Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

I started reading this on a suggestion from Adam at Reviews and Ramblings, who is actually going through the series again. It is a 643 page fantasy novel, the first in the Final Empire trilogy. Mistborn is a hefty story, not one easily summarized. But, well, here we go.

Mistborn is about a young skaa girl, about 16, named Vin. She uses her Luck to influence people so her thieving crew, led by her emotionally and physically abusive brother, can get by. The story is also about a skaa rebellion and it’s leader, Kelsier, a full Mistborn (more about this later). The skaa people have worked on plantations as slaves, been beaten by the nobility, and have generally suffered heavily for at least the last 1000 years under the Lord Ruler’s reign. The majority of the plot in this book deals with the detailed plans of skaa rebellion. I thought it would be lengthy and boring to look at the plans, but it actually adds a lot to the story and is easy to get through.

Both Vin and Kelsier grow an amazing amount throughout the book. Though Vin starts off as timid, untrusting, and unsure about herself, Kelsier’s actions and confidence in her helps her grow as a character. She also helps Kelsier grow, and their dynamic makes the dark idea of oppression seem a little less crushing. The story was broken down into five ‘parts’ and I really enjoyed how each Part felt different than the others. It actually made sense to me to break it down this way, and I feel it contributed to the changes and development of each character.

The majority of the story takes place in Luthadel, the capitol city of sorts of the Final Empire. The noble houses who basically run the economy in Luthadel also oppress the skaa. There are often skaa murders in the middle of the street, and they have no sympathy for their slaves. The nobility in this reminded me quite a bit of the noble Houses in Menzoberranzan (city of the drow elves) in the Legend of Drizzt series — not saying that’s a bad thing, because it makes an excellent background for oppression and squabbling/pact-making between nobility to gain rank. In Luthadel, there are nightly mists, where most are afraid to even go outside. This also reminded me of the darkness of Menzoberranzan.

The book explains the ‘magic’ system extremely well. Brandon Sanderson is clearly a master at world building. As I learned about Allomantic powers — being able to burn the ten basic Allomantic metals to Soothe or Riot emotions, to Push or Pull on metal in the world, etc., throughout the book — I realized how well it was weaved into the story. It never felt like I was reading Sanderson’s notes on a world he created, it always felt important to the story. Anyway, Mistings are people who can burn one Allomantic metal to alter something physically or mentally in the world around them. Mistborn are able to burn every Allomantic metal, and are much more rare.

Even though I had basically figured out the how the novel was going to end, it was still extremely satisfying, maybe even more so, because I know that it fit with what I knew of the world. If you can’t tell, I really enjoyed this novel. The characters grew well throughout, and were completely realistic. The powers (‘real’ magic) were creative and unique and fit well into the story. The plot was fantastic. Although the first 200 pages took me a bit to get through, I finished the last 443 in two days. I really did not want to put it down, and have already started The Well of Ascension, second in the trilogy. I highly recommend Mistborn for anyone who even remotely enjoys fantasy.

Though there were a few good quotes, I picked just one to share. Trust is a big part of Vin’s life, because she was always taught by her brother that anyone and everyone WILL betray you. No questions asked. This quote deals with the idea of trust:

“That’s kind of what trust is, isn’t it? A willful self delusion? You have to shut out that voice that whispers about betrayal, and just hope that your friends won’t hurt you. [...] Distrust is really the same thing–only on the other side. I can see how a person, given the choice between two assumptions, would choose to trust.”

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

I read North and South for my major British authors class, while studying the Victorian Era. It starts off with a girl, Margaret, wistfully thinking of her girl/friend/companion/cousin, Edith, who is getting married and therefore leaving Margaret behind. It follows with a bunch of proposals to the main girl character.

The premise of the book is that Margaret’s father, a preacher, has been asked to reaffirm his faith in order to take a new position. His views are different than those of the Church of England, so he declines and the family moves to Milton, an industrial town. They previously lived in Helstone, a lovely place in southern England that is nothing like the smoky atmosphere of northern England.

The majority of the novel revolves around the rebellion of the mill workers against the masters, one of which is Mr Thornton, who has a fancy for Margaret which she does not requite. While this may sound interesting, it was long, wordy, and hard to enjoy.

This was my first Victorian novel, and let’s just say it will probably be my last. Margaret is supposedly really attractive in a strange way, which I suppose allows for the two guys she meets to almost immediately propose to her. I was really hoping that there would be at least some romance throughout to save the book, but Margaret was too focused on taking care of her ailing mother and father that that didn’t really happen.

We read this book over about six class periods, and it was really rough trying to keep up, because it was so long and prosy. I didn’t like most of the characters and am glad I’m done with the book. I would only recommend this to fans of books like Pride and Prejudice, and it’s just because that is the only thing I’ve read like this book.

Mockingjay

At first, I was POSITIVE I was not going to like this book anywhere near as much as I did the first two. From the mediocre reviews, the hinting suggestions from friends that it just didn’t live up to others, and my own doubts about how Suzanne Collins was going to be able to end the series, let’s just say I was afraid for this book’s safety. I was positive I was going to give it 3 stars, say, “that was decent” and move on. Well…

I will not forget that the cover of The Hunger Games is WHY I got to experience this superb tale.

At first I WAS disappointed. I was disappointed in Katniss. Couldn’t she pick someone and stick with them? I was disappointed in Haymitch. Couldn’t he sober up and help Katniss when she needed it? I was disappointed in the Capitol. Couldn’t they get over their greed for power and realize that so much life was going to be wasted in the coming months? Let’s just say, I was disappointed.

After the original disappointment wore off, what came next was bitterness. I could feel how Katniss had changed since her time in the games. I felt like I understood her — she said something to the effect of not liking anyone that she didn’t have a lifetime to decide about — I felt so similar to her (is that a bad thing?).

Although this book is much more centered on the political rebellion aspect of the world of Panem, I enjoyed it (almost) no less than the other two in the series. There were parts in the first third of the book that felt jumbled to me, a weird mix of long stretches of introspection with sharp bits of action thrown in. It was jarring, to say the least.

I want to say I have not devoured a series as quickly as I did this one (minus the brief break before I got my hands on the other two books– I decided to treat myself on my birthday) in a long, long time. Some may say this book disappoints as a finishing touch to the series. My bitter/angry/desperately sad tears for the last twenty pages beg to differ.

Again, my call is that if you liked The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, you HAVE to read this book. Even if it doesn’t give you the ending you want, you must. I was initially angry about the wild turn of events, but then I realized it was completely realistic and fitting to each characters’ personality. I think Collins knows her characters very well to finish the way she did. I hope you read and enjoy this series as much as I did. It certainly has my stamp of approval.

One of the many amazing posters for the film.

P.S. I cannot wait for the film version of The Hunger Games!

Catching Fire

At first, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this as much as I loved The Hunger Games. I was pleasantly surprised that it moved along at just the same quick pace. This is going to be a short review. There’s not a lot I can say about this book besides the fact that I loved it.

Unfortunately, I moved on so quickly to read Mockingjay that I honestly don’t remember a lot besides basic plot and stuff between Katniss and: Peeta, Gale, and Haymitch. The story moves through Katniss’s Victory Tour around all 12 districts, and she is informed that she must quell the possible rebellions. Knowing her skill with speech, she doesn’t do so hot. This leads into the third Quarter Quell — the 75th Hunger Games. I won’t give anything else away, if you haven’t read it already… get to it!

I really enjoyed this book, it was almost as brilliant as the first. It was a quick read, which brought more tension to the Gale/Peeta decision and deepened my liking for Katniss. It also introduced quite a few new interesting faces that brought many new things to the table.

Although it almost ended too quickly for my enjoyment, I was indeed lucky to have started reading the series so late that Mockingjay was out. I do not know what I would have done if I had to wait to finish this series… Anyway, I would absolutely recommend continuing with the series if you liked The Hunger Games.