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The Well of Ascension
Mistborn: The Well of Ascension
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PART ONE - Discussion
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OMG yes! Vin's brother! Why didn't I think of that? I totally agree with Jay here, this must be the "Watcher", and it's amazing! So two Mistborns in one family? What are the chances? I believe both these characters are in a special sub-category of their own, even rarer than just Mistborns, they can do so more stuff than even Kelsier could. So interesting! I just realized that the 16-year-old character with the crush on Vin is called Spook in the original English and it took me back to the Last Apprentice Series that I adored as a teenager - has anyone read these? Oh, I'd just hate for this sweet guy with the cute speech impediment (that I'm sure is even more amazing in the original English!) to be dead and devoured by the second Kandra... Anyone but him, please!
But Sanderson really built the tension at the end of this Part 1, I got a really claustrophobic feeling while reading, like our heroes are trapped between enemies outside the walls and unknown enemies inside!
I won't go over the things Jay mentioned, they all caught my attention too and I agree with all he writes. I want to comment on two additional things that really impressed me, two more subdued elements in these here chapters:
-1) Sazed. What a guy! The way this hero balances his responsibilities and sacred mission as Guardian and his personal ethics that have helped shape the outcome of the last book is amazing! He's such a complex, unique character - strangely enough I can't "picture" him, is he human-looking like the rest or is one imediately obvious of the fact that he's a terrisman when first gazing upon him? I only get he's quite tall and thin with long earlobes. I'm so impressed by his inner thoughts and inner conflicts... The way he expresses how his kind has gathered and preserved knowledge about extinct Religions for the last thousand years in order to revive them when the Lord Ruler fell, and yet how he is now faced with a population of Skaa that doesn't care for what he has salvaged for them was heart-breaking to read. Realistic too... one can't expect people who only know one God-Emperor to suddenly want to believe in old gods who never helped them all these centuries. I also loved his quick realization that the world didn't become as great as people would have hoped simply because the old regime fell. His remarks on new injustices happening because of the Lord Ruler's absence (local dictators running wild without imperial armies to keep them tame) were marvelous as far as I'm concerned! Perfect insight by Sanderson here.
-2) I want to end with something I commented on in the first book topics too: those short initial passages in italics in the beginning of each chapter! So, so, so interesting! In the Final Empire we came to understand that those passages were the thousand-year-old thoughts/entries of the real Hero of Ages who faced and defeated the Deepness inside the Well of Ascension, only to be killed off and replaced the following morning by his terrisman, Rakesh. What about these thoughts here? Obviously it's not still the man who later came to be known as the Lord Ruler's diary continued, no? For 150 pages I was sure they were this Rakesh's experiences, picking up from that fateful night when he was conspiring to kill the hero that he himself first proclaimed. But this guy speaking here is called Quaan, not Rakesh (see first line in italics in Chapter 4). Is he someone else, then? Was the hero's name who defeated the Deepness Alenti?! I feel a strange closeness to him, like he's the real Hero of Ages that we were cheated of (his inner thoughts all through the first book were those of a perfect, noble, compassionate, sensational, bravest character, I now acknowledge that I -foolishly perhaps- didn't allow myself to like him because I was aware that he would eventually turn into that monster we knew as the Lord Ruler - when it was finally uncovered that he was not him, it was too late). I can only compare him to Rhaegar Targaryen, the real super hero we never got to meet cause he was already dead when the ASOIAF Series began but whose "shadow" follows all the events. I want a prequel focusing solely on this Alenti -and one on Rhaegar too- period! (and I hope I'm spelling Quaan and him correctly, I resist googling them to see how their names are spelled in the original English cause I did it in the last book for some names and was horribly spoiled for the entire Trilogy!!!) Or can it be that the third book might somehow be about him? (flashbacks maybe?)
Let's read more, let's hear more from other members, I'm surprised no one has even two lines of thoughts to share! Please do! If my writing these long paragraphs intimidates you to contribute, just tell me to shut up! :)
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Yesss, I think there's a good chance it is Vin's brother!! :)
Haha that's great Spook brought you back to the the Last Apprentice books, I was always interested in those books but never got the chance to read them. I truly hope I'm wrong, and Spook wasn't eaten by a Kandra!
Yes, definitely a claustrophobic feeling! That's a good way of putting it!
Sazed continues to be an amazing character, and is one of my favorites so far.
This is how I like to picture him:
I completely forgot to mention the passages in Italics this time around! Thanks for mentioning that, I'm also curious as to who this 'Kwaan' and 'Alenti" characters are (in the English translation it's 'Kwaan' instead of 'Quaan'). I loved the passages in the first book, and hopefully these ones will deliver with a mysterious and intriguing narrative, if not a surprising one like in the first book.
I would love there to be a prequel series, or a flashback!
Erggh gotta hate being spoiled! I definitely wouldn't look up any names, because it would suck to be spoiled for this book! So far they all seem to be the same if not very similar to the English ones so that's good!
I appreciate your input in these discussions!! ^_^
And totally, if there is anyone else reading this book or has read it, feel free to post some thoughts no matter how long or short!
I’m so loving this. Sorry if my thoughts are a bit jumbled.
First, let me mention this weird mist-disease. Sazed was shown a corpse and was told about how this man seemed to collapse in convulsions before dying, after the mist reached him (I think the mist was in the daytime as well). Could this have to do with what the Lord Ruler said, about how he was protecting them from something? Was he protecting them from the mist?
- I was expecting Kelsier’s actions and sacrifice to gain a following, and even a religion, but I do feel bad for Vin though, as she doesn’t know what to say to these people.
- I love how Vin decided to make OreSeur become a dog! And a huge wolfhound at that!
A little creepy how he can open up his skin and muscle to store things…. but I can see how it would be useful, since metals stored inside a living thing can’t be pulled!
Vin explaining to Elend why she doesn’t like Kandra:
“Elend, He ate Kelsier.”
XD I don’t blame her! They are pretty creepy.
I also liked the scene where Elend tells Vin about how Kelsier saved him from the inquisitor in the first book, how Kelsier risked his own life to protect a nobleman, the very people he killed without a second thought. He knew Vin loved Elend, and trusted her judgment. I forgot Vin never knew Kelsier did this.
- When Vin was trying the Aluminum, I found it funny that she needed Ham to “carry her back to her bed in case things went wrong”…. Uhh can’t Elend do that? He is your lover, and I’m sure he’s not so weak or you so heavy that he wouldn’t be able to carry you to bed. I mean, just because he isn’t a misting/mistborn doesn’t mean he’s a total weakling.
- I loved the sparring scene between Vin and Ham. And especially after when Vin found out that Eend bet against her:
Vin frowned at Elend. “You bet against me?”
Elend laughed, leaning across the railing to kiss her. “I didn’t mean it, Clubs bullied me.”
- Let’s talk about what’s going on with Marsh. His voice and body language has changed. He’s becoming more like every other inquisitor. We originally questioned why he wasn’t like the other inquisitors, but I guess it just takes some time. I can’t believe he called the Inquisitors’ his “brethren”. I hope he isn’t luring Sazed into a trap.
- Oh, and Elend still allows the steel ministry obligators to live and teach in Luthadel??? Bad move man, bad move. Like Vin, I would have executed them. There is a time and place to show mercy and compassion, but never to the Steel Ministry.
This duralumin that Vin has been testing is quite interesting. It’s able to drastically enhance the metals you are burning for a short period of time before depleting you of them. It was incredible how Vin used a burst of steel, pewter, and duralumin to push off the Luthadel wall and get to Breeze. This was actually one of my favorite scenes so far, as well as Breeze’s reaction and commentary afterward. I love reading the passages with Breeze in them, he’s always such a charismatic character!
OH AND THE ENDING OF PART ONE :O
I actually got a chill down my spine when reading about the second discarded bones, these one’s not being from OreSeur but some other Kandra. I think for sure now, that the weird figure made of mist that Vin saw on top of Elend’s study in the beginning must have been a Kandra without a body. I’m assuming it found a temporary body, but now has disposed of the bones and found a new body that is a member of the crew. But who?? Clubs would be easy to fake, since he’s always grumpy and doesn’t use much emotion… but then again, Kandra are good with impersonating. It could be Ham, though I don’t think we have any clues that it is him.
And then there is Spook. He arrived wearing a fake beard and a soldier’s uniform…. And apparently he was in the town for awhile without telling anyone. And we still don’t know how he got this uniform. Perhaps the Kandra ate a soldier, killed Spook when he got to Luthadel, then disposed of the soldiers bones and ate Spooks body. Though ‘Spook’ said he was in Luthadel for a few weeks but didn’t tell anyone because he wanted a break from responsibilities, could it be that a Kandra was actually using this time to repair Spooks body and make it look normal? Maybe the fake beard was to cover up some skin on Spooks jaw that the Kandra couldn’t quite get right?? Then again, it could be anyone. SO MYSTERIOUS, I NEED TO KNOW WHO IT IS!!!
What are your thoughts? Let me know below!
Let’s keep reading and see who this second Kandra is!
Theory: Here I go again with another theory. I think this mysterious “Watcher” figure is Vin’s brother. The clues being that Vin notices something familiar about him. Also he asks her why she is playing these “games” with the noblemen, so obviously he isn’t a fan of the nobles. Also he is a half noble half Skaa like Vin, he could easily be a mistborn as well.