Office Hours: Mistborn Era 1

Hey guys, it’s Jim Wilbourne, author of The Continua Chronicles, and we’re holding Office Hours. I’m gonna read some of your comments from our discussion about the Era 1 Mistborn Trilogy.

Let’s start with The Final Empire review comments.

The Final Empire was my introduction to epic fantasy. It was the first epic fantasy book I read. I am grateful that I read it, it introduced me to so many books. Which Era of Mistborn do you enjoy reading more?

I think The Final Empire is an excellent introduction to epic fantasy. It sets the bar pretty high in certain aspects, and it’ll immediately give you a great touchstone for a lot of fantasy readers all around the world.

I’m of the opinion that there’s no such thing as prerequisite reading to call yourself an epic fantasy fan or reader, but I think the Mistborn trilogy might become one of those series that some people might use as a litmus test for how well-versed you are in the genre.

It’s silly, but people will do it.

And I haven’t finished Era 2 yet, so I can’t say which is my favorite. If you want me to do some analysis of Era 2, let me know in the comments, guys, and I’ll definitely consider it for the future.

What an excellent review! And heck yes, Kelsier is an incredible character!!

Also, I personally read this when I was 16 years old and I can definitely agree that this was an amazing introduction to epic fantasy. I haven’t looked back since, haha.

Loved hearing your thoughts!

Thank you. And I love hearing your thoughts as well.

Kelsier is absolutely fascinating to me. When he —

Wait, this is probably a good time to say that this video has spoilers for the entire trilogy. So, yeah. Let me give you a second to click away.

Okay. Spoilers!

When Kelsier sacrificed himself, it hit me in the gut hard. I just didn’t see it coming at all. And I loved it.

I loved that Sanderson made me fall in love with this guy and then pulled him away from me.

I loved that Kelsier was a man motivated by reasons both selfish and altruistic.

It made it so believable that he could come to his end in the way that he did instead of trying to find a way to avoid this outcome.

It also allowed the story to do the Obi-Wan Kenobi thing from Star Wars and let the master be pulled away from the protagonist so that she could grow into the person she needed to be. That’s a big convention for fantasy stories, and even though it happens a lot, I didn’t call it happening right then and there.

Surprising yet inevitable. And that’s what storytellers should strive for.

So, I didn’t think I needed another review of Mistborn. I kinda thought Sanderson yada yada, mistborn yada yada. However, I really enjoyed this review and it made me want to pick it up again. Very well done on the video, I liked the mixed media with the art and the talking. Soundtrack was good. Top notch.

Wow. Thank you. I appreciate that you guys like the approach. I’m trying to improve slowly as I go, and hopefully, I can keep delivering.

But the whole mixed-media approach might get really tricky for a lot of other books and series. Sanderson happens to be one of those authors that’s hugely popular right now, and there are gobs of fan art floating about.

But some other stories, especially stories from indie authors just don’t have that benefit. It’s sad really. I want everyone to have fan art.

So if you have any thoughts on how you’d like me to approach videos for books that don’t have lot of fan art for them, let me know in the comments. It’s definitely something I’m trying to figure out.

Okay, let’s look at what you had to say about the video for The Final Empire: A Cinderella Story.

I love videos like this. Interesting take on it, connecting it to Cinderella. I always thought he (Sanderson) was drawing inspiration from My Fair Lady in some parts. Of course, all of these stories bleed into each other thematically.

Echoing that, I also got this comment:

I think Sanderson described it as “My Fair Lady” with a heist

And also this:

I also see a bit of Pygmalion in Vin’s transformation.

I believe I also recall Sanderson saying this. It may have been in one of his courses he’s made available on YouTube or on Writing Excuses.

If you’re not familiar with it, My Fair Lady is a musical set in early 1900s London about a girl who is taught by a professor to be a refined lady. It focuses a lot on how Eliza learns to speak “proper” English so that she can pass as a cultured member of high society.

Much like Vin, as Eliza learns and evolves, she begins to question her place in the social hierarchy. While Eliza’s story has a stronger focus on the nature of language and how people communicate, it’s a really strong parallel with Vin’s story in Mistborn.

Also, Pygmalion is almost exactly the same as My Fair Lady as the latter is an adaption of the former, so they have the same basic plot and characters.

I wouldn’t presume to argue with Sanderson about how he constructed his own story. So, if he says it’s “My Fair Lady with a heist,” I’m inclined to say he’s correct.

However, I don’t think that negates my reading of the story as both My Fair Lady and Cinderella have strong structural and thematic resonance with The Final Empire.

And that’s the fun thing about stories. They’re all related and intertwined, in constant conversation with each other, allowing the reader to see what they will within it.

Which reminds me… I should really do a video on Death of the Author soon, because it’s usually the approach I take in literary analysis, and maybe the reason I neglected to mention My Fair Lady in my original analysis.

Good eye, guys. You guys are smart.

Let’s look at The Well of Ascension now.

Unfortunately, I took a long break after doing the first two Mistborn videos because I had a lot of other things going on at the time, but I appreciate everyone who waited and returned to chat with me about the second book months later.

I do love their love story. I liked the nod to Sazed and Tindwyl’s love story too. I know The Well of Ascension gets flack for not being as strong as the other two, but it’s still very solid.

You know, I didn’t really talk much about Sazed and Tindwyl’s love story.

First, can we talk about how I always want to say “Twindel” instead of “Tindwyl”? I don’t know why, but it’s really hard to keep that straight. So if I say it wrong, excuse me.

Anyway, they’re an interesting love story because they share so much in common, but also have a few points where they differ in ways that could have kept them apart for good.

I believe Tindwyl is much older than Sazed, and she has a far more pragmatic approach to her beliefs and actions. Seeing them butt heads was very interesting because they’re both intelligent but simply held their values in a different order.

But they both held knowledge and learning in high regard, and despite their differences, they grew to have mutual respect for each other that blossomed into something magical.

Sazed helps Tindwyl become more empathetic while Tindwyl pushes Sazed to be open-minded. Without each other, they may have never become a more complete and stronger versions of themselves. And that’s what a fantastic partner does for you.

Most people like this book less than the first or the third I think because they love action and because of that became impatient as readers, which is fine, but I love character-driven plots, I love lore, political intrigue, the craft of a good plan or treason and everything descriptive, the only thing I ask of a book like that is a regular pace, a balanced rhythm. And this book has it, gives me all the info, but also paces it accordingly. Not all writers are capable of that. The Well of Ascension was in my opinion, the best of the three. Amazing review Jim, and yes, I agree, this series has to be binge-read

Thanks! I’m glad you liked the review.

It’s not entirely unfair to say that the first book established a certain expectation that the second book didn’t exactly pay off.

For many of us, each book sets up its own expectations. But often, when a book is part of a series, there may be some promises established by previous books in the series that a reader might expect to see fulfilled.

I personally feel like The Well of Ascension managed to deliver on many of the promises established by The Final Empire, but the first novel didn’t really give us the impression that the second book would take such a strong pivot into political intrigue.

The signs were there. Sanderson gave us a character like Elend who is very much characterized by his interest in political theory, but he was hardly a main character in the first book, so some of us might not have expected his story to have taken up so much of the stage.

But, in general, I agree with you that the story is well-paced considering the kind of story that it attempts.

Subverting expectations is a term I’ve come to loathe because it’s been used badly by some legit hacks and bad creatives COUGHCOUGHRIANJOHNSONCOUGHCOUGH but used right it can truly bring about some amazing stories told

Yeah… maybe I shouldn’t have used that phrase. It is overused, misused, and abused.

Part of the subversion, I think, has to do with what we just talked about regarding the direction of the plot. Diving headlong into a plot with a lot of political maneuvering isn’t exactly what everyone might expect. The plot line wasn’t poorly executed, but may not be expected.

On top of that, the story takes a few twists that I didn’t see coming. Sanderson didn’t back down from the consequences of what might be a realistic result of Elend’s actions.

Which actually perfectly segues into the second Well of Ascension video about democracy.

Loved this aspect of The Well of Ascension. Elend’s egalitarian view of his kingdom is tempered by the fact that his other half is the muscle. Loved your analysis of the systems and how it intertwined with Elend’s development of character. Great stuff Jim

I think this is one of the more interesting dichotomies of the novel. And, really, now that you mention it, something I neglected to address.

Vin, the muscle. Elend, the egalitarian. It reinforces the contrasting arguments made by Sazed and Tindwyl in the novel.

Vin, the one who has a hard time trusting in anyone. Elend, the one who puts all his faith in the people to believe in a system that empowers them. Vin, the one with magical power and isn’t afraid to use it. Elend, the one with political power but is reluctant to wield it. The spectrum is so well drawn!

What’s even more interesting…

Oh. Again, spoilers…

Is how Elend’s transformation at the end of the novel into a Mistborn functions as an excellent metaphor for his elevation to being an emperor with far more power than he intended to have.

I don’t know if Sanderson did that on purpose but let’s just pretend like he did because it’s a lot more fun that way.

Love this discussion. It reminds me of probably my favorite quote from the Black Panther movie where T’Chaka tells T’Challa “you’re a good man, with a good heart. And it’s hard for a good man to be king”. It’s not so much the line, or the characters, but the concept of it that makes it powerful. Great breakdown. The Well of Ascension may not be as action-packed and fast-paced as the other 2, but the politicking in it is so well done.

-T

Wow. Now that is a cool catch!

You guys are amazing at critical analysis.

The Black Panther movie has one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s most well-constructed narratives in terms of thematic complexity and resonance. In the film, T’Challa idolizes his father and wants to do everything he can to be a good king like his father, but his unwillingness to see his father’s missteps keeps him from being a great king.

T’Chaka made many difficult decisions in his time as king, and how he handled some of those problems created the story’s antagonist. T’Challa’s transformation required him to be a different king in order to break a harmful cycle.

There’s actually more to be said here about how the two stories complement each other, but we don’t have time here.

Excellent catch! 50 Points to Ravenclaw!

This is such a great discussion topic! Personally, I always thought that Sanderson’s point was not only that it’s difficult for a good man to rule effectively, but also that a society needs to actively want democracy before it can work. Elend does a great thing by trying out democratic rule, but there are very few people who actually want democracy because they’re all so used to having an authoritarian figure and political theory is a pretty esoteric topic after a thousand years of rule by the Lord Ruler. IMO, his experiment was always going to fail because so much of society just wasn't interested in democratic rule unless he does exactly what Tindwyl suggests. It’s a fascinating dilemma.

This is an excellent point!

I know that people have strong feelings about this author and his work, but it’s interesting to note that Terry Goodkind’s novel, Soul of the Fire, also touches on this idea.

Elend’s efforts to introduce democracy suffered because of his society’s ingrained authoritarian mindset. Similarly, in Soul of the Fire, the people of Anderith have to come to terms with their own desire for freedom so that they can fight the oppressive rule of the Imperial Order.

Like in The Well of Ascension, Richard allowed the people to vote because he genuinely believed that the people would see the reason in his arguments. It was a catastrophic failure.

Both Richard and Elend learned in their respective stories that you can’t just implement democracy and expect it to work. Democracy requires both education and engagement for the process to succeed. Fail on either front and the outcome can easily counter the people’s own interests.

Tindwyl’s advice to Elend about recognizing the current political climate in relation to pushing for democratic ideas turned out to be sound. Similarly, Kahlan advised Richard against his plan to allow for a vote.

Both of these novels address the complexities of political change, how new systems of government succeed or fail, and the power dynamics between various classes.

I think Ravenclaw deserves 50 more points.

Let’s see what you guys had to say about The Hero of Ages.

You might want to skip ahead a bit if you haven’t read Mistborn Era 2, because there are a few spoilers in this next one.

I just snagged a copy of your book, sounds promising!

Spook is divisive. I loved him personally. He grew so much and played a pivotal role in The Hero of Ages, and if you’ve read Secret History, you know that there’s always another secret. Spook becoming ruler for a long time and fathering many children is gonna be super important down the road. Same with the Lord Ruler and his offspring.

This trilogy is the series that got me to start reading again after getting sober from heroin, and reading has become my new addiction. Read 37 novels this year already, and yours will be on the TBR pile for a little while as I have a few things to get to first, but it will be in the next few months.

You got a new sub!

First of all, your personal story of how reading changed your life is amazing, and I commend you for making changes to live a healthier, more fulfilling life. Thank you for sharing that.

So, I haven’t read Secret History yet.

And don’t worry, I’m one of those people who don’t mind spoilers. They don’t tend to decrease my enjoyment of a story.

Maybe I’ll do a video on that at some point.

I also didn’t realize that Spook was a divisive character. But I do hope my video review helped some people appreciate him a bit more.

I can’t wait to finish reading Mistborn Era 2 so that I can see some of the inferences you’re making about Spook’s importance for the future of Scadrial.

Scadrial. I’m saying that right this time, I hope. I think I pronounced it “Scandrial” in previous videos.

Oh! And thank you so much for picking up my book. I very much hope you enjoy it!

Commenting for the algorithm because I enjoy your videos. Thanks. :)

No, thank you!

By the way, if you guys know anyone who would like my videos, please share them with that person.

You know, after you “like” the video and leave a comment. Let’s all have some brilliant, civil chats about the stories we love.

Spook in this book goes from a loveable, but a bit dorky character, to one of the best characters in fantasy. His storyline is absolutely incredible.

I agree with you on the “too awesome” ending. I love it, and I love all the reveals, but a bit more time to breathe and take it all in could’ve been extremely beneficial.

Great discussion.

-T

I gotta say, Tony, you’re putting yourself at risk by agreeing with me here. It’s not exactly a popular opinion. I mean, who hates “awesome” and admits to it?

I think this is a big preference thing for me. Maybe I just wanted to live in the story longer, so I disliked that it started moving so fast. Maybe I’m a little too slow to keep up with Sanderson’s storytelling.

Perhaps that’s something I need to look deep inside and answer for myself.

And I’m not alone in that, because Sazed had to do the same thing in The Hero of Ages. Let’s see what you had to say about that.

Amazing video. Sazed’s journey hit me hard when I read it. It makes me doubt my own fate in a way. Yet the ending furthers my fate in another way. It’s an amazing and interesting exploration of fate and hope that Sanderson does.

It’s a mark of skill when an author can draw a character so compelling that you feel strongly connected to them. Sanderson gives us a deep and complex portrait of Sazed’s inner life, of his doubts and cognitive dissonance, and we can naturally empathize with that.

I hope it helps you with your own personal journey. Life can be full of similar struggles with fate and meaning, and it’s essential that we grapple with our demons if we want to blossom into our best selves.

Sazed had an interesting U-shaped character arc. He starts off as a kind of proselytizing Unitarian Universalist, valuing all belief systems simultaneously, but then having a “dark night of the soul,” desperately searching for something to believe, and in the end, ironically, becoming divine himself.

Sazed exemplifies Brandon Sanderson’s writing philosophy of promise, progress and payoff. His transformation through this character arc comes with its own progress bar, as Sazed combs through his notes, ruling out each belief system one by one. Only when stripped of them all, does he transcend, and again, find some value in each one again, only in ways he had not considered before.

In reading Mistborn era 2, it seems Sazed’s journey is not over. Even divine, he faces threats and limitations, and even failings. I do wonder how Era 3 will wrap up his story. Also, I do wonder if Era 3 will pit Kelsier as an antagonist against his former friend.

It’s wild how Sazed’s journey is both a clear progression and at the same time appears to come full circle—the U-shaped arc that you astutely point out.

Wow. There really isn’t much I can add to this one other than I have yet to complete Era 2, so I can’t really comment on Sazed’s influence over the events of that series. Perhaps when I finish it, we can have a chat about it.

I think Ravenclaw is taking the house cup this time.

I had a lot of fun putting together these Mistborn videos for you. And you guys had so many thoughtful and intelligent comments to add to the discussion. This is why I wanted to make videos like this to see where a deeper analysis of the material might bring us. I hope you enjoyed the journey.

But what do you think? Do you have any additional thoughts about any of the previous videos about Mistborn Era 1? Are there any other books or series that you’d love to dive deep on together?

Let me know in the comments. I’d love to know what you think and discuss it further with you.

If you’d like to support me and this channel outside of liking, subscribing, and hitting the notification bell, you can buy my book. If you enjoy Fantasy stories, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy mine as well. You can find a link in the description.

Until next time, err on the side of awesome.