Scan barcode
A review by thaumata
The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
2.0
I cannot fathom how the Stormlight archive is so good, and the Mistborn trilogy is so bad. Perhaps Sanderson wrote Mistborn a long time ago, presumably before he'd ever met an actual woman?
I'm 30% into the second one and it has yet to pass the Bechdel test. There is a female protagonist who starts poor and meets prince charming at a literal fucking ball. He is underwhelming in every way but because she was always abused by men she is insecure and likes him anyway. She is always surrounded by people but none of them are women, like...ever. She thinks about her chest size a surprising amount. Then a woman does finally appear and LO, she is prince charming's evil jealous ex and some mean girls drama ensues. Also sometimes our heroine does some ninja shit that results in her dress falling off and she gets told to cover up because she's distracting the men she just saved with her underwear. Oh and prince charming is apparently super smart but thinks wOmEn ArE soOOooOoO cOnFusIng.
It is just bad trope after bad trope. Perhaps Yasnah Kohlin, feminist heretic of the Stormlight archive, has raised my expectations of Sanderson too much. Or any of the women in that series, because THAT series actually had women in it. Perhaps he's improved over time and she is the evidence. But had I read this book first, I would not have read anything else he wrote.
Sanderson is an amazing world builder who paints vivid, unique landscapes and interesting magic. He also writes consistently amazing action scenes. But he lets himself down in Mistborn with this tired portrayal of women and especially their romantic dialogue. I'm struggling to finish the trilogy.
PS - really tired of Ye Olde "Sickening Crunch".
I'm 30% into the second one and it has yet to pass the Bechdel test. There is a female protagonist who starts poor and meets prince charming at a literal fucking ball. He is underwhelming in every way but because she was always abused by men she is insecure and likes him anyway. She is always surrounded by people but none of them are women, like...ever. She thinks about her chest size a surprising amount. Then a woman does finally appear and LO, she is prince charming's evil jealous ex and some mean girls drama ensues. Also sometimes our heroine does some ninja shit that results in her dress falling off and she gets told to cover up because she's distracting the men she just saved with her underwear. Oh and prince charming is apparently super smart but thinks wOmEn ArE soOOooOoO cOnFusIng.
It is just bad trope after bad trope. Perhaps Yasnah Kohlin, feminist heretic of the Stormlight archive, has raised my expectations of Sanderson too much. Or any of the women in that series, because THAT series actually had women in it. Perhaps he's improved over time and she is the evidence. But had I read this book first, I would not have read anything else he wrote.
Sanderson is an amazing world builder who paints vivid, unique landscapes and interesting magic. He also writes consistently amazing action scenes. But he lets himself down in Mistborn with this tired portrayal of women and especially their romantic dialogue. I'm struggling to finish the trilogy.
PS - really tired of Ye Olde "Sickening Crunch".