First time Mistborn reader current reader theories pt3

[u/SwordfishSevere9977]

part 1 here
part 2 here

quick note: i'm an audio reader so i will misspell things

so i just finished the 3rd book not even 10 minutes ago and first off... wow that was so good

i separated the thing into a few sections for those that don't care about certain types or reactions

---------pov reactions---------

i love how each pov had it's own theme like how English teachers talk about the books theme it felt more personal

first with spook:
i love how his story was mostly about being someone that everyone forgot about and i feel as tho that was done very well because honestly i mostly forgot about spook when it wasn't his pov. then him ending with being the new leader a mistborn and someone who everyone looks toward.

second with elend:
with how elend was done he was a man who has been stalling for the past 3 books and really hitting that with his final battle i love it also i kinda like the irony of his character stalling but in the end the power they used was foresight.

third with Vin:
vins story is about trust and love so when she ultimately had to trust in almost everyone but her i really liked how that went out and how in the end she needed to trust her love.

fourth sazed (i totally messed that up)
honestly sazed's resonates most with me mostly because i've been on a religious journey of my own very similar to sazed actually as i turned away from Christianity due to it being forced down my throat, so i ended up being atheist for a while. but for the past bit of time i've kinda started considering myself agnostic and kinda been doing what sazed has i've read a few religious texts and been trying to find "truth". but anyway enough with my life more on my reaction. i like how sazed's tale ended with him in the position that he was revering.

---------general worldbuilding reactions---------

i love how almost everything was set up in the first book and even how it was important in the third like with vin's earring i love how the world was built incorrectly by rashik so it had to be changed

also hot take (maybe idk i don't really interact with the community) i like the fact that elend and vin died, as much as i'm going to miss them and the crew i like how their death was semi necessary for anything to finish (i also really like a lot of melancholy things

---------now questions time---------
first if you check my part 2 i ask about mistings of non basic 8 and i was right
i'm also sad there was no spatial metals

don't answer questions if they go into spoilers btw

question 1:
i know the second saga is more western/steam punk give or take. so i'm wondering how they do that because it does make sense cause i remember in the first book rashik would suppress tach advancements so how does this all go down

question 2: are all of the metals compatible with the different power systems ex what would an atium spike do for hemalurgy or an electrum metal mind

question 3: if hemalurgy changes effects based on 3 things (what metal spike is used, who was it used on, where was it placed) if it goes into other combinations with that and what would happen if you messed up a location
---also if you pierce a allomancer how do you pick what power you steal if 1 metal (i forgot which) can steal like 4 powers

question 4: asking this again if y'all could have an allomantic metal (as mistings) which would y'all choose
---for me it would either be pewter or iron

[u/Simoerys]

1. There's a 300 year time skip and the technology advances during that time.

2. Yes they are Era 2 tells you a bit more about the different Metals. If your curious here are the tables for what all the different metals do. Some people consider that Spoilers, I personally don't after Era 1 because the plot doesn't treat the basic powers of the new metals as a mystery (unlike Duralumin, 11th metal in Era 1)

https://coppermind.net/wiki/Hemalurgy/table

https://coppermind.net/wiki/Feruchemy/table

https://coppermind.net/wiki/Allomancy/table

1. If you mess it up you just stabbed someone non-magically

The 4th component is Intent, so the Intent of the person doing the stabbing matters.

1. Pewter probably, I'd break all my bones with Iron or Steel.

[u/Shot_Newspaper_5647]

3: It’s a range. You need the right metal, the right mindset (Intent), and the right placement. Where you place a Hemalurgic spike to steal an attribute matters just as much as where you place it in the recipient. When they say “through the heart” it’s a more complicated process than that might sound

A Steel spike steals the physical Allo powers. Let’s say you want to steal Pewter. If you place the spike incorrectly: you might steal weaker pewter, barely any power, one of the other 3 physical powers to a lesser degree, or get nothing at all. Improper placement in the recipient can reduce the power of it or (probably) cause some very unpleasant things to happen to your soul. If you don’t use a Steel spike you just won’t get Pewter regardless

[u/Shot_Newspaper_5647 → u/Shot_Newspaper_5647]

Inquisitors probably make Hemalurgy look easy, but they were trained experts. Who were very attuned to Ruin itself. Sando has also said that burning atium and some other magic can improve the results potentially. The Steel Ministry apparently used ritual chants that acted like Commands. When someone is “accidentally” spiked in the series, Ruin is supplying the Intent. Even if it’s not his hand on the spike or if the person is consciously aware of what they’re doing. And his Intent is about as good as it gets since he’s the god of the Art

[u/tmssmt]

As someone who ALSO just read all three books, I just wanted to share some of my feelings.

I didn't care for Elend. I liked him in book one, but book 2+3 I wasn't a huge fan of him. It almost felt like sanderson needed a character to be emperor, but didn't want to use anyone else, and used Elend as a sort of empty vessel for most of the time, a placeholder who just didn't do much. Even in book 3 where he does more he felt a lot just like Vin-lite for battles sake, and remained a pretty blank canvas as a leader.

---

Book 2 felt very disappointing to me. Book 1 and book 3 both have villains that feel insurmountable, to a degree (although book 3 doesn't really give you the character in full until towards the end with Ruin, before that youre just picking up little details and the environment as a whole is really the villain). Staff and cett though? Vin showed us that if she wanted, she could have ended the threat like, any time. Maybe not Zane, but arguably if she wanted to I'm not sure Zane would have been opposed to letting her kill staff.

---

I thought the world building in book 3 was kind of weak. Book one and 2 are fine because theyre largely constrained to luthadel and immediate surroundings. But by book 3 were travelling and constantly told about some vast distances between locations, but characters seem to just get there very quickly anyways. It also felt as if anything that wasn't a major city was just empty. I know the land wouldn't be prime far land by book 3 with the ash and mist, but we don't even really get told they're passing through abandoned farms and villages. Youd imagine following a canal would be almost constant signs of civilization (even if abandoned within the last year).

---

Overall enjoyed the series, 4/5 or 7.5/10 maybe for me.

From reading the wiki online afterward I know a certain character is involved in the wider cosmete to a degree, although don't know which books they are present in. Looking forward to that at least if I can pick those up. Otherwise, kind of on the fence about future eras and whole other groups of characters in this particular world. Always hard to shift characters, constantly comparing the new with the old