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)

Characters Defined

This was my favorite of the Mistborn series. While it wasn't as fast-paced as the other two books, the characters were explored more deeply and we learned more about the different kinds of beings within the stories. The ticks I commented on in the first book were still present, but to a lesser degree. However, the reiteration of information that was presented within the same book was overwhelming. Overall, one of the better fantasy series I've read.

head required

This series has it all. And I have to give you every th i ng

Good story. Unique magic systems. Great narrator.

If you could sum up The Well of Ascension in three words, what would they be?

push, pull, smash

Who was your favorite character and why?

Breeze. I'm alway a fan of the character that prefers to stand behind the scenes and manipulate.

Any additional comments?

As a Wheel of Time fan I wanted to try out Sanderson's earlier work. He didn't disappoint. As always, Michael Kramer is an outstanding narrator.

awesome story, now I need the third book

excellent narrator, more political that the first book, still there's a lot of action and totally awesome ending!!!

Fantasy

I read the books years ago and loved them, and now I'm able to enjoy them in my car with a fantastic performer. Great books, great story, great narrator.

I love the characters but the plot wasn't as good

I love all the characters, and love following their lives. I didn't enjoy the political plot as much. The plot of book 1 was a lot better, I think.

Communication

Seems like a lot of fiction and non-fiction novels are written with he main protagonist actually being the lack of communication between people who should talk.

The book was fun to listen to and was well narrated.

Sanderson does it again

Good character generation and continuation from the cast in book 1. I have read this booktwice!

Amazing

This series is just outstanding. Another amazing book. Suspenseful, riveting, and exceedingly difficult to put down. I'm very glad I found these books on a holiday because I don't know if I'd get any work done knowing there is more story to be had. Just outstanding.

fantastic

loved this book it was absolutely amazing in every possible way it could be loved