Mistborn: The Final Empire
by Brandon Sanderson
Tor Books, 2006
Mistborn is the first book in the Mistborn series, an ever-expanding series of dystopian fantasy novels. These novels are set in the same world as Sanderson's The Stormlight Archive series, the novels Elantris and Warbreaker, and the Mistborn Adventure Game; Sanderson calls this universe the Cosmere.
But first... what even is this book called? Well, in America Tor titled it Mistborn, often, but not always, with the subtitle The Final Empire. The British publisher, Victor Gollancz Ltd, went with the The Final Empire. And to avoid confusion, some editions have both titles. This can be quite confusing when you're looking for the first book in the series.
The novel is set in a world that has been dying for a thousand years, covered in ash and clouds of mist. Mysterious beasts wander through the mists, and the cities are ruled by an oligarchy based on magical powers and maximal abuse of the lower classes. The lowest of the low, a orphaned street urchin turned thief, Vin is about to be dragged into revolution.
Vin knows she has a reservoir of 'luck' -- an apparent ability to make things work out in her favor -- as long as she doesn't push it too far. One day she pushes the wrong person, and the cops come for her. In this case, the cops are strange men with iron spikes driven into their eyes, and who have a repetition for being unstoppable; fortunately, at the same time that she learns that she is currently one of the most hunted people in the city, she also learns that she is a magic user -- possibly a very powerful one.
The leader of the slave rebellion, Kelsier, takes her under his wing and starts to train her as a mistborn. Unfortunately, he also plans on taking down the immortal and all-powerful Lord Ruler, so he'll be dead soon.
This is a long book. There's a lot of lore, and one central theme of the book is essentially violent and involuntary historical research. The magical system is complex enough to need some serious explanation (the book includes an appendix/glossary if you need to review the terms and conditions). On top of that, Sanderson is neither a terse writer nor a big fan of editors. All of which is to say, it can be a bit of a slog at times.
On the other hand, the magic system is done well. The magicians, called allomancers, gain their power by swallowing and 'burning' metals. Not every magic user can burn every metal, and every metal does something different. This is entirely arbitrary in every aspect, but Sanderson sets down the rules, follows them, and explores the implications. Magicians with limited abilities find clever ways to maximize their impact, and the system encourages team-ups among different magic users.
Sanderson also does political intrigue well, and court scenes that could be quite boring are interesting, dramatic, and relevant. The political landscape is at least as well developed as the geography and historical landscape. While I don't necessarily want my worlds developed as far as the world of Mistborn, at least it is done well.
Overall, if you like rule-based fantasy, enjoy dystopian fiction, and like world building with all the trappings, you will probably enjoy this book. While I cannot report on this personally, I am told that the series picks up a bit after the first book, although I also notice that the next two books in the initial trilogy, The Well of Ascension and The Hero of Ages, are longer than Mistborn.
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