3.5* -- I ended up reading Sanderson's books backwards so it has been a neat journey seeing how his prose and character development have evolved. I can see the beginning of it all and now finally see the cosmeres outline and really enjoy what has been crafted.

The storytelling here is solid, the character development is 90% there. Some things go missing, simple things that should be noticed by a character are missed and thus let the plot develop how it is wanted to but some of that frustrated me. Again though, I reflect that this was a first, an origin, and I can forgive any shortcomings.

I enjoyed the 10th year anniversary edition. I always love it when an author gives us a sneak peak, a tour behind the scenes to understand motivations or cut dialogs & characters, etc.

If you haven't read any of Sanderson's work I really would start here. Let its stand as a prologue to some of his best work and enjoy.