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chrism6's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Slavery, Violence, Murder, and War
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Trafficking
Minor: Vomit
angstifies's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
i loved the world building, the magic system, and how the plot developed; but i did not connect much with the characters, and i wished the side characters had been more “flashed out”, and i also can’t say that i was very invested in the story for the first half of the novel.
the latter 50% of the book however was amazing! it was much more interesting and i was truly pulled into the story.
i know this was one of Sanderson’s first published works so i wasn’t too surprised at the slightly weak writing, but the dialogue made me cringe several times, and the lack of female characters & a terrible forced straight romance (that was unbearable for me and had absolutely ZERO chemistry + why is a 21yo dude not leaving this 16yo girl alone???) bothered me.
don’t know if i’ll be reading the sequels of this specific series but i’ll definitely be checking out Brandon Sanderson’s other books.
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Slavery, Violence, and Classism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Torture, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and War
Minor: Rape, Sexual violence, and Suicide
boglord's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Child death and Vomit
alexandravlvrd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Resume w/o spoilers:
Fantasy martial arts controlled by types of metals. Kelsier seems to be an egotistic hero that wants to see a change in the world after being tortured by the Lord Ruler, then meets the 16 years old orphan Vin with an awesome ability to convince people to do what she needs them to do and recruits her to join his gang of all kind of thieves. The goal? Bring down the empire of terror.
Key words:
High Fantasy. Fiction. Political. Fighting. Dystopia.
Character development:
This is basically what bothered me the most of the book, it was pretty poor character development.
Romance:
There’s some, didn’t like it much but I’m trying to not think in the things that would bother me in real life so I can enjoy it without feeling bad.
Plot:
Unexpected. 😡
Note: the first half was so slow for no reason, also, I HATED the way Vin personality was portrayed, she had no personality at all to be honest, also the lack of women in this book is unbelievable but it was pretty good though and I’m hoping to start reading the next one asap.
4 out of 5 stars
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
zoe_archambault's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Slavery, and Death of parent
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
slavery of lower-class people within this world, not based on racemargueritestjust's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book is really interesting, because Sanderson has a very plain writing style, but this is not a bad thing and it doesn't mean that he's not a skilled writer (I did give this book 5 stars, after all). His writing style is very reminiscent to me of the way that literary short story writers approach their craft. Sanderson creates such a vivid world and vivid characters, and manages to evoke a wide range of emotions from his readers. His strength lies in his specificity, both in his character work and his world work, but most especially his magic system. He writes fantasy in a very realistic lens, which I appreciate and commend.
I loved Kelsier (another my type character for the books, lads), and I was really invested in his backstory and in what he represented thematically.
Also, I was fully on board the Elend and Vin train! They were so adorable and honestly, I hadn't been expecting a romance at all in this book, but I wasn't mad about it. The first time they met, I was immediately interested in their dynamic and chemistry, and that just lasted for the entire rest of the book.
Sanderson also created a wonderful ending.
I would definitely say that this book is darker and more tense than I had been expecting, but perhaps that's just me in my first foray into the genre. A lot of the plot is character-based - especially during the long con that they set up - but things quickly pick up during the middle to end of the story, and it doesn't really ever stop. I definitely will be reading a romcom or two after this. But I can't wait to continue on with the series and check out other things that Sanderson has done!
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Sexism, Torture, and Grief
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Rape
Execution and prison labor camps feature heavily, especially beheadings. There are also many times where corpses are described graphically.blynecessity's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Murder, and Abandonment
Moderate: Body horror, Hate crime, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Alcohol
Minor: Infidelity, Trafficking, Stalking, and Death of parent
evan_emjen's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Genocide, Racism, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
ohmygourd's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, and Grief
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Slavery, and Torture
It's all high fantasy, so the things like police brutality, torture, body horror are all ~fantasy version~