The Final Empire

Mistborn Book 1

By: Brandon Sanderson

Narrated by: Michael Kramer

Length: 24 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

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?

Other Tor books by Brandon Sanderson

• The Cosmere
• The Stormlight Archive
• The Way of Kings
• Words of Radiance
• Edgedancer (Novella)
• Oathbringer

The Mistborn trilogy:

• Mistborn: The Final Empire
• The Well of Ascension
• The Hero of Ages

Mistborn: The Wax and Wayne series:

• Alloy of Law
• Shadows of Self
• Bands of Mourning
• Collection
• Arcanum Unbounded

Other Cosmere novels

• Elantris
• Warbreaker

The Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians series:

• Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians
• The Scrivener's Bones
• The Knights of Crystallia
• The Shattered Lens
• The Dark Talent

The Rithmatist series:

• The Rithmatist

Other books by Brandon Sanderson

• The Reckoners
• Steelheart
• Firefight
• Calamity

©2006 Brandon Sanderson (P)2009 Macmillan Audio

Utterly Fascinating Story

If you could sum up The Final Empire in three words, what would they be?

Utterly fascinating story!

What other book might you compare The Final Empire to and why?

There really are no other books that I've read to compare this too. It has a well thought out magic system in a tyrant controlled setting.

What about Michael Kramer’s performance did you like?

Distinct character voices.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes... I usually listen to audio books most while taking a walk after work. I constantly found myself taking a different route so my walk would last longer.

Amazing

I can't remember the last time I read a book that was this hard to put down, or in this case, stop listening. I'm looking forward to the rest of the story...

story that needs a better director

This story is great but it would've been better if the director had used his narrator correctly. in the beginning the narrator is monotone and emotionally flat. while it never gets like a normal narration it does towards the middle of the book have a little more emotion in The Voice. the story was good enough that I kept listening despite the annoying narration.

Good fantasy story and characters

Liked the story, but could have done more character development. But more character development would have made it longer which might have been a bad thing. Loved it but his later books are better.

Great book

What did you love best about The Final Empire?

The author kept yu interested all the way thru and made yu want to continue reading the series

What other book might you compare The Final Empire to and why?

It reminded me of the wheels of time series.

Any additional comments?

A GREAT READ...

Highly Recommended

I was very impressed with this book. One of the fastest audiobooks I have powered through so far. The narration was spot on. Michael clearly distinguished each character heightening the performance drastically.

Can't wait to listen to the text 2 books!

Great narration for a great story!

I have always loved Brandon Sanderson's books, and revisiting this novel in the form of an audiobook was a great experience. I was very impressed with the narration and loved hearing the different voices the narrator came up with for each character. I highly recommend!

Great story and enjoyable characters

I love this writer! His characters excel at sarcasm and intrigue. Lots of fun twists and turns to keep you going! Many late nights make the book fly by!

first Sanderson won't bey last

never been a fantasy reader...really liked this story and the reader was great. listened at 1.20 speed and it was just right for me

Not a match for Michael Kramer

Any additional comments?

This story is about a eccentric female which the narrator, Michael Kramer, was simply not a good match for her character. While he flawlessly performed in the storm-light archives books, he has a rather grim voice that i'm not sure really fits the series. See other reviews for regards to the story, it certainly was rich and entertaining though it didn't feel nearly as captivating as some of Brandon's other works. Would certainly recommend to females though who might be interested in fantasy. Males such as myself might find the balls, dress obsession, and dancing a tad bit of a bore but thankfully there were plenty of other aspects to the story to make it still enjoyable.