Mistborn: The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson - A Flights of Fantasy Book Review

If you've read my review of Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson, you'll know I absolutely loved the fantasy novel. I initially wanted to postpone reading The Well of Ascension, book two of the Mistborn series, so I could take a breather from the awesomeness of the first book. But I couldn't resist! I finishing reading the second book over the weekend. I did the bulk of my reading on Valentine's Day afternoon in Starbucks 515 Shaw, which is like my second home. Thus, the Heart's Day greeting sticker on my cup of coffee.

Book two begins shortly after book one ends, with Vin killing The Lord Ruler and overthrowing The Final Empire. As the new king of Luthadel, Ellend quickly sets up his parliamentary government. He gives equal power and representation to the noblemen, the merchants, and the skaa (former slaves), in hopes of building an empire where everyone is equal. However, things seem to be turning out for the worse than for the better for the budding politician.

Luthadel is now under siege from three separate powerful armies. One is led by his father Straff Venture, who fled from Luthadel during the skaa rebellion. The other, by nobleman Ashweather Cett from Fardex City. Then there's the army of Koloss, brutish beasts created by The Lord Ruler, commanded by Ellend's good friend Jastes Lekal. All three commanders seek a massive store of the precious metal aluminium, supposedly hidden in by Ellend in Luthadel. Will Ellend find a way to rout all three armies? Or will his short rule run its course?

Meanwhile, there may be another problem  in their midst. The mists seem to be coming earlier in the night and lasting longer in the morning. There have even been reports of the mists even killing people. Vin begins having doubts about killing the Lord Ruler. When he said that she was about to ruin everything, what did he mean? And what is this thumping in her head leading her towards some powerful source? Has the Well of Ascension returned, together with the deepness, and is she the Hero of Ages?

What I Liked:

The theme of trust was strong in this novel. Could Vin trust her friends, whom once Keisler trusted, or was there truly a traitor among them? Could Ellend trust the people's representatives in his government to do what was right for the people? In many ways, the protagonists are having a more difficult time running Luthadel than they were plotting to overthrow the Final Empire.

There did seem to be a switching of roles, with the good guys fending of attackers, like the Lord Ruler did in the first novel. With the precious metal atium at the center of their conflicts. The betrayals of TenSoon and Marsh were both shocking and hurtful. And the fact that all the Terris prophecies Sazed had been collecting about the Hero of Ages being tampered with was just terrible, although it served as an excellent twist.

I enjoyed seeing further growth in both Ellend and Vin, both individually and romantically. An optimistic and idealistic scholar, Ellend is having difficulty with the rigors of politics. He is seen as someone too nice and weak to be taken seriously as king. Maybe that's why Vin won't marry him because he's so unlike her.

Meanwhile, Vin is doubting her importance to Ellend, despite his asking her to marry him. What is she to him, just a knife he can use to threaten and kill his political opponents? Perhaps he is just using her because she is a Mistborn. Maybe she can find solace in a man who understands what it means to powerful like her. I'm glad they ended up marrying each other in the end.

I like how the power of the Mistborn continues to develop in The Well of Ascension. New metals with different uses and new uses for old metals are being discovered, keeping fight scenes exciting and unpredictable. Vin's defeating Zane, with him burning atium and with her having none, was just amazing! Even better than the Vin versus Shan battle in The Final Empire.

I really hate it when a really huge battle between armies is about to happen, but the writer decides to focus on fights between a handful of people, then the battle ends. Sanderson presents the battle between the koloss and Luthadel in all its gore and glory. There was plenty of death in this novel. I was especially sad to see Tindwyl die, especially because her romantic relationship with Sazed. I was sad to see Dockson and Clubs die too. Ellend almost died too! But he didn't. He even became a Mistborn. Now that's cool!

My Rating:

Flights of Fantasy is a reading challenge hosted by book bloggers Alexa Loves Books and Hello Chelly. Here are my goals for the Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge 2015.