The Final Empire (Mistborn #1)

Synopsis

The Mists rule the night. The Lord Ruler owns the world.

Once, a hero arose to save the world. A young man with a mysterious heritage courageously challenged he darkness that strangled the land.

He failed.

For a thousand years since, the world has been a wasteland of ash and mist rules by the immortal emperor known as the Lord Ruler. Every revolt has failed miserably.

Yet somehow, hope survives. Hope that dares to dream of ending the empire and even the Lord Ruler himself. A new kind of uprising is being planned, one built around the ultimate caper, one that depends on the cunning of a brilliant criminal mastermind and the determination of an unlikely heroine, a street urchin who must learn to master Allomancy, the power of a Mistborn.

Loved

• Okay, just to warn you. This series is UNREAL and completely blew me away. I feel overwhelmed trying to write down all the things I loved about it because it was honestly the best fantasy series I've ever read (HP doesn't count because that's my childhood favorite :) So I will attempt to put my feelings into words and highlight some of the best aspects of this book.

• The world! I think we can all agree that Brandon Sanderson is the J.R.R. Tolkein of our time- he is absolutely a genius. The world he created in this series is as real as Middle Earth- different cultures, diverse languages, extensive history, expansive geography, and one of the most creative magic systems out there. This world is so detailed, which makes it feel all the more real and believable.

• The magic system. Allomancy is a magic system where certain gifted individuals can swallow metals and gain various powers from that metal. There are ten metals with ten unique powers, and some people, such as our main character, have the ability to use all ten powers- making her a rare Mistborn. This magic system was so detailed and creative that I had to keep remembering all the details about it and remembering which metal does what. Sanderson did a masterful job of incorporating this magic, along with other types of magic, to create a believable, mesmerizing setting.

• The characters. I wish I could go through each character and talk about how much I love each of them, because they are all SO GOOD. My favorite thing about these characters is that they are just regular people (besides their rad Allomancy skills). But they aren't necessarily super-genuises or anything, they are just normal people who want to see change and are willing to fight for it. We definitely get the "crew" feeling from this squad as they all have such different personalities, astute senses of humor, inside jokes, and detailed histories that drive all their actions. It was refreshing to find a group of characters who really didn't know what they were doing or how they were going to do it, but they wanted to change the world and overthrow a tyrant. They do have Allomancy, but mostly it was their sheer pluck and nerve that made their plan possible.

• Ah, I want to talk about every character. I'll just talk about Vin though in this first review. Vin is our main character- small, fierce, and compassionate. This girl is one of the most powerful Allomancers out there, but she doesn't let it get to her head. I love her friendship with Kelsier as he mentors her and teaches her how to use her powers. I admire Vin's determination and nerve to practice this power at night, and eventually use it to carry out their crazy heist.

• The intensity. Okay, Mistborn wins for creepiest villain of the year with the Inquisitors. These guys are freaky. They make dementors look like house pets and Darth Vader as mild as C3PO. These guys are completely brutal and merciless, which drives the intensity behind everything this crew does as they constantly try to avoid the Inquisitors.

• The romance!  I knew going into this that I would be in for some awesome world building, creative magic, and intense action, but I wasn't expecting to love the romance so much. Of course, they meet at a ball, which I'm a total succor for ballroom scenes, so this made me so happy. The romance was the perfect cherry on top of a dark, gruesome world.

Didn't Love

• The ending had me so mad when I first read it, but as the series went on I became reconciled with it. I won't talk about it to avoid spoilers, but if you want to talk about it, DM me! I had to process it with people who have read the series after I read it :)

• There is a little bit of info-dumping at the beginning of the book and it takes a little while to understand exactly what's going on, but we've all probably gotten used to that with high fantasy.

Content

• Language: 
• Uses of "damn" and "hell."

• Sexual content: 
• Some flirting and mentions of affairs, especially during the ball.

• Violence:
• Okay this series makes Lord of the Rings and Hunger Games seem like child's play. It is a brutal and gruesome world we're dealing with here. I won't try to capture all the violence that happens, but just give an overview so you have some idea what you're in for.
• The Inquisitors are terrifying human-like creatures with spikes for their eyes. They are the kind of villain that gives you chills when one shows up on the page. There are many scenes of Inquisitors killing with their obsidian axes. They don't just kill though, they leave behind carnage and gore. The characters come upon multiple scenes where the Inquisitors have massacred everyone inside the building and left them completely maimed. Also scenes where one Inquisitor keeps slicing heads off civilians until he gets what he wants. 
• Many mentions of executions and watching people be be-headed in front of the crowd.
• Much fighting violence- stabbing, punching, using Allomancy to hurt and kill others.
• Just know going into these that they are very violent, with a lot of blood and gore described.

Overall Thoughts

This book is a firecracker start to an incredibly original series. I love this first book because we get to learn about the world, the history, and the magic as Vin learns about all these things. I also love meeting the crew, watching them plan the insane heist, and seeing them all banter with each other. They are so relatable that it makes the events happening feel believable and real. I loved the high-intensity action, the plot twists, and the dash of romance sprinkled on top. If you like fantasy at all, do not miss this series- I repeat, do NOT miss this series! It will blow your mind more with each book, I promise you.