The Well Of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson | Book Review

The impossible has been accomplished. The Lord Ruler - the man who claimed to be god incarnate and brutally ruled the world for a thousand years - has been vanquished. But Kelsier, the hero who masterminded that triumph, is dead too, and now the awesome task of building a new world has been left to his young protégé, Vin, the former street urchin who is now the most powerful Mistborn in the land, and to the idealistic young nobleman she loves.
As Kelsier's protégé and slayer of the Lord Ruler she is now venerated by a budding new religion, a distinction that makes her intensely uncomfortable. Even more worrying, the mists have begun behaving strangely since the Lord Ruler died, and seem to harbor a strange vaporous entity that haunts her.

Stopping assassins may keep Vin's Mistborn skills sharp, but it's the least of her problems. Luthadel, the largest city of the former empire, doesn't run itself, and Vin and the other members of Kelsier's crew, who lead the revolution, must learn a whole new set of practical and political skills to help. It certainly won't get easier with three armies - one of them composed of ferocious giants - now vying to conquer the city, and no sign of the Lord Ruler's hidden cache of atium, the rarest and most powerful allomantic metal.
As the siege of Luthadel tightens, an ancient legend seems to offer a glimmer of hope. But even if it really exists, no one knows where to find the Well of Ascension or what manner of power it bestows.

Warning: Minor spoilers for Mistborn, but nothing you couldn’t figure out on your own if you had more than two brain cells to rub together.

The Well Of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson is the second book in the Mistborn trilogy. You can catch up on what happened in the first book, Mistborn by clicking here. After the fall of the Final Empire, Elend must figure out how to build his new government. He begins to experience the difference between theory and realism. Vin struggles between love, trust, and use of her allomancy powers. When she meets another mistborn, her relationship with Elend is put to the taste. The gang is all here again in all their glory, continually playing off of each other.

The Well of Ascension is light on action, but heavy on political theory. Sanderson explores a constitutional monarchy, with Elend as king and a parliament. Then okay, we have the dynamics of the crew explored even further. We learn exactly how they interact without Kelsier and we see how Kelsier has changed all of them for the better. Before, each member was self-motivated and selfish and now we see how each aspires to something more, in the name of freedom. Then Sazed the Terris Keeper whom I LOVE returns in this book. He’s traveling the countryside trying to bring religion to the skaa, because in theory it seems like something they may need. However the skaa are focused on more tangible things, like surviving and eating. You know, the usual.

AND we get a closer look at the kandra, the beings who are able to absorb the body of a dead person and take on that form and perfectly imitate the mannerisms. Y’all I am team kandra now and OreSeur has a special place in my heart.

The Well Of Ascension is not quite as gripping as Mistborn, but I found it was still hard to put down. I mean, revolutions are quite appealing so of course Mistborn was more action-packed, but I do love political maneuvering, so I enjoyed The Well Of Ascension. There is a HUGE reveal at the end  that totally had me going WHAT!!

I thought picking up book two of Brandon Sanderson’s trilogy was a great choice for getting back into epic fantasy. I mean, I pretty much have two huge literature loves — Young Adult and FANTASY. However lately I tend to focus more on YA, so it’s awesome to break it up with grownups every now and then. FYI I am desperate to know what happens to Vin, Elend and the rest of the gang in The Hero Of The Ages, and hope to get to that within the first week of August.

I would have liked more female characters. Vin, the main character is female. However, there were only two side characters that were women and they read more like caricatures. There’s Allrianne who is an empty-headed noblewoman but come to find out she isn’t so silly after all. Then there’s Tindwyl, a female Terris Keeper who is wise but mean, but her tough exterior hides a painful past and a tender heart.

I did miss Kelsier A LOT in this book, but it’s awesome to see Vin grow as a character. I like that she did not stay static, but instead learned to love and trust. I loved that she learns a bit more about her powers. Also, that she is still kickass.

I absolutely am in anticipation of reading the 3rd and final book of the Mistborn trilogy– The Hero Of The Ages and will totally be reading The Alloy Of Law, since I have it in my hot little hands.

I’d recommend The Mistborn trilogy to you if you LOVE long books, enjoy Ocean’s 11, are down for a revolution, like Kvothe, and find Brent Weeks pretty cool.

Disclosure: Purchased copy.

Other Reviews of The Well Of Ascension:

Fantasy Book Critic
Book Banter
It’s All About Books

 Series Order:

Book One: Mistborn
Book Two: The Well Of Ascension
Book Three: The Hero Of The Ages

Companion Novels:

The Alloy of Law – release date 11/08/2011

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April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

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