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The Final Empire

Mistborn Book 1

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The Final Empire

By: Brandon Sanderson
Narrated by: Michael Kramer
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From number one New York Times best-selling author Brandon Sanderson, the Mistborn series is a heist story of political intrigue and magical, martial-arts action. 

For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the "Sliver of Infinity," reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler's most hellish prison. 

Kelsier "snapped" and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark. Kelsier recruited the underworld's elite, the smartest and most trustworthy allomancers, each of whom shares one of his many powers, and all of whom relish a high-stakes challenge. Only then does he reveal his ultimate dream, not just the greatest heist in history, but the downfall of the divine despot. But even with the best criminal crew ever assembled, Kel's plan looks more like the ultimate long shot, until luck brings a ragged girl named Vin into his life. 

Like him, she's a half-Skaa orphan, but she's lived a much harsher life. Vin has learned to expect betrayal from everyone she meets, and gotten it. She will have to learn to trust, if Kel is to help her master powers of which she never dreamed. 

This saga dares to ask a simple question: What if the hero of prophecy fails?

Other Tor books by Brandon Sanderson

  • The Cosmere
  • The Stormlight Archive
  • The Way of Kings
  • Words of Radiance
  • Edgedancer (Novella)
  • Oathbringer 

The Mistborn trilogy:

  • Mistborn: The Final Empire
  • The Well of Ascension
  • The Hero of Ages

Mistborn: The Wax and Wayne series:

  • Alloy of Law
  • Shadows of Self
  • Bands of Mourning
  • Collection
  • Arcanum Unbounded

Other Cosmere novels

  • Elantris
  • Warbreaker

The Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians series:

  • Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians
  • The Scrivener's Bones
  • The Knights of Crystallia
  • The Shattered Lens
  • The Dark Talent

The Rithmatist series:

  • The Rithmatist

Other books by Brandon Sanderson

  • The Reckoners
  • Steelheart
  • Firefight
  • Calamity 
©2006 Brandon Sanderson (P)2009 Macmillan Audio

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Featured Article: The Best Brandon Sanderson Audiobooks


Brandon Sanderson is one of the best-known and most popular fantasy authors working today. If you're entering his wonderfully magical worlds for the first time, it can be daunting. Never fear! This guide will walk you through the best Brandon Sanderson audiobooks, from his most well-known series to his lesser-known (but equally excellent) standalone novels. So buckle up and get ready for days (yes, literally, days!) of amazing listening.

Featured Article The Best Brandon Sanderson Audiobooks
Innovative Magic System • Compelling Heist Narrative • Complex Protagonists • Unexpected Plot Twists • Rich World-building

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I started the Mistborn series because I read the Stormlight Archives by Sanderson and wanted more epic fantasy. I was a bit skeptical at first because there were so many similarities between styles and even character names between the two-book series.

The Mistborn Trilogy being a predecessor to Stormlight, I thought I might be disappointed… I was wrong.

It's easy to see why Robert Jordan picked Brandon Sanderson to finish his Wheel of Time series. Although I noticed some distinct similarities in characters between Mistborn and Elantris (another great listen by Sanderson), he has so much imagination in how to make a world unique.

This story is not just another dwarves/elves/orcs story line and magic doesn't just "exist". There's a thought process behind where it comes from and how to use it and the dangers and consequences of doing so. I'm already about halfway through the next book in the series, The Well of Ascension, and it's fun to see how Sanderson left threads for the series to follow yet at the end of Mistborn, there didn't feel like there was anything unfinished.

One remarkable thing about this series is how well the history, politics and overall backdrop of this story is explained. Never once was I bored about learning new things about this fascinating, desolate world.

Also unique is that the protagonist of the book is a woman, and Sanderson does a great job of portraying her realistically. Even though she gains enormous power over the course of the narrative, the author does not forget her origins, and her origins continue to define how she reacts to her circumstances throughout the book. In fact, all of the characters, even the minor ones, display realistic motivations for their actions, and come across as very real.

As for Kramer-
Michael Kramer, once again, did an amazing job with the narration. I'm amazed at how he manages to create a voice, tone, and referent emotion for each character. He really brings the characters to life and adds an immeasurable depth the story. He is an incredible performer and his narration here is “still” flawless.

For those familiar with A Game of Thrones (George R.R. Martin) and Wheel of Time (Robert Jordan), Sanderson's style fits comfortably between these two tomes. His story is not as "gritty" and "real" as Martin's series and his story is not as fantastic as Jordan's series. The idea behind the magic system is well-thought out an the characters are easy to like.

My “only” gripe is that I found the writing to be a bit heavy handed at times. For instance, I felt there was a lot of repetition that reminds the reader over & over again about the same character points - ex. I found myself often thinking things like "okay okay x has had a hard life, she doesn't trust easily, alright I get it I get it." It's consequently very easy to read & follow; I think I'd just prefer a style that's a bit more subtle. I think this issue also led me to dislike one of the main characters (Vin) more than I otherwise would have - I found myself more often feeling impatient rather than sympathizing with her when hearing narration about her doubts, fears, etc.

2nd to the Storm-light Archives.....

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I am writing this after having finished the entire trilogy. While this was an incredible book and stands alone just fine on its own, I wanted to reserve judgement on each book till I finished the trilogy in order to put each one into perspective. This was my first Bandon Sanderson book and I loved it. At first, it was challenging to get into the whole concept of Allomancy but I eventually did and appreciated every aspect of this masterpiece. The books moved quickly, the story is rich in its treatments of many aspects personal character, politics, government, philosophy and religion. And each character is fully developed to the point where we probably care about all of them including some of the bad ones. The world created by Brandon Sanderson and stunningly narrated by Michael Kramer is not like any one I or probably any of us could have possibly imagined. As long as this trilogy was, I am so sorry to have it finally end.

Outstanding

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The characters are interesting, the plot is pretty cool. I love Sazid (sp?) and Ham. The magic system is unique and plausible. The ending is exciting and I loved how he pulled all the pieces together.

What's the problem, then? Sanderson desperately needs a thesaurus. I feel like a shell-shocked victim, I twitch whenever I hear the word "paused." Characters pause on average four or five times a conversation. Another reviewer suggests making a drinking game out of it - I don't recommend that. You'd die of alcohol poisoning. Oh, and "crystalline," that one got me, too. Everything that even remotely relates to anything mineral is "crystalline."

Considering how long the book is, I should know and love everyone in it, but the prose is long and slow with the result that I barely got to know most of the characters. Another reviewer compared them to David Eddings' and that is apt, except that Eddings' characters are more fun.

The story takes place in one small geographical area, giving me no sense of "world" beyond the fact that Luthadel is kind of depressing and ugly.

Exposition re: the magic system. Oh God, the info-dump. Find a way to work it into the story! Show, don't tell! The best part is Vin's initial misunderstanding about her own powers, calling them "luck" and using them instinctively. That was cool. Then Kelsier came along and drew up a spreadsheet.

Action sequences are hit-or-miss. Some, like Vin's desperate flight across the spires of the palace, are suspenseful and vivid. Others are rote descriptions of metal objects flying through the air, with many stops to describe the physics involved.

I'd have given it only 3 stars, except then the ending was just that awesome. If you can tolerate the kudgy prose, and you have a long attention span, then you should enjoy the book. I personally don't regret buying it at all, but I don't think I'll get the next 2 books for a while. Maybe after a break I will enjoy it more and not be bothered by the stylistic problems.

Great story, hampered by bad execution

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I might as well just quit saying "Usually I don't like this type of Book, being more of a Military Sci-Fi Fan"... because I have LOVED everything by Sanderson that I've listened to so far, and I just gave the first book in his "Mistborn" Series a Five Star Rating Across the Board! I'm TOUGH to get a "5" out of for ANY of the rating categories, but "5's Across the Board"? Almost unheard of!

I LOVE the new "Concepts" and the new "World" he's thought up... The new "Powers", and the how the main characters, while "Special", have typical Human weaknesses and emotions... I like how things don't "Always" just "flow smoothly" as the Characters planned, but WITHOUT the Obvious (and irritating) stumbling blocks tossed in front of them "Just because the author thought 'it's time for the characters to run into some of the routine misfortunes'"...

I liked this "Fantasy" book so much, I went ahead bought Books 2 AND 3! These books run from 20+ Hours to 30+ Hours each, so that's a HUGE commitment in Listening time alone!

I JUST started Book 2 in the series, and I'm a Fan! Well Done!

I just gave a book 5 Stars!

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Briefly, I (like others) wanted to know more about the author. The world evoked here - in the best tradition of speculative fiction - is wide-open but we rapidly get a sense of the time and place covered in this story. There is more of the history of this world to be explored and explained. There are few 'good guys' here which is often a problem for me as a reader but the characters are revealed in such a way that we feel that we understand them almost right away. I enjoyed the readers' work in keeping the cast-members distinct and recognizable. If I have a complaint it is with a couple of fight scenes - it could be just me - but, I had to replay the scenes at least twice to understand what had occurred. I am happy with the book and very glad to see that there is a sequel!

Engrossing and filled with surprises

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