Author: Brandon Sanderson
Published: October 1st 2011
Source: Paperback
Pages: 647
In a world where ash falls from the sky, and mist dominates the night, an evil cloaks the land and stifles all life.
The future of the empire rests on the shoulders of a troublemaker and his young apprentice. Together, can they fill the world with colour once more? In Brandon Sanderson's intriguing tale of love, loss, despair and hope, a new kind of magic enters the stage - Allomancy, a magic of the metals.
REVIEW
When I first heard about how metals were consumed for magic in this world, I imagined that they were bitting off from long poles of metal lol :P Imagine my surprise when I realised that they were only consuming small flakes of metals. Despite all the hype surrounding this book, I went in with pretty low expectations and I was pleasantly surprised!
One problem I had with the book was the pacing. There was a lot of repetition of various information (eg. the magic system) throughout the book and it really bogged down the book. I usually read at a pace of 100 pages/hour but this book was very dense and I averaged only about 60 pages/hour. I really enjoyed the first and last 1/3 of the book. The middle portions felt a little redundant and did not really add much to the whole plot. It was frustrating whenever Vin spends a ton of time discovering something new but it often turns out that the rest knew about it all along but just never told her. WHAT. We could have shaved off at least 50 pages. I get that this is the first book in a high fantasy trilogy so I am not being too fussy about it.
The monologues felt overdone and it was obviously done for the benefit of the readers, it does not truly reflect the thoughts of the characters. It felt jarring and I do prefer books where I am allowed to have some space for my own imagination rather than the characters telling me EXACTLY how I should be feeling at that point in time.
World building was very amazing and I was hooked from the get go. Even though we were basically thrown into the world, it was very easy to grasp. It really proves that no info-dumping is necessary to build a world.
I expected more character development considering the length of this book, hopefully we will get to see this in the rest of the series! Vin was a very nosy character that I personally could not stand, she reminded me of one of those insecure friends that had to know everyone's secrets. Anyhow, her character arc was pretty good as we see her mature as the book goes on. I did not really like the romance, Vin was out of character (overly eager and trusting). I mean I get the attraction but I feel like it was mostly her throwing herself at him and even resorting to revealing too much just to get into his good books. Kelsier's character development was extremely well done. His character arc was probably the best: he changed from a reckless and cocky guy to one that was more responsible for his decisions and actions.
The plot was very intriguing and I loved the tidbits we get from the lord ruler at the start of every chapter. I loved reading from his POV and learning more about the world as the story goes on. It was a very intelligent way to build such a complex world.
One problem I had with the book was the pacing. There was a lot of repetition of various information (eg. the magic system) throughout the book and it really bogged down the book. I usually read at a pace of 100 pages/hour but this book was very dense and I averaged only about 60 pages/hour. I really enjoyed the first and last 1/3 of the book. The middle portions felt a little redundant and did not really add much to the whole plot. It was frustrating whenever Vin spends a ton of time discovering something new but it often turns out that the rest knew about it all along but just never told her. WHAT. We could have shaved off at least 50 pages. I get that this is the first book in a high fantasy trilogy so I am not being too fussy about it.
The monologues felt overdone and it was obviously done for the benefit of the readers, it does not truly reflect the thoughts of the characters. It felt jarring and I do prefer books where I am allowed to have some space for my own imagination rather than the characters telling me EXACTLY how I should be feeling at that point in time.
World building was very amazing and I was hooked from the get go. Even though we were basically thrown into the world, it was very easy to grasp. It really proves that no info-dumping is necessary to build a world.
I expected more character development considering the length of this book, hopefully we will get to see this in the rest of the series! Vin was a very nosy character that I personally could not stand, she reminded me of one of those insecure friends that had to know everyone's secrets. Anyhow, her character arc was pretty good as we see her mature as the book goes on. I did not really like the romance, Vin was out of character (overly eager and trusting). I mean I get the attraction but I feel like it was mostly her throwing herself at him and even resorting to revealing too much just to get into his good books. Kelsier's character development was extremely well done. His character arc was probably the best: he changed from a reckless and cocky guy to one that was more responsible for his decisions and actions.
The plot was very intriguing and I loved the tidbits we get from the lord ruler at the start of every chapter. I loved reading from his POV and learning more about the world as the story goes on. It was a very intelligent way to build such a complex world.
VERDICT
This plot uses the same formula as Harry Potter so I get where the comparisons come from but a lot more gets done in one book compared to Harry Potter which is probably where the adult aspect comes in? This book was more plot driven than anything else and I would love to have had more character development but perhaps this would come in the subsequent books. I love the magic system but it does require some memory work if you don't wanna constantly refer to the list provided in the book. There is lots of politicking, scheming and action, I highly recommend this to anyone that enjoys a book with a good does of those elements!
Plot: 4/5
Pacing: 3.5/5
Originality: 4.5/5
Writing style: 3.5/5
Characters: 4/5
Feels: 4/5
Cover: 5/5
Overall rating: 
Great review. I found book #2 of this series at a used bookstore, and I used it as an excuse to get books #1 and #3, but I haven’t started them yet. I’m looking forward to it.
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!