Review: The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) by Brandon Sanderson

Title: The Final Empire

Series: Mistborn #1
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Publisher: Tor Books
Published: July 17, 2006
Pages: 541
Genres: Fantasy, Adult
Source: Ebook, Audiobook

In a world where ash falls from the sky, and mist dominates the night, an evil cloaks the land and stifles all life. The future of the empire rests on the shoulders of a troublemaker and his young apprentice. Together, can they fill the world with color once more?

In Brandon Sanderson's intriguing tale of love, loss, despair and hope, a new kind of magic enters the stage — Allomancy, a magic of the metals.

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MY REVIEW

This review MAY contain SPOILERS. Read at your own risk.

Wowza! A lot of times the hype surrounding a book is just that. Hype. It doesn't always add up to be as great as the hype proclaims. I've never been so thrilled to have my skepticism dashed. I had heard so many wonderful things about this series prior to reading this book, and I am SO glad that they are founded. 

The world building in this book is truly incredible. I can only hope that the well that Sanderson fishes his ideas from never runs dry. This world was bold and completely original. This book was a breath of fresh air. Everything was incredibly detailed and well thought out. The way that the world was so meticulously melded is genius. 

The character development in this book is just as awesome as the world building. Sanderson writes his characters with room to grow. The pacing of the character development is perfect. The reader can get to know the characters fairly quickly while building upon that to witness them grow and change. Details about the characters are given sparingly so that the development feels completely natural, all while creating a build up and want for more knowledge of the characters. 

This plot is pretty epic. There are so many creative elements involved that it will blow your mind. When everything comes together at the end you will be in awe of all the masterfully crafted details and the way that they all interweave. 

While I mainly read young adult fantasy, this book was still easy to pick up and get into. It did have a different vibe in general, but not in a bad way. I latched on to the story by simply reading the prologue. I don't think that this book would be hard for another fan of young adult books to enjoy. Sanderson makes it pretty easy to fall into the story. 

I also have to add that I read the first six chapters of this book on ebook, and then I switched to audiobook. I quite enjoyed the audiobook version. I think that I will get the next book in the series on audiobook as well. If audiobook is your jam then I would recommend giving this book a shot on audio. 

Overall, this book stands out like a shiny, sparkling unicorn in the herd of horses that the fantasy genre can sometimes be. And not just on the outside. On the inside, this book has plenty of shiny unicorn magic. I highly recommend this book, and I cannot wait to continue this series! 

THIS BOOK CONTRIBUTED TO THESE 2018 READING CHALLENGES

- Beat the Backlist Challenge
- Try Something New Challenge
- Reading Bingo

Check out my 2018 Challenge Page to see my progress!

What was the last book that surprised you and blew you away?