Mistborn Boxed Set I: The Well of Ascension, Hero of Ages (The Mistborn Saga)

I will try to keep this as spoiler-free as possible.I was looking for a fantasy book (or trilogy) with likable female characters that were capable of doing things. This trilogy wasn't precisely that, but I liked it enough that it didn't matter. All in all I would definitely say this trilogy is worth reading. Anyone and everyone can get something out of the winding and unexpected path it takes to get to its conclusion.So, what about the female characters?While the main character (Vin) is female, almost all of the side characters of any import are males. Only Allrienne, and Tindwyll got any reasonable amount of screen time besides Vin, and even then, neither showed up until the second book. Allrienne, despite her amount of screen time, didn't really even do much of import in either of the last 2 books. A couple other female characters had minor roles (Shan, Amaranta, Beldre) with impact on the plot, but had very little screen time, and thus, were a bit more cardboard than they should've been.All in all, I felt like: 2-3 of the people in Kelsier's crew should've been women instead of men, and at least one of the two people vying for Luthadel in book 2 should've been a woman. Either OreSeur or TenSoon could've identified as female (such as their race can do) without any change to the plot, and one of the main antagonists could've been female. No female Inquisitors or Obligators that I recall seeing, and certainly none that had speaking roles or roles of any significance which means nothing would be changed by making some of them female. Almost all Allomancers were men (except Vin, Shan, Allrienne, and B...). Demoux could easily have been a woman without changing his plot at all, and to that point, I can't recall any other officers in the army being anything other than men.I will admit, I'm very glad Sanderson had the change of heart to make Vin female after writing the first chapter. But he could have gone a little farther and gender flipped some of the male supporting cast as well, since it wouldn't impact the story, but would mean a lot to the female reader base.The above was really my biggest gripe. And, while there is a bit of disappointment at what could've been, I did enjoy the story thoroughly regardless. All of the characters were fun to read about, and fit their parts well.Other Negatives:- Endless resources of metals except for Atium, which is obsessed over. I didn't necessarily want an "economics of supply and demand" story, but I feel like completely writing the limited supply of metals off as a given is going too far. Someone has to mine, process, purify, alloy, pulverize, and distribute these metals, and yet more people have to take a measure of each metal and alloy and combine them into the vials that the Allomancers carry around. This economic channel was completely glossed-over in every single book. And only occasionally was it a concern that someone ran out of metals, and then, only the metals on their person (there was always more in a crate back in camp/at home!), despite much of the main characters' time being spent under siege (or laying siege without resupply). What about potential for corrosion or rust while the metals were in storage? How many empty glass vials got thrown onto the ground over the course of 3 books?- The most flagrant abuse of this ignored metal economy was by Spook in book 3 -- how much metal was consumed daily for him to be able to flare Tin constantly (for months?)? Flaring is a much more accelerated form of metal consumption than burning, as evidenced by Vin flaring Pewter for hours to run long distances. Plus, Spook was alone in a city that he (and Elend) definitely did not control, with no resources (in terms of money or Allies) to support him. There was no way he could've had this huge of a supply of Tin without someone (bad) noticing, or Elend becoming suspicious at the amount of Tin he was using, or unless Tin was utterly dirt cheap.- Mention in book 1 of the metals being potentially poisonous if left in the stomach unburned for long periods of time; however, nothing is ever done with this mechanic. It is never mentioned how Kelsier or Vin or anyone gets rid of their metals at night like is implied must be done to keep them from being poisoned. Aluminum, the metal which burns up all remaining metals in an Allomancer's stomach, was supposed to be something only the Inquisitors knew about, and regular Mistlings couldn't burn it besides (unless they were an Aluminum Misting), even though they also could suffer the potential poisonous effects of their metals.- Sazed's emo-ness in book 3 got old after a while. I understand the point of it, but I felt it was beat to death.- Straff Venture was a caricature of a villain, and was much less interesting than the Lord Ruler or Yomen (or, to a lesser degree, Quellion).- Zane's role in book 2 makes no sense until you read book 3, which makes book 2 seem much weaker (and more confusing) while reading it.- Penrod seemed really underused in the books given his position of seniority/authority. He really felt like a character of author convenience, rather than an actual human with hopes and dreams and desires. Which is contrasted against so many other good, well-thought-out characters.- In some instances, the books went too far with the main characters barking up the wrong tree. A lot of time was spent on a misdirection and then when you discover it was a misdirection, you feel like you've wasted half a book reading about something that didn't matter.Positives:- Vin is a refreshing female lead character. She is unparalleled in skill, in physical prowess, despite being small of stature. Generally speaking, we don't end up in victim-like situations with Vin that couldn't just as easily have happened to a male in her place as protagonist. She doesn't hesitate to do what needs to be done, killing or otherwise. She doesn't pine all that much for Elend, and her estrangement from Elend doesn't cripple her in any way in book 1.- Not a lot of time is spent on romance in general. I like a good romance, sure, but this trilogy didn't need it, and I'm glad it was covered quickly (for what characters that had it) and without much fanfare.- Sazed was a breath of fresh air. Everything about his character was entertaining (except the Emo).- The magic system is refreshingly different. I like the notion of a clearly consumable resource that produces magical effects. It gives a different dynamic to the struggle of the powerful (magical) people in the setting compared to others.- I appreciate all the work that went into the setting, making it different than just "yet another medieval earth with elves" and the effort that went into tying the reasons for the setting being the way it is into the main storyline throughout the trilogy- Yomen in particular was an excellent antagonist in book 3. After a fashion, you could sympathize with him after so long of never expecting to be able to.- TenSoon's race and culture was nice and interesting, and I really enjoyed the chapters told from his perspective.- Marsh's final contribution in book 3 we knew was coming down the pipes for a long time, and it ended up being a very butterfly-effect sort of "last hurrah" for his character. The form it took was totally unexpected, but made total sense, and he would truly be the only character who could ever have known that this particular thing was what was needed to help push Vin back on the right track.- The finale in book 3 was great, and lived up to the personality of every single character involved in it -- Elend defended the people to the very end, Vin got to murderface someone who thought he was unkillable, and Sazed got to put his super nerd-itry to epic use.

The Mistborn Trilogy TPB Boxed Set is a stunning addition to any bookshelf. This set includes the complete Mistborn saga: Mistborn, The Well of Ascension, and The Hero of Ages. Each book is beautifully bound, with high-quality paper and a sleek design that makes them a joy to read and display.Brandon Sanderson's world-building is exceptional, creating a rich and immersive universe filled with complex characters and intricate magic systems. The story follows Vin, a young street urchin who discovers she has powerful abilities, and her journey through a world ruled by the immortal Lord Ruler. The trilogy is filled with twists and turns that keep readers engaged from start to finish.And it has EXCELLENT flop!Whether you're a long-time fan of fantasy literature or new to the genre, this boxed set is a must-have. It's not just a collection of books; it's an experience that brings the world of Mistborn to life in your hands.

Brandon Sanderson is the best author of all time. Every book I have read from him has been amazing and the Mistborn series is no exception. This is my second time reading it and it was even better this time around as you pick up more of the nuances in the story. His ability to make you fall in love with characters is unbelievable, they become part of your family. You laugh, you cry and you hate for it to end!

EDIT (03/16/2014): Upon re-reading these first three books of the "Mistborn" series (almost 5 years from my first reading), I'm updating my ratings just a bit. In general, I'm now happy with the depth of the characterizations: the characters now seem properly developed for their roles in the books. As they take on larger roles, Sanderson develops them more. On the other side of the ledger, I still feel that all three books are too drawn out and padded. This is especially obvious with these first three novels contained in the one omnibus. On a more specific note, if I just accept the fact that the second book in the series is about internal developments instead of external ones, then I'm happier with its focus. So, I'm increasing my ratings for the first and second books by 1/2 star each. That means "The Final Empire is now 4 stars out of 5, "The Well of Ascension" is now 3-1/2 stars out of 5, and "The Hero of Ages" is still at 3 stars out of 5. That leaves me with an average rating of 3-1/2 stars. Since I enjoyed the books enough to read them again, I'm rounding that up to a Very Good 4 stars out of 5 for "The Mistborn Trilogy" as a whole. The rest of my original comments, below, still stand.___ ORIGINAL REVIEW ___This book, "The Mistborn Trilogy" is a compilation of the first three books of the Mistborn series. Regarding those first three books as a whole, it would have been much better if they had been written 1) as one volume of six or seven hundred pages (similarly to the Very Good Elantris or the Excellent Warbreaker (Tor Fantasy)) instead of as a trilogy at around 1,800 pages, 2) with better character development and some plausible method of actually producing those characters within the framework of the described society, and 3) with less of the repetitive soul-searching, angst, and political minutia. I've included more detail in my reviews of the individual books, below. But, overall, I rate this trilogy at the same as each of the underlying books: An OK 3 stars out of 5. Note that I mentioned 1,800 pages, above. That's what I got by adding up the pages in the dead-tree versions of the individual books I read many years ago. The product page for this current trilogy lists 1,000 pages. Yet, my Kindle claims about 2,800 pages. Anyway, my reviews of the individual books follow:- "The Final Empire" is the first book in Brandon Sanderson's "Mistborn" series (and his second published novel). Similar to the other two of Sanderson's books I've read ("Elantris" and "Warbreaker"), the world, the magic system, and the idea, itself, are amazing. Unfortunately, there's one area where "The Final Empire" is a bit lacking: the characterizations. The two main characters (Vin and Kelsier) are fairly decently fleshed-out. But, the remaining characters are left almost entirely undeveloped. Also, in the society Sanderson has built, I can't see how ANY of these characters could even exist: with no education or other social support structure, they're ALL, somehow, fully capable of blending in and socializing with the upper crust. This is especially obvious with Vin. She's only in her mid-teens, has specifically received absolutely no education, and has been living as a thief without even parental upbringing (though her brother did try beating some behavior patterns into her) since she was about five. Yet, with a couple of weeks of tutoring, she's able to pass herself off at, essentially, royal balls. Even Henry Higgins required several months to do something similar. Regardless of the problems with characterizations, I did find the book interesting to read and would have liked to have given it an additional half star. But, Amazon doesn't have that ability. So, I'm rating it an OK 3 stars out of 5.- "The Well of Ascension" is the second in Brandon Sanderson's "Mistborn" series. Unfortunately, even though the last 175 pages of the book are very good, the first 400 pages or so are mostly a waste of paper. In a nutshell, those first 400 pages amount to the repetitive documentation of all the angst suffered by the main characters over all the armies sitting outside their walls, political problems, and "who am I" soul-searching. The thing that should have been the focus for the book (i.e., the Well of Ascension) is ignored until the end. This makes reading the book feel more like a chore than a pleasure. If Sanderson had condensed the first 400 pages down to 50 (or even 100) pages, it would have been a very good book. But, as is -- meh: the best I can rate it is an OK 3 stars out of 5.- "The Hero of Ages" is the third in Brandon Sanderson's "Mistborn" series. It pretty much exhibits the same traits as the previous two volumes (amazingly creative universe and magic system, good technical writing, not-so-great character development, and TOO MANY WORDS). So, if you liked those books, you should be pretty happy with this one. But, if you were hoping the series would get better as it progressed, well, you'll probably be disappointed. From my capitalized phrase, above, you can guess that my biggest complaint is that, just like the second book, fully the first two thirds of the book is just filler (it's a bit better than what's in the earlier book since the filler at least has some action occurring, even if it's busy work). And, once again, the last third is the very good part where everything happens. Again, if Sanderson had just condensed those first 400 pages down to 100 pages, the book would have been great. So, unfortunately, the best I can rate this book is merely an OK 3 stars out of 5.The novels currently in Sanderson's "Mistborn" series are:1, 2, and 3. Mistborn Trilogy4. The Alloy of Law: A Mistborn Novel

The character building, the world building, the quirky friendships, the magic system, all of it was mesmerizing. This trilogy was so worth the ready. I fell in love with every last one of the major characters for individual reasons and the story has been very well written. I love books with quality, and in depth storytelling.

The books arrived in fantastic condition and on time