Review of Mistborn: The Well of Ascension

Author: Brandon Sanderson

Personal Rating: 13+

What It's About

The Well of Ascension is the second book in the Mistborn Trilogy, and continues to follow Vin on her conquest for justice and peace. After the defeat of her greatest enemy, the Lord Ruler, Vin begins a search for the mythical Well of Ascension. The Well is a source of pure and unadulterated energy on an unthinkable scale, which Vin will need to use in order to stop the evil forces she is fighting against. After the tragic death of her friend due to an Inquisitor, Vin and Elend, her best friend and first love, are left alone to pick up the pieces the Lord Ruler left after his death. Vin, however, starts to feel a shift deep in her bones, and soon afterwards starts to see a shadowy figure following her in the mist. With Elend fighting to stay on the throne, and Inquisitors rampaging on the loose, Vin has to race in order to find the Well of Ascension and save Luthadel. 

What I Liked

The second book is much more action-packed and exciting than the first one, in my opinion. Vin is racing to find the Well, as well as being trailed by a mysterious figure that seems to be able to melt into the shadows in an instant, which adds more suspense to the story. Brandon Sanderson adds a lot more political intrigue to the story as Elend fights to stay the king of Luthadel, enhancing the suspense. A new Mistborn is also introduced in the second book, whose identity I will not share. This new Mistborn posseses large quantities of atium, the most powerful metal, posing a serious threat to Vin. The drama and suspense were a delightful add-on to the book, and between Vin and the mysterious new Mistborn, new tension arises. That tension, I feel, causes Vin to be more sporadic with her Allomancy, like going on wild rampages to find a mysterious Allomancer; those components add much more action and magic to the book. One more thing I enjoyed was that Sazed, a Terris Feruchemist, is joined by Tindwyl, another Terriswoman. Their relationship has hints of forbidden romance, which I just thought was a nice touch. These are just some of my favorite aspects of this book, although there are many, many more that I cannot share...(Sorry, but I can't spoil the book!)

For those of you who don't know, Feruchemists are people with powers, like Allomancers, though their abilities are much different. Feruchemy consists of storing power in things called "metalminds". When drawn upon, the power grants the user enhanced strength or speed, heightened senses, and many other things. The downside is that the energy you store in a metalmind is taken from your own energy levels in order to gain the extra power later. For example, if a Feruchemist wanted to gain strength from a metalmind, he would have to store his strength in advance, causing him to be bedridden with weariness for as long as he wanted to empty his own energy into the metalmind to draw upon later.

What I Disliked

Although in the last section of this review I mentioned more political tension as being a good thing for some people, I personally did not enjoy it. I felt like it was much too slow at times, and then too fast at others, producing rash decisions, and at other times painfully slow arguments over topics that should have gone much, much quicker. Again, some of you might like that factor, but I like the action and Allomancy. I was also annoyed that throughout the entirety of The Well of Ascension, Sanderson never explained who the shadowy figure following Vin in the mist was! (See Arcanum Unbounded by Brandon Sanderson to find out who or what it was.) 

Conclusion

The Well of Ascension is a perfect continuation of the first Mistborn book, following Vin and Elend along their search for the Well of Ascension. The political stakes are high as Elend fights to keep his position as the king of Luthadel, and the suspense rises as Vin races against the clock to find the Well before it's too late.