Review: THE FINAL EMPIRE (MISTBORN #1)

by Brandon Sanderson

“But you can’t kill me, Lord Tyrant. I represent that one thing you’ve never been able to kill, no matter how hard you try. I am hope.”

YES! I loved it! Don’t look at me like that, I was so friggin afraid that I wouldn’t enjoy it. In a way, reading the book itself made me feel high stakes since I was so, so, so afraid that it would disappoint me as much as The Way of Kings did – and that didn’t happen! Yay!

“I’m not really sure why. But… do you stop loving someone just because they betray you? I don’t think so. That’s what makes the betrayal hurt so much – pain, frustration, anger… and I still loved her. I still do.”

Cosmere, here I finally come. Brandon Sanderson’s ‚The Final Empire‘ introduces an intricately built magic system, interesting protagonists, and a hell of a payoff. It started slow: lots of info, though not info dumps, not much action, then a lot of character building in the second part – and a brilliant ending to finish it. Well done, Mr Sanderson, this one is a masterpiece.

“How do you ‚accidentally‘ kill a noble man in his own mansion?“
„With a knife in the chest. Or, rather, a pair of knives in the chest…”

Of course it isn’t perfect: there were two major flaws I had with this one. Firstly, there is a HUGE character death in it. Which is cool. You know I’m a big sucker for surprising, heartbreaking character deaths. The thing is, I didn’t believe that character was really dead at first due to certain powers other characters have and because it was that…simple, and when I realised that he was actually REALLY dead, well. It just wasn’t the same. Because the story had already moved on, which is my second major issue with this one: there should’ve been more pain at that point. Like…a breakdown, more tears, desperation, whatever.

“What would you think if I told you that I wasn’t an Allomancer?” Sazed asked.
“I’d think that you were lying,” Vin said.
“Have you known me to lie before?”
“The best liars are those who tell the truth most of the time.”

Apart from that I’d just like to say that Allomancy really is the coolest concept ever and that Sanderson’s world-building is chef’s kiss. This is really world-building: the author has created all of this brick by brick. This isn’t just some superficial setting, no, this is all thought through. There are differences to our world, mainly that „ashes fell from the sky“ (which is a brilliant way to start a book, honestly), and there differences affect the whole appearance and rules of this world.

Regarding the plot: lots of tropes I love. Sudden character deaths, failures, bitches getting what they deserve. Yep, Shan Elariel, I’m looking at you, you bad imitation of Blanche Ingram. Are there any better villains than petty bullies? I think not. This is part heist, part revolution, part badass magic duels, part bloody murder, so what’s not to like about it? Also, there are nice speeches like this one:

“When’s the last time you slept in an alley, shivering in the cold rain, listening to the beggar next to you cough with a sickness you knew would kill him? When’s the last time you had to lay awake at night, terrified that one of the men in your crew would try to rape you? Have you ever knelt, starving, wishing you had the courage to knife the crewmember beside you just so you could take his crust of bread? Have you ever cowered before your brother as he beat you, all the time feeling thankful because at least you had someone who paid attention to you?”

Regarding Way of Kings, well, what do you expect me to say? This one was everything I could’ve hoped for and more. It’s brilliant. I love it from the bottom of my heart – so The Way of Kings gets its second chance… once I’m done with Mistborn, of course.