The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson

The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson
Series: Mistborn #2
Genre: Fantasy
Release Date: December 10, 2009
Publisher: Gollancz
Source: Bought
Add it: Goodreads
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The impossible has been accomplished. The Lord Ruler – the man who claimed to be god incarnate and brutally ruled the world for a thousand years – has been vanquished. But Kelsier, the hero who masterminded that triumph, is dead too, and now the awesome task of building a new world has been left to his young protégé, Vin, the former street urchin who is now the most powerful Mistborn in the land, and to the idealistic young nobleman she loves.

As Kelsier’s protégé and slayer of the Lord Ruler she is now venerated by a budding new religion, a distinction that makes her intensely uncomfortable. Even more worrying, the mists have begun behaving strangely since the Lord Ruler died, and seem to harbor a strange vaporous entity that haunts her.

Stopping assassins may keep Vin’s Mistborn skills sharp, but it’s the least of her problems. Luthadel, the largest city of the former empire, doesn’t run itself, and Vin and the other members of Kelsier’s crew, who lead the revolution, must learn a whole new set of practical and political skills to help. It certainly won’t get easier with three armies – one of them composed of ferocious giants – now vying to conquer the city, and no sign of the Lord Ruler’s hidden cache of atium, the rarest and most powerful allomantic metal.

As the siege of Luthadel tightens, an ancient legend seems to offer a glimmer of hope. But even if it really exists, no one knows where to find the Well of Ascension or what manner of power it bestows.

Hey *pokes* I’m back to talk about the most epic series to happen to me for a while. I don’t really know how I’m going to review this book so be prepared for some rambling and a lot of fangirling and possibly some tears. I had been trying to read the Mistborn series as slowly as possible because I just wasn’t ready to let go, but I finally picked The Well of Ascension up a few weeks ago because it just had to be done. I’ve since finished the series and OH MY GOD. Ehem. Let’s just focus on this one book for now.

The first thing I have to say about The Well of Ascension is that I spent the entire book missing Kelsier. I don’t do well with change, which is one of the reasons I was putting this book off after Kelsier died in The Final Empire, and so I spent the entire book kind of moping and grieving. The characters still talked about my king a lot, and there’s even an entire religion started up around the legend of the Survivor, but it’s just not the same. His absence is felt. I really need to stop getting attached to characters because it never ends well for me.

Then there’s VIN, AKA QUEEN OF THE FINAL EMPIRE, EMPRESS OF MY HEART. I adore her so much. She has been through so much throughout her childhood and now as a teenager she’s still not catching a break. She’s so mature for her age, and an absolute delight to read about. Not to mention she’s fucking kickass, both as a Mistborn and as a flawless human being. I’m planning on going back through this book and also the first one and placing a bunch of sticky notes in the Vin chapters because she is the best thing ever and I worship her.

Just to drop a bit of negativity, I am still not a fan of Elend, especially after the ending of this book because JESUS CHRIST, was normal Elend not enough? I don’t think he holds a candle to Vin, and yes, he’s bookish and loves a good debate, but he’s also so bloody privileged and sheltered and I can’t stand it. I find those types of characters so hard to read about when it’s not satirical. Yes, he goes through a lot of development in this book and his world is slowly opening up, but I do not like what happened to him in the end because he did absolutely nothing to deserve it and everything gets handed to him on a silver platter. Cannot. Stand. Him.

The relationships between the crew are slightly different after Kelsier’s death. He was the one who gave them a reason to all work together in the first place, and with him gone things feel a little lost. There’s a giant gap in the crew. But I still adore them and I loved reading about them as they struggled to cope after the loss of their leader, and it was wonderful to see how much they all cared for each other. They’re a lovely little family of thieves and liars who have been pulled into something so much bigger and I want to squish their cheeks and hug them all. Sazed especially.

I’m about to gush over Sanderson’s world-building again because ERMEHGERD IT’S FANTASTIC. The world has started to expand in The Well of Ascension. In The Final Empire, we were very much focussed on Luthadel and the happenings there. Now we’re learning about other things such as the koloss and the kandra and the Well and the mists and metals and Inquisitors and the various religions that have spouted up. Sanderson has put so much thought and detail into this world, and I loved reading about it. Is there a Mistborn Encyclopaedia? There should be. And getting to know this world a little bit more while Elend and Vin try to protect it was the best experience ever and I want to go back and read about all the little details.

In short, READTHEFUCKINGBOOK.gif