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

by Brandon Sanderson

THE INTERNATIONAL PHENOMENON BEHIND THE COSMERE


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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...

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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: 0575089938
• ISBN13: 9780575089938
• Publish Date: 10 December 2009 (first published 21 August 2007)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Gollancz
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 800
• Language: English

Reviews

[leahrosereads]

Wow. Just wow.

THE WELL OF ASCENSION was a fantastic second book in this trilogy. While reading this, it felt like Brandon Sanderson really upped his game. The plot twists caught me by surprise. The continuing character development was phenomenal, and of course, Sanderson's writing was just completely top notch.

I wrote up such a long review for THE FINAL EMPIRE but if I did that here, I would spoil parts of that book, and I absolutely don't want to do that.

I still completely recommend reading that book, and then moving onto this one. Sanderson has really created something magical here, and I'm looking forward to getting the final book in the trilogy from my library soon.

[Amber]

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

[Briana @ Pages Unbound]

As readers of the blog know, I’m becoming a huge fan of Brandon Sanderson.  I had nothing by praise for Steelheart, Elantris, and Mistborn.  So suffice it to say that The Well of Ascension showcases the same great writing: tight prose, incredible world-building, etc.  Just assume Brandon Sanderson is amazing at all times so I can get on to a few observations that are more specific to this book.

First, Sanderson continues with very strong character development.  He throws Vin, Elend, and company into entirely new roles in The Well of Ascension, and they react very realistically: with effort, but with doubts.  They are attempting to build an entirely new society, and they have to figure out how they fit into it.

To that end, the book asks a lot of deep questions—about what it means to be a good person, what it means to be a leader, and if the two can ever be the same.  It prods at the question of what it means to be an assassin, if killing can ever be a good skill, if there are different kinds of killing.  And it asks how much one owes society and how much owes oneself.  In a sense, the book keeps asking how people can find balance in their lives, and how they can accept who they are.  The answers are all different but all very good.

One flaw that I have not experienced with Sanderson’s other books (because they are either standalones or the first in their series!): The Well of Ascension does at times feel like a middle book.  The pacing is a little slow occasionally, and there is a definite sense—despite there being a plot arc specific to the book—that we are really waiting to get the somewhere else, the meat of the entire series.  It is not too overwhelming of a problem (after all, seeing how the characters plot to do the impossible, again! is actually interesting), but I was kind of disappointed that Sanderson did not write an absolutely perfect book for once.  Apparently he actually is human. ;)

That said, Sanderon completely makes up for the slow bits with a mind-blowing ending.  A second time.  Usually when authors pull off crazy, clever plot twists, they have difficulty replicating the process.  Not Sanderson.   He entirely upends readers’ expectations in Mistborn and he does it again in The Well of Ascension.  And, again, the stakes suddenly skyrocket.  Vin and her friends are having a really hard time saving the world here.

Sanderson is simply a fantastic writer, one who can deliver both good content and good prose.  He knows how to write a story that is interesting in terms of plot, but which also teaches readers about human nature and asks them to think about how they themselves fit into the world.  Definitely an author to continue watching.

[adamfortuna]

Mistborn ends in a good place, but hints at some of the larger problems facing the world as a whole. Book 2 starts down that path letting a little bit more light into the world. The story was slower than part 1, but had good build up.