Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson

43 reviews

some_random_person_hi's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

To summarize the later part of this book which also happens to be the most memorable in two words would be: emotional damage.

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anelya's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0


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noellelovesbooks's review against another edition

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4.5

 Content Warnings: Violence, blood/gore, murder, death, body horror, war themes, animal cruelty, loss of loved one, massacres, self-harm, suicidal ideations, hallucinations, abuse, slavery, rape, forced pregnancies, eugenics, ableism, and war.


I think if I would have had this book on hand, as soon as I finished Mistborn, I would have immediately dove in. When I was finally able to order, and receive, this book I think it took me a bit to pick it up because I was worried. If you’ve ever read fantasy series before…sometimes as the series continues the books continue to be brutal on your emotions. However I was determined to read this book this month, so I set out a goal and within roughly 12 days I completed it.


We pick up roughly a year after Kelsier and the Lord Ruler were murdered. The young nobleman Vin fell for, in Mistborn, is now the King of Luchador. Between King Elend, the crew, and Vin they’re desperately trying to ensure their kingdom’s future. As if running a [recently liberated] kingdom isn’t hard enough they’re also faced with multiple armies outside their gates. Armies that are eager to take them over and reinstate so many of the Lord Ruler’s laws just with a new figurehead in place.


This book was a lot of fun because I feel like, media-wise, we’re used to seeing things liberated or conquered but rarely see the after-effects or what it takes to move on. I mean think about how many things we watch and read that have a mission to overcome and then it’s over and…we’re left thinking everything continued on perfectly? Nah, the struggle is real.


We jump between roughly ten different POVs throughout the book, of course, Vin is the primary narrative we see. It’s interesting seeing how Sanderson will sometimes have a POV added that literally get’s part of a chapter and then we never see them again, or we don’t see them until the next book. Really kept me on my toes thinking…will this person be important?


The majority of this book felt slower-paced, although enemies are numerous and things are happening, it felt like we have a steady pace until about 2/3 of the way through, and then we hit warp speed. Roughly the last 200 pages had a chokehold on me and I couldn’t stop until I knew what was going to happen.


I now have so many more questions and look forward to starting the final book, in the trilogy, very soon! 


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oldladysadie's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

4.75


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rainbowrachel's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75


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boglord's review

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adventurous dark tense medium-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


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elrize's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 A great sequel to the first book. The mysteries slowly unfold and makes for a book that's difficult to put down. I like how character-driven the books are and that the politics are actually interesting. 
My only criticism would be the excessive repetition of information - I guess it's good conduct to write a book that doesn't expect of its readers to have read the first one in the series, but it also meant a lot of re-hashing. 
On to the third book - can't wait to see what happens! 

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superstars111's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


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fanboyriot's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I can't get over the details in these books.  The characters are all well written, the character development is so good to read as well.  While this book was a lot slower-paced I still found it interesting, learning about the world building and how the magic system works made up for it.  Having said that I didn't like it as much as the first book, though like the first book, nearing the end it got really intense; so much happened at the end I don't really know how to process it.  Overall I really like this series far.

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vereadsbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“It's easy to believe in something when you win all the time...The losses are what define a man's faith.”

The last 100 pages were a wild ride. Two years have passed since Vin defeated the Lord Ruler, and now Elend is trying to rule Luthanel the best way he can. But neither he, nor Vin, nor the others know how to achieve it. Not without Kelsier. Things start to go wrong when Straff's army besieges Luthadel demanding his surrender.

“Good men don't become legends," he said quietly.
"Good men don't need to become legends." She opened her eyes, looking up at him. "They just do what's right anyway.”

I was a little hesitant to read this book. Because I was still processing Kelsier's death. After finishing the first book, I felt that his death was really premature and that neither Vin nor we were ready to be without him.

“It was his ability to trust," she said. "It was the way that he made good people into better people, the way that he inspired them. His crew worked because he had confidence in them - because he respected them. And, in return, they respected each other. Men like Breeze and Clubs became heroes because Kelsier had faith in them.”

Sanderson definitely knows what he's doing. The pace was a bit slow, but it turned into something great. The last 100 pages were incredible! I like the political intrigue that went into the story, and I love seeing this group of people working hard to preserve Kelsier's legacy. The book gives us a lot of information about the magical, social, religious, and political system of this world which can be exhausting and challenging to read at times. But it was worth it.

“At first glance, the key and the lock it fits may seem very different," Sazed said. "Different in shape, different in function, different in design. The man who looks at them without knowledge of their true nature might think them opposites, for one is meant to open, and the other to keep closed. Yet, upon closer examination he might see that without one, the other becomes useless. The wise man then sees that both lock and key were created for the same purpose.”

Vin is an unstoppable force and watching her progress and how she learned to trust others is beautiful. His relationship with OreSeur is one of the precious gems of this book. She and Elend are so cute together. It's amazing how they have grown into a better version of themselves.

“You must love him enough to trust his wishes, even if you disagree with them. You must respect him - no matter how wrong you think he may be, no matter how poor you think his decisions, you must respect his desire to make them. Even if one of them includes loving you.”

I'm going to take a few weeks to process everything this story has given me, so I'll be ready to jump into the last book of the trilogy.

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