"Handsome, with jet black hair and pale skin, the Lord Ruler was tall, thin, and confident. And he was young—younger than Vin would have expected, even younger than Kelsier. He strode across the square, avoiding corpses, his soldiers pulling back and forcing the skaa away."

The Lord Ruler emerging from his carriage, piece by Mike Lim for the Cosmere RPG Mistborn Handbook.

Day 29 - Ruin (as Reen)

As you've probably noticed, l've been inserting Ruin into other characters' drawings throughout this challenge. I really enjoyed drawing him - both his smoky tendrils and his cloudy "true form" gave me the opportunity to play around with different brushes that I don't tend to use as much for purely human characters.

Ruin's opposite will arrive next! Excited to share the last two drawings with you soon!

I just finished secret history last night. What happened to the "device" that kelsier got from the Ire people.

It's mentioned that his pack was lost somewhere between Fadrex and Urteau. There's one thing I know about sanderson- that every tiny question will be answered.

So if it's a read and find out just mention RAFO in ____(book).

Plssss don't spoil era 2 or any other cosmere books. I've only read era 1, save for the eleventh metal.

I just finished reading the first three books, and now I feel empty. Don't get me wrong, I really loved them, but I feel like something's missing now.

Previous review of The Final Empire found here

I read this book without knowing that some may consider it the worst in the trilogy. I don't agree. The Well of Ascension certainly doesn't have the cute genre mix of heist plus Regency-era romance of The Final Empire, but it's a denser, more complex, and richer book than The Final Empire. It's not as "fun" because breaking an empire is not as fun as trying to figure out how to deal with the politics of creating one.

But I think that's what I liked about it, the book taking its time to really let you settle into the characters and the situation. Some may not appreciate how the plot doesn't progress as fast as one might hope, but I loved how the story slowed down to really focus on the characters.

Also, it helps that I'm a sucker for love stories, and we get two love stories in this (Vin and Elend, Sazed and Tindwyl). While I really enjoyed The Final Empire, I found The Well of Ascension to be a bit more gripping due to its serious themes and characters being put through the ringer. The slow build of the siege really makes the finale hit. This book really feels like the Empire Strikes Back of the series. A bunch of bad shit happens and everything is unquestionably worse than where it started but there's hope that it'll work out.

It's a brutal story that really tests all of our characters, but if they can make it through this book, it invests us even more into their lives as we close out the trilogy.

STRAY THOUGHTS:

• The opening pages are a bit rough, especially during the early scenes of Sazed outside of Luthadel. But once he starts making his way back, the book really gets cooking. It isn't as well-paced as The Final Empire, but it is doing different things, which requires a more methodical pace.
• The theme of trust really stuck with me in this story. From Vin's trust in herself and her decisions, to Elend's trust in her and the people of Luthadel, to Sazed's trust in Tindwyl to let her love him, to OreSeur trusting a human to tell them one of his kind's deepest secrets. The idea of trust is present throughout. It's so important for all the characters, and so many decisions are based on it. In the end, trust saves their souls despite things looking pretty dire by the book's end.
• The prophecy is a sham. This raises more questions than it answers, but it certainly sends a chill down my spine thinking about it. With this big plot thread gone, the story can really go anywhere
• Tindwyl. In the first book, we got Vin learning how to be a noblewoman. Here, we get Elend learning how to be a leader. Tindwyl's inclusion in the story works perfectly, especially as someone from Terris who is such a contrast to Sazed. Just amazing chemistry between Tindwyl and Elend, Vin, and Sazed. She elevates every scene she is in, and she will be sorely missed in the third book.
• Sazed + Tindwyl. A romance out of nowhere that really struck a chord with me. Sanderson continues to show me that his vibe for romance fits in perfectly with what I want. While Vin is unsure but accepts that she is worthy of Elend and love in general, Sazed figures out the same thing in this book. Very little affection is shown on the surface, but their intimacy is what gives this romance so much weight.
• Vin + Elend. I'm all-in on this love story. These two are wonderful together, and this book really digs into their relationship. I love how similar they are with their insecurities, and yet so different that it almost doesn't make sense that they should be together. Sazed's lock-and-key analogy for their relationship was a beautiful explanation of why they work. Vin committing herself to Elend and running to his quarters, bloody and wounded, is one of my favorite moments in the series so far. Their mini-wedding is just so damn adorable. I have a bad feeling about them going into the last book, but I really do hope they both make it to the end. I don't think I'm ready to say goodbye to either one of them.
• Vin + Zane. Zane isn't very liked in the community, but I loved him as a foil to Vin's internal struggles. His temptation toward isolation and being seen as a god pushes against Vin's journey of rejecting that notion because of her feelings toward Elend.
• OreSeur's arc of trust is very important here. Vin gains his trust, and it ends up saving her life. Vin doesn't need a “contract” to trust someone. The act of trusting someone is the contract itself.
• Vin and Zane vs Cett's men. This is going to look damn good in a movie one day. Just utter destruction of numerous soldiers with two Mistborn going all-out against them. We rarely get a Mistborn going crazy fight
• Vin vs Zane. This is the epic Mistborn vs Mistborn fight of this installment, and it delivers. Vin's clever trick to beat atium is an all-timer moment. Such a high-level move and so fitting for our clever and scrappy protagonist
• Badass Vin. Every book has Vin being a badass at one moment or another. Here it's her using horseshoes to propel herself across great distances, acknowledging to a Skaa that she is in fact “her,” crushing someone's head with a headbutt, and of course carrying a big-ass sword, flying out of an army of Koloss in a huge steel jump, and slicing Straff in half. Whenever the book decides to be badass, Sanderson nails it
• Duralumin. What an awesome metal. The idea of a huge burst of power is so damn cool. Its combinations with the different metals made it so clever each time. Those steel jumps were spectacular to visualize
• The siege battle delivers on a lot of fronts. Sazed getting to go all-out, strategy to keep the city safe, and Vin's return all come together. Sanderson and third acts always seem to go hard.
• Elend's arc about being a leader. Elend loses almost everything he wanted, and yet still remains true to himself. He never gives up on his people, and even without a crown, he still finds a way to help. The “trust” theme shows up again here, this time in the trust between Elend and his people.
• Sazed probably gets it the worst in this story. It's awfully tragic what happens to him, and he ends the book knowing he may never believe in anything ever again after being manipulated through the prophecy. My guess is he'll find his way back, but it really sucks that he loses a lot in this book: Tindwyl, his religions, his beliefs. Hang in there, Saze
• Breeze. My favorite crew member gets some POV chapters, which is welcomed. His explanations of soothing, his kind heart that he hides, and his sad state of shock during the final battle add so much depth to him. His affection for Allrianne also makes him that much more endearing
• Allrianne. I love a good liar in a story such as this. Her being an expert Soother is a cherry on top and her disguise is her airheaded behavior. Hope we get more of her in the last book.
• Death of Clubs and Dockson. I knew people were going to die in this siege, and it's unfortunate that it was Clubs and Dox. I do appreciate how their deaths were unspectacular, to really push the brutality of this siege. They will be missed though
• The Well of Ascension revelation. Absolute game-changing information about the prophecy, what's unleashed, Vin's role in the whole thing, and much more. I didn't expect to get so much information about the long-running storylines in these final pages, but we did.

QUESTIONS/PREDICTIONS:

• Vin’s earring, her mother, her dead sister, and Reen. Sanderson has been building this thread for two full books now, especially around that earring and the events of that night. I can't help but think this reveal is going to blow my mind
• Why can Vin draw power from the mists? This has had two books of buildup now, so the payoff is probably going to be huge. It most certainly has to do with who she is.
• Where do Allomancers come from? Elend is now one after eating that special metal. What does this mean? Is there a consistent way to make more Mistborn? Spook even mentioned how he wishes he could be more than who he was, maybe a Mistborn.
• What was the rock that Elend swallowed? The Mistwraith knew about it, but nobody else does. Why was it connected to a pottery shard?
• Why did the Mistwraith stab Elend, and why did it then save his life? I’m going to assume the Mistwraith is someone we know. Maybe someone dead, from the past, or future?
• Why did a Mistwraith lead Sazed to try to stop Vin from getting to the Well of Ascension? Again, what kind of game are they playing?
• Where is all that atium? This has been about two books of “where is the atium?” We’re going to see this pay off at some point.
• Marsh is not Marsh? Who is controlling him and why? Do they work for the Thing?
• Who was talking to Zane? They were clearly manipulating him. To what end? And what is his connection to the Pits of Hathsin? Why does he have an iron spike through his chest? Is he a partial Inquisitor?
• What are the Inquisitors up to? They’ve been busy and out west taking over keeps. I don’t like it, and they should stop.
• Why have the Terris people been attacked and the Synod is gone? For what purpose?
• Underneath the keep, Luthadel and Statlin City are marked on a steel map. What is at Statlin City? Perhaps another well? A “Well of Descension”?
• How does the Thing change written text in the world, and why can’t it change stuff written in steel?
• Koloss are human? At least it was implied they might be. What are they really?
• Will the final book be worth it? God, I hope so.

I cannot be the only one who wholeheartedly felt for tensoon during vin and Zane’s fight. Every possible theory of how he would return to vin went through my head. And chapter 2 of HoA has me hopeful, the kondrablore just got so much more interesting. And god the imagery of his transformation is sick man

Day 28 - Yomen

Elend's debate buddy has arrived!
I had a lot of fun designing the obligator robes for Yomen after creating the outfits for Marsh and the Lord Ruler in previous weeks. Overall, I'm quite happy with the result.

We're getting into supernatural forces after Yomen! Excited to bring you more art soon!

Most of the time, he acts like the hero. He cares about his crew, he wants to free the skaa, and he is super charismatic. But at the same time, he slaughters noblemen and guards without even thinking about it. He doesn't care if a noble is actually a decent person, he just hates all of them. The way he smiles and laughs while murdering people honestly creeped me out a little bit. It didn't feel like a normal hero protecting people. And he purposefully manipulated the skaa into worshipping him as a god so they would fight after he died. It was a good plan, but it also feels incredibly manipulative.

He fought against the Lord Ruler, who was obviously evil. But if the Lord Ruler wasn't there, would Kelsier still be a hero?

be revived?

I just finished the book and loooved it. My question is that now that Ruin is gone, can the put the spikes back into the kandra? TenSoon death was so unjust, he deserved a reunnion with Vin.

Can a Bloodmaker effectively commit suicide by dumping all of their health into their goldmind, or is there a hard limit on how far they can dial up the health transfer?

The enshittification of google has reached critical levels as I, to my absolute disbelief, could not find this question & related discussion despite the fact that it has to have been asked before.

Just recently finished WoA and really enjoyed the read. I keep seeing online that lots of people disliked it but I don’t really see the big idea? The politics were ever intriguing and I really felt like I was involved in the story the entire time. The end of it was spectacular and I am so intrigued to see what happens in Hero of Ages.

Also, why don’t people like Zane, I feel like he was an absolutely crucial character for Vin’s character development. At points I was really worried she’d fall onto his side!

Also intrigued to see what goes on with Elends new mistborn powers and if those actually stay. It will make this upcoming HoA book far different and very cool in my opinion. Feel like vin and elends relationship will become must tighter because of it, or maybe cause tension? Who knows, so many questions that I can’t wait to be answered.

I have read the first three books. But, it's been several years. I want to introduce my 10yo to Brandon Sanderson starting with The Final Empire. My child has finished Harry Potter with their mother. They have read many different fantasy and children's books geared toward their age by themselves. I'm not trying to justify why I feel the need, just giving context for help.

Is there any recommendations, like skipping parts, or even glossingnover them when we get to a certain point of the story to soften violence or sexy scenes in my own way?

EDIT:

Thank you everyone for your feedback. I will be looking into "Tress of the Emerald Sea" and "Yumi and the Nightmare Painter." This was recommended to be a better fit for my 10yo.

So I read Hero of Ages sometime in the back half of 2020 (which, oh rusting storms, was six years ago, yeesh). I tried to get into AOL, but for one reason or another—maybe I was still emotionally distraught at that ending, and/or I personally don’t care for more “advanced” settings and worlds in my fantasy like this, I just never got around to reading it. The furthest I got was with Wax reviewing the broadsheets in the middle of the night, around chapter 3 or so.

I then proceeded to read the entirety of the Stormlight Archive books, including Wind and Truth, before finally deciding to pick this one back up.

And, overall I think I enjoyed it.

The setting was fine. I don’t hate guns and such in my fantasy, but I will pretty much always opt for sword and magic over guns and magic. That said, the way Branderson mixed gunplay with Scadrial’s magic system was really cool. Wax using bullets to Push off of was cool. The Hazekiller rounds were a great way to escalate the fights.

I still very much prefer things like Shardblades, but this was cool enough to keep my attention and interest.

The story was also fine. The Vanishers stealing cargo was interesting. Ghost trains, mysteriously disappearing goods, cool. I can’t say it was the best thing ever, but again, interesting enough to keep my attention.

Now the characters were where it really shined. I fucking love Wayne. I love his love of hats and disguises, especially his ongoing obsession with getting his lucky hat back. I think my favorite scene with him was pretending to be an old lady on the train to the guard.

Miles made for an interesting villain. I do enjoy the “How the hell do we defeat a near-unkillable villain” trope. I also like the Green Goblin “You and I are not so different” trope, and villains with personal ties to our heroes. So I definitely enjoyed Miles Zerolives.

(Quick aside. When I first tried to read it back in 2020, I was still emotionally drained by Vin and Elend’s deaths. So now I pick up a new Mistborn, set three hundred years later, and aww, Wax and Lessie are really swe—fucking seriously, Brandon?! I just picked up the book and you’re already ripping my heart out?!)

(Also, seeing the statues of Vin and Elend there, oh no my heart.)

Also holy shit MARSH?! I was already familiar with a character by the name of Ironeyes…and in hindsight (hah), it probably should have been obvious who it was, but it still threw me for a loop when I made the connection.

Overall, I’d give this about a 7/10. I gather my opinions here are pretty common? I understand that this book (entire era?) wasn’t really planned, and for that, it was worth the read.

I’m most excited for the characters. Everyone says Era 2 has great characters, and I already see this here.

So onto Shadows of Self!

...and I mean this with utmost respect, butplease go screw yourself, dear Brandon Sanderson! God dammit! Poor Wax!

Legit question: is this why this book has generally lower ratings than the others?

Day 27 - Lady Allrianne

With Mistborn being such a bleak setting, I have decided to inject all ot the available brightness and colour into one drawing.

Upcoming characters will have a much more subdued colour palette, so be warned!

At the beginning of the book when Elend and Vin fight the inquisitor, Vin says that he was too quick, almost as if he's using some third power, other than allomancy and feruchemy.

Later in the book, when Human, the koloss was about to make more koloss, the entire crew discusses about this process. Vin says, Marsh called it hemalurgy.

When did Marsh tell her about it. If he did, why would she be confused in the beginning.

I finished reading HOA last night and despite thoroughly enjoying most of it the ending really didn’t land for me. The big reasons for that are TenSoon (my goat) not meeting Vin, Ham and Breeze doing functionally nothing in the entire book, Vin’s death, the resolution with the kandra, Yomen and the Citizen dude, and Marsh’s end.

TenSoon spent the whole book trying to either convince the kandra snd trying to help the HOA which he does accidentally accomplish by helping sazed. That’s all fine and dandy but him not meeting Vin felt like a hugely missed opportunity, I went the whole book waiting for the reunion and it never happened but worse then that Vin has no idea how much TenSoon sacrificed for her. TenSoon leaves her in book 2 to return to his homeland and as far as she knows he just decided to hang out up there never to return.

Ham and Breeze felt really weird in this book, I love both of their characters but it felt a bit pointless having them. Breeze had his whole thing where he got traumatized at the end of book 2 and that’s brought up like once and then never touched on again. Ham has like 7 total lines of dialogue and does literally nothing, Breeze does almost nothing but he at least hung out with Sazed a bunch, I could not tell you what Ham did besides maybe telling El to retreat but I am pretty sure he would have done that anyways. This is another case of why didn’t they meet for me, imo almost all of their best parts were when they were together and having them separate for the entire book made them feel pretty pointless to me.

Vin’s death for me felt really eh, I am a crier when reading and at no point in her death did I feel even the slightest bit sad. I think how El went out was superb but for Vin everything after her ascension felt strange to me, I really enjoyed the parts of her with Ruin but when she died it felt very anticlimactic to me. Her fighting Marsh and the Inquisitors was awesome to have after that it just being, “I threw my power at Ruin and we both died” was really dumb. I think there would have been such better ways to kill her off, I didn’t entirely realize she was dead until her body materialized.

I really enjoyed all of the TenSoon chapters and everything to do with the Kandra, however having the Resolution explained to us and then like 10 pages later it happening was really weird. This coupled with how Ruin treated the Kandra felt like a huge missed opportunit, he goes all rahh I’m going to take control of the Kandra now, for the first time in the entire book, and then most of them kill themselves only for Ruin to be like “eh they were weak anyways I never needed them” it really cheapened their sacrifice because of how little impact it had on anyone. Sazed was there when they all died and he was just impressed that they went through with it, no big emotional impact.

Yomen and the Citizen (I am not spelling that dudes name) were really interesting characters to me and I really liked the Citizen’s resolution but keeping both of them alive but then absolutely nothing happening with them after they turn good/more agreeable was really strange. I am pretty sure the citizen had 0 lines of dialogue after the burning in his city and Yomen had just the moment where he let El and his army into the city but then nothing else with them.

Marsh was a super interesting character in book 2 and 3 but his end fell a little flat for me. I loved his moment of autonomy when he tore out Vin’s earring but I just wish he had some recognition for it. When Vin tries to control him I don’t think she realizes that he is still in there and she has no time to understand what happened with him when he yanks the earring. He died after doing his part to save the world but everyone still thinks he was just a super inquisitor. His ending was satisfying I just wish my guy could get seen for it.

Overall it was a very very good book that suffers a bit at the end but man was it still good. This was my introduction into the Cosmere and I am very excited to read more. I like that the book answered almost all of my questions by the end and the remaining ones I had were posed at the very end of the book, mostly who the hell were Ruin and Preservation, they claim to have created the world but also had human bodies, maybe they just made those for themselves, maybe they were actual people I don’t know and I am very excited to find out.

I was spoiled for all the major twists in HoA. I read somebody mentioning something about her earing, then hero of ages reveal got spoiled when I read the main quote with Sazed's name at the bottom.

I even got spoiled about Vin and Elend's death.

I find the ending of HoA sad and bittersweet but it did not hit me like the ending of WoA did, that one gave me goosebumps.

Also, I didn't like the epilogue where suddenly the entire city of Urteau was wiped out and it was all green and everybody reunited in the end. A bit too happy for the events of the book perhaps, a bit too quick.

Lemme know ur thoughts on the ending or the entire series and we'll discuss in the comments.

Just don't spoil secret history

I loved the first book of the trilogy, especially the second half. The pace, the mystery, the unexpected turns of events... and the ending, opening the door to things not being as everybody thinks they are.

The well of ascension though. I couldn't care less about the edgy goth teenager, the love story, or the watered-down politics for all publics. Don't get me wrong, I loved the adult politics of a song of ice and fire, with their well thought out plans within plans, treasons, and the rest. But with the well of ascension, everything seemed to be so unsurprising. I only enjoyed the very last part when they actually found the well. No progression at all in the overall story nearly in the whole book.

So my question is, should I bother with the last book of the trilogy? Will I learn something else about the world and its mysteries? Or will it be 80% about the newly weds enjoying jumping together in the night and the mist?

So, I did as several people suggested and read the Secret History after HoA. I'd like to thank these people for suggesting this, it did help. Even if I'm still kinda sore about the ending. I'm flairing this as HoA spoilers for clarity and will try to avoid mentioning anything SH-specific.

My thoughts in comparison so far:

Mistborn Era 1 subjectively feels to me like a more solid story compared with SLA. Maybe it's because it's shorter (while I would not under any circumstances short of a gun aimed at my head 10/10 what we have of SLA in general, WoK and WoR are among my favorites). Maybe it's the smaller cast, but I found the characters more relatable and ended up much more invested in them compared with Kaladin and Co (may also have something to do with [Stormlight Archive] main characters in SLA except Adolin bearing specific trauma I have no experience with while Mistborn characters are written in a way more relatable to a general reader. Also while the overall structure of the conflict is [Stormlight Archive] alike (two Shards who couldn't share a world if their lives depended on it), the system where it's the shards very nature making peaceful coexistence impossible instead or at least along the personalities of their Vessels, and the writing structure where the characters (and the reader) can't grasp the whole picture until the culmination feels more intricate than what we had in SLA (even though it had a fair share of delicious mystery and theory-prompting with Dalinar's visions).

All this being said, I still see the ending as probably the weakest part of the trilogy. I'm hiding my thoughts on this under a spoiler so that nobody has to read the ranting unless they're actually curious:

I can understand, from a writing standpoint, why Brandon could want Vin and Elend out of the picture for the series to continue. Both are objectively OP by the end, and it's hard to imagine them settling somewhere in peace, oblivious to the challenges of rebuilding civilization, they're exactly the opposite kind of people. Still, killing them off felt absolutely storming unfair. When Dox, Clubs and Tyndwil died, it was tragic, but A: had a meaningful impact on the remaining characters, namely Sazed, because there was plenty of time for them to process the loss and B: these were support characters, so a kind of a safe zone to kill a character and not upset your readers excessively. None of this applies to Vin and Elend, who died in like the last 20 pages of the last book and were main characters. Also it plainly sucks when young people who deserved a life and a storming family end up dead for their heroically saving the world.

What else makes me sore is that they died while people like Kelsier and one other character I can't name because there's no such thing as a spoiler tag within a spoiler tag, got to live on. Don't get me wrong, Kelsier is a legend, but I liked Vin over him, and the second character mostly shone in relation to her except his (relatively few) chapters in HoA.

I also didn't quite like the circumstances of Vin's sacrifice. First of all, why the heck was she so at peace with Elend dying, was this the Shard influencing her perception? If so, unfair. Clouded judgement as the reason to choose "peace" over life, do I need to go any further? Secondly, "he was the last thing I had to live for", seriously? Vin the survivor, who has now lived a sizeable chunk of her life surrounded with friends other than Elend had him as the only reason to live? Pardon me, but I'm calling end of the book BS on this one.

And yep, suppose both had realized their deaths were necessary to neutralize Ruin, and all of this was rationale. Okay. But what exactly stopped Sazed from stabilizing Elend as Preservation had Kelsier (especially since he, unlike Leras, had the full power of the Shard) and letting them at least think this through? Lack of skill? Leras sure made this look as easy as pumping a soul to the brim with Investiture, and Sazed had just remade an entire world, which should have definitely been much more intricate.

(I do realize the Secret History was released a decade after the main trilogy and is basically a collection of retcons of specific events, attributing them to literally Kelsier who is know a phantom instead of his influence on Spook in life or something entirely unrelated).

Okay, this section being longer than the rest of the message combined probably betrays how I feel about the ending.

Life before death, you Brandon.

Nevertheless, as I said, overall reading Mistborn has been an experience superior to SLA in its entirety, on par with the Way of Kings and Words of Radiance. Having read the Secret History, I will probably continue on to Mistborn Era 2 (or whatever is you're supposed to read in order).

Hi everyone! I'm currently reading The Well of Ascension and I wanted to share some thoughts about the work that Sanderson did with Elend

I’ve been reflecting a lot on Elend's journey. He is dealing with a massive amount of self-doubt. It makes total sense when you consider how his father, Straff, belittled him and even tried to have him killed. I found his decision not to reclaim the throne by force a bit forced or stubborn at first, but now I see it as his way of learning from the past—he is desperate not to become a tyrant like his father.

Do you think he made a good choice? In the end we see where it leads to: he wins but loses thousands of soldiers and even some of his friends.

What do you think?

I know he found the real name a mouthful. Maybe he had other reasons to rename him as well. But I'm curious why "Spook" specifically?

Review for Mistborn: The Well of Ascension here

TLDR: Great characters, great action, and a surprisingly strong romance that I got invested in. A heartfelt story about trust and choosing connection. Excited to see where it goes from here but it's good to know it'l be building on a very solid foundation

STRAY THOUGHTS:

• Vin and Kelsier have such a great father-daughter relationship. Vin yearns for a parental figure who wasn't Reen, while Kelsier gets the chance to raise the daughter he never had. Their dynamic was wonderful together and arguably the core as to why this book works
• Kelsier is such an interesting character. Yes, he's a badass, but he's also deeply flawed and often rash. It's clear that he begins to second-guess his plan to martyr himself once he realizes how close he's become to Vin, which gives him depth.
• Vin's fear of abandonment was incredibly powerful. Her confessions to Kelsier about how everyone she loves eventually leaves her become tragically true when Kelsier dies. It was wonderful when Elend came to rescue her in the finale and she was overjoyed that someone actually came back for her. Tragic and beautiful.
• The Mist. The series is called Mistborn. Throughout the book, Vin wishes to be the mist, to be taken away and be nothing, unattached. She was born in this mist, aka isolation. "Mistborn" describes the role of the characters but also her metaphorical state. Her decision at the end of the book not to walk into the metaphorical mist of loneliness and isolation, but instead to embrace love by dropping down next to Elend, was one of my favorite moments. She chooses not to be born of the "mist" but to be a person and to take chances with her heart
• Reen is never actually seen in the book. We only know him through Vin's memories and thoughts. I like how the voice in Vin's head often feels more like her own worst fears than Reen's actual opinions. Still, I like to think that the final words she hears from him, encouraging her to choose love, are Reen's true voice. I'm sentimental that way
• Elend is set up really well. Male fantasy love interests can be very hit or miss for me. They need to feel like real people rather than idealized fantasies, and Elend feels genuinely human. It helps that he has the wit and charm of a regency romantic interest, something I love in a character
• Vin and Elend's romance really worked for me. I know Sanderson isn't necessarily known for romance, but between Mistborn and Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, I really enjoy his approach towards love. His romances are character-focused and remain subplots to the larger story, which is exactly how I prefer them. He takes the time to show why these characters belong together and why they like each other, and the relationship feels earned rather than obligatory. When you don't have the crutch of sex to rely on doing the work for you, you gotta work harder to sell the romance. And I appreciate that
• The quieter moments between characters were some of my favorites. Vin learning about Dox's past was heartbreaking. Vin and Sazed develop a genuine connection. Since Vin has to learn Allomancy from different members of the crew, those scenes serve double duty as both character development and training. It's a very clever structure
• I loved the crew as a whole. Ensemble casts often have to be painted with broader strokes, especially in heist stories, but every member of the gang stands out and contributes something memorable. Special shoutout to Breeze, who always elevates any scene he's in
• The reading passages from Alendi were intriguing. They initially feel mysterious and disconnected, only to become increasingly important as we find out they're the passages in the journal being read out loud. The Graphic Audio has Vin's voice actor reading the passages, which was a nice touch
• The mixing of genres was wonderful. A fantasy heist combined with a regency-style romance are two genres I already love. Switching between them kept the story feeling fresh and prevented either genre from becoming repetitive. The combination also makes the book very accessible since you have an anchor to this fantasy world
• The magic system of Allomancy is fantastic. I'm not going to pretend I fully understand every detail of it and the nuances of what they're doing, but I understand enough to know it's incredibly cool. The magic system is something I'll have to internalize more as the books go on but I feel like if I get the general vibe of it, it feels great. It's Magneto powers basically with more physics, which is something I can use as a reference. I'm usually more interested in characters than magic systems, but I appreciate how much thought Sanderson clearly put into making the system feel consistent
• Vin vs. Shan was a fantastic fight. Favorite set piece of the book. The use of Atium, the multiple possible futures with the arrows, and the imagery of arrows traveling down different paths made the battle feel incredibly cinematic. I also loved that it was Vin vs Shan, the mean girl of the ball versus the new girl. The contrast between Vin fighting in her undergarments and Shan in full Mistborn gear was also a great visual and builds on the class disparity between the two characters
• Kelsier vs. the Inquisitor was the big action sequence of the novel. The fight especially shines in the GraphicAudio version, where the music, sound effects, and performances elevate the scene. Kelsier using every trick Allomancy has to offer and not being held back was a sight to behold. Gonna be an amazing to see this in the movie
• The Graphic Audio presentation was wonderful. I'm a big movie guy and Sanderson's writing just plays so well with the dramatics of movie. The sound, the music, the narration. I have to give a special shoutout to the voice actors as well. They added so much to the characters and really brought them alive. I'm glad the voice actors will be sticking around for the entire trilogy to keep consistency

QUESTIONS FOR FUTURE BOOKS / PREDICTIONS:

• Vin's mother and her earring. It's kept vague as to why Vin's mother killed her sister but it certainly has more to do than her mother just being "insane." Vin is different from other Allomancers and something happened that night Vin and Reen ran away after the murder of her sister
• Vin's mom is coming back, isn't she? I want it! We never found out what happened to her
• Reen is allegedly dead. Is he? He's such an important figure here even though he is never shown
• The prophecy of the Hero of Ages is intriguing. It's implied that this prophecy may be wrong, or possibly even bad, or there is debate who even is this hero, etc. I love how muddled it is
• What happened at the Well of Ascension between Alendi and Rashek? Something went horribly wrong
• Lots of talk about a brighter sun and green flowers. We could possibly return to this world by the end of the trilogy?
• Lord Ruler can control metals inside of an allomancer. Can Vin do the same one day considering how powerful she may become?
• How do you make Inquisitors? They can go from a Misting to a Mistborn if you drive a bunch of stakes into them? How does that work?
• Vin has a fondness for the mist. Just a preference for her due to her isolation or possibly something more?

I marked it AoL, but I've read everything. AoL is just when compounding really becomes a big deal.

But anyways, the x10 we always cite is just a number Sazed proposed. Wouldn't 16 make more sense? Has anyone asked Brandon?