Book Review: The Well Of Ascension

The Well of Ascension is the second book in Brandon Sanderson’s breakout Mistborn series.

I’ve tried to keep spoilers to a minimum here, but we warned!

In Book #2, many of our characters learn that power is bittersweet.  Vin, a street-urchin turned unlikely leader of the revolution, is tasked with the job of pulling together humanity in the face of social upheaval.  As social order breaks down, the heroes face more foes, both from within and without.

The characters in this series are forced to learn to deal with a world without a god.  Not just a god, but a god they willingly destroyed.  As the characters struggle to come to grips with their new world; the reader gets some interesting insight into how we, as people, may prefer the comfortable to the unknown, even as distasteful and even harmful as the comfortable may be.

The idealistic young aristocrat, Elend Venture, is thrown into the role of leading Luthadel, where he learns that the theories of leadership don’t always play out in real life.  Faced with this harsh reality, he is forced to learn what it means to be not just a King, but a true leader.

As Vin grows in her Allomantic powers, she begins seeing a figure in the mists.  At times, the figure provides much needed assistance, while it at other times, it hinders her progress, even going so far as to try killing her.  As armies besiege Luthadel, everyone is searching for the coveted stores of hidden Atium.  With strife closing in from every side, Vin is tempted toward ruin by yet another, new Allomancer, with the power to rival her own.  And the secret to saving humanity could be held at the Well of Ascension.

The Well of Ascension is an excellent read, and a worthy successor to Book 1.

Related posts:

1. Book Review – Mistborn: The Final Empire
2. Week In Review — November 23, 2008
3. Week In Review