The Aspiring Archivist

Mistborn is a fantasy book series by Brandon Sanderson and is likely my favorite book series. It takes place in a universe known as the Cosmere, which contains most of Sanderson’s adult fantasy series such as The Stormlight Archive, and standalones like Elantris and Warbreaker. He is known for his use of hard magic systems with fascinating rules, limitations, and intricacies that are integrated elegantly into each world. The Metallic Arts of this series are no exception. Mistborn itself takes place on a planet called Scadrial, a world where black ash rains down from the sky, filling streets and covering buildings. At night, thick mist fills the land, obscuring visibility. It is said by many of the common people, the skaa, that a man who walks out in the mists loses his soul.

            The story of the first book primarily occurs in the grand city of Luthadel at the center of the Final Empire, where the concentration of nobility, as well as poverty and crime, is at its highest. The empire is governed by the Lord Ruler, an immortal man said to be a splinter of God, and his Steel Ministry. Our protagonist, a young girl named Vin, lives on the streets and in thieving crews, recently abandoned by her brother and left surviving only by wit and her special Luck. She is approached by Kelsier, a mysterious man also known as the Survivor of Hathsin. He has the answers to questions Vin has had all her life, a crew of ordinary people with extraordinary abilities, and a ridiculous plan: rob the Lord Ruler blind, and if he can, kill him while they’re at it.