The Well of Ascension: Mistborn Book Two (Cosmere Universe) (Mistborn, #2)

by Brandon Sanderson

THE INTERNATIONAL PHENOMENON BEHIND THE COSMERE

THE COLLECTOR'S TENTH ANNIVERSARY LIMITED EDITION OF MISTBORN BOOK TWO

****

The Dark Lord is dead, and now a new world can be built.

The impossible has happened. The Lord Ruler is dead has been vanquished. But so too is Kelsier the man who masterminded the triumph. The awesome task of rebuilding the world has been left to his protege Vin; a one-time street urchin, now the most powerful Mistborn in the land.

Worryingly for her Vin has become the focus of a new religion, a development that leaves her intensely uneasy. More worryingly still the mists have become unpredictable since the Lord Ruler died and a strage vaprous entity is stalking Vin.

As the siege of Luthadel intensifies the ancient legend of the Well of Ascension offers the only glimmer of hope. But no-one knows where it is or what it can do...

****

FANTASY DOESN'T GET BETTER THAN SANDERSON:

'Highly recommend to anyone hungry for a good read'
ROBIN HOBB

'Epic in every sense'
GUARDIAN

'Sanderson is the most immersive fantasy writer I've ever encountered'
BEN AARONOVITCH

'All the explosive action any adventure fan could want'
LOCUS

• ISBN10: 1473223083
• ISBN13: 9781473223080
• Publish Date: 2 November 2017 (first published 21 August 2007)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Gollancz
• Edition: UK 10th Anniversary Edition
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 880
• Language: English
• Special: Anniversary Edition Numbered Signed

Reviews

[charlton]

This was a great read, good times. Intrigue, a web of mystery. I had a good time reading this.

[Ben Pick]

I think I am starting to get over books where their big hook is an intriguing magic system.

[ladygrey]

So, I mean this book is well written. And the world is well crafted. And the characters are just interesting enough to keep the whole thing going. I especially like how Sanderson isn’t afraid to switch pov to any character he needs to tell the story, so it’s not like one or two characters dominate it and in doing so we’re left to only their experiences.

That being said, Elend and Vin are the most interesting and really held the story together. Except this is totally a boy book and there’s at least one if not two scenes that are kind of crucial to their relationship that are only reflected in a sentence or two that acknowledges they’ve happened. A girl would have given us the juicy, emotionally charged scene.

I wasn’t so fond of the whole distraction with Zane, but in this I’m glad it’s a boy book and so works out well without a lot of forced angst. Also, it was surprisingly long enough to do so. I thought the end of the second act was actually the climax. And it seems like it’s distracted by wars and politics when it’s supposed to be about...I don’t know, the Well. But that works out too. And I think that’s the thing about Sanderson’s stories. No matter how mysterious something is when he’s laying in hints and making you ask questions, or how much it seems he’s wandered astray, it always pays off.

So the lingering questions from this book, particularly about Marsh, I have no doubt will be resolved satisfactorily in the third.

That and the pacing keeps the momentum going and the story progressing well, even with dalliances into inner monologues that occasionally repeat the same turmoil and we get a bit lost in a character’s head.

All that being said, this book wasn’t as much fun. It wasn’t just the crew that suffered from Kelsier’s death. There’s a pizzaz and a sense of entertainment lacking in this book without him. It’s good, it’s just not as much fun to read.

[pardum]

Sanderson shifts focus away from just Vin, providing more insight into the minds of other members of the crew. This shift in writing style helps to bring the world alive, and provides a more nuanced story than the first book.

[moraa]

Elend: I kind of lost track of time…
Breeze: For two hours?
Elend: There were books involved.

What a mood.

I don’t think I need to reiterate how much I’m coming to love this series or the reasons why but in case you haven’t seen my Final Empire review, here’s a quick recap:

I really enjoyed this book, except for the unnecessary love triangle. I believe that Vin's struggles were valid and realistic, but they did not necessarily need to exist because of a love triangle, they could also exist because of things people say without necessarily feeling attracted to them.
Besides that, the book is a bit slow at some points, but it has a lot of politics so that is understandable. The ending really makes up for the love triangle and the slower parts.

[readingwithbecs]

I have no words... Wow.

[Joséphine]

Initial thoughts: Such an intricate world in terms of culture, religion, politics and the natural order. It's so rich and very densely packed, that it took me 4 to 5 weeks to finish it. In truth, I spent 8 days actually reading. The 3 weeks preceding, I picked it up several times, read a page or two and then put it back down. I knew The Well of Ascension would be amazing but books with more than 500 pages aren't usually the ones I reach for, so it took me a lot time to overcome that initial mental inertia. I'm glad I got over myself and when I gained momentum, I couldn't put the book down. I read really slowly to soak in everything because there's so much detail to take in.

I welcomed the discussions on religion and politics in particular. What constitutes a religion? Does elevating a man one knew to be mortal to a deity truly make a religion? What of rituals and faith? There's also a bit of mystique surrounding epistemology — how do we know what we know and can we trust accounts that are passed down generations? I particularly found myself immersed in the deterioration of memories but that's because I wrote an extensive paper on memory and knowledge before. Hah. So yeah, the philosophical aspect amidst the epic fantasy engaged my mind a lot.

One thing that I did have gripes with were the incessant displays of insecurities from Elend and Vin. Yes, these displays of weaknesses were necessary to portray all their facets but it still got on my nerves after some time. That aside though, I absolutely adored this sequel and look forward to continuing with The Hero of Ages.

[KitsuneBae]

Everything was just so mindblowing that I forgot that the beginning was awfully slow. Can I have a kandra, too? Please...

And what happened to Tindwyl really made me angry. I mean, there's this badass woman that I really really come to lover only for Sanderson to snatch her away. Grrrrr.

[sarahjay]

Parts of this were slow for me but then the last like 200 pages happened. AND THE ENDING. DAMN. Ultimately, I liked this much more than the first one, so if that trend continues with the third book, I'll be very happy.