The Well of Ascension
Book Two of Mistborn
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4.7 • 2.5K Ratings
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
Now with over 10 million copies sold, The Mistborn Series has the thrills of a heist story, the twistiness of political intrigue, and the epic scale of a landmark fantasy saga.
They did the impossible, ending the thousand-year reign of the godlike Lord Ruler. Now Vin, the former street urchin turned powerful Mistborn, and Elend Venture, the idealistic young nobleman who loves her, must build a healthy new society in the ashes of an empire.
As tensions grow in the wake of the uprising, 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.
It may just be that killing the Lord Ruler was the easy part. Surviving the aftermath of his fall is going to be the real challenge.
Other Tor books by Brandon Sanderson
The Cosmere
The Stormlight Archive
● The Way of Kings
● Words of Radiance
● Edgedancer (novella)
● Oathbringer
● Dawnshard (novella)
● Rhythm of War
● Wind and Truth
The Mistborn Saga
The Original Trilogy
● Mistborn
● The Well of Ascension
● The Hero of Ages
Wax & Wayne
● The Alloy of Law
● Shadows of Self
● The Bands of Mourning
● The Lost Metal
Other Cosmere novels
● Elantris
● Warbreaker
● Tress of the Emerald Sea
● Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
● The Sunlit Man
Collection
● Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection
Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians
● Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians
● The Scrivener's Bones
● The Knights of Crystallia
● The Shattered Lens
● The Dark Talent
● Bastille vs. the Evil Librarians (with Janci Patterson)
Other novels
● The Rithmatist
● Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds
● The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England
Other books by Brandon Sanderson
The Reckoners
● Steelheart
● Firefight
● Calamity
● Lux (with Steven Michael Bohls)
Skyward
● Skyward
● Starsight
● Cytonic
● Skyward Flight (with Janci Patterson)
● Defiant
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Sanderson's entertaining second Mistborn novel begins after most fantasy series end, when the team of brave and cunning heroes find that holding on to power is even harder than overthrowing the previous tyrant. Elend Venture, the scholarly new Lord Ruler of Luthadel, clings to power while Luthadel's aristocrats and merchants grumble and two enemy armies one led by Elend's father, Lord Straff camp outside the city gates. Fortunately, Elend can rely on help from his lover and unofficial court assassin, the young allomancer Vin, but her magical metal-using ability makes her a target. An orphan of decidedly low origins, Vin is also having trouble adapting to her position as royal consort, especially since the underclass skaa, newly freed by Elend, look to her as their protector. Meanwhile, the ancient evil known as the Deepness is rising once again. This entertaining read will especially please those who always wanted to know what happened after the good guys won.
Customer Reviews
Killing god was the easy part
“Because what’s a little existential dread between monarchs?”
There are two types of people who finish The Well of Ascension:
1. Those who say “it’s slow but brilliant.”
2. Those who are still in therapy over the last 150 pages.
I am both.
The Lord Ruler is dead, the empire’s in shambles, and Vin—our emotionally unstable, metal-slurping queen—is now the world’s most powerful Mistborn and the least qualified person to handle being worshiped. Meanwhile, Elend Venture is trying to invent democracy in a world where people still think “voting” is something you do with a sword.
It’s like watching a philosophy major date Batman.
And honestly, bless his heart, Elend’s out here reading leadership books while his girlfriend’s killing assassins in the fog. My man is holding cabinet meetings while Vin’s holding bodies.
Then there’s Sazed, the cinnamon roll scholar who just wants to teach people about religion while the entire world politely declines to care. The universe looks at this kind, gentle soul and says, “let’s ruin his week.”
Oh, and Zane. Emo Mistborn. The walking red flag. The human embodiment of Linkin Park lyrics. He shows up, flirts, murders a few people, then hears voices in his head like, “what if chaos… but sexy?”
Half the book is political maneuvering, meetings, and Vin staring out windows like a Victorian ghost wondering if she deserves love. The other half is Sanderson setting off narrative C4 in your living room. You slog through 500 pages of city council drama, and then the last 150 pages kick down your door, scream “SANDERLANCHE!” and throw you off a cliff.
I mean, the ending. Holy allomantic meltdown. I gasped, I cursed, I briefly considered therapy.
Yes, it’s slower than The Final Empire. Yes, there’s more talking, politics, and relationship angst than a CW show. But when the mist clears? It’s phenomenal.
Vin grows. Elend gets a spine. Sazed breaks my heart. And somehow, despite all my complaints, I closed the book whispering, “fine… I’ll read the next one.”
Final verdict: 5 out of 5 exploding Koloss.
Wonderful story, terrible editing.
This is a good book. It's fast-paced and engrossing, and you really come to care for the characters. However, the editing is extremely sloppy. I don't know if the publishers had to use OCR software to get the book into ePub format or something, but on almost every page, there was an error bad enough that it interrupted my reading. Definitely a five-star story, but this book desperately needs some cleanup.
Sickening
finishing this book made me feel like someone handed me a beautiful bouquet of flowers then threw a concrete block at my head
loved every second of it.