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253 of 259 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
new fan of Sanderson, after Gathering Storm, November 18, 2009
This review is from: Mistborn Trilogy Boxed Set (Mass Market Paperback)
I am a new fan of Brandon Sanderson; I never heard of him until I read book 12 from WOT, the Gathering Storm. After that book, I just had to go find out more about this author. I enjoyed his writing style in the Gathering Storm; it was very engaging. Then, I read Elantris, and really enjoyed it as well. After that book, I found out about Mistborn. I picked up this trilogy and I was hooked!
It is hard for me, in retrospect, to believe how good this series was, especially considering how fast Sanderson writes (how many large books ~700pg can one man write in one year??). To me, this is one of my favorite fantasy series I've read. And I hadn't heard of him two months ago! This series has something for everyone: a well developed and very well thought out, and original, magic system; the characters are complex and have different personalities; the story line itself is epic and gives scope to everything hanging in the balance; there is romance, lots of action; it was honestly hard to do anything else in my spare time while I was reading this series...
Some of the traps other fantasy authors tend to fall into -- dragging out climactic events over too many books -- did not plague this series. This trilogy was very well put together and the events were obviously preplanned. I have to give him credit because he did not shy away from not only killing off major characters, but he also had a powerful conclusion to each book. I kept waiting to be let down, but never was. This book series is quite tremendous. It should be a model for how to write a fantasy series.
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121 of 122 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Buy Them All, and Do it Now!, January 5, 2010
This review is from: Mistborn Trilogy Boxed Set (Mass Market Paperback)
Ordinarily, I will buy the first book of a series and then, depending on how it was, either buy the next book or abandon the series for dead. My advice to you, prospective Mistborn readers, is to cast that mindset aside and save yourself a few dollars by buying all three books in a box set. You will NOT regret it.
I will step out on a limb here: Mistborn: The Final Empire is, with the possible exception of A Game of Thrones, the best opener to a fantasy series I have EVER read (Particular apologies to The Blade Itself, The Lies of Locke Lamora, The Name of the Wind, Fellowship of the Ring and Assassin's Apprentice). Here's why.
No exceptions this time, Mistborn has the best, most well-thought-out, most original magic system ever written. Nothing comes anywhere close to rivaling its intricacy and intelligence. Despite its complexity, Sanderson has such a firm grasp on his magic system and is so clearly enjoying himself when he writes in it that it comes off the page so beautifully, so fluidly. Even if said magic system were in a stereotypical, recycled fantasy story, it would make for great reading, but the story is original and enrapturing, too. Sanderson has said that he meant to turn the fantasy genre on its head with the story - the dark, evil lord WON - with Mistborn, and he does it oh so effectively. Character development is strong, the world - a land of dismal browns and greys where ash regularly falls from the sky - is fascinating, plot twists are many times absolutely unexpected (NOTHING is obvious) and the characters are both lovable (Kelsier is one of the coolest characters ever written) and hatable. Not to mention, each book has an extremely satisfying ending - no cliff-hangers here. I hate to go to extremes but, in a word, the Mistborn trilogy is perfect.
It is one of the great mysteries of the world how Sanderson can kick out so much excellent material in so short a period of time, but his books are nothing but the best. I still consider the Mistborn trilogy to be his finest work, and I encourage you all to buy the books, get lost in his world, and proceed to embrace the 9-year-old inside you and spend the rest of your days wishing that YOU were Mistborn.
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92 of 98 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Milestone in Fantasy, January 22, 2010
This review is from: Mistborn Trilogy Boxed Set (Mass Market Paperback)
This is the most entertaining fantasy series I've read to date. When I picked this book up I was really was just trying to be supportive since I had been listening to the podcast Brandon is involved in (Writing Excuses, a must listen even if you like writing for fun.). He made a few minor mentions of it so I put it on my shopping list.
I probably wouldn't have picked these books up on my own (the girl on the the cover looked like an elf to me and as soon as I saw dark lord I may have cringed.) but halfway through Mistborn : Final Empire Series (Book #1) (Mistborn, Book 1) I ordered the box set and the next two books only got better. Each book is intertwined with a sub-story that occurred 1000 years in the past which could have been its own book. A list will make my point more easily since I'm not the kind of person to write a thought out review.
-----------------------What you get---------------------
1. Two original yet opposite races/creatures and no dwarfs or elves in sight.
2. Three well thought out and imaginative magic systems. (Ex. The ability to manipulate the emotions of others, and being able to magnetize yourself by using different metals as fuel.)
3. A mysterious world of ash and mist which is just as interesting a character as any of others and such a wide range of characters that you're almost guaranteed to find one you'll grow attached to.
4. Epic battles and assassins that make ninjas look like cripples. (No offense to cripples, you're just not known for your hand to hand combat skills.)
5. A god emperor that can have a name like "Lord Ruler" and still be terrible and frighting.(I thought the name was hilarious at first but it grew on me.)
There is a bit of character time (Thinking and talking about nothing of great importance to the plot.) So this series isn't for those who want to see development over a few minutes of reading.
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