The Well of Ascension (Mistborn, Book 2)

As the follow-on to Mistborn, I expected good things from The Well of Ascension. Brandon Sanderson didn't disappoint. I'm really intrigued by the concept Sanderson presents here - what happens after the Hero who's supposed to defeat evil doesn't. Add to that the question of how a group of heroes

Show More

become the leaders of a new government in a complex political situation and what it really means to have faith and trust in others, and things get really fascinating. As with the first volume, the plot has plenty of twists to keep us interested, and plenty of development of the main characters. All in all, a great second volume in the trilogy!

Show Less

This was an excellent sequel to the first book in the series that kept me highly motivated to turn pages through the entire 600 pages. It greatly expands upon the information and characters in Mistborn, and does so in a logical way that still managed to keep me guessing through almost the entire

Show More

book. I was still caught by surprise by several developments at the end of the book, and it made me very eager to read book 3.

A definite Must Read for any fan of Sanderson's other writing.

Show Less

Great book. This is definitely the middle book of a trilogy, but what I'm enjoying so far with this series, is that each book is a complete tale in and of itself. Yes, there is still a quest to fulfill, but the adventure in this one is contained. This explores the relationship between Vin and

Show More

Elend. Each character is allowed to grow and change and I see ominous signs for the future. There are so many issues touched on in this book; leadership, belief, love and killing are just a few. I think the author stays true to his characters. I am really looking forward to reading the next volume!

Show Less

(Note: Spoilers for the previous book.)

After "Mistborn: The Final Empire" left the prototypical Dark Lord dead and the heroes triumphant, "The Well of Ascension" starts with, well, "What's Next?" The overarching plot of the middle book of the Mistborn trilogy is the attempt by Elend (now King) and

Show More

the other heroes to maintain power in the face of old nobility and their armies. This is largely ignored territory for Epic Fantasy, and it's handled well here, although the slow pace of siege warfare makes plotting it trickier.

Sanderson builds heavily on the foundation he established already; the Feruchemy of the Terrismen Keepers, such as Sazed, is further developed, and another allomatic metal is added. The biggest improvement here is the better development of the supporting cast; while not everyone was fully developed it was much more balanced than the first book. Elend, Vin, Sazed, and newcomer Zane get more screen time, and are fascinating. The fight scenes return and Sanderson manages to keep the variety up, although Allomancy now looks to have a large number of unknown metals.

There are a few missteps, however. Much like with Alendl's diaries in the first book, notes from the philosopher Kwaan are placed above the chapter headings and in the book proper. Again, they're used to foreshadow a subtle but crucial plot point; however, they are somewhat overused in the attempt, becoming annoying rather than mysterious. A certain use of Allomancy - one that is key to the plot - is poorly explained, and there are a few too many questions at the end.

Still, it's fairly clear that the questions will be answered, even if this book doesn't end as cleanly as the last. Sanderson handles the issues that arise out of being the middle book of a trilogy better than most in a book that covers mostly new fantasy ground. Anyone that liked "Mistborn: The Final Empire" should definitely stay with the trilogy.

Show Less

Yeah, bud. Now this is an excellent 2nd book. Led my tearing right into the third.

Excellent book. This is the 2nd book in the Mistborn trilogy. Like many of Sanderson's books it starts out a 'little' slowly, and builds up and ends with an avalanche. This one has a bit of mystery about it and many, many pieces to a puzzle scattered through out. Brandon has gotten very good at the

Show More

retroactively obvious hints. This is a book that is good right up until the Epilogue. After the Epilogue, it is great! I can't wait until number 3 comes out!

We start about a year after the death of the lord ruler. Eland Venture is King of the central dominance and Vin has been doing her best to keep him alive. The empire has fallen into chaos and split into smaller kingdoms. Things were slowly starting to look better when Eland's father decided it was time for Eland to hand over his little kingdom to him and brought a large army to help in persuasion. Shortly thereafter a second army arrived with the same intentions. It's just more good news after the next...

Show Less

Although not quite as awesome as the first book in the series, this one also kicked major butt. The characters bloomed, becoming extremely nuanced and interesting. The moral shades of gray made it easy to sympathize with even unlikable characters. The bad guys became nuanced, too. Sometimes it was

Show More

hard to figure out who the bad guys were.

I really enjoyed the read. Vin is an exciting heroine, although I find that the king is my favorite.

Show Less

I really like how this series turns many of the cliches of fantasy on their head. The events of this book are neither predictable nor unsupported by the book. Sanderson manages to surprise you and keep you interested without resorting to out of the blue twists. I also would love to meet Vin in real

Show More

life.

Show Less

Same thing - good story, well-written, good characterization - and I dislike it very much. Too many plots-within-plots overlapping other plots, flatout lies and things that might be lies but I can't tell until the author admits it - if he does. The whole basis for the story so far is revealed as a

Show More

lie. What does the mist-spirit want - and what is it? Zane is a total manipulator who turns out to have been manipulated himself all his life. And so on. I can see that it's a good story, but this much twistiness just doesn't interest me. Four days to read this! It should have been one or possibly two sittings. And the third book is due soon, so I have to go on - ugh. Want to read something light. OK, I give myself a vacation for the rest of today.

Show Less

There's a rather specific trope (or, whisper it quietly, formula) in kingmaker fantasy series; if book one is about overthrowing the old ruler, book two is about how keeping the kingdom is the real challenge. This book has its own take on the trope, but it's still a contributor.

A good story, this

Show More

focuses on the civil war caused by the results of the previous books, with excellent character interactions and a deepening of the world's mysteries. There's a great deal of dramatic irony in this book, which for me is usually an irritant, but it fit with the plot quite nicely and really helped with the characterization of several key players.

It could be a little better, in that it suffers a bit from middle book syndrome with a side of angst, and there's the occasional pronoun game, but I'm still more than interested enough to pick up the next book.

Show Less

Very interesting second chapter of the trilogy. Keliser's group succeeded in the first book. Now the have the main city and they have to hold onto it. They are besieged by 3 different armies looking for the hidden stash of Atium that the Lord Ruler supposedly had. Yet no one can find it.

Elend is

Show More

having a hard time working with some of the group, and is to idealistic to be King. Vin is being called the Heir of the Survivor (Keliser) and a religion has sprung up and is worshiping her. She also learns about a few more alomancy metals and looks for the Well of Ascension. Also she is trying to figure out if the mists are changing. They don't feel as friendly as they once did.

This didn't have the humor and comroderie like the first one, though it makes sense as they lost Keliser in the first book, he was the glue that kept everyone joking. Also the group feels a bit let down by him, because he had a plan for overthrowing the Lord Ruler but not for what happens after. The group doesn't know how to run a city. They aren't politicians, or bureaucrats, or generals, and they are forced to play those roles because they won't leave Elend.

Even though the tone was darker, it could have benefited a bit from just a little humor. Even if it was dark humor form one of the characters. But as people grow and change so do the characters. I am definitely looking forward to the conclusion to see how all the plot points get wrapped up. I did like that Sazed found a letter written in a steel plate. That was what was put above each chapter heading. In the first book you had the log-book of the person assumed to be the Lord Ruler. Now you have a letter from the one that found him originally and then decided to do away with him. What are we going to get for the third???

Show Less

The gun on the mantlepiece goes off.
Substance: New actors, new mysteries, new twists.
Style: Maintains the pace.
Notes: p. 387, Elend: "I lost the throne because I wasn't willing to lie."...Tindwyl: "You lost the throne because you are a good man." ...Can you be a man who follows his conscience and

Show More

be a good king?...Sazed: "It is his right to follow his conscience, then trust in providence to fill in the holes caused by the conflict between morality and logic."
(Elend's conscience governs a pivotal event in Book 3)
p. 422, Sazed: "Odds are irrelevant when a foretelling is involved."...Tindwyl: "This is not a matter of soothsaying, but of research."
p. 426, Tindwyl: "No teenage girl is stable. Some are just better at hiding it than others."...(on how Elend and Vin fit together despite their differences) Sazed: "The wise man then sees that both lock and key were created for the same purpose."
p. 434, on the possible futility of the revolution, Sazed: "If the skaa are ever to take rule of themselves, there will need to be sacrifices they can look to for motivation."
p. 456, on Kelsier, Vin: "I always focus on the wrong things ... it wasn't his ability to fight that made him great -- it wasn't his harshness or his brutality, or even his strength or his instincts...It was his ability to trust...It was the way he made good people into better people, the way he inspired them.. His crew worked because he had confidence in them --- because he respected them. And, in return, they respected each other. Men ... became heroes because Kelsier had faith in them."

Show Less

Too long. It's actually quite an enjoyable book, especially towards then end, but the protracted middle section seriously impairs it.

A direct continuation from Mistborn, the story picks up 1 year later. Eland Venture with his mistborn mistress Vin and crew of thieves are still in charge of the

Show More

city. However with his father's army converging on the city Eland finds that his democratic Assembly isn't that interested in listening to his ideas. A protracted siege ensues, which is dull. And a lot of characters moan and suffer angst over fairly trivial matters, for a long time. Eventually though events pick up, doubts are resolved, decisions made, actions taken and the plot picks up again.

I liked the overall thrust of the plot. the misdirection was very well done, with several twists that few readers are likely to guess. The various fights Vin manages to get into are as well handled as in Mistborn, gravity and physical forces are well coped with, and the Allomantic powers remain impressive. However the ferrochemic powers aren't dealt with as well. Especially the assignation of power to metal which seems random when compared to allochemy. The other characters in the thieving crew get very short shift, becoming drab and without depth in comparison to the sparkle they had in Mistborn. There are frequent jumps in character voice which is annoying, especially when it turns to one of the 'bad guys' and has them explain their actions unbeknownst to the heroes.

Well of ascension remains very confused in many places - part of this is the deliberate doubting nature of the plot, but for far too long the reader is left in limbo unknowing who to believe, and the resolutions unfortunately don't resolve all of this. There remains much that was unexplained - the kandra's behaviour upon termination of their Contract was a particularly grating area.

Eland's political theorising, and Sazeed's social commentary on religion are interesting. I generally like novels that attempt to be deeper than mere storytelling. Many thoughtful points are raised, even if the answers are left for the reader to determine. However I'm not sure that Well of Ascension is the right place for them. Mistborn was a fast fun filled fantasy, and this the sequel isn't. The very different pacing and character styles make it profoundly different type of book. Which isn't always ideal for a sequel. Overall I think this was mostly in need of much heavier editing. All the ideas are good, and probably should all be present - but a lot of verbiage could be cut to make a sharper, faster and more impacting story.

It hasn't inspired me to rush out for the last in the trilogy although I'll probably read it at some point.

..............................................................
If you wish to discuss this review I have a thread in review discussions

Show Less

The second novel in a trilogy is a tricky thing. Final resolution won't come until the third novel and most of the fun character development happened in the previous novel, when we first met all of the main characters. At worst, then, a second novel is undeveloped and unresolved.

Happily, readers of

Show More

The Well of Ascension will find that Sanderson mostly avoids these two traps of second novels. It's no big spoiler to say that this book starts with a crisis and ends with a crisis, but the first crisis is basically resolved by the end, even if larger crises unfold in the meantime. And there's no skimping on character development, either. Vin and Elend get a lot of stage time as they try to sort out their relationship issues in the middle of a political crisis, but other supporting characters from the first book also get a chance to grow as they try to cope with the way their world has changed. Highly recommended.

Show Less

Usefully for me, having read the first book in the series many months ago there was a synopsis of the first book in the back of the book (unfortunately I didn't find it until I was several chapters in, but I muddled through). The first book saw the heroes overcome the semi-immortal bad guy who had

Show More

won many years ago, a man who had supressed religion, except the one he liked, maintained a peasant underclass and a noble upper class and had generally encouraged division and strife.

Now Elend Venture is king, but can his ideals stand up to the pressure of ruling and his father wanting to wrest the power from him. Vin is still working on controling her powers, working out what her relationship with Elend is and the two of them have to face up to two and then later a third army on their doorstep.

Lies and suspicions abound and the characters grow and twist. I enjoyed the read, Vin and Elend are characters with a lot of interesting flaws and virtues, who have to face up to problems and live with the consequences of their actions.

I am looking forward to the third book in this series.

Show Less

The second in the Misborn trilogy, we continue with Vin and her lover Elend (who is trying to be king of the city The Lord Ruler has vacated.) They, along with Kelsier's crew from the first book, must try to bring peace to a land that is suddenly in upheaval after a thousand years of repression.

Show More

Vin is coming into her own with her powers, finding out she's actually more powerful even than her now-dead teacher, and ancient prophecies may be the only way to fix the mess they've all created.

Just as slow-paced but character-deep as the first book, and unfortunately with the same issues as the first regarding the one female character in an inexplicable sea of men. I'm absolutely torn between really enjoying the story and also being up in arms about the gender problems. I just don't understand why Vin has to be alone in the world, and I wish I could turn away as she starts to fall into the same stereotype-traps as so many fiction females before her: suddenly she can't do anything without being wrapped up in fear, jealousy and angst about her boyfriend. This book basically ends with Vin asking him what to do. Not an auspicious start to book third, but I'll read it anyway because the story and the mythology are so fascinating I must continue.

Show Less

Jun10:

Continues the goodness. Actually lets a couple other female characters in.

Plot: Wow. The twist at the end was awesome. And getting there was great too.

Characters: Still love Vin. The dog was great. Nobody really stepped up to replace K, but I suppose that was the point.

Style: Still as good as

Show More

ever.

Show Less

The second book of the Mistborn trilogy. Having ended the first with the death of the main bad guy, Sanderson now switches course: our heroes have a republic, if they can keep it … which it turns out they can’t, what with the multiple armies converging on the capital city from every direction

Show More

intent on establishing a new emperor, and Elend Venture’s difficulty leading a fractious council with the power to depose him. Meanwhile, Vin is the regime’s strongest weapon, and she’s running out of atium, the metal that allows her to fight on a fair basis against other Allomancers. And there’s a strange Allomancer following her around, and maybe a creature in the Mist, and she’s beginning to think she might be the prophesied Hero of Ages who can defeat the evil threatening the world. Sanderson was definitely trying something different with a whole book on the difficulties of the aftermath of tyranny, and I also liked that Vin and Elend ended up having mirrored insecurities about their relationship that they eventually (spoiler alert) actually talked about, though I wouldn’t say that characterization was Sanderson’s strong suit. However, something that worried me a lot happened at the end, and the worrisome thing seems to be going exactly the way I feared in the third book and I also found out that Sanderson holds Orson Scott Card-like anti-gay beliefs, so I’m now depressed that I gave this guy money (and still have two books left to read on my shelf). Still a font of neat ideas, but kind of a John Birmingham-type disillusionment.

Show Less

I feel this book was better than the first (Mistborn) in the trilogy. Not often can I say that, in fact I tend to dread the second book as they tend to be light on plot and just moving you along to get all the players in the right place for the grand finale. This had that, but man does Sanderson

Show More

write a good novel doing it. So good in fact, that I didn't realize this was a typical second novel, until after I had finished this one. Vin and Eland come alive in this book and while they are not perfect (in fact often quite the opposite), I could really feel empathy for these characters. I can't wait to dive into book 3. Sanderson isn't always the easiest read, but it is so worth the effort!

Show Less

The first Mistborn was one of the finest examples of fantasy I've read. Sanderson uses familiar fantasy elements in a familiar way. But he does it so expertly that you feel like he's actually the master, and the originals were the copies. The second book continues this pattern, expanding

Show More

Sanderson's world and providing an equally enthralling, equally surprising end.

In fact, I feel like the Well of Ascension may actually be superior in many was to the first Mistborn novel. The action sequences I enjoyed in book one, are taken to a whole new level in the book two. The description is crisp, and clear and easy to picture in the mind's eye. The characterization is not so much improved as given greater depth, as the pressures of trying to keep the kingdom together, living up to the memory of Kelsier, and the looming realization that all may not be as it seems. Because Sanderson introduces a few new characters and because of the plot line involving a possible traitor, I felt like he missed the opportunity to expand some of the original characters. Characters like Dockson become background noise, almost cookie-cutter as there just isn't room for them, and keeping them at arm's length is necessary for the mystery. Still, that's a minor flaw, and I would recommend Mistborn 1 and 2 to anyone who enjoys reading. It is the pinnacle of what heroic fantasy represents. In our time, there is no greater example.

I don't have a lot to say in this review, because Mistborn speaks for itself.

Show Less

I have read a number of books by Sanderson and loved them all. I loved Warbreaker, Elantris, and the first Mistborn book. I was excited to read more about Vin and Elend, and find out about the bigger disasters that happened after they took over the city. This was a great book and a great addition

Show More

to the series.

This book starts shortly after Mistborn ended. Vin is spending time trying to keep Elend safe from assassins and Elend is trying to set up government in the city of Luthadel. Unfortunately two armies have camped outside of Luthadel and they both want Luthadel for its Atium. Elend is trying to figure out how to stave off envasion when he finds out about the threat of a third armed force. Vin is pushing herself trying to guard the city full time when she runs into another mysterious Mistborn, to add to the mystery she thinks things are changing with the Mists and that Luthadel may be facing a danger much bigger than any invading armies.

This was a really wonderful book. Sanderson has such a way with characters; they are all so lovable and human. He balances out politics, action, and characterization so well. I was really attached to the characters in this book...and there are a lot of them. I never felt like it was hard to keep them all straight and I never found the magic system and politics too confusing. It takes a great writer to craft a story this complex and still make it easy for the reader to follow.

This book was politics heavy, especially for the first two-thirds. I am not a big fan of complex prolonged politics, so I didn't like this book quite as much as the first one. That being said it is a testament to Sanderson's skill that I was still completely engaged in this story despite the fact that the first part focused almost solely on the politics surrounding Luthandel. The end of the book races by twice as fast as the first part and is packed with battle and action.

This book touches on a lot of deep issues as well such as good vs evil, democracy vs. dictatorship, morality and ethics. These are all well balanced with the other elements of the book. Sanderson makes epic fantasy more personable and I love the fact that women play large roles in his books. When I was younger I always got sick of epic fantasies that either ignored women or featured them in weak, less desirable roles. This book is about Elend and Vin in equal parts and it is wonderful to see that.

We learn a lot more about the history of some of the different races and also a lot more about Allomancy. The story ends in a great spot, tying up many of the issues presented early on while starting a big story for the third book.

Overall an absolutely excellent book. Sanderson is just such a fabulous writer; his writing is complex, easy to read, engaging, creative and absolutely engrossing. I am very excited to read the final book in the trilogy, The Hero of Ages, to see how it all plays out. If you are a fan of epic fantasy this book is for you.

Show Less

As with most trilogies, this is the weakest of the three. I found most of the plot backloaded in the book, with the beginning dealing a lot with Vin and Elend’s waffling on their relationship.

Sanderson did develop an intriguing form of magic for this series, in which the characters use metals in their bloodstreams and can become telekinetic, manipulators of emotions, and achieve super-human vision, hearing, etc. Seeing the characters use such an inventive form of magic is quite

Show More

entertaining throughout the series.

The actual characters and plot, though, were a little lacking, I though. Most of the characters are pretty two-dimensional. Each character sort of has a catch phrase that they repeat too often. The plot is a little loose, as if Sanderson wasn't entirely sure how his prophecy was going to work out in the beginning so that when the prophecy is fulfilled, the reader is still trying to make sense of everything. Also, the villain is a bit too nebulous to really cause that reaction of hatred and dread.

So, I wouldn't really recommend reading this series, although I have several friends who would wholehearted recommend them.

Show Less

I really enjoy the different take on special powers based on metals that Sanderson has developed in this world. The story is exciting and keeps moving, despite its longer length. It almost never drags or loses focus.