Brandon Sanderson needs no introduction. He’s 21st Century Tolkien incarnate, complete with huge back catalogue and deep, expansive lore. ’The Final Empire’ is perhaps his most well known work, the first in ’The Mistborn Trilogy’, and takes us along on the journey of Vin, Half-Skaa-orphan with mysterious abilities, and Kelsier, Half-Skaa thief and powerful Mistborn. Confused yet? Don’t be. Sanderson’s story unfolds gently, explaining the origins of Vin’s power and charting her growth as she and Kelsier prepare for perhaps the most audacious heist in history - plundering the metals locked away in the vaults of the Immortal Lord Ruler. So far, so ’The Lord of the Rings’, right? Well, not really. Sanderson’s ’The Final Empire’ undoubtedly bears the hallmarks of Tolkien’s legacy - we’ve got our evil overlord, our world of magic, our mysterious artefact with the power to overcome said evil overlord - hell, there’s even elements of addiction to sorcery here too. That being said, this is most certainly intentional - Sanderson proves himself adept at taking common tropes and subverting them, making them his own. Our Immortal Lord Ruler? Not so immortal. Our mysterious artefact? Not that useful. You can see where I’m going here. Sanderson uses these tropes to build expectation before putting his own twist on them, taking the narrative off on tangents the reader doesn’t expect. He does so with aplomb, his ability to make reader’s draw certain conclusions before changing track consistently coming as both a surprise and a delight. These subversions work because Sanderson’s pacing is as tight as it gets - rarely does a scene feel wasted, unnecessarily long or tedious. Suspense builds naturally, action unfolding in sequences that just feel right. He never falters, maintaining tension and mystery all the way through to the finale. There’ve been many masterpieces over the years that haven’t quite stuck the landing, or have fizzled out towards the end, but The Final Empire’ has no such failings. Sanderson tackles a range of dark subject matter in the course of his narrative, including slavery, mutilation, rape and murder, but treats them respectfully, addressing the horror without delving into the minutiae of it all. Honestly, I could continue waxing lyrical on Sanderson’s mastery of thematic, structural and tonal balance, but suffice to say he’s pretty dang good. If I had to find fault it would be with some of Sanderson’s more questionable character work. Make no mistake, the main cast are excellent - Vin’s distrust of those around her is palpable, and the changes in her personality as the plot progresses is charming. Similarly, Kelsier is immediately likeable, a shower of smiles and laughter behind which hides a darkness buried with the memories of his wife. It’s elsewhere Sanderson slips, if only slightly - secondary characters such as Marsh feel underdeveloped, and accordingly certain story beats just don’t quite have the impact Sanderson intended. I also wasn’t fond of the primary romance we watch develop over the course of the novel - it all seemed a little too convenient and cliché, to the extent that I expected a twist that never came. That all being said, these are such small flaws in an otherwise magnificent tale that I just don’t have the heart to deduct stars for it, it’s strengths so far outweighing it’s weaknesses. I’d probably be remiss not to at least touch on Sanderson’s magic system, given how much press he’s garnered on the matter. The primary magic in ’The Final Empire’ is Allomancy, an extremely well detailed system in which the ingestion of specific metals allows for the use of specific abilities. There are 11 different metals touched upon here, and most come in pairs, one ‘pushing’ it’s particular power and the other ‘pulling’. For example, swallowing steel allows one to push against metallic objects, launching the user away from said object, assuming it’s weight is greater than the user’s. Conversely, iron pulls, drawing the user towards their chosen object, again dependant on their respective weights. From here the system gets much deeper, but what’s important is just how well structured it all is. Sanderson introduces these ‘rules’ at a gradual pace, never overwhelming readers, and in doing so his system makes such a degree of sense that the reader may start to speculate on more obscure uses for abilities. It’s great, and it‘s a huge part of what makes the series so approachable - everything is laid out in manageable chunks, the prose eloquent but trending towards the simplistic for the sake of clarity. That’s not a criticism, to be clear - whilst some feel his literary technique is somewhat regressive, it works in the context of the enormous amount of information Sanderson delivers so succinctly. In conclusion, please just read Mistborn. It’s undoubtedly one of the greatest pieces of Science-Fiction this century, and deserves a place on anybody’s bookshelf. Packed with depth, ”plots behind plots, plans behind plans”, to quote Sanderson himself, ’The Final Empire’ never disappoints, even down to the more obscure mysteries hidden across it’s pages (make sure you’re reading those diary entries at the beginning of each chapter). If you’ve any level of fondness for fantasy, then you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy. You surely won’t regret it. ”Our belief is often strongest when it should be weakest. That is the nature of hope.”