The Well of Ascension

Mistborn Era One, #2

by Brandon Sanderson

Hardcover, 592 pages

English language

Published Nov. 3, 2007 by Tor Books.

ISBN:: 978-0-7653-1688-2
OCLC Number:: 122715367

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(24 reviews)

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 …

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.

22 editions

Ted Tschopp reviewed The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn Era One, #2)

Review of 'The Well of Ascension (Mistborn, #2)' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

A great sequel.

fjordic reviewed The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn Era One, #2)

Review of 'The Well of Ascension' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Slow until the last 25% but then it really picked up.

Orlion reviewed The Well of Ascension (Mistborn Era One, #2)

Review of 'The Well of Ascension' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This is very much a bridging book. The true meat of the story in this trilogy is clearly the first book, with the struggles against the Lord Ruler, and what I can only assume is a bigger baddie in the third book. So, why have a trilogy? Why not a duology? Is this essentially a throwaway? The fact of the matter is that, even if it is not the most intriguing part of the trilogy, The Well of Ascension is an essential part.

This book, unlike its predecessor, is mostly about politics and intrigue. It's central story is the attempt to establish a just governing system in the wake of the fall of the Final Empire. We run across Vin and get half the book from the viewpoint of Elend... yeah, THAT Elend. The politics are decent enough, but it seems like Elend's idealism is the ultimate antagonist to the establishment of a government for the people and by the people, and sometimes it seems like it may just be a means for Sanderson to drag out the plot a little.

Overall, it still works. The theme of 'survivor psychology' continues in this book, and will no doubt continue in the next one. Certain revelations change the view of previous happenings, but sometimes in a way that is very similar to a retcon. Very... similar. I like to think that it was always all just part of Sanderson's plan and that it only appears like a retcon... but, clues to this interpretation are few... I can only think of a couple from the first book such as where Kelsier found out about the Eleventh Metal.

But, a full appreciation of the story would be pointless without reading the third and final book in this trilogy, since The Well of Ascension ends on a 'cliffhanger'.