“The Well of Ascension” by Brandon Sanderson
I enjoyed the first Mistborn book despite thinking it had some weaknesses in some areas. I think “The Final Empire” could have worked well as a standalone since there did seem to be enough material there for a traditional fantasy trilogy so I was interested in seeing where the plot was going to in the sequel.
There have been plenty of fantasy books featuring the attempted overthrow of a dark lord or evil empire, but it’s a lot rarer (although not unheard of) to have a book exploring what happens after the good guys have achieved their victory. Judging from this book it might sometimes appear that overthrowing an empire that had lasted for a thousand years was the easy part and in the second book the hard work of trying rebuild the world is beginning. As the book begins the previous book’s heroes are in control of the old empire’s capital but find themselves surrounded on all sides by enemies, both remnant of the old regime and new forces rising up to try to take advantage of the power vacuum. Most of the characters are feeling increasingly out of their depth and a lot of the character development in this book focuses on those characters trying to live up to their new responsibilities.
At first glance it isn’t as obviously compelling a storyline as the first book’s plot but it does manage to bring in a number of interesting elements, particularly once it becomes clear that there is a greater threat than the rival armies marching on the capital. The nature of this threat is initially mysterious with one of the main plotlines following the scholar Sazeed as he tries to decipher ancient texts detailing this threat. This part of the plotline is the subtlest and cleverest part of the story, as it gradually becomes clear that there’s much more going on that initially meets the eye. There are some interesting plot twists which I thought were very effective (although I wonder if a more attentive reader might have seen them coming earlier). Some of the other plotlines do have some interesting mysteries and plot developments as well and there are also some good action scenes (even if some of the allomancy-powered fight scenes do start to feel a little bit repetitive after a while).
I thought the characterisation had some weaknesses in the first book, where the main characters were interesting but the supporting characters tended to feel either simplistic or bland. I would say a similar thing about the second book, there are some good characters and Vin continues to be an interesting protagonist but some of the characters still feel a bit lacking in depth. Elend, who finds himself as the new ruler, does get a reasonable amount of characterisation as he tried to develop into the leader his people need him to be but I still don’t find to be all that interesting a character and although the book does seem to be trying to make him more interesting I still think he’s lacking a little bit in terms of depth and the growing romance between him and Vin doesn’t feel entirely convincing. I think probably my favourite bit of characterisation in the book involved the initially antagonistic but increasingly respectful interactions between Vin and her kandra (a shapechanging being fanatically loyal to its master but also resentful of having to be a servant).
I’d probably say the first book in the series was better than the second, although the second is still an entertaining read which adds some interesting new elements to the story. I am interested in seeing how the series concludes, although I wouldn’t say I’m desperate to read the conclusion immediately.
Rating : 7/10
“The Seal of the Worm” by Adrian Tchaikovsky
The Shadows of the Apt has been one of my favourite epic fantasy series of recent years. While it has had a few ups and downs over the ten volumes it has maintained a reasonably consistent quality and I think Tchaikovsky’s writing and characterisation has improved significantly since the first book. I was looking forward to this, the final book, especially after the ending of the previous book had set up some intriguing cliffhangers, although I was slightly nervous about how many plots would have to be resolved in a single volume.
I think the final book offers a satisfying conclusion to the series that manages to provide good resolutions to the various story arcs that have been running through the series. I think the bittersweet tone of the ending where successes have often come at a very high cost works well, particularly for a series which while never feeling all that grim still didn’t shy away from the high cost of war and conflict. I think there are some downsides, the pacing of the series has always been a bit erratic (sometimes too fast-paced, sometimes getting bogged down in subplots) and the problem reappears in the final book. Some of the plots such as Che’s attempts to fight the Centipede-kinden who are the final book’s main antagonists work better than others. Some events that might have had more time spent on them in previous books get dealt with very briefly and some of the cast don’t seem to get much attention paid to them. In the latter category there are both major characters from previous books like Tynisa, who doesn’t do much for most of the book even when she’s present in scenes, and also significant new characters like Ernain who plays an important role in the conclusion to one of the plots but it feels like we know very little about him. There are so many things happening and such a large cast to follow that there doesn’t seem to be as much character development as in the some of the best books in the series (such as The Scarab Path or Heirs to the Blade) although there are some good character moment (Stenwold’s return to the city of Myna where he began in the prologue to the first book is particularly effective).
One of the book’s strongest points is its main antagonists; the malevolent civilisation nicknamed The Worm. The previous book had featured a number of dire warnings about how horrific they were and now that we finally see them on page they live up to and exceed those warnings. They are conceptually horrifying as well as being plausible and deadly (but not invincible) enemies and because they’re so horrific it does allow some interesting questions about what sort of acts would be justifiable when facing such a threat. It does seem appropriate that the final book in the series should feature a bigger threat than any of the previous books and while the Wasp Empire were very effective enemies, the Worm are a completely different level of threat.
Another of the series strong points has been showing how the development of technology can change civilisations and the final book is taking this to its logical conclusion, showing both the positive and negative effects. It’s particularly interesting when showing how the Wasp Empire’s attempts to mould itself into an effective fighting force has paradoxically begun to bring some positives changes to its ultra-conservative society. While that part of the world-building has obvious correspondences to the real world there’s also some good exploration of the long-running contrast between the Apt and Inapt peoples and their mutual incomprehension of the other side’s mysticism and technology. The Worm, as a force that negates both those things seems a very appropriate villain for the final book.
Overall, I’d say this is a good although occasionally flawed conclusion to a good but occasionally flawed series. Although the ending of the book doesn’t demand any sequels there still seems to be plenty of potential in the world for further stories and I’d definitely be interested in reading more books set in this world.
Rating : 8.5/10