The Well of Ascension (Mistborn #2) – Brandon Sanderson

Title: The Well of Ascension (Mistborn #2) by Brandon Sanderson
Publishing Info: August 1, 2007 by Macmillan
Source: Amazon, Audible
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Find it on the web: Buy from Amazon // GoodreadsDate Completed: October 9, 2014
Related Posts: Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn #1), The Hero of Ages (Mistborn #3), The Alloy of Law (Mistborn #4), Legion (Legion #1) & Legion: Skin Deep (Legion #2), , The Emperor's Soul, The Eleventh Metal (Mistborn #0.5), , Firstborn, Shadows of Self (Mistborn #5), The Bands of Mourning (Mistborn #6), Calamity (The Reckoners #3), , Perfect State, Mistborn: Secret History (Mistborn #3.5), Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell, Elantris, The Rithmatist (Rithmatist #1), Warbreaker (Warbreaker #1), The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive #1), Snapshot, Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive #2), Edgedancer (The Stormlight Archive #2.5), Oathbringer (The Stormlight Archive #3)

The impossible has happened. The Lord Ruler is dead has been vanquished. But so too is Kelsier the man who masterminded the triumph. The awesome task of rebuilding the world has been left to his protege Vin; a one-time street urchin, now the most powerful Mistborn in the land. Worryingly for her Vin has become the focus of a new religion, a development that leaves her intensely uneasy. More worryingly still the mists have become unpredictable since the Lord Ruler died and a strange vaprous entity is stalking Vin. As the siege of Luthadel intensifies the ancient legend of the Well of Ascension offers the only glimmer of hope. But no-one knows where it is or what it can do...

** No spoilers for THE WELL OF ASCENSION but there are DEFINITE spoilers if you haven’t read MISTBORN yet so readers beware! ** 

Since starting and finishing MISTBORN, I pretty much immediately knew I needed to dive into the rest of the series. I actually ended up waiting maybe a month between books but honestly, that’s less time than I usually spend between books in a series! (And let’s not gloss over the fact that I immediately read the last book in the trilogy and the first book in the companion series (technically #4 in the overall series but set 300 years in the future) because I just couldn’t. stop. reading.)

THE WELL OF ASCENSION was riveting. With this sequel taking place a year after the ending of MISTBORN, it’s an understatement to say that these characters have already gone through a lot by the time the story line picks up with them again at the beginning of THE WELL OF ASCENSION. The defeat of the Lord Ruler has changed everyone and everything. People’s hearts have been lifted and smashed all at the same time. Kelsier’s mission is still playing out according to plan, but that also doesn’t mean that everything is peaches and cream.  Oh, no. Vin and Elend quickly learn that there are more dangers lurking around the corner and with both of these main characters in the spotlight, the stakes are MUCH higher (which obviously caused me even MORE heart palpitations after everything that happened in MISTBORN).

I really loved how everything just kept developing in this book. The characters I already had grown to love grew even more complex, both in a sense of self along and the increasing complexity of their own roles within Luthadel and beyond. I already knew a lot about Vin but THE WELL OF ASCENSION reveals more of her background, her motives, and her passion. I loved watching her grow from the scared girl we first met in MISTBORN to this confident warrior and passionate partner who is finally learning how to trust. I think the biggest character development that I noticed was in Elend. Yes, I loved him in MISTBORN but he becomes much more of a focus and main character in THE WELL OF ASCENSION, getting more intricately involved in the plot of the entire series as well as forming stronger relationships with the other characters. I loved seeing more of him in this book.
The secondary characters were also incredible. From seeing more of Kelsier’s crew to getting to know new characters like Zane, Tindwyl, and Allrianne — the development of every character and how they fit into the plot is just amazing. Each one really enhances the scene that they’re in and they all bring something extremely important to the story line.

In true Sanderson fashion (I mean, from what I know of these two books…), I went from excited to suspicious to curious to horrified to amazed. (Then back to horrified.) The ending of these books… I mean, honestly. Each time, I’m absolutely floored, but undoubtedly impressed! I absolutely loved THE WELL OF ASCENSION (no matter how much it played with my emotions) and immediately had to read the last book in the trilogy, THE HERO OF AGES to see how it all wrapped up. These books made me an instant Sanderson fan and I just inhaled the series!

“The View from Goodreads” is a new featured section in my reviews that I decided to incorporate! I tend to update my Goodreads status a LOT when I read — reactions, feelings, notes — so I thought it would be fun to share the sort of “reading process”! All status updates are spoiler-free (no specific plot points will be revealed) but will contain reactions to certain pages and/or characters!

Vin // Character Obsessions: Allomancy, the Watcher, spies, Elend, the Hero of Ages.
Vin grew to be one of my all-time favorite heroines in this book. She reminded me a lot of my other favorite fantasy heroines (Celaena Sardothien, Kestrel) and yet she was very much a character of her own (obviously, since these books came out before Throne of Glass and The Winner’s Curse, etc). I love watching her grow from a scared teen into a confident young woman. Her Allomantic powers make the journey that much more fun too!
Elend // Character Obsessions: Books, government, Vin, doing what is “right”.
I really cherished getting to know more about Elend in this book and I’m so happy that he got his own viewpoint. (In fact, if memory serves me correctly, the book even started out with him.) Elend is just a genuinely GOOD person and even though he can’t fill the hole of Kelsier in Vin’s life — and really he shouldn’t since they were very different roles in her life — he tries his hardest to be the best person he can be for her… and for his nation. He really always tries to do the right thing and he’s incredibly selfless. I love what he brings to these books.

Kept Me Hooked On: Allomancy. I’m still incredibly impressed with the magic system that is Allomancy (and Feruchemy AND hemalurgy) and I love this combination of powers that Sanderson invented. It’s not like anything I’ve read before (though I’m still working on getting deeper into the whole fantasy genre) and I love that no matter what elements he adds to the book, I never really feel confused on what each metal does. The way he incorporates everything is really impressive and well narrated too.
Left Me Wanting More: Explanation at the end. I can’t say that I was really missing much of anything in this book because it was so amazing, but I did have to read a couple things a couple times at the end because it was all so “omg” that I needed a second read to comprehend. That may be partially just me because as a person who’s still somewhat new(ish) to fantasy, my mind has a harder time grasping the larger “omg” moments that involve magic systems and the history behind them (no spoilers. I mean, obviously the book ends with something big! That’s where the book leads). The ONLY thing I wished was that either there was a tiny bit more explanation of what was happening… or maybe that my brain was able to comprehend more haha!

Addiction Rating
BUY IT!

I loved MISTBORN, but this book made me obsessed. I immediately started THE HERO OF AGES afterwards because I didn’t want to put this series down! I cannot recommend it enough!

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(Click the cover to see my review!)