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Brandon Sanderson / Mistborn trilogy review and feedback(Beware spoilers)
« on: July 18, 2009, 01:00:35 AM »
I just finished reading the Mistborn trilogy back to back. I keep a log of the books I have read and their score out of 5. Nothing has ever gotten a 5, and everything 4 and above is a solid "recommend" from me. I plan to forward this to Sanderson as feedback. I will try to avoid spoilers.
I'll start by saying that I really enjoyed the series. I rated them-
Mistborn- 4.35
The Well of Ascension- 4.05
Hero of the Ages- 3.75
Mistborn was the best of the 3 by far. Interesting world, unique races, fun characters, unique magic-like system, well paced, plenty of unexpected twists, and just the right amount of description. The ending was decent as well. Very good.
The Well of Ascension suffered from some problems. First, the pacing was not as brisk as the first book, and often became bogged down in characters reminiscing or thinking over the same ideas/reflections over and over. I do not need to hear for the 15th time how it is difficult to be king. The first 14 were plenty. Less reiterating please. It gets redundant.
I could understand some mild refreshers of the story at the beginning. Time might have elapsed between reading the books. It had the effect of ripping you out of the moment. The story would stop cold for a refresher paragraph on very obvious points from the first book. Maybe this would have been ok if it was during the first 20 pages, but even 400-600 pagesin, random paragraphs would continue to repeat tidbits from the first book! Very jarring, took you out of the moment(as mentioned), wasn't subtle, and was honestly a bit condescending to an intelligent reader.
The book did have interesting twists and revelation, with an ok ending.
The third book was the least satisfying, with much more downtime where characters kept thinking the same thoughts over and over and over(Sazed, Elend, Vin, Spook).
The book continued to randomly insert refresher paragraphs that just ripped me out of the story to tell me something I already knew from the first book and the reminders in the second book. I mean, come on now. 500+ pages into the final book in a series the writer should not be repeating the basics from book 1! Have enough respect for the reader, please!
With these 2 issues, the pacing and plot suffered. The book also suffered from what many books suffer from, how to satisfyingly end a trilogy. The ending has a rushed feel. Too much of little significance occurs, the scope attempts to be grand, but ends up being obvious, too wordy, and a little preachy.
Endings are very hard to pull off, and is decent enough for a first outing.
Despite dwelling on some negatives, I enjoyed the books overall and will be reading more Sanderson books in the future.
I'll start by saying that I really enjoyed the series. I rated them-
Mistborn- 4.35
The Well of Ascension- 4.05
Hero of the Ages- 3.75
Mistborn was the best of the 3 by far. Interesting world, unique races, fun characters, unique magic-like system, well paced, plenty of unexpected twists, and just the right amount of description. The ending was decent as well. Very good.
The Well of Ascension suffered from some problems. First, the pacing was not as brisk as the first book, and often became bogged down in characters reminiscing or thinking over the same ideas/reflections over and over. I do not need to hear for the 15th time how it is difficult to be king. The first 14 were plenty. Less reiterating please. It gets redundant.
I could understand some mild refreshers of the story at the beginning. Time might have elapsed between reading the books. It had the effect of ripping you out of the moment. The story would stop cold for a refresher paragraph on very obvious points from the first book. Maybe this would have been ok if it was during the first 20 pages, but even 400-600 pagesin, random paragraphs would continue to repeat tidbits from the first book! Very jarring, took you out of the moment(as mentioned), wasn't subtle, and was honestly a bit condescending to an intelligent reader.
The book did have interesting twists and revelation, with an ok ending.
The third book was the least satisfying, with much more downtime where characters kept thinking the same thoughts over and over and over(Sazed, Elend, Vin, Spook).
The book continued to randomly insert refresher paragraphs that just ripped me out of the story to tell me something I already knew from the first book and the reminders in the second book. I mean, come on now. 500+ pages into the final book in a series the writer should not be repeating the basics from book 1! Have enough respect for the reader, please!
With these 2 issues, the pacing and plot suffered. The book also suffered from what many books suffer from, how to satisfyingly end a trilogy. The ending has a rushed feel. Too much of little significance occurs, the scope attempts to be grand, but ends up being obvious, too wordy, and a little preachy.
Endings are very hard to pull off, and is decent enough for a first outing.
Despite dwelling on some negatives, I enjoyed the books overall and will be reading more Sanderson books in the future.