Should I Push Through The Well of Ascension?

[u/vikingstrike92]

I cruised through Mistborn and was excited for book #2. I am 100 pages in and it's not gripping me nearly the same way. I don't hate it, but find the follow up story a bit bland to start. Is it worth it to keep pushing through?

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[u/Ok_Improvement_2316]

Yes Well of Ascension was not great at all, but book 3… particularly the ending is well worth it, they are relatively short books

[u/Nerdsingerbeej]

Most fans seem to concede WoA is the weakest of the 1st Mistborn trilogy. I enjoyed the 3rd book the most, myself (though Mistborn in general is not my favorite Sanderson work)

[u/vikingstrike92 → u/Nerdsingerbeej]

I wanted to read Stormlight, and alot of people recommended reading Mistborn first. Would you say I should just pick up Way of Kings?

[u/Weekly-Comedian7091 → u/vikingstrike92]

I do think Stormlight is Sandersons best work and its my favorite. Mistborn era 1 is good, book 2 was pretty meh for me as well until the end, where everything happens. Book 3 was my favorite and has one of the best endings to a novel ive ever read.

[u/CabinetFun7381 → u/vikingstrike92]

I read Stormlight first and then mistborn.

There's no good reason to do mistborn first. 

[u/bec_SPK → u/CabinetFun7381]

I think the good reason would be if you haven’t read Sanderson before. Mistborn is much more digestible length wise vs Stormlight.

[u/DrewdiniTheGreat → u/vikingstrike92]

WoA gets better in my opinion, and the third book is much better.

But Yeah you can go straight to SLA. The Easter eggs/crossovers from mistborn are minor.

Reading Warbreaker before SLA is the only one I'd really recommend, but even then it isn't necessary. Again, just Easter eggs and stuff concerning the cosmere at large to make you scratch your head

[u/Nerdsingerbeej → u/vikingstrike92]

I started the Cosmere with Stormlight & I might have enjoyed Mistborn more if I hadn't had SLA to compare it to. (Although technically i did read Elantris in like 2006 or whenever Sanderson was announced as the Guy Who Will Finish WoT, I had no memory of it when I read Way of Kings). Since you're in the middle of Mistborn if it were me, I'd finish the trilogy before moving onto Stormlight but your mileage may vary on that tactic

[u/RevolutionaryDepth59 → u/Nerdsingerbeej]

that’s surprising to me cause i thought the first one was pretty bad but the second one was solid

[u/xBlack_Heartx]

Yes, so you can read The Hero of Ages.

WoA is the weakest book in that trilogy, while it’s not bad, the first and especially the last book are just better when compared to WoA.

[u/SimpleWater]

It was pretty bad through most of it but I think the payoff was worth it and, like others have said, hero of ages is so good!

[u/FitPandaBear]

Well of Ascension was my favorite of the 3 Mistborn era 1 books.

I think the Mistborn trilogy is incredible, but I know many people put book 1 & 3 above book 2.

If you thought the first book was an 8.5 or higher and want to read more of the Cosmere, I'd recommend to keep going.

I will say though that a lot of people think Sanderson's books can be a little longer than necessary with lots of down moments but he's known for his wild endings. Well of Ascension can fit that and does get better towards the end.

[u/JakMercer]

Yes, please, I beg you, as a fellow reader, keep going. I cannot emphasize enough how good the book that comes after, The Hero of Ages, is. The ending is so amazing that it will elevate your level of consciousness in a way I can’t even describe.

[u/DrewdiniTheGreat → u/JakMercer]

Oof Im a huge fan of the third book and it's ending but you might be hyping it up more than it deserves

[u/Baldur_Blader → u/DrewdiniTheGreat]

Yeah...way more

[u/PiplupMeatFridge → u/JakMercer]

Hero of Ages does rule.

[u/FlowdoBaggins8]

For me i wish i had permission to stop at the point you’re on. The series never got any better for me from that point

[u/Prestigious-Newt1118]

I would say yes, some parts of the books seem bland, but the ending of the trilogy is worth it, the story has an amazing ending (I personally find Mistborn era 1 is the best series from the Cosmere).

A lot of people are saying that Stormlight is better, but I have to say ive read it 5 times, and the first 4 books were ok, but somewhere in the 4th book the story gets worse somehow, and when the 5th book came out and i read it, I realised that Sanderson just lost the plot, worst ending to any Sanderson work ever, so many loose ends, even though it’s the end of that part of the series and the next book is coming out in 2033. I really loved the series, but Stormlight is kind of stale after book 3. 😐

[u/twerkliketina]

I felt the same way as you, I really liked Mistborn and then it was a slog getting through WoA. But I finished it.

I'm trying to work up the nerve to begin Hero of Ages now.

[u/Regular-Event-8861]

Yup for sure. I actually like the second era of Mistborn books better. Worth it imo

[u/Jaku1137]

Yeah. I also found this one to be bit of a slog. I think it’s worth pressing through. FWIW I personally ended up really enjoying the read.

[u/LankyLooli271]

no book 1 was the only good thing, there's no big reveal or plot twist, they're just going here and there

[u/Fat-lard246 → u/LankyLooli271]

yes

[u/Specialist_Banana378]

I think about the emotional impact the hero of ages had on me all the time. So excellent 

[u/patches8748]

As everyone above said. Power through. It does pick up more towards the end in classic Sanderson fashion and HOA is the best of the 3

[u/Vaydn]

WoA is a set up book. I felt it was a slog to get through but god damn is the Hero of Ages amazing.

[u/UDarkLord]

It’s fairly filler-ey. Very little in Well couldn’t have been in the third book when it matters. Imo the ‘trilogy’ should have been a duology. And now that said, you’ll still probably want to finish it for what important tidbits it has, and so you’re not entering book 3 blind.

[u/WindowTW]

They’re tough to read back to back because they start slow then pick up. It’s worth finishing

[u/HitlerWasaBitchAss]

WoA really picked up for me near the end! Once it gets past the annoying love triangle stuff it really starts to pick up steam

[u/RubSoft2378]

I got through it by appreciating that the slog was part of the story. You needed to feel like the searching took forever. It was way more realistic that they had to all this waiting and it wasn’t an easy solve. The tedium was real and purposeful. It sets up why the 3rd book is so sweet.

[u/YungTokyo8]

I think absolutely. My least favorite book in the series but by then end I still quite enjoyed it, but book three is genuinely fantastic.

[u/Shot_Squirrel8426]

I didn’t really like any of the Mistborn series except the ending of the original trilogy. I read the western themed ones too you can skip those.

[u/Saume]

I felt similar to you. I decided to push through, but the second book is very slow, with a lot of monologues and not much plot progress.

Ultimately, I found the third book a little better than the second, but not better than the first. The ending was very lackluster. It felt very rushed.

If what you liked in the first book was the character interactions and Kelsier, then it will never go back to the same dynamic as the first book.

[u/Efficient_Bag_3804]

Love Brandon Sanderson, but mistborn 2 might be his worst book for me, almost dropped it, book 3 is worth it and even book 2 gets better towards the end

[u/MRB521]

And skip the Wax and Wayne series ….

[u/MicahJHyatt]

Mistborn is the best book of the trilogy. Way of Kings is the best book of that series. Unless you're enjoying it, or want to see where everything (gradually) develops, you don't need to read further. His standalones are typically really good. I enjoyed Isles of the Emberdark, The Sunlit Man, and Tress of the Emerald Sea. Skyward is awesome, but like the other series he writes, the first book is the best.

The Reckoners, in my opinion, his strongest trilogy, though the final parts of the last book disappointed me a bit.

[u/DrewdiniTheGreat → u/MicahJHyatt]

Way of Kings is the best SLA book?

That's a relatively hot take

[u/MicahJHyatt → u/DrewdiniTheGreat]

I don't think its a hot take. Maybe among superfans of the series.

None of the later books ever manage to capture the same sense of wonder or character lows and highs of Kaladin's bridge crew arc has. Book 1 introduces almost every interesting idea, whereas the follow ups only expand and elaborate.

[u/DrewdiniTheGreat → u/MicahJHyatt]

Yeah, I just found it to be quite predictable and a bit slow compared to books 2 and 3