#1 A Series NO ONE should miss out on
This past Christmas, I opened a present from my twin brother and got quite a shock. A boxed set of books by some unheard of (by me) author named Brandon Sanderson. I glanced at the set skeptically, probably thinking something along the lines of "Final Empire, whaaaa?" and listened to my brother enthuse on and on about how wonderful they were.
Growing up, I was
always the one saying "ooh, read this--you're going to love it," and here I was in completely the opposite situation. I'm going to finish this little segue by saying that if my brother can dole out recommendations of this caliber on a regular basis, I might just start to like him. ;)
I give you:
The Mistborn Trilogy, by
Brandon SandersonBook 1: Mistborn: The Final Empire
Book 2: The Well of Ascension
Book 3: The Hero of Ages
Series rating: 4.5/5
Now, being busy with school, an obvious thought crossed my mind. These books are long. Long as in 650-800 pages, long. I had just over a week and a half to get through the series before being bogged down by schoolwork again.
But here's the thing--I made it. I couldn't put these books down. Christmas break was supposed to be this expanse of time for me to sleep and. . . well, sleep. I didn't get a whole lot of sleep. I fell in love.
I will let you all in on this little bit of advice--don't knock this trilogy. Give it a chance. Sanderson is an evil genius of sorts, creating a new world for his readers with a fascinating, dazzling brand of magic and intricate detail-infused action sequences. He created a dystopian society of epic proportions along with a set of heroes that you will quickly learn to love as well as a heroine to beat all others.
I want to start this series over from the beginning so that I can experience what it is like to encounter this world for the first time all over again.
So please, what's stopping you? Earlier I posted a link to the Mistborn Trilogy's Barnes & Noble page. Pick it up and give it a chance.
Summary for Mistborn (from Goodreads):
For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the "Sliver of Infinity," reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler's most hellish prison. Kelsier "snapped" and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark.
Kelsier recruited the underworld's elite, the smartest and most trustworthy allomancers, each of whom shares one of his many powers, and all of whom relish a high-stakes challenge. Only then does he reveal his ultimate dream, not just the greatest heist in history, but the downfall of the divine despot.But even with the best criminal crew ever assembled, Kel's plan looks more like the ultimate long shot, until luck brings a ragged girl named Vin into his life. Like him, she's a half-Skaa orphan, but she's lived a much harsher life. Vin has learned to expect betrayal from everyone she meets, and gotten it. She will have to learn to trust, if Kel is to help her master powers of which she never dreamed.
