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The Final Empire: Mistborn, Book 1 Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Brandon Sanderson (Author), Michael Kramer (Narrator), Orion Publishing Group Limited (Publisher)

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A thousand years ago evil came to the land and has ruled with an iron hand ever since. The sun shines fitfully under clouds of ash that float down endlessly from the constant eruption of volcanoes. A dark lord rules through the aristocratic families, and ordinary folk are condemned to lives in servitude, sold as goods, labouring in the ash fields. But now a troublemaker has arrived, and there is rumour of revolt. A revolt that depends on criminal that no-one can trust and a young girl who must master Allomancy - the magic that lies in all metals.

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Product details

Listening Length	24 hours and 59 minutes
Author	Brandon Sanderson
Narrator	Michael Kramer
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com.au Release Date	18 March 2011
Publisher	Orion Publishing Group Limited
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B00NXA6ISW
Best Sellers Rank	182 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) 8 in Epic Fantasy (Audible Books & Originals) 16 in Military Fantasy (Books) 25 in Epic Fantasy (Books)

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Top reviews from Australia

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Jeremy J

Electrifying action

Reviewed in Australia on 29 January 2017

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While the book starts slowly and the world is a little unusual to begin with once the magic hits the pace escalates. There's definitely reoccurring themes through out Sanderson's work which help clearly define the good from the bad. His descriptions of the use of magic will also be familiar to readers of his other work such as the words of radiance. It's the imaginative battle sences that really electrify the story and keep you hooked for the next confrontation.

2 people found this helpful

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Felonious Tub

Absolutely brilliant

Reviewed in Australia on 17 January 2016

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This book had me hooked from the very start. The story, world and characters were brilliantly developed there were enough twists and turns in the story to never leave you bored with its direction. It is part of a seri s but it definitely is great as a standalone piece of fiction but sets the scene up well for the next instalment.

Brandon Sanderson really excels in writing battle scenes in great detail and this book is no different. Every conflict is written with just the right amount of detail to keep the pacing going along at the right speed.

For any lovers of the fantasy genre, this is a must read.

3 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Great read

Reviewed in Australia on 18 December 2016

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Excellent magic system, great story set in a well considered world. A real page turner. Wonderful to have such a well rounded female protagonist, although she begins as more of a protege to a hero rather than a hero herself and is surrounded by an all male team and opposition, with only a few minor female characters. Would recommend for fantasy lovers of all ages and would especially steer young readers sick of fantasy full of all male heroes following the traditional heros journey, coming of age, and simplistic views on good, evil, and power.

3 people found this helpful

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Taleisha

Incredible

Reviewed in Australia on 25 February 2021

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Can't believe how long it took me to get around to starting this series.
Amazing world building & characters.
Was a bit confusing to start off with, the magic system was complex. But once I wrapped my head around that it made for a great book.
Keen to see Vin continue to grow & where the story goes from here

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Tyla

Great trilogy

Reviewed in Australia on 24 September 2020

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Such a great trilogy! I loved these books and the twists and turns. I am a Robin Hobb lover finished all her books tried a few other book and couldn't get into them then I found this. So good!

One person found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

If you loved his other works you will love this. If you love epic fantasy, you probably will as well.

Reviewed in Australia on 24 August 2014

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This book is just awesome. The aesthetics, the characters, the plot, it was all just really great. When I got the the end I was like "what? That's how it ends?" Knowing that it was a trilogy, I was just surprised to find how well this book stands on it's own.

That's what I love about Brandon's books. When you reach the end of them, you have this satisfying feeling like you have reached an end as it doesn't rely on annoying cliff hangers to sell the next book. The arks have played out, and the seeds have been sown, to make me want to return to his beautifully crafted and interesting world filled with great characters.

For all those who love epic fantasy, this was a blast and I can't wait for more. And fortunately for us who have only just found this series, we don't have to.

2 people found this helpful

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Tom Brady

Mistborn Book 1 - Final Empire

Reviewed in Australia on 13 February 2018

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Really good book. Fast moving storyline, and a really interesting world with a cool system of magic. But the best part is the characters, very unique, lovable and charismatic.

Downside is that I'm not sure if the next books in this series are going to be able to top this book.

2 people found this helpful

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Caroline Lloyd

An excellent read

Reviewed in Australia on 2 June 2014

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Brandon Sanderson writes a rollicking good tale - this book and the three that follow it have held my attention as I devoured them as fast as I could read. I look forward to the second book in the Wax and Wayne series which begins with Book 4 of this series

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FallenGrace

Clever and unique magic system with great characters - Fantastic book!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 February 2017

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I originally heard of this series through a friend of mine who was reading rules for a Mistborn adventure/board game and loved the magic system and said almost in passing it was based on a book series. My curiosity had me buy the books and I loved them. There are now more books in the series available so I am re-reading the original trilogy first before I delve into them and I forgot just how good the first three are.

This book focuses on a young street thief called Vin who despite beatings and mistreatments has continued to survive in the harsh realities of The Final Empire. Vin is a Skaa, a sort of peasant/serf class who are used and killed by the nobility and the Lord Ruler, an immortal god who rules over the empire. During a job with her thieving crew Vin is introduced to a world she doesn't realises existed and is shown there is more that can be done than merely survive.

My synopsis is pretty vague there but I don't want to spoil too much of the story. Brandon Sanderson has a great writing style and sense of pace, while there is a lot of great action scenes it's littered with quieter more character driven moments. Speaking of which, the characters in my opinion are excellent, well written, humorous, and easily rememerable thanks to their stand out personalities and abilities. Seeing Vin grow as the book goes on as she starts to trust people more is really well written and the world she inhabbits is equally both interesting and depressing in equal measure.

The magic system that my friend enjoyed reading game rules is no less fantastic in the actual novels. I say magic but it's more of a power or ability some people have where swallowing small amounts of metals and then burning them in their stomachs like a fuel will allow them to perform certain actions ( being kind of vague again XD ). Depending on the metal swallowed, depends on the ability it can do, there are a limited amount of metals that do anything and not everyone can use every type. The thing I like about it the most I never really felt like there was much of a Deus ex Machina type moment, the power is limiting and at the same time versatile. The reader knows the extend of what the characters can do yet Sanderson often manages to find new ways to use those abilities within those boundaries. It's very clever and feels really unique compared with any other fantasy book i've ever read.

The book is also surprisingly substantial at nearly 700 pages yet never seems to outlive it's welcome. All in all The Final Empire: Mistborn book one is a fantastic fantasy novel and I can't wait to get to the latter books I haven't read yet as well as some of his other works.

Recommended.

+ Characters are great.
+ Well written.
+ Magic/Power system is superb.
+ Interesting setting.

25 people found this helpful

Interested Person

A refreshing take on the fantasy genre

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 February 2017

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This was my first experience with a Sanderson novel, I came into it "by chance" rather than the usual route of his most famous series contribution. I was very pleased to have found it. The fantasy setting and "physics" behind magic in the world is dark, foreboding and very fresh. I spent much of the novel visualising the world: its dark mists, and its strange, metal consuming magic where "mistborn" can push towards or pull away from metal objects, either moving the object or themselves depending on which was heaviest. It would make a most unusual and thrilling computer game system.

But more importantly, the novel is filled with characters that have depth and meaning behind their actions, they drive the story rather than are driven by it. I don't mean to say that the characterization is always deep and perfect, because there are some of the peripheral characters that edge towards one-dimension, but the core is rich and satisfying. The main characters, a teenage girl street urchin called Vin and her violent yet principled mentor Kelsier, grow and change as events unfold and feel very convincing throughout. Their magic is limited by interesting, understandable "physics" that makes the difficulty of their task - ending a terrible caste system whereby most of the population are slaves, by defeating the god-like Lord Ruler and his powerful administration - feel plausibly hopeless and desperate. Finally, it is the story arc in this series that I like most. It does not feel like evil itself is the problem that is most difficult to overcome - but instead, making something good.

If you are considering reading this book, then you probably should.

13 people found this helpful

Barry Mulvany

Fast paced set in a great world

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 February 2020

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It's been a while since I read this book but it still holds up very well.

Mistborn is basically a heist book set on a world where the 'Dark One' has won and has been ruling for a thousand years. Certain people can burn metals which allows them to do certain things like become stronger, manipulate emotions or push/pull off of metal etc. In this world we are introduced to Vin, a young orphan working for a thieving crew of Skaa (lower class) whose path interacts with Kelsier and his crew to formulate a grand plan.

The book is mainly told from the POV of Vin with a few Kelsier POV sections thrown in as well. Vin is a great character, she starts off very distrustful and reticent but gradually comes out of her shell as she comes to terms with the crew and her new situation. Her joy in learning the Mistborn skills is palpable and I think is one of the main reasons this book was so successful. I do think she became too entranced too quickly with the noble lifestyle, you don't get over the years of what she went through that quickly but other than that I enjoyed her journey.

Kelsier is great and I actually I think I prefer him now than I did when I last read this over six years ago. Yes he can be vain and thinks far too much of himself but it is mostly justified and it is great seeing his plan come together. I remember disliking him somewhat due to his attitude to the nobility but honestly if you think about it it is entirely understandable. I'm not saying I condone wanton killings but if we lived in a world like they do I would understand the complete hatred that Kelsier and others have.

This is actually a really dark book by Sanderson standards. The world is awful but feels quite real and is a place you really wouldn't want to live in, especially for the Skaa. These themes of eugenics is somewhat touched on but only in a fairly superficial manner. Vin and Kelsier are done well but I feel the other characters we only get a very broad stroke picture of them. We get a few POV's of Elend towards the end and he really is very vanilla, and I hated the insta-love thing that was going on, particularly from Vin's perspective.

However the vast majority of the book is fun to read. The magic system is great as you expect from Sanderson (if you like the technical ones) and the world is amazing. The Lord Ruler is a great character and I would love to know more about those early years of his during the consolidation. The pace is fast and doesn't let up really at all. Okay maybe some people would find the ball scenes a little slow but I actually quite liked them apart from the Elend bits. Overall a great opener to a series and looking forward to the sequels.

4.5 stars rounded up.

2 people found this helpful

S.J

A great place to start with Sanderson

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 November 2020

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The actual book was as described with the nice cover. I wish I could get it in hardback though.

After loving the Wheel of Time I decided to give Brandon Sanderson's own works a go. The complex and creative magic systems, the fleshed-out characters, and vivid descriptions of the universe add up to an immersive reading experience.

One of the drawbacks for me was how long it took to actually get in to the story. A few chapters in and I didn't really feel invested in the story- this changed as soon as Vin really came onto the scene. This will make it good for a reread because I will digest and appreciate the beginning.

After just finishing the second book, I couldn't recommend this trilogy enough. I'm keeping it spoiler free, but I loved the second book so much- it felt like the first book was a set up to the second- which really undersells the first book because it has its own amazing story arc, character development and epic moments.

2 people found this helpful

Mr J Mc Stravick

Awesome first book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 February 2017

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This is a book that is very close to my heart as for a number of years I had stopped reading and very rarely picked up a book. Then a good friend recommended this book to me, so I thought I would give it a shot and see how good it was as, what I experienced in reading this book was nothing like I had ever felt before when reading.

From the start this book will draw you into its world, Brandon Sanderson’s world building here is second to none and it shows as I found it very easy to imagine the world that was being portrayed as well as being very detailed without being cumbersome.

As well as the world building the characterisation is exceptional, from the start you are drawn into Vin and Kelsier’s world and their minds. When a character grows you to grow with them as Brandon Sanderson makes you care for the characters and what they are going through.

The magic system in the book revolves around the digesting of certain metals to give you particular abilities and it shows that a lot of though went into the development of it. I enjoy the traditional trope of magic systems that quite a few books have but the one developed in the book is outstanding as it is very well constructed and you are always wanting to learn more about it and the properties each different metal has as well as strategies developed for them.

This book is a true page turner and without giving away any spoilers it will make you laugh, cry and angry due to how much you care about the world and its characters. All I can say is that are some truly brilliants shocks and twists in this book that once you finish it you will want to immediately pick up the sequel.

This book helped me re-find my love for books and it is for this reason I always highly recommend this book to anyone I know and it is a great book that everyone should read. Some people might not agree but I would put this on the same level of greatness as The Lord Of The Rings.

5 people found this helpful

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