• Author: Brandon Sanderson
• Series: Mistborn #3
• Genre: Fantasy
• No. of pages: 748
• Dates read: 17.12.20 – 29.12.20
• Star Rating: 5

Plot: Having escaped death at the climax of The Well of Ascension only by becoming a Mistborn himself, Emperor Elend Venture hopes to find clues left behind by the Lord Ruler that will allow him to save the world. Vin is consumed with guilt at having been tricked into releasing the mystic force known as Ruin from the Well. Ruin wants to end the world, and stopping it seems impossible.

I don’t think I have ever been so affected emotionally by a book in my life!

In 2019, after reading so many raving reviews about this trilogy, I decided to pick the first book The Final Empire. I was sat in my garden in the middle of August just absorbing as much of this world as I possibly can. I loved it so much. It was like nothing I had ever read before. Earlier in 2020, I read the second book The Well of Ascension and I remember sitting on my boyfriend’s bed and reading half the book in one sitting. So, at the end of 2020, as the end of the year drew closer I was sitting anxiously. Praying that this ending would be perfect.

Well, the ending hit me like a ton of bloody bricks!!!!!

It’s really hard to put into words how I felt about this book. I find it easy to rate books that are 4 stars and lower but the minute I get to the 5 star range all my thoughts just disappear and all I can think of saying is. It’s just really really good! But I will try.

So, first off plot. Sanderson is a master! One of my favourite things in any kind of media is when you find out that an author has being hinting to or foreshadowing something major in the series from the first book. i.e. Tom Riddle’s diary from Chamber of Secrets being a horcrux in the later books. I love it so much and this is what you get in this book! My mind was going 7000 mph trying to connect all the dots from all three books. I was theorising after nearly every single page trying to figure out how this book was going to end. This plot captured me and wouldn’t let me go until I was crying in my room at 2am, I was that fixated on this story.

I would say personally, that the Vin and Elend chapters, while super interesting, weren’t my favourites. The more military/strategy focused plots don’t intrigue me as much. But Spook’s espionage plot and TenSoon’s Kandra plot were so good. You learn more about the magic system, the way the world works and overall just more about some great characters. Spook, especially, has been in this series for such a long time so to watch him have a great focus in the trilogy was so good!

One of the major things with this plot though was the ending. Did I enjoy it? Well, it broke my heart. Sanderson grabbed my heart and stamped on it. The ending was epic, intense and just when you think you’ve read everything and know everything Sanderson swoops in and drops one more thing on your head. I don’t think anyone going into this book is prepared for that ending. I certainly wasn’t, mentally or emotionally. It is a very realistic ending that I think most fantasy readers tend to stray away from.

Moving onto the characters. To me, the real MVP was Spook in this book. Watching him grow up from a young boy to a young man was amazing. Tin is also one of my favourite metals and getting to explore the extremities of Tin was super interesting. I really enjoyed his character, watching him go through this world a little taller and a little stronger. I was not expecting to enjoy him as much as I did this book.

I enjoyed Elend this time round but he was overshadowed by my love for Vin. I enjoy them as a couple more than I thought I would. I did wish they had spent more time together in this book as I feel there was a lot of missed opportunities that Sanderson could have included with the two. Elend was brave and smart as usual but like with Spook, I just enjoyed reading about Vin and reflecting on where she was at the beginning of Book 1 and where she is now in Book 3! She is such a compelling character and while I do wish Sanderson had included more female characters Vin is a powerhouse unto herself. Sanderson really stayed true to the essence of Vin throughout this entire series despite her gaining more confidence and power!

The worldbuilding ties so neatly with the points I was making about plot. The whole world that Sanderson had created in this trilogy was so intricate, so detailed, with too many layers to count even if you tried. I enjoyed learning more, especially about how the Kandra work. Even on the last book, Sanderson allows you to understand more about how his world works. And in regards to the plot, my brain was spinning. The reasons why the world is the way it is gets answered and you just are not prepared when going in to read it!

I don’t think this review has done this book justice for how much I loved it but it’s certainly a glimpse!

The next book I will be reviewing is The Art of Dying by Ambrose Parry. A nice historical murder mystery to start the year off!