Timewaster's Guide Archive

MY question is - where do I get these audio books?

Well there is a difference between fantasy heroes and comic book heroes, is there not? Comic book heroes are a lot less dynamic; seeing as they've been created for a comic book rather than a novel.

I must take particular offense to this point! Comic book characters can be plenty dynamic.

I'm a big fan of the end of this book. When I reached the end of the book I was stunned for about 30 minutes. Its been a while since a novel has had that effect on me.

If anything, the scene where Vin turns Goradel at the end of MB1 shows Vin is far kinder than Kelsier. Vin would not torture a man.

I'm a dork so I just read through all the annotations for book 1. Brandon mentions this as well. He's also mentioned that Kelsier makes him uncomfortable sometimes because of what he's willing to do. So Vin shares his impulsiveness but not his ruthlessness.

Hmm... The annotation appears to assume the only choice was between staying in the cavern indefinitely or trusting in Yomen's good grace.   However, my point is that's a bit of a false dichotomy.  There were still options available to Vin: options that were not outside of her character (as the one she chose, I believe, clearly was).  I think that willingly allowing herself to be put into stasis where she couldn't assess, contemplate, and react to her circumstances, where she would be completely vulnerable to the whims of her captors, would be so abhorrent to her that she would only do so if her life or a close associates were immediately threatened.

now THAT's where the problem is, as Sazed would say, I think.

the reason that annotation starts with a comment about Vin being impulsive is because her split-second assessment of her pewter and duralumin stores (and what she could do with them) lead her to think she'd be able to shake off the poison. As I remember, she was legitimately surprised when the poison persisted after she'd run out. Surprised and disappointed. There's no resignation in her action, merely a gamble gone wrong. Yes, there were other actions she could have taken, but the one she decided to take was completely in her character.

I'll point you back to the first book, where Kelsier sneaks into Kredik Shaw, and Vin follows him - the annotations reference both of their impulsive natures...hold on while I get it.

HERE it is -

"Following Kelsier this night is probably one of the dumbest things Vin does in this book. Letting her follow is undoubtedly the dumbest thing Kelsier does in the book. Yet, these two characters are alike in more ways than they may seem at first. Both have a sense of brashness that borders on the foolhardy."

And if you'll remember, that too was a gamble that didn't go well for them - Vin almost died there.

So I think there's been enough evidence that Vin's been intended to be a very very impulsive character. Downing the wine and thinking she'd be able to fight off the drugs and her enemies was foolhardy, and possibly not her best shot, but its what came to her first. And if there's anything we can count on Vin doing, its going with her gut.

I suppose that the real question is in what context these smokers are being sought. If its the ministry trying to find them, then I'm sure they have methods of testing for copper burners (for which some very clever tricks have been proposed).

Consider, though, that you're a skaa smoker, like Clubs. Immediately you'd know something was up (call it "Luck", call it that tingly feeling I get when we use the nice, copper tankards) and would probably burn copper without knowing it, much like Vin did. Also much like Vin, you'd probably have to tell the right people about that feeling, who might direct you towards someone knowledgable (a Kelsier, if you will) to test you for various metals.

Another thing to consider though is people like Duralumin and Aluminum gnats who can only burn enhancement metals. they never get found out because there's nothing they can really do with their abilities. It may well be that there are a lot of smokers who just don't get discovered, along with all the other Mistings with metals that just don't stand alone.

never shall I have shame in this revolution I've started. Looks like Robert Downey Jr.'s winning for Kelsier!

I found out about Brandon when, in an attempt to reacquaint myself with the fantasy genre I'd lost touch with, I walked into a bookstore. I looked in the fantasy section and found Mistborn. I read the back cover and was intrigued enough to buy it - moreso than by any of the other stuff on the shelves. I was rewarded heavily for that gamble, and was so emphatic about my love for the book that my best friend went out and got me the next two books in the series. In fact, the Mistborn trilogy inspired me to start writing myself, and its been a lot of fun. So I've got him to thank for that as well.

I think I've got to get on some of Brandon's other books, though. I think there's a larger picture I'm missing.