Brandon Sanderson, The Well of Ascension
Nov. 13th, 2009 10:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ellarienSecond in the Mistborn series. "Okay, I'm the leader. Now what shall we do?"
The rebellion has succeeded, and the Evil Overlord is dead, but the problems for Vin, the street-urchin turned powerful Allomancer, and her beloved Elend, nobleman turned King and trying to introduce democracy to a city that's lived under the dictatorship of the Evil Overlord for a millennium, are only just beginning, and there are still plenty of unanswered questions about how the world got into this mess in the first place.Before long, the city is under siege from multiple armies, and the sinister mists are thickening and getting more dangerous. Elend's relaxed leadership style isn't working out, which gives rise to some interesting -- if slightly fourth-wall-wobbling -- discussions and dilemmas. Unfortunately, the instructor who takes it on herself to teach him to stand up straight and dress the part is strongly reminiscent of Eddings' Polgara, and between that and the general level of banter the whole thing was giving me strong Belgariad flashbacks, at least in the middle. It improves after that, and ends with a fairly horrifying twist that sets up yet more problems for the final volume.
I'm still not in love with Sanderson's prose or dialog, but the story moves along smartly, and the characters are engaging enough. I probably won't be getting to the final volume for a month or too, though.
The rebellion has succeeded, and the Evil Overlord is dead, but the problems for Vin, the street-urchin turned powerful Allomancer, and her beloved Elend, nobleman turned King and trying to introduce democracy to a city that's lived under the dictatorship of the Evil Overlord for a millennium, are only just beginning, and there are still plenty of unanswered questions about how the world got into this mess in the first place.Before long, the city is under siege from multiple armies, and the sinister mists are thickening and getting more dangerous. Elend's relaxed leadership style isn't working out, which gives rise to some interesting -- if slightly fourth-wall-wobbling -- discussions and dilemmas. Unfortunately, the instructor who takes it on herself to teach him to stand up straight and dress the part is strongly reminiscent of Eddings' Polgara, and between that and the general level of banter the whole thing was giving me strong Belgariad flashbacks, at least in the middle. It improves after that, and ends with a fairly horrifying twist that sets up yet more problems for the final volume.
I'm still not in love with Sanderson's prose or dialog, but the story moves along smartly, and the characters are engaging enough. I probably won't be getting to the final volume for a month or too, though.