paperback, 672 pages
Published May 12, 2014 by Tor Teen, Tor Books.
A hero with an incredible talent...for breaking things. A life-or-death mission...to rescue a bag of sand. A fearsome threat from a powerful secret network...the evil Librarians.
Alcatraz Smedry doesn't seem destined for anything but disaster. On his 13th birthday he receives a bag of sand, which is quickly stolen by the cult of evil Librarians plotting to take over the world. The sand will give the Librarians the edge they need to achieve world domination. Alcatraz must stop them!...by infiltrating the local library, armed with nothing but eyeglasses and a talent for klutzines
Ah, nothing like good fantasy to get you hooked.
Good world-building, strong characters, sensible physics for the magic elements, very plausible political system, a satisfying end, and a good hook for the next book.
Sanderson's prose felt a little underwhelming for me though, but that's mostly nitpicking. His story development is very good.
On to the next book!
I am surprised The Final Empire is from 2006. It reads like "good old fantasy". It does not try to address any controversial or philosophical issues. It does not pull literary tricks on you. It is just good solid entertainment.
I liked it very much for what it is. The best feature I think is that it transports you into a 100% different world. There are no elves, orcs, zombies, old wizards, knights in shining armor, or warrior monks here. (There are not even flowers or blue skies.) The world is very nicely put together. A lot of questions, a lot of answers. All very coherent.
Features that perhaps reveal its modern origin are the social structure (decadent elite terrorizing the poor) and the main character (young woman from the most oppressed class). Indeed it was published two years before [b:The Hunger Games|2767052|The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)|Suzanne Collins|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1447303603s/2767052.jpg|2792775]. …
I am surprised The Final Empire is from 2006. It reads like "good old fantasy". It does not try to address any controversial or philosophical issues. It does not pull literary tricks on you. It is just good solid entertainment.
I liked it very much for what it is. The best feature I think is that it transports you into a 100% different world. There are no elves, orcs, zombies, old wizards, knights in shining armor, or warrior monks here. (There are not even flowers or blue skies.) The world is very nicely put together. A lot of questions, a lot of answers. All very coherent.
Features that perhaps reveal its modern origin are the social structure (decadent elite terrorizing the poor) and the main character (young woman from the most oppressed class). Indeed it was published two years before [b:The Hunger Games|2767052|The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)|Suzanne Collins|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1447303603s/2767052.jpg|2792775]. The zeitgeist must have been strong.
The main character is pretty much the only woman in the story though, except for a few that make sandwiches for the men. So this is quite safe to read if you have feminist-phobia :). (Is there perhaps an in-universe explanation? The most influential figures in this world are supposed to be chosen at random, by inheritance of a genetic trait. A patriarchy should be unstable in these circumstances.)
A lot of the first half of the book is like a video game tutorial. Magic ("Allomancy") is based on 8 different metals. The hero and the reader have to learn about each, so we just get started and go through each of them. Thankfully it is presented with a fair amount of action, and the action continues throughout the book.
As the end of the book was drawing near I was afraid how much of a closure we would get. This is the first novel of a fairly large series of novels, right? Wikipedia says an expected 32-36 books will make up the "Cosmere". But the book's ending is awesome! It gives complete closure. It leaves a few questions open, but answers everything you wanted to know badly. Thanks for that!
Rating of 4/5 stars is tentative. May adjust to 5/5 stars depending on my thoughts in the coming days.
This is one of those cannot-put-down fantasy books that are so much fun to read :)
The dialogue is hammy, the characters are flat, and the plotting is straightforward, but the book was so compelling I all but read it in one sitting and ordered the rest of the series the next day.
Very cool book about organizing a revolution against a supposedly divine ruler and his highly hierarchical and oppressive society. In the book the revolution is organized by a small group on insurrectionists, but eventually is implemented by the people. A large part of the story is the lively characters, all with their doubts, concerns, and fears, which get together in what initially seemed an impossible undertaking. And of course the supposed magical powers of the rulers and the insurrectionists' overcoming of these. In general - a totally enjoyable political fantasy.
I really liked this book. I felt that the author did a superb job of giving multiple people's perspectives and motivations. It was a really enjoyable book and I can safely recommend it if you like fantasy books.
第一巻（上巻？）に比べては、ストーリーの進歩が若干遅い気がしますが、新しいキャラクターや「伝金術」のことが紹介されたり、十分新しいものに出会えて良かったと思います。
Well, this probably won a place in my favorite series. I had really liked what Sanderson did with the end of Wheel of Time, and I had told myself I should read some more of his stuff - now this is done, and I didn't regret it. Vin's world is divided into the skaa (and Vin is skaa), who are essentially the slaves of the ruling class, which is itself ruled by Lord Ruler since a thousand years or so. Vin meets a band of thieves that has a completely crazy idea: to overthrow said Lord Ruler so that the skaa daily life improves a bit. Add to this a magic system that is original, believable and awesome (the magicians or "allomancers" eat metal and burn it to get different effects depending on the metal) and you get a truly great book. Highly recommended.
2022 Re-read: In anticipation of Era 2 concluding in November 2022 I found it appropriate to re-read from the beginning, and I'm glad I did, because this book is still a knockout.
Don't forget the ash because you see a little silk.
I remembered the key points of the story but the moments between those stunning sequences are what make this book so enjoyable. The setup for the rest of Era 1 and implications with other series in the Cosmere are such a pleasure to experience, and in some ways it feels like I am reading the book again for the first time.
Our belief is often strongest when it should be weakest. That is the nature of hope.
I stand by my original five star rating, this book is incredible on the first read through and continues to entertain nearly a decade later.
2018 Re-read: Hit a …
2022 Re-read: In anticipation of Era 2 concluding in November 2022 I found it appropriate to re-read from the beginning, and I'm glad I did, because this book is still a knockout.
Don't forget the ash because you see a little silk.
I remembered the key points of the story but the moments between those stunning sequences are what make this book so enjoyable. The setup for the rest of Era 1 and implications with other series in the Cosmere are such a pleasure to experience, and in some ways it feels like I am reading the book again for the first time.
Our belief is often strongest when it should be weakest. That is the nature of hope.
I stand by my original five star rating, this book is incredible on the first read through and continues to entertain nearly a decade later.
2018 Re-read: Hit a rut in books so thought I would revisit a favorite series that I read nearly five years back...
...and after finishing the book it still deserves a five star rating. Five years later I'm still impressed with the Allomancy and how Sanderson uses it in the story. Great book and glad to see it still holds up after thousands of other Sanderson stories (namely Stormlight Archive).
No, this night was not a waste. Even if he hadn't found the atium, any night that ended with a group of dead nobleman was a successful one, in Kelsier's opinion.
Simply put, this book was amazing. I was immediately drawn in by the well crafted world, the story takes you in baby steps as you receive bits of information on the narrator and the people around them. but you are immediately hooked. As the world unfolds you learn about a complicated, but easy to understand, magic system and the book is off and running. I had a hard time putting this book down and will definitely be reading the remainder of the Mistborn stories.
Fantastic book, in my opinion. The concept of manipulation of metal using Allomancy Feruchemistry is pretty brilliant. Great character development and world building. I look forward to continuing the series!
I have my qualms with some plot holes and the decidedly typical main plot (lowly child with hidden ability is tasked with saving the world), but those go out the window when I take into account how much I enjoyed the last quarter of the book (YAY ACTION SEQUENCES!!). Sanderson's great at world-building and creating interesting magic systems, and that was enough to get me to immediately order the next two books in the series. Hopefully I won't be disappointed...
Really good book. Don't stop even if you find it uninteresting in the first few chapters.
The first three quarters of this book dragged a bit - explaining the same concepts over & over, and talking about lame politics a little too much. The last quarter was good, and did a great job of tying everything up at the end - so much so that I almost wonder what's left to write about for the next few books. Overall, the book kind of seemed like a fantasy version of the third Hunger Games book (if that book hadn't been completely awful).
