown voice that are each connected throughout the books. These paragraphs gives us answers to things we do not yet know the questions to, and in the beginning it seems a bit confusing as it does not seem to fit the main storyline. But all of a sudden, it all makes sense and it enlightens and explain things in a clever way; instead of incorporating it as a piece of actual storyline, hints are dropped all the way through towards the ending, where everything suddenly makes sense. In this way, Sanderson expands the horizon of the book and the reader is in no way limited to only one point of view. 

"The mist spirit watched her, as always. It was too distant to see, but she could feel it. And, even stronger than the mist spirit, she could feel something else. That powerful thumping, growing louder and louder. It had once seemed distant, but no longer." (Book Two, pp. 580)

Time after time whilst reading these books I was left completely stunned, the storyline taking a turn I simply did not see coming. And time and time again I was amazed by the world creation, and especially when you learn the causes and effects in the third book it all makes sense and makes you go "wow".

It was an easy read, captivating and brilliant. I have nothing negative to say about these books. They contain just the right amount of love story, fights, religion, history and politics. If you like the fantasy genre, these books are definitely a must read. I gave them all 5 stars on Goodreads. You can find my account here.





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So, hello out there! As you can see, I'm back, and this time I plan to stay for a good while longer. I will try to manage to upload a blogpost once a week (probably sunday or monday, as I am mostly off on these days), and they will contain different subject matters, a few of which will be: About my studies, my BA project, evolutionary theory, books, music and music cultural studies, events, etc. If you have any suggestions to subject matters that you would like to see my opinion on, you are very welcome to write a comment down below. I have decided to write the blogposts in English from now on, as I am no longer studying at the English department at Aarhus University, and I want to maintain my language skills, and hopefully improve on this matter as well. Also I have chosen to change the name of my blog to Words & Music.
Thanks a lot for reading.