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

Great story and beginning

Fantastic, even works as a stand alone novel. And, Michael Kramer does another wonderful job narrating.

Simply Wonderful!

I could not stop listening to this book- It's one of those books that you know will be great after reading just one chapter. The narration was awesome and made me binge listen :)

Great story, cool magic, weird main character

I enjoyed the story, lore, and characters. But Sanderson needs to improve writing female characters.

I really loved this story and the world it's in

The world in this book is amazing, and I love the characters. No real complaints, loved this book.

The story is amazing!

The story was amazing! The reader was tough to get used to at first, but now I love him.

exellent book

me encantó, costo al principio entender que sucedía pero genial, te lleva a vivir ese mundo

An amazing epic

Brandon Sanderson can create a story that is both fantasy and the struggle of humanity. He weaves emotions and the strength that must be gathered from within in order to find change into a live action epic of might and magic. I look forward to the next phase of the journey.

I normally call plot endings...

I started Mistborn because I read the Stormlight archives by Sanderson and wanted more epic fantasy. I was a bit skeptical at first because there were so many similarities between styles and even character names between the two book series. Mistborn being a predecessor to Stormlight, I thought I might be disappointed. I was wrong. I have a real talent for guessing endings in books before I get to them, and to some degree, I had figured out a good bit, but Sanderson threw in a few very good curve balls that I truly enjoyed. The characters are intriguing and I'm looking forward to seeing where this series goes! I've finally found a fantasy writer that creates exactly the type of worlds I want to get lost in.

I'm a Fan

Would you consider the audio edition of The Final Empire to be better than the print version?

I don't know I didn't read the print version. So in a sense the answer is yes.

Have you listened to any of Michael Kramer’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I love to listen to Michael Kramer read. in My opinion he is right up there with Frank Muller (who is the best I've ever listened to).

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

Yes very much so.

Any additional comments?

I got this book and all of the other Brandon Sanderson books because I heard that he had taken over for Robert Jordan on the Wheel of Time series when he died. I wanted to get a feel for how Mr Sanderson would write. I found that I loved his style and felt right at home with his Characters. The books flowed very smoothly and I never lost interest.

LOVE this storyline!

I highly recommend any Brandon Sanderson books. I've always been a big fan of epic fantasy but so many leave unanswered questions or are too vulgar for no apparent reason. These story lines are simplistic and not overly complex but do have good twists and plots. The characters are relatable even if they do use magic type features. Can't wait to get into the next book in this series!