Mistborn book 2 is underrated

[Ale the Metallic Conjurer he/him]

Hi all! It's been a long time since I posted here! My thoughts on WoA were more or less set up seven months ago.

Reading The Well of Ascension took time. Not because it was boring, but because I was preoccupied with a lot of things. But I am more than glad I took my time, because this book delivered. It wasn't perfect, and personally I would change more things here than I would for The Final Empire. But when Well of Ascension delivered, it delivered to greater heights than its predecessor. Particularly when it comes to character writing.

 

Strengths

• Vin and Elend: Sanderson did a fantastic job using this book to progress Vin and Elend not only as a couple, but as individuals. Elend ascended right up to being one of my favorite Mistborn characters. I loved seeing his struggles between being a good man, trying not to be ruthless just for the sake of staying on his throne. It's refreshing seeing a royal character not resorting to cruelty and violence to keep their power. As for Vin, she became an even better character through her relationship with TenSoon. Her journey to learn empathy and trust was easily one of my favorite things about WoA. Her relationships with TenSoon and Elend made her a deeper and more interesting character in my eyes.
• Politics: I love political drama in fiction, and it was juicy in this book. Even Straff's side of things was interesting to see. Cett's side was my favorite. His hateable personality made me smile at the same time, and I was a fan of Allrianne and her relationships. I wish I saw more of Jastes, how he built his army, and how he ended up with a decrepit body.
• Sazed and Tindwyl: These two were both amazing characters and a fascinating look into the impact of the Lord Ruler's oppression. I could sympathize with both Sazed's belief that a good heart and all religions, and Tindwyl's more cynical worldview. I miss Tindwyl already. And Sazed's role in the Sanderlanche were easily his best moments at this point, serving as fantastic examples of his love for others and the depth of Feruchemy.
• TenSoon: I could gush about TenSoon all day, but just know that the plot twist revolving around him elevated him to a new level than before.
• Breeze: Loved seeing Breeze showing compassion and care towards his friends, and it broke my heart seeing his breakdown. I hope he's okay in book 3. I appreciated that Sanderson took the care to develop his side characters further.
• The action: Even better than the action in The Final Empire. And it makes me glad to see Feruchemical combat on the pages. I was curious about that since Sazed rescued Vin in book 1.
• The siege: Phenomenal, top-class setpiece of action and emotion that words alone can't do justice. Whether it was Elend cutting down Jastes, or Sazed and Vin fighting koloss armies. Sanderson did a fantastic job with the climax.
• The mystery and ending: The Final Empire's ending had me excited and worried. But this book's ending scaredme. After reading "I am FREE" I was scared to continue reading because my brain was in shock. I'm terrified of the Well of Ascension's prisoner and I don't even know its name. The thing that terrifies me the most is Kwaan's emphasis on its subtle intelligence. Who knows what else it could have been manipulating???? Let's just say I will never trust paper again. AND MARSH!! Sazed vs Marsh is my favorite fight yet, even more than Sazed vs the koloss.

 

Weaknesses

• Zane: Zane is okay. He's one of the main cons I heard about Well of Ascension and I see why. I don't hate him, and I don't think his arc was some kind of love triangle. But I think Sanderson should've focused more on the aspect of Zane's best chapter: the voice of God in his head, which I'm assuming is the Well of Ascension's prisoner. Imo it could've given the audience something to latch onto with the character, and helped the book tie-in better with the building mystery. Also, I thought Zane's dialogue sounded like it was from an amateur YA novel and I was not a fan of that. And his death didn't leave an impact... it just happened and I moved on to the beauty of TenSoon.
• Needed more focus on the mystery: I would have loved if Sanderson put more focus on the killing mists and capabilities of the mist spirit, and the confusion behind the manipulations of the Well's prisoner. I think this could have made chapter 21-38 a tighter narrative, helping the book's reputation.

 

At the time, most of my questions stemmed from TFE and Ruin's role in the story. And I'm happy to say that the Hero of Ages beautifully answered all of them.

 

What I would change about this book: I will discuss in a separate post, unless someone asks me to do so here.

[Treamayne]

Thanks for the write-up. Glad you enjoyed it.

9 hours ago, AllomanticChainDude said:

Politics: I love political drama in fiction, and it was juicy in this book. Even Straff's side of things was interesting to see. Cett's side was my favorite. His hateable personality made me smile at the same time, and I was a fan of Allrianne and her relationships. I wish I saw more of Jastes, how he built his army, and how he ended up with a decrepit body.

Have you read Elantris yet? If not, you are in for a treat.

9 hours ago, AllomanticChainDude said:

The mystery and ending: The Final Empire's ending had me excited and worried. But this book's ending scaredme. After reading "I am FREE" I was scared to continue reading because my brain was in shock. I'm terrified of the Well of Ascension's prisoner and I don't even know its name. The thing that terrifies me the most is Kwaan's emphasis on its subtle intelligence. Who knows what else it could have been manipulating???? Let's just say I will never trust paper again.

I expect you'll love Mistborn: Secret History. Alas, it has spoilers for some Era 2 material, it's not recommended reading until after you have finished Bands of Mourning. I would further recommend that you have read Elantris before M:SH.

[alder24]

9 hours ago, AllomanticChainDude said:

Weaknesses

• Zane: Zane is okay. He's one of the main cons I heard about Well of Ascension and I see why. I don't hate him, and I don't think his arc was some kind of love triangle. But I think Sanderson should've focused more on the aspect of Zane's best chapter: the voice of God in his head, which I'm assuming is the Well of Ascension's prisoner. Imo it could've given the audience something to latch onto with the character, and helped the book tie-in better with the building mystery. Also, I thought Zane's dialogue sounded like it was from an amateur YA novel and I was not a fan of that. And his death didn't leave an impact... it just happened and I moved on to the beauty of TenSoon.
• Needed more focus on the mystery: I would have loved if Sanderson put more focus on the killing mists and capabilities of the mist spirit, and the confusion behind the manipulations of the Well's prisoner. I think this could have made chapter 21-38 a tighter narrative, helping the book's reputation.

I do agree with this, I've reread Mistborn era 1 three months ago. Zane's love triangle was definietly my least favorite part of this book. It would be better without it. While the mystery was not as focused on as it should be, there is a good reason on why - 3 armies behind your city walls, so I didn't feel that the mystery aspect was as lacking that much, it was very similar to the TFE. 

Then for me it was a bit too much politics (internal Luthadel one) and too little... something? Action? Exploration? Mystery? I don't even know. But some parts of the book drag a big too much for me. However they are integral for character development, like Elend and politics, Vin and her inner struggle, but this was likely because I was rereading the book, so I know what was going to happen, and how characters will react. Still love this book, however it's the weakest of Era 1, but not by much. The koloss assault was just epic.

[cometaryorbit]

I definitely think WoA is underrated. It's not as 'flawless' as book 1 but it does stuff that is very rarely done - especially how it's mostly about the aftermath of defeating 'the big villain', the really hard problems aren't solvable with a fight.

I don't find Zane as annoying as many (most?) readers do - or rather, I think the annoying parts are all made up for by the tower attack scene. I think that part is important. It really shows a strong contrast between Vin and Kelsier (Kelsier, IMO, would have gone on to kill Cett and his son and would not have felt guilty afterwards - much less been overwhelmed with guilt the way Vin was).

Vin's discomfort with being Heir of the Survivor is also relevant here - Kelsier wanted to be seen as this mythic figure. I think Zane's also important to get the whole concept of "why should Mistborn be bound to follow normal people as rulers" out on the page in a character's words, which is really an obvious idea in a world with hereditary superpowers, especially now that TLR is gone and the Inquisitors have mostly gone into hiding, leaving the Mistborn as the most powerful beings active. (Though Zane doesn't believe the idea fully himself - if he did, he'd either overthrow Straff and claim the throne, or just leave and set up on his own.)

Edited March 6, 2023 by cometaryorbit