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

kayd_mon

Sage
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.
 

Creed

Sage
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.
 

kayd_mon

Sage
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.
 

kayd_mon

Sage
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.
 

skip.knox

toujours gai, archie
Moderator
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.
 

kayd_mon

Sage
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.
 

OGone

Troubadour
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.
 

kayd_mon

Sage
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.
 
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.
 

kayd_mon

Sage
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.
 

Steerpike

Felis amatus
Moderator
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.
 

kayd_mon

Sage
@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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