NOTE: I have not yet completed this novel, I've just read up to the end of Book I within the story. This review is ongoing. I picked up the initial Mistborn trilogy some time ago, right as the series was branching out with further timelines and histories. But, it's been sitting on my shelf collecting dust, and a bit of the covers have been, regrettably, nibbled at by mice that had wandered in during a previous winter. Most of the reason for this was that I had been completely distracted by the Game of Thrones hype, digging into the A Song of Ice and Fire series - devouring A Game of Thrones, sputtering through A Clash of Kings, and burning out after A Storm of Swords. I also bought up a few of the show's seasons, until I got frustrated with their brevity and, eventual, poor handling of the source material. Still, on the shelf sat Mistborn, until I finally got around to reading this much praised book. And, I can honestly say it was my own fault that I didn't read into it more; only paying attention to those who gave it unending praise in reviews on Amazon and Youtube. Because what nobody seems to say is that Mistborn is tough, slow, and intentionally limited. Every new or smart idea, is met with a somewhat plain or uninteresting one - at least, so far. Firstly, the concept of Allomancy is great, but the strict rules and boring ongoing explanations behind it make me feel sort of underwhelmed whenever its used. The main character, Vin, doesn't seem to particularly care about her own ability or anyone else, always simply acting like 'Oh, that person can do this' in a very passive manner. As well, the abilities Allomancy can provide seem to be coincidentally suited for the characters who need it, almost exactly tailored for a cast of thieves, scoundrels (which the cast of this book happens to be), and the 'Mistborn' class basically having the ability to use all the metals. Its cool for a bit, until you realize that there are so many rules put in place that it chokes out the possibilities of something genuinely amazing, horrific, or experimental - melange, this is not. No mixing metals, no burning too many, only certain metals work, don't burn them too long, and so on. The mystery of this weird magic is quickly thrown out the window. Weirdly, Sanderson seems to have a complete obsession with control over whats going on in this novel. Using not only strict rules on his Allomancy system to ensure things go certain ways and are useful only to certain individuals, but he also intentionally shrinks the world down into a controllable state long before it begins. Not unlike other novels with similar poor, struggling, and lower class characters - everything pretty much sucks unless you are rich. And, due to some apocalyptic event where everything was reduced to a little land where ash, mist, fog, and horrible mutants roam the night, there is little besides the lowerclass, upperclass, and slaves called Skaa - little more then a continent exists, maybe less, where people can live. Most places are considered either shiny or dead and dirty, and this grim imagery is interesting until you realize that everything is reduced to a either-or scenario. You get nothing in-between, not yet. To further illustrate my point, there is a anti-hero middle ground kind of guy trying to free them. He is decidedly trying to hide his past, pain, and intelligence behind a facade of egotism and self-assurance. But its frail and weak and predictable, you can guess the details behind his past before it happens, and just to establish him as a anti-hero, not just a misunderstood one, he kills a few guys here and there. But he isn't a bad guy, he isn't inbetween, because there is such an obvious and exact divide with everything in Mistborn that, because he isn't a antagonist, he is a protagonist. Also, there are blurbs before every chapter about the big bad guy having once been a hero and how he somehow failed. I'm half interested in seeing where that goes, I also half really am getting frustrated by the author meandering about. Because, again, he once was good, yes, but now he isn't... not in this story. So, naturally because he isn't a protagonist, he is an antagonist. That is how things just seem to go in this book, nothing seems to every manage a grey area and, when it does, its through cheap melodramatic and sorrowful reasons or excuses. Vin herself is boring and meek, probably intentionally due to her past and the mysterious circumstances behind her brother betraying her and being used as a tool for a group of thieves, but I feel like she is just too welcome to people ordering her around. She goes through the motions, from one place to another, with very little question, and sometimes it seems like it might be due to the influence of Allomancy, while sometimes it just seems like poor character design. This makes it very confusing when, say, she is being trained to use Allomancy and, for no reason, just starts mistrusting the man she's been mindlessly following around anyhow. Then, out of nowhere, decides that trust is a big part of her character. Also, for some reason a heist turns into a bid to save the slave race, Skaa, and possibly a war will... happen? My question right now: Is Vin a Mistborn or not? Nobody really says she is or treats her like one, most of the time, but suddenly its implied she is... but no one seems to care that she is some sort of rarity in the world? She can use all the powers, I know that much. So she must be. So, my impressions so far? Well, I hope it gets better. Really, I have no idea how I could read the whole series if things are like they are for the next two books, or even in the further histories of this world. But, hey, tough ideas are difficult to do exactly right at first and perhaps Sanderson has some surprises in store for me? We'll see. -L. BROOKS
0 Comments
|
ArchivesCategories
All
|