Reviews with content warning for Body horror - O Império Final

I'm reading this book as the introduction to the Cosmere universe, I wasn't sure what to expect as it was my first Brandon Sanderson book.

I'd say that I loved it, quite a lot.

I wasn't very intrigued by the plot almost all the way through, just uncertain where it was going to go, but boy, I adored the characters.

The main focus, Vin and Klesier, are both flawed individuals who felt like realistic people. They had depth to their personalities and motives, I loved the father-daughter relationship they've developed. I appreciate how Brandon writes the teenage girl, she's belivably a teenager with her stubborness and naivety, but she also has this sense of perspective to the world that the rest of the cast didn't see. It was a refreshing contrast to the personalities of the main crew. I liked the romance too.

It's so easy to create a young character who's obnoxiously loud, sassy, and stupid, but in this case I was rooting for the girl and I completely understand how Klesier and Sazed felt. I felt protective of her.

I loved the power system in the book, it was simple yet contains magnitude of flexibility with how the battles can play out. Reminds me of the power system in Hunter x Hunter!

I was invested in the characters, which pushed me to binge the book til the end. I wanted to know what happened.

The ending was a combination of satisfying predictable outcome and unexpected but well-foreshadowed twist, while leaving a bunch of questions unanswered for the rest of the series to pick up.

The writing/prose is surprisingly simple from such a well-known author, but English is my second language so it didn't bothered me much. I actually appreciate the simplicity, as I do struggle to understand the purple prose that many literary nerds are obsessed with.

I can't wait to read the next one!

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talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

cool magic system. the rest... ehhh

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queermothman's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

2025 Reread:

I enjoyed this much more than I did almost 10 years ago. Brandon, when I catch you.

I still think this thing is slow as hell, especially the first 50%, but I understand why it was written this way. The Jesus/religious paralleling was a little too on the nose by the end, but I can appreciate how it was handled overall. Especially since I found out that Sanderson is a Mormon asdfghj;

I did get kind of lost trying to keep track of side characters, but that could also have been bc I was listening to the audiobook this time around.

One major ick for me is Vin and her love interest. I just don't like age gaps, especially when one is a teenager. I'm interested to see how they're handled in future installments, though.

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beau_b_reading's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was the second book I've read by Brandon Sanderson (The standalone Elentris was first), but I loved every bit of it. Very interesting magic system and deep lore, which somehow still come natural to the story. Also, love a good revolution story with a fair amount of mystery and tension.

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thjelmar's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

First Brandon Sanderson book I've ever read and I must say I understand how he has such a large following as he does.

Mistborn consumed me from start to finish. Finding some chapters slower than others but once you dig into it it's hard to get yourself out of it.

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becinneverland's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I watched an ad to get free wifi on the plane to be able to text my friend that I loved this book, that’s how good it was.

I couldn’t stop thinking about this whenever I put it down, longing to finish it and know what would happen to the characters. I was scared by how many books are in the Cosmere Universe, but if they’re all like this? Worth it. So. Worth. It.

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mills_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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