The Well of Ascension

Mistborn, Book 2

By: Brandon Sanderson

Narrated by: Michael Kramer

Length: 28 hrs and 56 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.

The impossible has been accomplished. The Lord Ruler - the man who claimed to be god incarnate and brutally ruled the world for a thousand years - has been vanquished. But Kelsier, the hero who masterminded that triumph, is dead too, and now the awesome task of building a new world has been left to his young protégé, Vin, the former street urchin who is now the most powerful Mistborn in the land, and to the idealistic young nobleman she loves.

As Kelsier's protégé and slayer of the Lord Ruler she is now venerated by a budding new religion, a distinction that makes her intensely uncomfortable. Even more worrying, the mists have begun behaving strangely since the Lord Ruler died, and seem to harbor a strange vaporous entity that haunts her.

Stopping assassins may keep Vin's Mistborn skills sharp, but it's the least of her problems.

Luthadel, the largest city of the former empire, doesn't run itself, and Vin and the other members of Kelsier's crew, who lead the revolution, must learn a whole new set of practical and political skills to help. It certainly won't get easier with three armies - one of them composed of ferocious giants - now vying to conquer the city, and no sign of the Lord Ruler's hidden cache of atium, the rarest and most powerful allomantic metal.

As the siege of Luthadel tightens, an ancient legend seems to offer a glimmer of hope. But even if it really exists, no one knows where to find the Well of Ascension or what manner of power it bestows.

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

©2007 Brandon Sanderson (P)2009 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"All the explosive action any adventure fan could want." ( Locus)
"A great epic fantasy.... Fans of Terry Goodkind and Terry Brooks will find The Well of Ascension fulfilling, satisfying, and incredibly exciting." ( SFRevu.com)
"Vin's struggles with love and power inject the human element into Sanderson's engaging epic." ( Booklist)

Incredible story

I love Brandon Sanderson’s writing & this story is just amazing. It’s a must read or listen

Better In Retrospect, But Not My Favorite Story

The Final Empire was such an excellent book. The whole world building and magic system are unique and fun to dive into. I couldn't wait to get started on it's sequel. But this book felt more like a setup the entire way through for book 3. The politcking was fun, but the teen angst and self hate of Vin grinded on me. It was okay to a point, you can kind of understand where she's coming from, but it kept going and going and eventually just became an annoyance. When this book was over I remember thinking "meh it was good but not great." The self hate seemed contrived, and the classic "this could be fixed with one sentence of context in conversation" trope played out the entire book. Beyond that the story at the end was enough to want me to drive into book 3

That being said, once I listened to book 3, it made this book WAY better in retrospect. All of the things setup finally come to fruition and it's really fun to watch it unfold. I think if I were to go back and listen to this book now that I'm familiar with what happens, I would probably enjoy it a lot more, as the things set in motion and little slow burning embers that build up over time would make sense to me immediately knowing where they end up. The payoff in book 3 makes this book better than I had felt when it was first over. So if you aren't feeling super motivated to finish the series out after listening to this one, take it from me it's worth it!

Amazing

Love Brandon Sanderson, nailed it as always. Not quite as good as the first book but loved it.

wow

what can I say, the cosmere is the best. who knows how many times I'll listen to this series.

Awesome continuation.

Awesome continuation of the first book. Leads well into the next novel. I intend on reading the whole cosmere.

Captivating sequel

I finished this book in two days. I must say it's been a long while since a book managed to keep me so absorbed in the story. Now I can't wait to see how this trilogy ends. At the same time, I'm sad that I won't be able to experience this trilogy for the first time ever again.

Greatly written

This book cemented my fandom of both the author and the epic world created by them.

Great Book 2

The series goes strong with this 2nd title. Sanderson is great with character development and world building.

A Good Continuation Leaving One Wanting the Next

This book is more of what one gets from the first book. It is a continuation of the story; a continuation of the same characters; a continuation of the lore, the allomancy, the feruchemy, and everything else enjoyable in the first book. Unlike the first book however, this story doesn't quite end so neatly, and it leaves the reader very much wanting to continue immediately into the next. Read at your own risk, or with plenty of imminent free time.

Wow.. just wow. That ending is a masterpiece

The magic system is wonderful and thought provoking. The first book was better in my opinion, but the ending of this book is something I was never prepared for.