After the ending of The Final Empire, I was pretty hyped up for this one. I wouldn't say that it falls flat, because I generally enjoyed it, but it doesn't capture any of the same magic that the first book did. It very much feels like a middle book; a bridge between a great and conclusive beginning and what should be a great and conclusive finale that doesn't really hold it's own well enough.

Vin and Elend become kind of annoying for most of the book. They spend every other scene fretting about the other, wondering why they're being so closed off while they continue keeping random secrets, wondering if the other still loves them, wondering if they deserve the other. It was mildly annoying to begin with, then by page 400 I was groaning at yet another lovesick young adult being insecure about their relationship that they refuse to put any effort into.

Likewise, the groaning about how they're all going to die from the siege gets a bit tiresome after a while. They continually find ways to delay their imminent demise further and further, and every time the whole government is like "yeah but we're still gonna die." It's understandable, they're pretty screwed, but it just gets tiresome.

And that's really how I'd describe the first three-quarters of the book. Tiresome. Some interesting stuff happens, but we just continually loop back to the same plot points, the same neuroses, the same conflicts. Two stars.

The last quarter, like The Final Empire, is a notable improvement. The climax is exciting, the reveals are impressive, the hook for the next book is intriguing. But it is quite a bit weaker. Vin starts to feel like a Mary Sue, as once her neuroses fade to the background she basically just becomes an unstoppable killing machine/empress/religious icon and there is no doubt that she's going to save everyone. Elend's development and idealism seem to disappear as he not only accepts the literal opposite situation that he's been fighting for this whole time, but also just kind of starts deferring to Vin in all matters. The twist with the Well of Ascension is interesting, but seemingly comes at no cost as Elend's death is first caused and then averted by the same pretty literal deus ex machina. There's enough good points to redeem the rest of the book, but enough disappointments to compare unfavourably against the first book. Four stars.

So, on the whole, it was worth reading to see the consequences of Book 1 come into play and to see what happens in Book 3, but it really felt weaker than I would have hoped after the exciting setup of The Final Empire.