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I recently read Mistborn prime and figured id do a review on it.

     Let me start this off by saying, I really enjoyed the book. there was so much more world-building and thought put into this book than I had expected. Brandon tried writing Mistborn Prime to be shorter than other novels he wrote before. The whole book felt kind of rushed and had pacing issues. And the characters and plot are definitely the weak point of this novel.
But the Magic, action scenes and worldbuilding really make up for it, in my opinion.

 

The Plot:

     The main character, Kathin, is the son of Ivel - a "Ward of Alondin" - who are Mistborn who work for the Empire and its people.

     The Prologue(which is available on Brandons website) begins with Kathin's parents being found and killed by Vlen, an Ex-Ward who has joined a dark Sect of Mistborn who believe they should have control of "The Valley";The area which the Empire rules. 

     Kathin, himself, is a Mistborn like his father, so after Vlen kills his parents, he decides to take Kathin and raise him as his own and train him to be a powerful Mistborn Assassin.

     Flash-forward 19-20 years and Kathin has already "accomplished" many things in his time, like assassinating the Emperor and hunting down the remaining Wards; for they were the only ones who stood a chance at stopping him.

     In the present, Kathin and two other mistborn are on a mission to kill the king of one of the many kingdoms that formed after the collapse of the Empire(reminiscent of how The Final Empire was after the death of The Lord Ruler) Only, Kathin is betrayed by one of his fellow Mistborn and barely escapes into the country side, extremely wounded.

     He ends up being found and taken in by a family who lives in a small farming village. Eventually Kathin notices that the village residents seem to be healthier than the state of their village and crops(that aren't being taken as "tributes" by the areas "king") imply.

     There turns out to be a second unknown Plator(Atium) mine nearby that some of the town residents have been mining the plator to sell to feed the town. Kathin spends his time recuperating and planning on how he's going to get revenge on the Mistborn who betrayed him and get back his position of power, as well as secure the mine for himself.

     Slowly Kathin starts to develop feelings for the family(Specifically Rosela) and the other villagers who took him in; he’s completely clueless as to why he is feeling what he's feeling because he never got anything like that from his adoptive father Vlen- who was always more of a Commander,a tutor, a teacher,etc... he needs the Plator before he can confront the Mistborn who betrayed him. He could just kill the villagers and take it like he was taught, but something is holding him back, a feeling he doesn't quite understand. So instead he agrees to teach the villagers to defend themselves in exchange for the Plator.

     Eventually Kathin realizes that there is Love and Trust and all these other things in the world(pretty cliche). the book ends with Kathin and Rosela getting married and Kathin deciding to rebuild the empire he himself had destroyed.

 

 

The Magic:

     Allomancy functions practically the same as it does in the published books and seems to be the only magic of this world besides Kandra and the Mist, which if you read the Prologue, was still a worldbuilding/magic element connected to Allomancy. Mistings were not a thing in this novel; only Mistborn existed.

     There were a couple weird abilites that this versions Mistborn had.

     The first ability being that, using their hands, Mistborn were capable of shaping and manipulating metal as if it were clay. This is much like the Surge of Cohesion in the Stormlight Archive, but its a passive effect. This allows for them to always have easy access to metals when they need them.

     The second ability is being to burn metals in their own bodies as well as someone else's body(even if they aren't an Allomancer) that person just has to ingest the metal or have it in their blood. The Mistborn then just has to touch the other person with the intent of burning the metals in them.

     Savantism was not a thing, though there was a side effect to burning metals in this version of Allomancy, though not as severe or dramatic as savantism(Hello Spook). Years of burning metals would eventually darken the Mistborns skin and leave it a almost metallic gray color that, by those who knew, could be used to identify one as a Mistborn.

     The Mist is still Connected to Mistborn/Allomancy in this version, though there are 2 types of Mist. there's the thicker Nightmist, and the thinner Dayfog. The main and only religion we see in the novel states that regular people were born/created from the Dayfog, while some Mistborn believed(as their name implies) that they were born of the Mist.
     Allomancy, it seems, when being used for bad or evil purposes attracted the Nightmist(like it does in the published books) and repelled the Dayfog(like an Allomancer who has a hemalurgic spike) but it seems that when using Allomancy for good or to save people, the user would attract the Dayfog and repell the Nightmist.

There are nine “Prime Metals" that the Mistborn use

Spoiler

Iron: Pull metals to you

Steel: Push metals away from you

Silver: Enhances senses. changed to Tin in The Final Empire

Gold: Enhances strength,speed. changed to Pewter in The Final Empire

Mercury: Perfect memory recollection. Inside your mind while burning.it looks different for everyone. For the main character, its a black hallway with hundreds of rooms on each side. in each room is a statue/memory, and when you go near or touch the statue, it will take you to that memory and you'll relive that memory as if actually there again, but watching from a different perspective.

Bronze: Communication. If two Mistborn burn the exact same alloy of bronze at the same time and hold a seperate piece of metal, their voices will be projected from the metal they are holding.

Plator: See into future. Changed to Atium in The Final Empire

Lead: If burnt in anothers body, it will rot their bones from the inside out.

Copper: If burnt in anthers body, it will temporarily paralyze them with pain

There is a "tenth" metal that isn't actually a metal, but..

Spoiler

The "tenth metal" is actually an effect of burning all nine metals in another’s body.

when done, it gives a part of your soul to the person you burnt the metals in. They’ll carry all your memories and you’ll be able to talk to them(or more specifically, the piece of your soul that’s in them)

its described as being part of their “life energy”and can be used as a one-off to heal someone much like a Returned giving away their Divine Breath.

 


My Thoughts:

     Overall, I thought this was a pretty solid book. Maybe even better than Aether Of Night(in my opinion). It had quite a few good fight scenes-including a scene with a mistwraith:huh:. The main characters casual thoughts about murdering the family that took him in were interesting, as was his complete lack of understanding of why he was developing feelings for them.

     I loved the nomenclature used, especially in the names. For example- “Vlen Korvleshor” & “Ivel/Kathin Shardesk- these are just such commanding names and it fits with the theme of the book.

     I thought Oresoor was a much better character in this book than he was in the published works. i guess a lot of people felt the same way and in one of the annotations for The Final Empire, Brandon mentions that he really had to tone down Oreseur's character because people liked him to much in this version.
     He generally wasn't afraid to state how he felt and his opinions on things. After Kathin made him turn into a dog he was kinda passive aggressive with Kathin which i found entertaining. The lifestyle/training of the Kandra was also explored a little more in the Prime, which i really liked reading as we didnt get as much of that in the published works(certain aspects anyway)

 


Transplants:

- Sebruki from Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell seems to have originated in this novel with the same name and somewhat similar story and personality

- "Anyone will betray you" is the "Primary Tenet of the Mistborn" in this novel, which is what i noticed "Reen" would whisper to Vin in The Final Empire and Hero of Ages

- Oresoor/Oreseur is the only character to make it into the published books.

- Pilevines seem to have been transplanted straight onto Roshar(mention in Rhythm of War)



Edit 2021if you dont mind the lacking plot and pretty uninteresting characters, i would definitely give this novel a read. The Worldbuilding is surprisingly well developed and the magic/fights are pretty storming great.(Brandon lifted a number of elements from fight scenes, straight from the prime and used them in either TFE or WoA)

Even over a year later and im still shocked by the level of worldbuilding in this novel. Its a pretty boring story, but i think the Worldbuilding makes up for it and think that it couldve been published with a little work.(still do think)

Edited by Eternal Khol
Typo’s galore
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On 2/21/2020 at 4:29 PM, Rask said:

Sounds really cool! I haven't found this one yet? How did you get it?

The MC deciding to build rather then destroy reminds me on Dalinar's Oath to unite instead of divide. 

you can email Brandon and ask for a copy. but with how busy he is, he probably wont get to it for the better part of a year. maybe longer.

@Rask It does remind me a lot of that Dalinar Oath, now that I think of it.

Edited by Eternal Khol
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On 2/21/2020 at 6:10 PM, Dreamer said:

I think I like it, the story of Mistborn Prime as you described it. It sounds really cool and atmospheric and different.

Any luck getting the Final Empire Prime?

You really should give it a read. I dont know if it was because so many elements were familiar from MTFE but I absolutely adored this book

I haven't gotten Final Empire Prime yet. Its at the top of my list though because the Lord Ruler is my absolute fav character and I want to see his origins.

 

Edited by Eternal Khol
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3 hours ago, Eternal Khol said:

 I would, but it never lets me do a lot of these things when Im on mobile

What device are you using? There shouldn't be this much problem with the website's functionality just because you're on mobile. The only thing that changes for me is that I can't see signatures and edit option of my own sig takes a different route. Hmm, I think you should pose a question on tech support subforum

Edited by Dreamer
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Here a sermon of the prevailing religion in the book: Alondin
   

Spoiler

 “In the beginning, the entire world was covered with fog.  In those days, when the land was young, man did not yet exist.”

     “Alondin formed man from the fog,”

     “Alondin placed his people all across the world,”

     “Only one place was forbidden of them--a solitary mountain, the highest peak in the land.  ‘This one place, you shall not visit,’ Alondin told his creations.  ‘The rest of the world is yours.’”

     “But,” Tookol said, lighting another ring of incense, “mankind is foolish and curious--and these two traits should never be mixed.  Though the entire world belonged to man, this one forbidden mountain captivated him.  The people wondered what was at its top, and told tales of the riches and wonders that must crown its peak.”

     “Finally, one man stepped forward,”

     “A mighty warrior, chief of his tribe, he was named Slorvoskar.  Slorvoskar was a foolish man and a curious man, but he was also intelligent--and those three traits are an even more dangerous combination.

     “Slorvoskar declared that he would climb the mountain and discover what was hidden at its summit.  He gathered a group of a hundred of his mightiest hunters, and they departed on their quest.  The climb was dangerous and difficult--one by one, the men froze, fell to their deaths, or were slain by horrible beasts.  Finally Slorvoskar alone approached the summit.

      “Barring his path was one final obstacle.  Just before he reached the summit, the mighty warrior found that the fog ended.  It stopped suddenly, as if it had reached a ceiling.  Confused by this strangeness, Slorvoskar passed through the fog.

     “Above, the sunlight burned so powerfully that it was blinding.  Without the fog to protect him from the sun’s terrible heat, Slorvoskar’s clothing immediately burst into flames, and his skin was scorched.  He quickly ducked down beneath the protective cover of the fog to nurse his wounds and recover from the ordeal.  His resolve was not broken, however.  When he had peaked through the fog, he had seen something at the tip of the mountain, just a short distance away.  He was even more determined to know what was hidden on that summit.”

     “Slorvoskar was not defeated,”

     “He was a cunning man.  He began to climb down the mountain, going to the graves of each of his fallen hunters and gathering their clothing.  He carried all one-hundred sets of clothing up to the top of the peak, and put them on one over another.”

     “Thus protected,”

     “Slorvoskar passed through the barrier of fog.  Once again, the sun began to burn his clothing.  However, as each set burned away, there was another one beneath to protect him.  Slorvoskar ran for the summit a short distance away, a layer of clothing burning away with each of his heartbeats.  He reached the top just as the last layer burned away.  However, what he found was not treasure.  It was a simple door.”

     “His skin burned from the sunlight,”

     “Slorvoskar needed a place to hide.  He put his hand on the strange door and pulled.”

     “From inside the door,” “came darkness.  Nightmist burst from the opening in the top of the mountain, flowing out.  Frightened, Slorvoskar ran before it, fleeing all the way to the bottom of the mountain.  The mist followed him, covering the land.  Whatever it touched, it killed, choking away the life of man and beast alike. “Realizing his mistake, Slorvoskar gathered his people and retreated before the mist.  However, no matter where they fled, the mist followed.  It pushed back the fog, destroying it along with everything else.  Eventually, only one land was left, a land surrounded by mountains on three sides and water to the south.  The final remnants of humankind crouched in this land, waiting to be destroyed as mist approached from all directions.

     “Only then did Alondin step in.”

     “‘My children,’ Alondin said.  ‘You have disobeyed, and your foolishness has brought your destruction.  Look at the darkness you have brought upon this world--all because of your foolish curiosity.

     “Slorvoskar bowed his head before his God, penitent and humble.  ‘It is my fault, my Lord,’ he said.  ‘My foolishness has brought destruction upon the world.’

     “‘True,’ Alondin agreed.  ‘But if not you, then another would have.  Creations of mine though you are, you have a will of your own, and that will encourages you toward foolishness.  Yet, it also encourages you toward bravery and cleverness.  I have rarely seen such courage or such resourcefulness as you showed climbing my mountain, my son.’ 

     “‘Therefore, in the name of your merits, I will spare you.  However, in the name of your faults, I will leave you with a reminder of the price of disobedience.  I will make the mists recede during the day, but they shall return at night, and woe be to the man caught in them.  The fog, which you have destroyed everywhere outside of this land, I will not replace.  However, I will temper the sun so that man may stand its rays.’     

     “And that is what he did,” Tookol concluded.  “This land, the only place where fog remains, became known as the Valley, the most holy and blessed land.  The Dayfog comes during day, protecting us from the sun.  The fog must recede at night, however, and give way to the Nightmist.  Go forward, sons of the fog, and be diligent.  Take remembrance of your faults, and care for those as flawed as yourselves.  Paradise lays just beyond view, and it waits for all of us.”

 

Edited by Eternal Khol
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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...

I just noticed another transplant(pun intended lol) 

 Pilevines- a vine plant that grows upwards into big towers- were transplanted from MB Prime to The Stormlight Archive(RoW)


its crazy that Brandon is still looking back at his old work(MB Prime specifically), to find ideas for his current works

Edited by Eternal Khol
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  • 2 weeks later...
On 12/27/2020 at 2:16 AM, Eternal Khol said:

I just noticed another transplant(pun intended lol) 

 Pilevines- a vine plant that grows upwards into big towers- were transplanted from MB Prime to The Stormlight Archive(RoW)


its crazy that Brandon is still looking back at his old work(MB Prime specifically), to find ideas for his current works

Huh, I don't remember seeing a plant like this in Stormlight. Do you remember where you saw this? 

Edited by Honorless
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3 hours ago, Honorless said:

Huh, I don't remember seeing a plant like this in Stormlight. Do you remember where you saw this? 

They're mentioned very briefly in the beginning of chapter 64 of RoW(spelt "pile-vine") and one mention of "pilevine fruit"(spelt without the dash) in chapter 57 of WoK

 

Rhythm of War:

"On paper, this place was the Drunmu Basin in Emul. It was a vast ocean of shivering grass and towering pile-vines."

 

Mistborn Prime:

“In the distance he could see a few tower-like pilevines, their thin stalks having wrapped around themselves countless times over the decades, creating a pillaresque mass that grew up into the sky, toward the sun."

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