Started: 01/06/20
Finished: 12/06/20
Spoilers: No
I’ve sat on this for a few weeks and I’m settling on 3.5*. Which is still a great rating, btw, but I’m going to get into the why’s and how’s in just a moment.
So this book was reeaalllly long . . . probably didn’t need to be this long . . . but holy shit that ending though!
Characters
There aren’t too many series in which I love every character, but Mistborn is one of the few instances where I care about all of the characters. Not the baddies like Straff. He’s a dick. But all the crew. They’re all fantastic. I have no complaints about any of the characters . . . except . . .
Elend and Vin were infuriating in this book. Like seriously annoying. I constantly wanted to smack their heads together and scream talk to each other! at them.
This is an entirely subjective opinion because it’s something of a pet peeve of mine. Couples who don’t communicate. I hate it so much. I see it a lot. So much doubt and suspicion could be avoided in books/TV/films if a couple simply talks to each other instead of keeping secrets or bottling up feelings. It’s not healthy for the characters, and it’s not healthy for relationships. Just be open with each other, please! For god’s sake! Please just talk to each other, this book is long enough for you to have a conversation in.
Vin and Elend had so many opportunities to talk about some rather major plot points instead of allowing a distance to grow between them.
I think out of all the characters, Sazed had the greatest character arc. The character growth of that man was sublime. I felt so much for Sazed in this book that it hurt. Undoubtedly the best-developed character in this book. Unlike Vin and Elend who for so long felt like they were going backwards.
But Sazed is stunningly fantastic in this book.
Plot
As I mentioned above, I don’t think this book needed to be as long as it was. There was a section in the middle where I stopped reading, closed the book, turned it sideways, and looked at how much I’d read and how much was left. I then contemplated how much had actually happened within those 400 or so pages. Not that much really.
This is definitely a more political instalment in the series, which is fine. I love some politics in books, it’s delicious. But this book was so heavy on the politics that I was willing the war to start, even though I knew it was going to be devastating and people were gonna die. In the end, I just wanted something big to happen.
I think what made the first 600 pages dull (at least compared to the wonderfully action-packed The Final Empire) is not down to one particular issue, but an amalgam of several mixed up together in a big pot of MEH.
Elend and Vin’s lack of communication. Vin’s insecurities. Elend’s naivety. The really long, drawn-out political manoeuvring. Dropping into perspectives of characters I don’t like or care about. *cough*Straff*cough*. Vin’s indecision regarding the Zane/Elend conundrum.
The problem is, I expect these sort of character arcs and issues in YA books. The problems Vin faced in this book are very Teen problems. And yes, I know Vin is a teen, or close enough. But this is an adult book. I want to read adult problems. If all of Vin's teen angst was cut out, the book would be a bearable length and a far more interesting read.
For so long there was just a lot of annoying things happened, and I often wondered if some of these annoying things needed, to happen.
There also probably didn’t need to be as many Vin/Zane duels as there was. I know there was only about three, but the minute detail in which they were written only made the scenes drag for me. Again, this is a subjective opinion because some people love this, but I prefer fast-paced almost vague fight scenes where the action is chaotic and manic and happening so fast not even the characters can keep up, let alone the readers. I’m not a huge fan of blow-by-blow action.
For me, not only does it slow down the action, but it’s harder to follow. I almost struggle to visualise the fight when every single movement is described. Sometimes vague is better, especially when something is supposed to be happening so quickly. I don’t have time to visualise all these details and micro-movements, I want to be in the moment. If I try to, it just slows down my reading, thus slowing down the fight.
So I know it sounds like I’m slating this book, and though I was relatively bored for a long time, I ultimately enjoyed this book a lot in the end. Why? That mind-blowing ending of course. The last 100 pages are action-packed, full of feels, and fantastically executed. But just because 100 pages out of 700+ were fantastic, doesn’t mean I’m going to give this five stars. If it wasn’t for that brilliant (albeit a tad convenient) ending, this book likely would have gotten a lower rating from me. Ending aside, not enough plot happened in this to justify a stronger rating.
Writing Style
Gonna keep this short and sweet cause, at this point, we know Sanderson is a fantastic writer. There’s no doubt that he’s is a master storyteller. His writing is original and imaginative, and I truly love and admire his work. But I’m also a big believer that sometimes less is more.
Final Impression
Obviously I’m going to continue the series. I’ve come this far, I’m not going to back down now. I have every confidence that the third book will be the action-packed conclusion we’ve all been waiting for. But for Well of Ascension, it’s just another unfortunate victim of Middle-book Syndrome.
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