The Final Empire

Mistborn Book 1

Rating

5/5

Date Started

12/28/2023

Date Completed

1/15/2024

Five Powerful Quotes from the Book

Quote 1

“‘You always like it better when someone else does the work, Breeze,’ Ham noted.

“‘My dear friend,’ Breeze replied, ‘the entire point of life is to find ways to get others to do your work for you. Don’t you know anything about basic economics?'”

Quote 2

“‘There’s something you have to understand about Allomancy.’

“‘Another rule?’

“‘More a philosophy,’ Kelsier said. ‘It has to do with consequences.’

“Vin frowned. ‘What do you mean?’

“‘Every action we take has consequences, Vin,’ Kelsier said. ‘I’ve found that in both Allomancy and life, the person who can best judge the consequences of their actions will be the most successful.'”

Quote 3

“‘If, upon examination, you find that the Ministry’s teachings do not suit you, then I would be pleased to offer you an alternative.’

“‘What alternative?’

“Sazed smiled. ‘That depends. The right belief is like a good cloak, I think. If it fits you well, it keeps you warm and safe. The wrong fit, however, can suffocate.'”

Quote 4

“‘Vin,’ Kelsier said as they walked. ‘I want to thank you.’

“She turned to him, a tall, proud figure in a majestic mistcloak. ‘Thank me? Why?’

“‘For the things you said about Mare. I’ve been thinking a lot about that day … about her. I don’t know if your ability to see through copperclouds explains everything, but … well, given the choice, I’d rather believe that Mare didn’t betray me.’

“Vin nodded, smiling.

“He shook his head ruefully. ‘It sounds foolish, doesn’t it? As if … all these years, I’ve just been waiting for a reason to give in to self-delusion.’

“‘I don’t know,’ Vin said. ‘Once, maybe I would have thought you a fool, but … well, that’s kind of what trust is, isn’t it? A willful self-delusion? You have to shut out that voice that whispers about betrayal, and just hope that your friends aren’t going to hurt you.’

“Kelsier chuckled. ‘I don’t think you’re helping the argument any, Vin.’

“She shrugged. ‘Makes sense to me. Distrust is really the same thing – only on the other side. I can see how a person, given the choice between two assumptions, would choose to trust.'”

Quote 5

“Vin shook her head. ‘I was wrong about Kelsier. He wasn’t a good man – he was just a liar. He never had a plan for defeating the Lord Ruler.’

“‘Perhaps,’ Sazed said. ‘Or, perhaps he never had an opportunity to fulfill that plan. Perhaps we just don’t understand the plan.’

“‘You sound like you still believe in him.’ Vin turned and walked to the edge of the flat-topped roof, staring out over the quiet, shadowy city.

“‘I do, Mistress,’ Sazed said.

“‘How? How can you?’

“Sazed shook his head, walking over to stand beside her. ‘Belief isn’t simply a thing for fair times and bright days, I think. What is belief – what is faith – if you don’t continue in it after failure?’

“Vin frowned.

“‘Anyone can believe in someone, or something, that always succeeds, Mistress. But failure … ah, now, that is hard to believe in, certainly and truly. Difficult enough to have value, I think.’ …

“‘Sometimes we just have to wait long enough, Mistress,’ he said. ‘Then we find out why exactly it was that we kept believing. There is a saying that Master Kelsier was fond of.’

“‘There’s always another secret,’ Vin whispered.”

About the Book

Original Date Published

7/17/2006

The Final Empire: Mistborn Book 1 – Audiobook | Ebook | Hardcover – “From number one New York Times best-selling author Brandon Sanderson, the Mistborn series is a heist story of political intrigue and magical, martial-arts action.

“For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the ‘Sliver of Infinity,’ reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler’s most hellish prison.

“Kelsier ‘snapped’ and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark. Kelsier recruited the underworld’s elite, the smartest and most trustworthy allomancers, each of whom shares one of his many powers, and all of whom relish a high-stakes challenge. Only then does he reveal his ultimate dream, not just the greatest heist in history, but the downfall of the divine despot. But even with the best criminal crew ever assembled, Kel’s plan looks more like the ultimate long shot, until luck brings a ragged girl named Vin into his life.

“Like him, she’s a half-Skaa orphan, but she’s lived a much harsher life. Vin has learned to expect betrayal from everyone she meets, and gotten it. She will have to learn to trust, if Kel is to help her master powers of which she never dreamed.

“This saga dares to ask a simple question: What if the hero of prophecy fails?”

About the Author

Brandon Sanderson – “Brandon Sanderson was born in December 1975 in Lincoln, Nebraska. As a child Brandon enjoyed reading, but he lost interest in the types of titles often suggested for him, and by junior high he never cracked a book if he could help it. This all changed in eighth grade when an astute teacher, Mrs. Reeder, gave Brandon Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly. Brandon thoroughly enjoyed this book, and went in search of anything similar. He discovered such authors as Robert Jordan, Melanie Rawn, David Eddings, Anne McCaffrey, and Orson Scott Card. Brandon continued to be an avid reader through junior high and high school. He liked epic fantasy so much that he even tried his hand at writing some. His first attempts, he says, were dreadful.

“In 1994 Brandon enrolled at Brigham Young University as a biochemistry major. From 1995 to 1997 he took time away from his studies to serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Brandon often says that it was during this time in Seoul, Korea that he realized that he didn’t miss chemistry one bit, but he did miss writing. Upon his return to BYU, Brandon became an English major, much to the dismay of his mother, who had always hoped he would become a doctor.

“Brandon began writing in earnest, taking a job as the night desk clerk at a hotel because they allowed him to write while at work. During this era he went to school full time during the day, worked nights to pay for his schooling, and wrote as much as he could. He says it made for a rather dismal social life, but he finished seven novels during his undergraduate years. Brandon submitted many manuscripts for publication . . . and accumulated quite a pile of rejection letters. In spite of this he continued to be a dedicated writer. …

“It was in 2003, while Brandon was in the middle of a graduate program at BYU, that he got a call from editor Moshe Feder at Tor, who wanted to buy one of Brandon’s books. Brandon had submitted the manuscript a year and a half earlier, and had almost given up on hearing anything, so he was surprised and delighted to receive the offer. In May 2005 Brandon held his first published novel, Elantris, in his hands. Over the next few years, Tor also published Brandon’s Mistborn trilogy, its followup The Alloy of Law, Warbreaker, and The Way of Kings, the first in a projected ten-volume series called The Stormlight Archive. The second book in the series, Words of Radiance, was released on March 4th, 2014. Other projects continue to be in the works.”