The Mistborn Trilogy

by Brandon Sanderson

Mistborn | 544 pgs, published 2006
The Well of Ascension | 592 pgs, published 2007
The Hero of Ages | 576 pgs, published 2008

All sorts of exclamatory words!

Why didn’t I read this series earlier?!

So, I remember a friend telling me about it a few years ago, while I was pregnant with Evan. Maybe the description wasn’t quite right; it sounded vaguely interesting, but not enough that I went out to find the book. Or that I even wrote down the title.

When Jarom started his new job, he told me one of his coworkers likes reading. I immediately told Jarom to find out what the coworker’s favorite books were. (I assumed that someone who likes to read has good taste. That turned out ok this time, but I should probably not assume things like that.) He’s a big Brandon Sanderson fan, and mentioned Mistborn. School had just ended, so I needed something to keep myself busy. (As soon as I finished the series, we started buying a house. See how badly I need to be busy?)

I read Mistborn in about a day. I sat outside while the kids napped, and I got badly sunburned. I didn’t sleep. The book was that good. I would never stay up reading a mediocre book! (Maybe?)

And then I got the second and third books as soon as possible.

Ok, let me describe these in a way that is interesting, intriguing, and not boring. First, don’t look at the book covers. I got the books on the Kindle and I thankfully didn’t see the terrible cover art. It might have scared me off. But it does let you know that these are fantasy books. Don’t worry, it’s not a big deal. Think of Pathfinder plus a dash of Howl’s Moving Castle plus Sabriel plus your other favorite fantasy book. It reminds me of something else, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. So imagine that some people can ingest small flakes of metal (of varying types) and use that to enhance certain abilities.

Wow, see? Describing it is not easy. But imagine that, only it’s SO INTERESTING. Here’s how Amazon summarizes: “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.”

A little better?

So I quickly devoured the first book, like I said. The second and third books? Possibly more amazing, particularly the second (The Well of Ascension). Everything about this series is perfectly executed. The writing is so, so fantastic, the characters are wonderful, the story – overwhelmingly good.

If you like fantasy, or if you trust my opinion, READ THESE BOOKS. Biggest recommendation I have ever given! (Except maybe for Cutting for Stone, which you absolutely must read.)

Buy the trilogy on Amazon

Life As We Knew It

by Susan Beth Pfeffer | 360 pgs, published 2006

Alert: super enjoyable book!

This is written in journal format by a teenage girl. It’s predicted that a meteor will hit the moon one evening, leaving a visible crater; it turns out that the meteor is much bigger or denser than expected, so the moon is knocked out of its usual orbit. Imagine all the effects that will have.

The writing here is really great, but what I liked most was how well thought-out the plot was. 72-hour kits and emergency preparedness, anyone?

One note. I wanted to immediately go out and tell everyone to read this book. Then I thought, maybe it’s a little different because it has a teenage girl narrating. So, you know, it has teenage girl stuff. Then I questioned why it mattered; I probably wouldn’t have had an issue with recommending a similar book narrated by a teenage boy. It turned into a dilemma and would have prompted some self-examination except I was too lazy to bother.

Buy Life As We Knew It on Amazon

The Secret of Lost Things

by Sheridan Hay | 354 pgs, published 2007

A Tasmanian girl comes to New York and works in a huge, well-known used bookstore. Her boss is an albino with failing eyesight. There’s an under-the-table attempt to sell – maybe? – an unpublished (maybe) Herman Melville manuscript. The author spent a lot of time creating unique characters, but at some point, you need an average person in your book. Right?

The narration is fine, but then there’s this scene. It’s weird. Weird is too subtle a term for it. What’s beyond “bizarre”? The narrator is so passive, and it’s never more irritating (or bizarre) than in this one scene.

If you’re really intrigued by my vague description, I guess I could understand that. I finished the book feeling slightly creeped out, and just odd. And not really like I’d read something I enjoyed.

So…I wouldn’t recommend it, because it was “meh” at best, and why waste time on books like that?

Buy The Secret of Lost Things on Amazon