MISTBORN
By Brandon Sanderson
I picked up Misborn after reading his more recent epic, Way of Kings, which I highly recommend. It was very interesting reading the earlier work of an author after reading the later works. Especially in the case of these two books, since they both share a lot of the "post-apoc fantasy" trappings and multi-pov action. While Way of Kings is obviously more polished and fuller, since Sanderson is a bit more experienced now, Mistborn was well-written and very imaginative.
Sanderson is a card carrying Ruler -- his magic systems are really systems. There's very few tricks when it comes to his magic; once you understand how the basics work, it's very straightforward to follow the action and predict some things. Sometimes the descriptions are a bit slow, but I never had too much trouble with them. There's a lot of very careful worldbuilding in Mistborn, and the characters and their place in society feel real. There's a good sense that you can explain how and why everything works and why everyone sits in their place in society.
I'm going to be honest. Writing this review is difficult because having read Way of Kings already, my view is coloured. WoK is like Mistborn, but better crafted, more interesting, and more dramatic in every way. So if you're going to read Mistborn, don't read WoK first :D
There's not really much to complain about Mistborn; its good. You should pick it up. It's a cool trilogy, but you can just read the one if you want. But in the same vein, I don't have much to say about it either. It's a cool high fantasy tale in a cool world that's just not as cool as his later works.
This is something we all need to understand. Your best right now isn't going to be the same best five years from now. You're not going to craft your finest work immediately, no matter how much you think this story right now will be your masterpiece. Mistborn made Sanderson a name, but it's hardly going to be his best work. We're always improving ourselves. This doesn't mean that the things we created early on are bad -- they're testaments to the effort that you put in to get where you are now.
All this talk is making Mistborn sound bad, but it's seriously a fun time.
Just... Way of Kings... mmh!
ONE WORD REVIEW: A ROMP (shh "a" doesn't count) B/W/D: BUY
I'm going to be honest. Writing this review is difficult because having read Way of Kings already, my view is coloured. WoK is like Mistborn, but better crafted, more interesting, and more dramatic in every way. So if you're going to read Mistborn, don't read WoK first :D
There's not really much to complain about Mistborn; its good. You should pick it up. It's a cool trilogy, but you can just read the one if you want. But in the same vein, I don't have much to say about it either. It's a cool high fantasy tale in a cool world that's just not as cool as his later works.
This is something we all need to understand. Your best right now isn't going to be the same best five years from now. You're not going to craft your finest work immediately, no matter how much you think this story right now will be your masterpiece. Mistborn made Sanderson a name, but it's hardly going to be his best work. We're always improving ourselves. This doesn't mean that the things we created early on are bad -- they're testaments to the effort that you put in to get where you are now.
All this talk is making Mistborn sound bad, but it's seriously a fun time.
Just... Way of Kings... mmh!
ONE WORD REVIEW: A ROMP (shh "a" doesn't count) B/W/D: BUY
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