Mistborn: The Final Empire
May. 7th, 2009 03:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jackBook: Mistborn: the Final Empire
Where from: Fivemack lent it to me in the Carlton -- thank you! It's great being lent books spontaneously.
Author:Brian Brandon Sanderson
Hold on, which wheel of time novel did he write? The last one.
What's it about: Firstly, a the author himself says, "a gang of gentlemen thieves who each had a distinctive magic power"
And secondly? A detailed magic system.
And thirdly? A rebellion against an evil emperor, who was once a great hero who saved the world (or nearly so, it's still in ruins).
What's really good: It's a medley of interesting ideas. The characters are memorable, the setting is creepy, and most of all, a lot of pay-off is mostly in discovering how the different sorts of magic and magical creatures work and interact, which is something I really love.
What's not: Unfortunately, despite many good aspects, it reads a little bit as if someone had pulled out a bunch of good tropes (some old, some new) and stuck them together. But it meant I didn't have much emotional engagement. Deaths made me think "yep, fantasy trope #517 fulfilled", and fight scenes "ooh, that's a good info-dump of how allomatic powers work". But not be engaged. I definitely wanted to find out what happened, but didn't really care about the middle.
Do you want to read the sequels: Yes, at least to find out what happens next.
Where from: Fivemack lent it to me in the Carlton -- thank you! It's great being lent books spontaneously.
Author:
Hold on, which wheel of time novel did he write? The last one.
What's it about: Firstly, a the author himself says, "a gang of gentlemen thieves who each had a distinctive magic power"
And secondly? A detailed magic system.
And thirdly? A rebellion against an evil emperor, who was once a great hero who saved the world (or nearly so, it's still in ruins).
What's really good: It's a medley of interesting ideas. The characters are memorable, the setting is creepy, and most of all, a lot of pay-off is mostly in discovering how the different sorts of magic and magical creatures work and interact, which is something I really love.
What's not: Unfortunately, despite many good aspects, it reads a little bit as if someone had pulled out a bunch of good tropes (some old, some new) and stuck them together. But it meant I didn't have much emotional engagement. Deaths made me think "yep, fantasy trope #517 fulfilled", and fight scenes "ooh, that's a good info-dump of how allomatic powers work". But not be engaged. I definitely wanted to find out what happened, but didn't really care about the middle.
Do you want to read the sequels: Yes, at least to find out what happens next.