I’ve heard the Mistborn series described as swords and sorcery. It has sorcery “in spades” – the fascinating and innovative Allomancy. Think magical power from metals. I’m not sure the swords part really qualifies. The setting strikes me as more 19th century than the traditional psuedo-medieval worlds we most often find in fantasy. The Final Empire is a fun magical romp through a world broken by past events still shrouded in mystery that I’m keen to penetrate by reading more books in this series.
The overall style and the age of the heroine (16) make me think YA Fantasy but with enough sophistication to appeal to an adult audience. I would have liked more showing in the writing style, especially in action sequences, than the telling we often get. As a result, there were times I felt force fed events rather than experiencing them. I’m done with criticisms now.
The Final Empire was thoroughly enjoyable. The main character Vin is a wonderful blend of strength and naivety with a special but unschooled ability in Allomancy. Her world view is delightfully distorted by her tragic backstory. This gives her an understandable problem trusting anyone and she must overcome this on her quest to end The Final Empire. The Lord Ruler (the Emporer if you will) is immortal and apparently invincible. How can they possibly succeed?
This is a trope Sanderson also uses in Steelheart. If you love Mistborn The Final Empire and have not read Steelheart yet I recommend adding it to your “want to read” list.
Ever envied Spiderman’s ability to swing through the buildings on his web strings? Wait until you discover how the Allomancers use their ability to travel with speed and style…
Vin’s mentor Kelsier teaches her much about Allomancy and sends her to learn from others with different specialist skills. The story never gets bogged down in this training. It’s woven into the storyline. Of course, there are some things a true hero/heroine is going to have to figure out for themselves. Kelsier is a key player in this story are there are many scenes from his point of view. The grand plan at work in this story is his, but he can’t do it alone.
Mistborn The Final Empire takes a street urchin and member of a gang of thieves into a world of nobility and espionage, magic and mist. Vin takes on a second identity, Vallette, the only identity her love interest, a son of the enemy ruling class, knows her by. What could possibly go wrong…
The right questions are answered in this book by the end but there are plenty of others left open for future books. Vin grows as a character but there is still plenty of room to see her grow more.
This is a fantastic story that will keep you guessing until the end – how can you kill the invincible Lord Ruler and exactly what is the power of the eleventh metal?

4.5 stars from me overall, but rounded up to a well deserved 5 for Goodreads etc.