Mistborn

The Final Empire

This book might be part of the Mistborn series.

What if the Dark Lord won?

A thousand years ago evil came to the land and has ruled with an iron hand ever since. The sun shines fitfully under clouds of ash that float down endlessly from the constant eruption of volcanoes. A dark lord rules through the aristocratic families and ordinary folk are condemned to lives in servitude, sold as goods, labouring in the ash fields.

But now a troublemaker has arrived and there is rumour of revolt. A revolt that depends on a criminal no-one can …

What if the Dark Lord won?

But now a troublemaker has arrived and there is rumour of revolt. A revolt that depends on a criminal no-one can trust and a young girl who must master Allomancy - the magic that lies in all metals.

6 editions

eBook

English language

Published March 2010 by Orion.

ISBN:: 978-0-575-08991-4
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Subjects

Courts and courtiers
Women revolutionaries
Fiction
Fiction, fantasy, general
Fantasy
Adventure
Magic
Thieves
Nobility
Covert Operations
Mystical powers
Upraising

Reviews

[email protected] reviewed The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn, #1)

Re-read Review

5.0 stars

Content warning re-read discussion with full cosmere spoilers.

I'm reading this after almost a decade, and it was still quite fun, after having explored so much more of the cosmere. Hoid barely has a cameo in this one, and the heist went well. One of the rare times I didn't have to use Fictionary for checking up on old characters, since everyone is a first-time character.

I was watching out for mentions of shards, and Ruin but not a lot of that. I really liked the pacing of the book - it lets you breathe at just the right places, and Vin's growth shows very nicely.

One complaint I have with the novel is missing women characters. The entirety of Vin's old and new crews is male. The only other women we meet are unnamed skaa in a prologue, and a few noblewomen - one of which is dead by the end, with barely a few words. It does pass the Bechdel test on a technicality, but not really.

There's always another secret.