# Mistborn - Does It Take a While to Get into It?



## kayd_mon (May 7, 2013)

Just like the title says... 

I just started reading this, and after reading the first five chapters, I'm not sure what to think. I know this series and this author is popular, but I feel like I should be enjoying this book much more by this point. 

The magic system seems a little silly to me, almost like a video game with little stat bars for all these metals the characters burn. Maybe it'll grow on me, but I just read what should have been a thrilling chapter with Kelsier in action, but none of the action grabbed me. All the pushing and pulling just seemed awkward rather than exciting.

Am I missing something? Do I just need to give it a few more chapters to start getting into it? The atmosphere of the book seems good, and having a bunch of thieves running scams is a good way to ensure some suspense, but I'm just not sold yet.


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## Steerpike (May 7, 2013)

I gave up on it pretty quick.


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## Wynnara (May 8, 2013)

I haven't read Mistborn, but if it's anything like the author's first book in the Stormlight Archive series, "The Way of Kings"... well, I wouldn't have been able to get through that one if I hadn't been listening to it as an audiobook on my commute. It took a very, very long time before I felt I knew enough about that world or its characters to care about it. It was a good book in the end and I'll probably read the next in the series, but I think I probably started and stopped that book a half-dozen times at least.


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## Feo Takahari (May 8, 2013)

I didn't even last as long as you did. It's funny, because I liked _Elantris_--_Mistborn_ just didn't grab me the same way.


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## Fluffypoodel (May 8, 2013)

I read through the whole thing and the beginning was a little tough to get through. And the middle. The end is really good and action packed, emotionally and physically. It has a lot of build up towards the ending which is by far the best part of the book. if you can last that long through the book I'd say its worth it. 

In contrast I put the second book down before I hit 100 pages. I haven't read anything else by him so I don't know if it's a _Mistborn_ thing or if its just his writing style.


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## druidofwinter (May 8, 2013)

I read this book and loved it! I will agree, it takes a little "getting into" but after that, well EPICNESS!! Sorry if that seems a bit vague, but i really could not say enough good things about this book. Read it and you will love it. I promise.


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## OGone (May 9, 2013)

Read the whole series recently, it took me a few chapters to get into but then I couldn't stop reading. I would stick with it, I thoroughly enjoyed all three books although the first is really slow in my opinion. Around halfway things start picking upThe second book and the ending of the third, in particular, are very entertaining. 

On the other hand I'm reading Elantris now and it's not really grabbing me at all, will give it a few more chapters before I give up entirely oop:


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## Steerpike (May 9, 2013)

I actually liked Elantris, which is what made me pick up Mistborn in the first place. So I have the opposite problem


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## kayd_mon (May 9, 2013)

I'll keep at it for a bit longer.  Maybe my expectations were too high going in. But if I can't like any of the characters by the halfway point, the book will become a chore.


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## danr62 (May 10, 2013)

I am a big Sanderson fan, and have read most of what he's put out. Mistborn was what got me started on him, so yes, I loved the book. I really enjoyed Allomancy and thought those fight scenes were really cool. 

I also liked Elantris, but I could tell that it was his first book (published) in that it lacked some of the refinement of Mistborn. At least, his Chekov's Gun was more obvious to me in that book than the one in the MB trilogy.


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## kayd_mon (May 10, 2013)

What was it about the allomancy that you liked? I'm not asking this in a negative light, but maybe you saw something I'm looking past that will help improve my opinion of it. As of now, it is my main gripe with the book, which is probably a big problem.


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## danr62 (May 10, 2013)

I liked the coolness factor of a unique magic system. Also, some of the inventive applications of allomancy that you might not have read about yet were pretty cool too.


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## Steerpike (May 10, 2013)

The like the allomancy idea well enough, it's just that the story itself has not held my interest.


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## Creed (May 16, 2013)

Maybe I'm a little bit late, but I enjoyed it and would recommend it. 
However, I maintain that it is a fantastically mediocre book. What does that even mean? Well, it was good, and I enjoyed reading it. And yet I didn't really care about it. I wasn't invested. 
That being said (as I find in all of Mr. Sanderson's books) there are just plain silly things that put me off. Like the koloss in Well of Ascension. And the titles- Hero of Ages!? And all the rhymes! For example "What's your game, Zane?" I know that's not a real rhyme but you know what I mean. And Elend got really annoying. So did Sazed. Breeze, on the other hand, went through some character development throughout book 2 that I thoroughly enjoyed. It showed a COMPLETELY different side of him, while still being believable. 
And that's my verdict. Sorry about that.


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## kayd_mon (May 21, 2013)

@creed

You're not too late. I am still slowly plugging away at this one. I haven't read much more since my original post, because I'm not really invested. I've read through part 1, and Vin has trained/is still training with allomancy. Getting more description of it didn't make me like it anymore, since I still feel that it is an ideal system for a game, not a book. Anyway, I can look past that and just read it for what it is. I do like it when I'm completely enveloped in a story, but I suppose that not every book will do that. I expect I'll finish this, albeit slowly.


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## Araktor (May 22, 2013)

Honestly. I hated this series after the 7th chapter. It takes too much time to get into the feeling.


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## SineNomine (May 26, 2013)

Hmmm, I never had that feeling.  I started Sanderson through the Mistborn books and hold it up as one of my favorite fantasy series' of all time.

Trying to nail down why I love it so much is harder though.  I'm not a big reviewer type, I don't really spend much time analyzing why I like something or don't, just feel the feelings and roll with it.  If I had to guess?  His prose is perfect to me, it's so direct and unpretentious, it feels outstandingly transparent;  It's a vehicle to deliver a story and doesn't seek to draw attention to itself.  The story itself is well-crafted, everything feels like it fits together like a blueprint and the world they inhabit is fascinating.  The magic system essentially functions as a science, which is great.  

I suppose both Kelsier and Vin aren't spectacular characters, but they fit their roles well.  Kelsier is fascinating.  His plans and beliefs, and how they fit in with the time and place in which he lives is explored well and is quite deep.  In a different time or place he could very easily have been a terrible villain, but circumstances in both his life and the world around him end up creating a unique niche.

Sorry if this isn't very good analysis of why I like it, I'm just trying to play it by ear.


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## kayd_mon (May 26, 2013)

His bare-bones prose is one thing that I noticed from the beginning, and I immediately knew I wouldn't enjoy the book on that level. I can read and enjoy books in that style, but when the prose itself isn't special, I tend to be less excited about reading. 

I've made it through another chapter. I'm determined not to be a quitter, since a few here have guaranteed that the ending is worth it.


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## SineNomine (May 27, 2013)

Eh, if you really aren't enjoying it you probably shouldn't force yourself.  The ending does have a lot of moving parts that all work together to create a very intense climax, but I can't imagine it being amazing if you don't care about the plot or any of the characters.


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## kayd_mon (May 29, 2013)

I've gotten through a few more chapters, and it's starting to pick up for me. (this is starting to feel like status updates, here) I think I've realized what it is that I just don't like about the book. 

I can deal with the Allomancy. The point-by-point explanation seems way too much like a videogame tutorial, but once passed that, it's fine. Awkward pushing and pulling, certainly, but it works to propel the story. I can live with it. 

I mentioned his style, but that's not something that will cause me not to read. It's readable, even if the descriptions get really repetitive. I can live with that, too. 

I like Vin. And Sazed. They are keeping me in this. I like the different religions that Sazed quotes, it's a nice touch to the book. 

The thing I realized that I just dislike is Kelsier. His speech, actions, etc. When it switches to his POV, I feel a pang of annoyance. Now, don't give me any spoilers here, but if he dies in this book, I'll be happy.


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## danr62 (May 29, 2013)

Brandon has said Kelsier could very easily have been a villian if circumstances were different, so yeah, he can be a bit grating.


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## Nightender (May 30, 2013)

I'm a Sanderson fan as well.  With _Mistborn: The Final Empire_, he focuses on establishing the setting, Vin, and Kelsier, in that order.  It's a mild read at first, especially since he has to take a lot of time explaining the magic system.

Once Vin gets a handle on what she can do as a Mistborn, the story picks up a lot.


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## SineNomine (Jun 2, 2013)

danr62 said:


> Brandon has said Kelsier could very easily have been a villian if circumstances were different, so yeah, he can be a bit grating.



This is somewhat explored more in The Alloy of Law, where Miles has a lot of traits in common with Kelsier.  I kinda love how he treats the subjectivity of heroic/villainous traits.


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## kayd_mon (Jun 2, 2013)

Ok, so I've now finished the book.  Once the story picked up, I read through it quickly as I normally do when I really get into a book.  I learned to like the Allomancy.  The Feruchemy was fine, too.  Since he has two inter-related magic systems, I'm wondering if the next books have more.  The action was really exciting, and I finally started caring about the characters.  He delivered there.  I have a few gripes still about things like some of the dialog and repetitive descriptions, but they're not really that hindering once you're invested.  I'll definitely be picking up the second Mistborn book in the next couple of weeks.


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## LadyCass (Jun 2, 2013)

I really liked Mistborn and I liked allomancy. I love when an author can create something new and no main stream.

I will say however that Mistborn, in my opinion, is the best book of that series. They get progressively worse. Sanderson begins to go overboard on showing so many character POV's that I had a hard time keeping with what was going on. I also was annoyed at the religious soap box he turned the series into by the end.


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## kayd_mon (Jun 2, 2013)

Religious soap box? His writing is telling that he's probably a pretty religious guy himself. I'm not sure how I'll take that. I mean, I've read and enjoyed all of the Narnia books, but I liked the writing style of those a whole lot more than what I've seen of Sanderson.


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## danr62 (Jun 3, 2013)

I wouldn't call Sanderson's books a religous soap box. To me it seems more like he's exploring some ideas that are definitely inspired by his religion, but he isn't preachy about it.


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## kayd_mon (Jun 3, 2013)

Well I suppose I'll see for myself soon. I have one book to read first (and it's short), and then I'll get to the next Mistborn.


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## MFreako (Jun 6, 2013)

Just finished reading The Final Empire.

The first half of the book felt like a huge Allomantic infodump to me. Once the story picks up, it's okay, though I couldn't bring myself to really care about the characters.  Even the more emotional scenes towards the end didn't really do anything for me. The thing that kept me going was wanting to find out more about the Lord Ruler and what made him become who he is. That said, Sanderson does manage to introduce some nifty ideas, and execute them quite well.

As for Sanderson's prose: I've heard some high praise for its simplistic nature. I don't know, I just found it... lacking.


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## kayd_mon (Jun 6, 2013)

I agree that the prose is lacking - he repeats descriptors a lot (such as the word _ornate_, which at one point used five times in three pages) and his dialogue is awkward more often than it should be. The allomancy infodump is an understatement. The detail that he describes its usage is partly why I call it a videogame tutorial. It never feels natural, even after I started to like the ways it propelled the story. IMO, Sanderson's prose (based on this one book) is simple to the point that there is nothing special about it. It's easy to read, and it's obviously aimed at young readers, but I've read children's books where the author spent a whole lot more effort on their style, even while keeping it simple. Sanderson has a pretty good imagination, obviously, which is how he gets his fans. 

In Mistborn, he did generate a lot of interest about the Lord Ruler. It's a shame that he gave away the big reveal so early in the book, though.


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## Steerpike (Jun 6, 2013)

There is nothing in this thread that compels me to re-visit the book


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## druidofwinter (Jun 6, 2013)

“Intrigue, politics, and conspiracies mesh complexly in a world Sanderson realizes in satisfying depth and peoples with impressive characters.”—Booklist on Mistborn

"Enjoyable, adventurous read that. . .should satisfy even easily-bored teens." --Locus on Mistborn

"A fascinating world . . . one that deserves a sequel." --The Washington Post on Mistborn

"Mistborn utilizes a well thought out system of magic. It also has a great cast of believable characters, a plausible world, an intriguing political system, and despite being the first book of The Final Empire, a very satisfying ending. In short, it's one of those great kettle books, in which the author has thrown not merely a bone of an idea and a few potatoes of originality, but half a cow and everything in the garden. And then added seasonings. Highly recommended to anyone hungry for a good read."
—Robin Hobb

Do i need to say i love this book and this series? Well i do. Stick with it, it's great!


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## Zero Angel (Jun 6, 2013)

See, I gave "Way of Kings" 10 out of 10 on my blog (it was actually my very first review I believe) and absolutely adored that book. I took issue with some of the directorial choices, but it had me enthralled the entire way through. I picked up Mistborn expecting the same sheer awesomeness or at least approaching such levels and I was crushed that I turned it back to the library BEFORE THE END OF THE PROLOGUE O_O

It was mindless and pointless and annoying and I could not stand to read another sentence. I have sworn off Sanderson in all forms except the Stormlight Archive books and the Wheel of Time ending books.


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## kayd_mon (Jun 6, 2013)

@druidofwinter

Should start The Well of Ascension next week. I know I've been knocking Sanderson a bit, but overall I did like the story and I do want to see how it ends. I also hope there are some surprises - too many major things in The Final Empire were easy to see coming. (like the ending)


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## druidofwinter (Jun 10, 2013)

kayd_mon said:


> @druidofwinter
> 
> Should start The Well of Ascension next week. I know I've been knocking Sanderson a bit, but overall I did like the story and I do want to see how it ends. I also hope there are some surprises - too many major things in The Final Empire were easy to see coming. (like the ending)



There are many surprises coming. The last book is the best, though "Well" is great too. Glad you read the whole book.


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## Jessquoi (Jun 11, 2013)

I've also just started it and I'm enjoying it. I agree that the characters develop slowly and seem rather vague in the beginning but in return I really like the visuals I get from the Allomancy fighting scenes. For me personally those scenes play through in my head like fantastic, visually sublime movies. I'm not saying it reads like a movie but I just got awesome visuals from it. If it picks up emotionally too I could really get it into it.


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## Steerpike (Jun 11, 2013)

So...it sounds like it might be worth it if you stick with it long enough. The problem for me is that my to-read stack literally has over a hundred books in it that I'd really like to get to at some point. So once I've put a book down because it bored me stiff, it is rare that I'll pick it back up instead of giving something new a shot. Happens occasionally, though. Maybe this will be one of those times.


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## Jessquoi (Jun 11, 2013)

I'm stunned to find so many mixed opinions of this series. Not because I think people should think one thing or the other of it, it's just interesting.


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## Scribble (Jun 11, 2013)

I had watched all of Sanderson's writing lectures, and I was curious to see him "in action", so to speak. So, I began reading Mistborn. I liked the premise, with the dark lord winning and everyone living out the dirty aftermath. It was an interesting magic system, but ultimately I didn't believe it. 

What really killed it was that I didn't develop enough sympathy for the characters to care what happened. I put it aside after a few chapters. I never say never, I may try other Sanderson books in the future. I may even give this another go, but I am unable to make myself "push through and keep reading" fiction that doesn't enchant me. Life is too short for that.

I say this with the reservation that I am extremely hard to please as a reader.


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## Zero Angel (Jun 12, 2013)

Scribble said:


> What really killed it was that I didn't develop enough sympathy for the characters to care what happened. I put it aside after a few chapters.



This times a million!


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## kayd_mon (Jun 13, 2013)

By the end, I cared about Vin (god, was that hard for most of the book, what with here wavering from stereotypical teenage girl to stereotypical mistrustful girl and finally need-no-training action hero wizard) and Elend (always liked that one) and Sazed (always liked him, too) and the Lord Ruler. I hated Kelsier, enough that I was rooting against him the whole book, and I greatly disliked Breeze, and tolerated Ham. 

Don't read this book for characterization. It's the book equivalent of a summer movie - it's not challenging or artful, but by the time you walk out, you have a feeling of just having had fun. And that's ok. 

One thing I was surprised to read on the back of the jacket was that he's a creative writing teacher. If I knew that going in, I would have been so disappointed due to highest-possibe expectations, that I wouldn't have gone much passed the prologue.


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## Creed (Jun 13, 2013)

kayd_mon said:


> Don't read this book for characterization. It's the book equivalent of a summer movie - it's not challenging or artful, but by the time you walk out, you have a feeling of just having had fun. And that's ok.


I see that. It's like... watching any of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies after the first. 
I'm reading a lot of "Oh, it gets much better as the story goes" but I'd like to pose a different view on that. Yes, some of it gets better. But in my opinion a lot of it gets worse. I know a lot of suffering is supposed to build character and such, but I think these novels don't do it well at all. Sazed (I don't think this counts as a spoiler) gets depressed. Vin and Elend become insufferable, especially when they talk about their love. And Mr. Sanderson starts to pull things from absolutely nowhere- which I found very annoying and ultimately unsatisfying. 
Still, he can do some good twists. And although you don't like Breeze, he becomes my favourite character in Well of Ascension- that is when he's not being a pervert. As for The Way of Kings, I liked it more, but there were some things that annoyed the hell out of me- I get it, Sanderson, Delinar and what's-his-face are the good guys.


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## kayd_mon (Jun 15, 2013)

Well, 61 pages into Well of Ascension and I'm thinking the same thing as last book. There is so much retelling of thr last book, that I could have skipped it and started with this one. Maybe these books just aren't for me.


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## kayd_mon (Jul 12, 2013)

I finished Well of Ascension and just started Hero of Ages. I have officially decided that, while I do have complaints about his style among other things, I do like these books. The last third of Well is great, and Hero has started out well. I feel like I should eat popcorn while reading these sometimes, haha.


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## skip.knox (Jul 13, 2013)

I couldn't finish even the first. It just dragged, and there are so many other good books to read. I honestly cannot figure what people see in it. Tastes, however, vary; or, so I am told.


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## kayd_mon (Jul 13, 2013)

I am slow to quit stuff I start. In this case, I think it paid off. The final acts of the both the first and second books are pretty great, and I do like the main character Vin. I hated Elend throughout the entire second book, though. Still liked Sazed, liked Straff, liked OreSur... There was enough to keep me going, though I got very bored with all the political theory. Once all that ended, the book became fun. I wouldn't rank either book very highly, like I saod earlier in the thread, they are the equivalent of summer movies. Fun, but you have to be willing to ignore a lot of issues. These are not literary works of art, but that's ok.


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## OGone (Jul 13, 2013)

kayd_mon said:


> I am slow to quit stuff I start. In this case, I think it paid off. The final acts of the both the first and second books are pretty great, and I do like the main character Vin. I hated Elend throughout the entire second book, though. Still liked Sazed, liked Straff, liked OreSur... There was enough to keep me going, though I got very bored with all the political theory. Once all that ended, the book became fun. I wouldn't rank either book very highly, like I saod earlier in the thread, they are the equivalent of summer movies. Fun, but you have to be willing to ignore a lot of issues. These are not literary works of art, but that's ok.



Hero of Ages has the best ending out of all of them, I'd rank it as my favorite of the three I think.

And on a related note I decided to try Elantris again and finished it yesterday, I'd recommend it to anybody who likes Sanderson's style. It's practically the same format although I found it even harder to get into (of the three main viewpoints I only really enjoyed one up until about 50% of the way through the book). I'd say Elantris is slightly less summer-blockbuster than Mistborn, though. There's a lot more depth in the characters.


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## kayd_mon (Jul 30, 2013)

Ok, I have finished reading Hero of Ages.  I liked this book all the way through.  While I had some complaints about Sanderson in the first two books, either he fixed those this time around, or I was just so into the story that I didn't notice or care.  I agree that this is the strongest book - great action, excellent worldbuilding, and though I was down on it in book #1, I really grew to like his magic systems.  The way he worked the fine details of it into the story was impressive.

For those that were like me, and thought it started out rough, I really do think it's worth it to push through.  Book #1 starts slow, then gets worth it.  Book #2 has its problems, and dull parts in the first half, but then gets pretty great.  Book #3 makes it all worthwhile, in my opinion.  I saw that there is another Mistborn-related book, _Alloy of Law _, I think, and I think I'll read that, too.  I won't call myself a total Sanderson fan just yet, but I did enjoy Mistborn, and I'm glad I read it.


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## druidofwinter (Jul 30, 2013)

Congrats on finishing. I'm glad you read a three and liked them. Were you surprised at who the Hero of Ages turned out to be? (I was.)  The Alloy of Law is great, and i hope you like it as well. Also, if you have not read The Way of Kings i recommend it.


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## kayd_mon (Jul 31, 2013)

Yes, I was surprised, but I didn't feel cheated at all. It was foreshadowed just right. The whole ending hit all the right points for me. 

Who knows? Maybe I'll end up becoming a Sanderson fan.


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## Steerpike (Jul 31, 2013)

kayd_mon said:


> For those that were like me, and thought it started out rough, I really do think it's worth it to push through.  Book #1 starts slow, then gets worth it.  Book #2 has its problems, and dull parts in the first half, but then gets pretty great.  Book #3 makes it all worthwhile, in my opinion.



I'll probably pass. Maybe I'll pick up something else of his at some point, but from what you've said in this thread I doubt I'll go back to Mistborn. I don't really want to wade through bad first halves of books to where they get good, and the thing about spending an inordinate amount of time recapping the last book really turns me off.


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## Zero Angel (Jul 31, 2013)

The Mistborn trilogy just made the top 100 of NPR's best sci-fi and fantasy of all-time. (I'm pretty surprised at the amount of new stuff, but there's plenty of old. NPR's Top 100 Science-Fiction & Fantasy Books - How many have you read? | List Challenges)

Edit: ...maybe not just made, I just found out about it. It's from 2011 ^_^


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## kayd_mon (Aug 1, 2013)

@Steerpike 

Yeah, the first 100 pages of book #2 recapped way too much, especially considering that if you go to the appendix, there is a summary of book #1 to refresh your memory. 

To each his/her own, though. I was glad I read them, but they're not for everyone.


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