Book Review: Mistborn: The Final Empire

I first saw Mistborn: The Final Empire when I was in Bangalore, buying books at Blossoms Book Store. It had been a long time since I had read any good works of fantasy, and, having heard a lot of praise for it from some of my friends, I decided to give it a try.

And it was thus that I picked up Mistborn: The Final Empire……..and realized that it was in a box set, with two other books. A trilogy.

I sighed to myself, unable to make up my mind. Should I buy the whole set and hope that it was worth it? There were two problems with buying the whole set. The first problem was that I might not like the series, in which case it would be a waste to buy the whole set. The other problem was that I had the bad habit of skimming through books before I read them, thus spoiling my own suspense and rendering the purchase a waste (again).

But the bad side of not buying the trilogy was that I might not find it again anytime soon.

Then I had an idea. I asked one of the shop workers if I could buy just the first book. However, he did not understand what I asked him, and I had to repeat myself. In the end, he told me that I could buy all three books, or none. That was it. Annoyed, I decided not to buy the set, and instead order it from FlipKart.

That was about a year ago.

Recently, I got the chance to order the first book of the trilogy from FlipKart and read it.

And was I impressed!

Brandon Sanderson has invented a totally new and unique form of magic, called Allomancy. Unlike most fantasy works, in which magic comes from the strength of the human individual, in Mistborn, magic comes from the burning of certain metals. Sounds boring? Read on.

There are eight basic metals, as well as two rare ones. Each of these metals, when burned in the human body, grants a certain magical ability to the user until the metal runs out in the body. Pewter, for example, grants physical strength. Tin, on the other hand, enhances the senses. Only a few select humans, called Allomancers, can burn metals.

But – wait a moment! How does the human body ingest metals? Do they bite and swallow metals? Isn’t that dumb? That’s what I wondered.

In real life, metals are present in almost all places in the world. Most of the elements in the periodic table are metals. You can find metals anywhere, from brass utensils and bronze statues to iron (haemoglobin) in our blood. Unconsciously, we digest metals every day.

However, in Mistborn, the amount of metals that get into our body this way is quite small – insufficient for burning (using for magic). Thus, metals need to be eaten separately. In the cities of the Final Empire, where the story is set, there are several merchants and traders who buy usable metals and turn them to dust, before mixing them with alcohol or water and selling them to Allomancers. Allomancers then buy these mixtures in vials, and swallow them. Then they can start burning them for magical purposes.

The story is set in the Final Empire, a vast country ruled by the immortal Lord Ruler, a being who once saved the world from a terrible horror (known only as the Deepness) and took over the world at a place called the Well of Ascension. For a thousand years, the empire has been a wasteland of ash and dust. Plants are brown rather than green. Ash falls from the sky, a result of the volcanic activity of the Ashmounts, a mountain range created long ago. Humanity has been genetically separated into two: the nobility, who live lavish, rich lives, and the skaa, the peasants.

Only those of noble blood can use Allomancy. Thus, the Lord Ruler strictly forbids the consorting of the two human races, fearing that the union may produce half-breed Allomancers who can challenge him. However, he cannot control this, and there are many such half-breed Allomancers, most of whom live as thieves.

Now, most Allomancers can only burn one metal. These Allomancers are called Mistings. However, some Allomancers can burn all ten metals. These are the Mistborn.

The story revolves around two Mistborn –  Kelsier, a thief crewleader turned liberator, and Vin, a young thief who joins Kelsier’s crew – who plan to free the people of the empire and overthrow the Lord Ruler. Armed with the support of several Misting friends, as well as an army of skaa, Kelsier plans to storm Luthadel itself – the capital of the empire – and defeat the Lord Ruler. But will it all work out? Does the immortal Lord Ruler fall in the end? What of the Steel Inquisitors, strange creatures who serve the Lord Ruler and will try their best to crush the liberators?

Read to find out.