Summary
I am a huge fan of Brandon Sanderson. I read the Stormlight Archive in a couple of weeks and was ecstatic to be guided through more of his intense world-building and comprehensive magic systems in The Final Empire and the Mistborn Novels. Let me preface this review by saying that it did not disappoint.
The Final Empire ticked all my boxes for an enjoyable fantasy book but fused them with a fresh dystopian touch. As soon as I started reading The Final Empire, it gave me 1984 vibes. Coming from the Stormlight Archive, this felt very different to the colourful and diverse Roshar. This is a must-read fantasy book, but don’t take it just from me. You will find this book positively reviewed almost everywhere.
Setting
The Final Empire takes place in a land named after the book. It is a bleak place, all under the control of the godlike dictator, the Lord Ruler. Almost everything is covered in ash from several “Ashmounts” across the empire. It is a place devoid of colour which is not helped by the fact that everything is shrouded in a mysterious mist at night.
The empire splits into several factions or groups. A peasant slave class called “skaa” makes up most of the population. An aristocracy is present, owing their places to ancestors who stayed loyal to the Lord Ruler during his rise to power. The Lord Ruler’s civil servants, known as Obligators work with his mutated special investigators called Steel Inquisitors make up the bureaucracy. Additionally, several other species relevant to the story are introduced as you work your way through the book.
There are different types of skaa. Some in the cities work as tradesmen and others live on plantations around the empire overseen by local noblemen. It is a brutally oppressive regime, but a millennia of crushed revolutions and forced theocracy has caused almost all of the skaa into complete submission.
Most of the story explores the capital, Luthadel, where the Lord Ruler has his palace and administers the Final Empire. It is a massive city with a population of several hundred thousand, similarly blanketed with ash.
Made up of several districts, it contains everything you would want from a fictional city. A huge, imposing palace. Mini-castles for the nobles, slums and plenty of safe houses (where lots of drinking happens).
Magic Systems
As we have come to expect from Brandon Sanderson, the magic systems in The Final Empire are well thought out. They bestow enough power to their users to keep them interesting but are loaded with limitations, much like in The Stormlight Archive.
In The Final Empire, magic is called Allomancy. Those capable can ingest and burn certain metals to bestow them with specific powers. You can utilise these powers for as long as the metal lasts in your body when burning. The metals are categorised into Internal and External depending on whether they affect the user’s own body or can similarly influence external factors.
Only those with noble blood are supposed to be able to have allomantic powers and so it is only present in skaa when there is interbreeding between nobles and skaa. The event of someone gaining access to their powers is known as “Snapping” and is a random occurrence, it doesn’t happen at a specific age or location.
If someone only has access to one metal burning, they are known as a Misting. They can only utilise the powers of this metal. Those that can burn all the metals (a rarity) are known as Mistborn.
Here are some examples of what the metals can do. You can find a full list of the allomantic metals and their powers here.
- Brass – Mistings of this metal are known as “Soothers” and can dampen people’s emotions. The opposite of a Soother burns Zinc and is known as a Rioter. They can inflame emotions.
- Steel – Probably the most fun of the metals, it allows users (known as Coinshots) to push on nearby metals allowing them to effectively shoot metals at people. Its inverse in Iron which allows the users (a “Lurcher”) to pull metals toward them. Mistborns can use both of these abilities together to effectively fly.
The magic in The Final Empire is one of the reasons this book is so engaging. It is fast-paced and the ways to use the magic are almost endless, especially if you are Mistborn, which thankfully the two main protagonists are. I never once found a battle between Allomancers even slightly dull. It is also a significant part of the plot as not everything is known about it.
Characters
From the start of The Final Empire, the character building was excellent for it gives a wide range of personalities and develops them all extensively. The story follows two main protagonists. Vin is a member of a small-time thieving crew that uses what she calls “Luck” to influence the emotions of others. She comes from a troubled background of beatings and betrayal and comes under the wing of the second protagonist, Kelsier when he saves her from a Steel Inquisitor and discovers she is a Mistborn. I like Vin. Her character develops a lot throughout the book and you feel this in the different parts.
Kelsier was my personal favourite. Once the leader of a prominent thieving crew, he escapes from a gulag where he Snapped and became a Mistborn. He comes across as cheery, friendly and cares a lot for his Skaa brethren. The same cannot be said for his view on the Lord Ruler or his establishment of obligators and nobles. Kelsier hates these groups with a passion and his hardness toward them contrasts starkly with his usual character.
The main protagonist of The Final Empire is the Lord Ruler. An autocratic, godlike dictator who has brought most of the known world under his control. Previously known as “The Hero of Ages”, 1000 years before the time of the book he defeated a threat to mankind called “The Deepness”. He took power, crushed all cultures and religions and set up a segregated, slave-master society, with him at the helm. He is an incredibly powerful Allomancer.Secondary to him, the Steel Inquisitors play a vital role in opposing the main characters. Mutated humans with steel spikes through their eyes, the extent of their powers is unknown.
The Final Empire Plot (No Spoilers)
The Final Empire follows a crew of thieves that are involved in a plot to overthrow the Lord Ruler. Kelsier returns to Luthadel after escaping a prison camp known as The Pits of Hathsin and brings together his old underworld allies along with some new faces.
Through subterfuge, infiltration of the establishment and manipulation of revolutionary forces, they work together in their plan to gain immense riches and make The Final Empire a place where the lowly skaa are no longer oppressed by the Lord Ruler and his establishment.
You will like The Final Empire if you like…
- High Fantasy novels where the storyline relies heavily on the use and abuse of magic.
- Dystopian novels with a big brother regime that controls and keeps the population down.
- Heist thrillers that follow cunning subterfuge and unexpected works of criminal genius.
Would we recommend The Final Empire?
Absolutely. If someone recommended a book to me that was a high fantasy, dystopian crime thriller, they wouldn’t have to tell me any more. That is not the only reason you should read this novel though. From the intense world building, well thought out magic systems along with some truly awesome characters, you will not be able to put this book down.
It gets a 5/5 from us and the second novel in the Mistborn Trilogy, The Well of Ascension, is already well underway. Stay tuned for more.