Madeline
The Final Empire was a difficult book to get into. I almost returned the book back to Libby in the middle of reading through the story. Right when I was about to give up on the story and I decided to give it one last shot, the book picked up and then it got good. Really good. It took some Angela Duckworth Grit to start, but once I stuck with it, the enjoyment of the rest of the book paid off.
Premise of The Final Empire
There is an empire that has been around for hundreds of years ran by the Lord Ruler. The Lord Ruler is the most powerful person in the empire and overthrowing him is impossible. He has been around for longer than anyone can remember. Has put laws into place that do not always make sense. And he is rumored to be immortal.
The suppressed people of this empire is the Skaa. These are the people who are expected to work to the bone to make the Nobleman rich and keep the Skaa people down. If they have sex with anyone in the noble class, regardless of by will or force, are to be killed to insure no mixed lineage. The Skaa are a very suppressed people forced to live in poverty and filth. But Kelsier is looking to change this.
Kelsier has a plan to overthrow the Lord Ruler. He gathers a group of thieves who are on top of their game and has the skills to overthrow the Lord Ruler. Part of this plan includes Vin, a natural mistborn who was unaware of her natural born skill. A big part of the story focuses on Vin and her growth through the process to hone her skills to help the Lord Ruler. Also, a part of her teachings is to learn to be a lady to insert her into the nobel society to gather intel.
The Fantasy Mistborn World
Mistborns are the people in this story who have a natural born skill. This skill is not applied at birth but requires a traumatic moment to break them and reveal this skill. by burning the different metals the different skills of these people are then revealed. By learning how to use these metals is an important part of being as it is the only way to utilize the skills required to be a valuable and strong mistborn. These skills help with listening, guarding against others, to sooth others, and to slow down time.
Final Thoughts
If deciding to give this story a chance, also give it some time to grow. Give it the opportunity to explain how the final empire and the mistborn world works. Learn who the characters are and where they fit into the story. The ride of overthrowing the Lord Ruler will then pay off with a riveting story.
