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

by Brandon Sanderson

[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.