Monday, May 7, 2012

Mistborn: The Final Empire Group Read Part V

The Conclusion is upon us! At least until we tackle the second book in the series.

This week's questions were supplied by Stainless Steel Droppings, who masterminded this whole group read, so make sure to stop by his place and see what his thoughts are on the end of Book I.

With much begging and pleading from those who reign above (at my local internet repair headquarters), El Internet was returned to service this morning after roughly 36 hours of me being left to my own devices. Which mostly involved cooking and cleaning. Having risen this morning to view that tell-tale light upon the modem, joy surged through me, only to find my desktop monitor had died in the night. A second of silence please.

Luckily, this is a geek and nerd household and there is this trusty little laptop.

Without more pissing and moaning, here are the final questions.

1.  So, what do you think of Kelsier's plan now? Or his 'plan within a plan'?  How do you feel the late introduction of the kandra and how it fit into Kelsier's plan?




It was very touching to find out that Kelsier planned all along for him not to come out on top, and yet for the rebellion to continue on. At the beginning, even tho I liked Kell, I kind of felt this was about his ego, his need. His ending showed that his drive went beyond that.

2.  The final section of the book was very Vin-centric.  How do you feel about the choices she made and did you have any worries/fears about what might happen to her before everything was resolved?

OMG - there were several points where I wanted to slap her and tell her it's OK to regroup and fight another day. You don't have to get yourself killed today! But I think it held true to form - what we have seen of her stubbornness. Yeah, but I was concerned that Vin might be joining the ranks of the daft & dead sooner than anticipated.

3.  After all that we find out that the Lord Ruler wasn't the prophesied one after all.  Surprised? Had you figured it out?  What thoughts do you have about the big reveal, including how it tied into Sazed's people?

Another blogger last week (forgive my memory, can't recall who) had guessed this, and I thought it was a pretty interesting idea. So, when the reveal came I was still surprised, but it all clicked right away.


I wonder if the Terrismen will have some sort of racial grieving over all the damage the Lord ruler has done over the years and will, in some way, feel as tho they must apologize to the world.

Whatever their motivation, they will now be free to share all that stored knowledge, dance in the streets naked, and breed freely.

4.  There was some back and forth about Elend throughout the story and we finally got to see him take a greater stand.  Any predictions about what might happen in book two with Elend taking on leadership duties?

Elend had some nasty shocks, didn't he? His father leaving him to face certain doom alone, taking charge, turning himself over, going on a suicide mission to rescue Vin; the boy became a man in a few hours and did it well.

I look forward to watching his character grow in Book 2. It should be interesting to see how many of the nobles follow him, what they think of his alliance with Vin and the rebel leaders, and what happens if his father returns. I think someone might be due for a spanking and it won't be Elend.

5.  Lastly, provide a little wrap up of your experience with the book.  What do you think Sanderson's strengths are?  How does this book stack up against other fantasies you've read?

Sanderson builds a fascinating world, with rules and class norms, and holds to them throughout the book. Then, he builds an awesome plot to stick in that world, one that allows his characters to have a past and a future. My first Sanderson book was The Way of Kings, which is his latest and greatest; In reading Mistborn: TFE, I am impressed at how much of that writing skill was there all those years ago, and merely has been refined over time. 

This has been an awesome ride and reading the book for the first time as part of a group read made it more enjoyable. Thanks everyone!

Other Thoughts:
Vin kicks ass!
I wonder which, if any, of the rebel leaders will be opposed to joining forces with the nobles?
Will folks trust Marsh even tho he basically saved Vin? Can he rule the remaining Steel Inquisitors? Will he have to destroy them too?
I want to learn more about gold, the 11th metal, and atium; are there more metals for them to play with?
Where is all that atium anyway?
What was the Lord Ruler protecting the world from?
Vin kicks ass!

7 comments:

  1. I would've loved to see Elend's face when he realized that Vin was a Mistborn.

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  2. Thank you for the image of wanton street-based Terrisman fornication! :D

    I am sure Lord Venture will be back pretty damn quick now that Elend is king: that will be an interesting relationship to follow.

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  3.  Dancing naked in the street doesn't always lead to fornication, right? ;)

    Should be real interesting what Elend's father makes of the situation and hopefully Elend won't be dumb enough to allow him back into his life.

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  4.  A good punch to the nose or chin, followed by a side kick to stomach, then a knee to crotch, and a heavy booted foot to the delicate instep. Spanking may follow after that.

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  5.  Ha! His comment that 'this is the type of thing it is polite to tell to your friends' (totally paraphrased) had me laughing. She had so much at that time that she was keeping from him, being Mistborn probably wasn't on the top of the list of "Things Not To Say To Noble Friends/Acquaintances".

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  6. Lol - Vin does kick ass.  I still can't believe Kelsier planned his own death - and to such an extent that he left his crew organised to continue afterwards.
    I was kind of pleased with Vin's reaction - it was gutsy, daft, as well, but gutsy.  I always figured that she would be okay somehow.  Sazed was another thing entirely.  When he got captured I thought that was it, curtains.  Then I would have probably been annoyed for getting him killed.  But he's another one who planned ahead isn't he.
    I can't wait to see what will happen in No.2.  There's such a lot of potential and so much that we don't yet know.
    Lynn :D

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  7.  I like having lots of things left undone for the rest of the series - not having all the answers definitely makes me excited to continue the series!

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