Once, a hero arose to save the world. A young man with a mysterious heritage courageously challenged the darkness that strangled the land.

He failed.

For a thousand years since, the world has been a wasteland of ash and mist ruled by the immortal emperor known as the Lord Ruler. Every revolt has failed miserably.

Yet somehow, hope survives. Hope that dares to dream of ending the empire and even the Lord Ruler himself. A new kind of uprising is being planned, one built around the ultimate caper, one that depends on the cunning of a brilliant criminal mastermind and the determination of an unlikely heroine, a street urchin who must learn to master Allomancy, the power of a Mistborn.

I really enjoyed Mistborn: The Final Empire. It made me smile, laugh out loud, scream, tear out my hair, and cry rivers of tears – and yes, these are all good attributes in a novel. And yet, I’m not as crazy about it as everyone else I know. Maybe my expectations were a little too high with all the buzz around me. Maybe I was too wary about becoming yet again the odd one out. And as much as I tried to love it, somehow I felt distant. I wasn’t able to completely immerse myself in this fantastic world and really connect with the characters. I see the beauty of the novel, I see why everyone else loves it. I can write a raving review – as an onlooker. Unfortunately, for me personally, it just didn’t click (which isn’t as bad as it sounds. It just means that it didn’t have that certain something for me).

The writing in itself is excellent although it failed mesmerising me. And yet, it creates …

… a stunning setting. I’m a sucker for atmosphere and there’s nothing that gets to me more than melancholy. The Final Empire with its mists and ash rains, the red sun and the colourless landscape, and it’s packed and dirty capital city feels desolate, dark, and depressing. The atmosphere is really creeping up on you; the more you read, the more you feel the opressive touch of the Lord Ruler’s Soothing, becoming increasingly hopeless and questioning the plan – just like the characters.

… awesome, layered characters. The whole crew is adorable and don’t even get me started on Kelsier, Vin and Elend. I felt with them, enjoyed their relationships, and could relate to their feelings, actions, and decisions – well, at least most of the time. Underneath, there are so many ulterior motives and secrets let alone imminent dangers that one really understands why Vin’s so distrusting. I’d be just like her if I were in her shoes, probably even more so. Unfortunately, I wasn’t as emotionally invested in the characters, especially the secondary characters, as I wanted to be. I just felt that I didn’t have enough time to really get to know them.

… an epic story and devilish plot. Allomancy is so cool and I love how the story evolves around this central magical ability. I love that one follows Vin around and learns with her about Allomancy and the Final Empire in bits and pieces. I love the history, prophecies, and legends that play such a huge part throughout the novel. I love how new characters are introduced, each with their own agenda playing some part or another in this twisted and dangerous plan. I love Kelsier’s crazy plans and actions. I love that every time one becomes hopeful that it’s not as crazy and impossible as it seems to be, some new obstacle is thrown in their way. I love the doubts and shifting loyalties. They are playing at an extremely dangerous game and every step of the way never turns out quite how one thinks it would. Be prepared, it’s going to cursh your heart and blow your mind. At least, that’s how I felt about the first 200 and the last 150 pages. Unfortunately, I found the middle somewhat lacking. It couldn’t captivate me and although I did enjoy reading it, it was a little too slow for my taste. Granted, a lot of things had to be set up, but a little more nerve-wracking action and even more twists and turns would have been nice.

All in all, I do recommend this novel. It might not have become one of my all-time favourites but it is still a great read and most people love it to pieces.