By Brandon Sanderson

This book kept me up until almost 5 am because I just had to finish it. Not only was it unique, it kept me guessing right up until the very end, which so few books have done, and the characters were phenomenal.  

A thousand years ago the hero that was prophesied to save the world, failed. The Lord Ruler has been an invincible force ever since, ruling over what is now a depressing, ash covered wasteland where the lowborn are servants beaten and broken into submission.    

Kelsier is my personal favorite character. He is charming, intelligent, powerful, full of life despite the horrors he has lived through. No matter what happens, he is always smiling, always plotting and very determined. After having been caught by the Lord Ruler and thrown into the pits that no man has ever survived he "snaps" discovering powers he didn't know he possessed. 

Sanderson created a magic system based on metals and science, it was unlike anything I have read before. Ingesting metals and burning them gives Allomancers different abilities depending on the types of metal ingested. They can jump incredibly high, become much stronger physically, run faster, soothe other people's emotions and so on.  Determined to take down the Lord Ruler, Kelsier escapes the pits and begins to plot and set into motion a new uprising.

I loved the mix of diverse characters in this book. Vin is a young girl raised on the streets by her abusive brother who beat her but also taught her how to survive. She discovers she has powers of her own but has to learn to use them. Her along with a cast of other thieves and con artist who are masters of their own powers come together to help Kelsier overthrow the Lord Ruler. 

"There is always another secret." -Kelsier

The Lord Ruler himself doesn't even make an appearance for most of the book and when he finally does, he certainly isn't what I was expecting at all! There were so many surprises and twists and turns especially towards the end this book. 

Vin was an amazing character and watching her become powerful and learn to trust and become her own person was such a satisfying journey. She meets Elend, a young nobleman, who pretends to have more interest in his books than her. I love their relationship! I was pretty sure I knew the direction his character was going to take but once again I was pleasantly surprised.

I am so excited to see where this series will go. If the next books are as good as Mistborn, I'm pretty sure this series will be added to my list of all time favorites. I highly, highly recommend reading it!

   

Great Read!