Though the current project started as a series of posts charting my grief journey after the death of my mother, I am no longer actively grieving. Now, the blog charts a conversation in living, mainly whatever I want it to be. This is an activity that goes well with the theme of this blog (updated 2018). The Sense of Doubt blog is dedicated to my motto: EMBRACE UNCERTAINTY. I promote questioning everything because just when I think I know something is concrete, I find out that it’s not.
Hey, Mom! The Explanation.
Here's the permanent dedicated link to my first Hey, Mom! post and the explanation of the feature it contains.
A Sense of Doubt blog post #4098 - Letter to Dad #34 - Pistons up 2-0 in Semi-Finals Over Cleveland!
Hi Big Guy,
I keep delaying the Seeing Bowie Live post with pictures from your little black book. I will get to it.
But this Pistons news seems more important right now. You would be so thrilled if you were still here. I remember watching so much Pistons basketball from 2003-2007, especially. Chauncey, Rip, Ben, Tayshaun, Sheed... such a great team. However, I was in Seattle when they won the 2004 championship, beating the Lakers.
Now the Pistons are up 2-0 on the Cavs in Eastern Semi-Finals after roaring back from being down 1-3 to beat the Magic in a game seven on Sunday.
Not much else to report. I am on quarter break. I maintained my 4.0. I am applying for jobs. I have an internship (pretty certain).
Trying to keep up on house stuff. Wish you were here to discuss that.
Enjoy the Pistons news from games one and two of the Semi-Finals.
This is a bit of a cheat as I am writing on Friday but publishing this post backwards to before Game Two.
Growth-first approach from J.B. Bickerstaff winning games for Pistons
Omari Sankofa II
Detroit Free Press
May 8, 2026, 5:10 a.m. ET
After a 60-win regular season, the first round of the 2026 NBA playoffs revealed that the Detroit Pistons still had some growing up to do.
Coach J.B. Bickerstaff trusted his young roster to figure it out.
They were on the brink of elimination in Game 6 against the Orlando Magic, down by 24 points early in the third quarter on May 1. And yet fourth-year big Jalen Duren, who who struggled to assert himself on both sides of the ball earlier in the series, played the final eight minutes of the game over Paul Reed, a vet in the midst of a strong performance.
Second-year guard Daniss Jenkins, who couldn’t hit shots through the first five games, played 10 of 24 second-half minutes in a historic comeback to force a Game 7, eventually won by the Pistons to set up their Eastern Conference semifinal matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Bickerstaff leaned on them for a simple reason: To learn how to handle high-pressure moments – to, perhaps, become pillars of the franchise – they first had to experience them.
The decision has paid dividends since: Duren and Jenkins shook off their poor starts and delivered their best performances of the series in Sunday's Game 7. And as the Pistons have built a 2-0 lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers, they've delivered even more.
“When you have young guys who are doing things for the first time, playing in these situations, it’s not going to be perfect,” Bickerstaff said after the Pistons’ 107-97 Game 2 win over the Cavaliers on Thursday, May 7. “What we judge them on is, if it’s effort-based and if they’re giving us all they got, then we’ll stick with them and give them a chance to play through some of the bumps and bruises, because we trust that they’re going to get through it and they’ll be better for it.”
The Pistons have won five straight since an April 29 loss left them trailing the Magic, 3-1. Even as they continue a rapid trajectory to contention, Bickerstaff – and the front office – hasn’t abandoned a growth-oriented approach to coaching and team-building. Their young core is meeting the moment, even if it took a first-round scare for them to get there.
President of basketball operations Trajan Langdon decided against a big trade deadline swing for a potential star to help Cade Cunningham, instead allowing his players to grow into stardom. That patience extends to Bickerstaff, who is coaching with the big picture in mind even as the team is in the midst of its deepest playoff run in nearly two decades.
“We’re going to be here for a while, right?” he said after the team’s practice on Wednesday. “And this group is going to be together for a while. So we have to do what’s best for this group in total and not just react to our emotions in the moment. Being here, working with Trajan and Tom [Gores, Pistons owner], they’ve afforded me the ability to be able to do that and see the game that way, where you don’t feel like you have to win or lose every possession or your job's on the line.”
Jenkins was one of the Pistons’ many success stories this season, earning a standard contract after playing his two-way contract to the 50-game limit, winning several games for them early in the season. But he looked overmatched in the playoffs, shooting 26.3% from the floor in his first five playoff appearances this year.
Bickerstaff recognized that Jenkins needed time to adjust to the postseason pace and physicality. The Pistons needed what Jenkins could bring – namely, secondary ballhandling alongside Cunningham. Instead of benching him, he gave him an opportunity to rise to the moment.
Jenkins had 16 points and five assists in Game 7, and 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists and four steals in a Game 1 win over the Cavs. Game 2 brought Jenkins' third straight game scoring in double figures.
“You can’t simulate the playoffs, you can’t do that,” said Jenkins, who had 16 points and four assists Thursday. “This is my first time going through it. I knew I wasn’t going to be scared or nothing like that, I just had to go through it and adjust to the intensity, atmosphere, the physicality. I think early on I was just pressing a little too much. I just had to relax and just play, and once I did that I knew it was going to be up from there.”
Duren, meanwhile, looked stiff and unfocused at the beginning of the Magic series. He fumbled the rebounds and passes he usually nabs with ease, had issues establishing himself on the boards, gave up too many baskets in the paint and was outplayed by Orlando's Wendell Carter Jr.
He found his rhythm as a rim protector during the Game 6 comeback and looked like the All-Star version of himself in Game 7, in which he tallied his first double-double of the series – 15 points, 15 rebounds (six offensive) and three assists. He kept it rolling in Game 1 against Cleveland, finishing with 11 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
“Young players don’t develop if they don’t feel that belief and trust in them, and if you’re just yanking them and pulling them in and out they don’t get the opportunities to grow,” Bickerstaff said.
The Pistons are winning like a team with urgency, but their philosophy has remained the same since September's media day: Internal growth was always going to dictate their level of success this season.
Turns out, their patient approach is also the approach most conducive to winning.
Cade Cunningham sends message with Game 2 takeover vs Cavaliers
He looked patient then sluggish then focused, and when the game was in the balance, he looked like him.
Or, more accurately, Him.
That’s how it goes some nights, when the game isn’t quite there, and the feel is a touch off, even for budding superstars. What matters is what happens when it is time to win.
Cade Cunningham clearly gets that. He continues to show these playoffs that he gets it, and did so again Thursday, May 7, at Little Caesars Arena.
Lose Game 2 to the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Detroit Pistons are looking up again in the playoffs, like they did for most of the first round. Cunningham wasn’t going to let that happen.
And so, with a little more than two minutes left and the Pistons leading by six, he pulled the ball back between his legs, smooth as flowing water, and knocked down a dagger 3-pointer.
Cunningham finished with 25 points and 10 assists, a superlative second-half performance from one of the best players in the game. That’s clear. And clearer with each step through these playoffs.
Even on a night when he looked out of it for a while, he found a way to close. Though he wasn’t the only one.
With each game, this team is finding plays from up and down the roster, and what a roll it has led to. That’s five in a row now. They’ve won in all sorts of ways.
They’ve come back. They’ve blown teams out. And now they’ve made winning plays at the end of the game.
Actually, they did a version of that in Game 1 against the Cavaliers, but that win was decided before the final few minutes.
Whatever else you say about these young Pistons, they are proving by the game that they belong here and that they have the ability to respond, no matter the situation.
Like the first game of this series, Cleveland came back from a halftime deficit and tied it in the fourth. This time, they actually took the lead, on an Evan Mobley dunk. Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff called a timeout, and his team quickly went back to work.
It started with the vets. Tobias Harris tied it. Who else? Duncan Robinson buried a transition 3-pointer from not too far inside the halfcourt line.
The quick 7-0 run settled them for the stretch run. For once, their offense picked up their defense. Well, that and Ausar Thompson checked back into the game despite a tight foul situation. That never hurts. And he kept going for the rest of the fourth.
It’s hard to imagine a more unlikely source than Daniss Jenkins. He was at it again Thursday night.
The start of the Pistons guard's postseason was a blip. This is who he has been for so much of the season. Maybe not draining buzzer-beating, end-of-quarter 3-pointers, as he did Thursday – the Pistons' third buzzer-beater in two games – but serving as the secondary playmaker Cunningham needs.
And the shot-maker the Pistons need. There he was pulling up from the elbow, from the baseline, taking the ball and waiting, patiently, until a big man flashed under the rim for an open look, as he did when he found Jalen Duren for a dunk late in the second.
He helped the Pistons build their lead in the first half and helped them from completely collapsing in the third when the Cavaliers made their push. He scored 14, and the Pistons needed it, as Cunningham looked a little sluggish in the first half.
Then again, maybe he meant to sit back and pass first and assess?
If he was, he’d had enough when Cleveland came out of the half with more juice and cut the Pistons’ 11-point lead to six. He drove and dropped it to Duren, who missed the layup. On the next possession, he drove and drew a foul. And on the next, he drove and dunked.
They had energy at the start again, especially defensively, which has become a pattern now, a sign that they understand what is needed from the jump. They swarmed. They blanketed. They rotated.
They suffocated.
Thompson was in the middle of it all, primarily ping-ponging between James Harden and Donovan Mitchell, as the Pistons built an 11-point lead at the half and held Cleveland to 43 points.
The defense disappeared in the third but returned in the fourth, like Cunningham did.
Game 3 is Saturday in Cleveland, where the Cavs were 4-0 in the first round against Toronto.
The top-seeded Pistons have won five straight games since Orlando put them on the brink of elimination in the first round.
“We're going to keep swinging,” reserve guard Daniss Jenkins said. “We're still trying to prove something to ourselves.”
Donovan Mitchell scored 31 points and Jarrett Allen had 22 points and seven rebounds, bouncing back from a poor performance in Game 1 for the fourth-seeded Cavs.
James Harden, though, missed 10 of 13 shots and was limited to 10 points. Harden had four turnovers, including one with 33 seconds left when the Cavs trailed by just six.
“We just wear on you,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “That’s what our objective is.”
Cleveland's Max Strus scored just three points after he had 19 in the series opener. The Cavs went 0 for 11 from 3-point range in the fourth quarter, with Strus having four of the misses.
“Unfortunately, it was not a night where we shot the ball well — 7 of 32 from 3,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said.
Detroit’s Duncan Robinson had 17 points, making 5 of 9 3-pointers, and Jenkins came off the bench to score 14 points, his third straight game in double figures.
“I don’t think people can keep up with my pace and my speed,” Jenkins said.
Cleveland made the first shot but didn’t lead again until Evan Mobley’s dunk put the visitors ahead 81-79 early in the fourth quarter.
The Pistons led by 11 points in the first quarter and 14 in the second quarter.
“I don’t know what it is with the start of games,” Atkinson said. "They came out super aggressive of course, but it’s the playoffs. Obviously, we haven’t figured that one out. Still back to the drawing board.”
The Cavs scored the first six points of the final quarter and Detroit responded with plays at both ends of the court.
Robinson had a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 9:40 left and Cunningham made a 3-pointer to put the Pistons ahead by nine points with 2:12 to go, sealing the victory.
Cavs reserve guard Sam Merrill missed Game 2 with a hamstring injury after he was hurt in in the series opener.
Cunningham, Pistons not going to let up with 2-0 lead on Cavs
With a 107-97 Game 2 win, the Pistons celebrated their fifth consecutive postseason victory for the first time since 2008.
However, it was hard for Cunningham to forget that less than a week ago, the Pistons' season was on the ropes as they faced a 24-point deficit on the road against Orlando in Game 6 of their first-round series.
"It taught us how fragile and how thin of a line is that comes between winning and losing," Cunningham said of the Magic series. "So, being up 2-0 right now, we know it's a thin line still. So, it's one game at a time. We've got to go into Cleveland now and they're going to have their home fans around them, they're going to have more energy in there, so we've got to handle our business and be focused."
Ultimately, the Pistons rallied to win Game 6 and the opening series versus the Magic, overcoming a 3-1 hole before advancing to host the Cavaliers in Round 2.
But that first-round experience continues to motivate Cunningham to maintain focus.
On Thursday night, Cunningham led the Pistons over Cleveland with 25 points and 10 assists while Tobias Harris added 21 points and seven rebounds.
"Last series, learned a lot for sure. I mean being down 3-1, back against the wall, there's a lot of things that go through your mind with the potential of your season being over and stuff," Cunningham said. "So, just trying to find the best way to execute, but going through that series, you realize how long a playoff series can be and it's a war more so than just a battle.
"Being down 3-1 and then having a one-game-at-a-time mentality, fighting our way back into it and then winning it, coming down on the right side of it, was a great thing."
Cunningham has now scored at least 20 points in all 15 of his career playoff games, which is the fourth-longest streak to begin a career in NBA postseason history behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (27), LeBron James (19) and Anthony Davis (16), per ESPN Research.
He has averaged 31.4 points per game and 7.4 assists while shooting 55.2% from 3-point range during the Pistons' five-game win streak.
Cunningham started the first half of Game 2 against Cleveland with just five points and six assists but came alive in the fourth quarter, scoring 12 points -- including a step-back dagger 3 to put the Pistons ahead 101-92 with 2:12 remaining.
"I mean, Cade is just fabulous," Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. "He's the killer, closer and all of the adjectives you want to talk about. Like, he's it. And in the fourth quarter, he does his best work."
Pistons guard Daniss Jenkins was solid off the bench with 14 points, six rebounds and four assists, and sharpshooter Duncan Robinson became the first player in franchise history with five 3-pointers in back-to-back playoff games. Robinson finished with 17 points while going 5-for-9 from 3.
Detroit led by as many as 14 in the first half but allowed Cleveland to come back and take an 81-79 lead at 10:19 in the fourth quarter after a huge dunk by Evan Mobley. From there, the Pistons went on a 28-16 run to secure the 10-point victory.
The Pistons are 12-1 in best-of-seven playoff series when leading 2-0, while teams in that 2-0 scenario also go on to win the series 92% of the time, per ESPN Research.
But the Pistons aren't focused on history or statistics, after their experience with Orlando. So, they'll be prepared to see a hungry Cavaliers squad Saturday.
"We just know, just last series we was down 3-1. So, we're going to keep swinging," Jenkins said. "Our back still against the wall. The world still don't believe. We still trying to prove something to ourselves. We set out this year with certain goals in our mind and we're not there yet. Job's not finished."
Detroit Pistons learned their lesson in Round 1 and applied it vs Cavs
They are learning, these Detroit Pistons: quarter by quarter, game by game, series by series. Sometimes, even play by play.
They showed this again in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinals against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday, May 5, at Little Caesars Arena. They were tough when they needed to be and resourceful when they had to be, beating the Cavs, 111-101, to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
That resolve showed up early and late, especially after they’d given up a 13-point second-half lead against one of the NBA's better offensive teams, riding a gutty effort from Cade Cunningham – who didn’t play his most efficient game, but surely played one of his grittiest.
The Cavaliers finally tied it when James Harden hit three free throws after Ausar Thompson fouled him behind the 3-point-line. The crowd, anxious for chunks of the night, fell quiet, except for the Cleveland fans in the building (of which there were too many).
Cunningham, who looked a bit sluggish at times, checked back in after a late fourth-quarter rest and missed a 3. Jalen Duren blocked Harden at the rim and grabbed the rebound. Cunningham then forced his way into the lane before dropping it off for a Duren dunk.
Then he did it again the next time down the floor to give Detroit a four-point lead. Cleveland called a timeout.
The Pistons made every play from there: another Cunningham to Duren dunk, a Daniss Jenkins pull-up, a late-shot clock jumper from Tobias Harris – of course – and a Cunningham midrange special. They needed all of it, from everywhere, on a night when the game was chippy and feisty, with a little shoving, a little pushing, and a lotta jawing.
Let’s see, Duncan Robinson chest-bumped Harden after a floater and Harden pushed him back.
Double technical.
Cunningham shoved Jaylon Tyson and Tyson ran and got in Cunningham’s face.
No technical.
Meanwhile, Dennis Schröder looked for a scuffle everywhere. He played that role well last season for the Pistons. He played it well Tuesday night for the Cavaliers.
It was physical, not quite in the way the last series was, but still, these are the playoffs, and this is the second round, and it’s been a while – 18 years, in fact – and this is how it should be. Fighting, scrapping, willing stops and buckets and a win when it gets tight and white-hot.
Besides, Javonte Green hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the first quarter. Ron Holland hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the third quarter. How often do you get one of those in a game, much less two?
You’ve got to take advantage and seize the opportunity, like Holland did. He had played one minute since Game 2 of the first round; on Tuesday, he only got 10 minutes, but had a tough finish at the rim and started to figure out how to slow down enough to harness that crackling energy.
The kind of energy – and competitive spirit – that was there for the entire team from the start, unlike Game 1 of the Orlando series. It needed to be. Cleveland is far more explosive.
The shooting was there early, too, largely from Robinson and Cunningham, who combined to hit five 3-pointers in the first half. Robinson couldn’t make a shot from deep against the Magic, and Cunningham was more efficient beyond the arc (2-for-5) than inside it Tuesday (4-for-14). He balanced his slightly off-kilter middy, though, by getting to the free throw line (9-for-11).
They knew. They understood the assignment, the moment.
They got to the line and made 11 of 12 free throws in the first quarter. They rebounded. They rotated on defense, they jumped to a 37-21 lead after one.
They made plays early and then again late, when they had to. They are learning.
Duncan Robinson added 19 points for the top-seeded Pistons, who ended an NBA record-tying 12-game postseason losing streak against a single opponent, a drought that dated to the 2007 Eastern Conference finals.
Game 2 is Thursday night in Detroit.
The Pistons forced 20 turnovers that led to 31 points in a strong performance against Cleveland's potent backcourt of Donovan Mitchell and James Harden.
“That's what this series presents, but we're up for a challenge," Harris said. "I thought tonight we did a great job of that.”
Mitchell scored 23 points, ending his NBA-record streak of scoring 30-plus points in nine straight series openers.
Harden had 22 points and Max Strus scored 19 for the No. 4-seeded Cavs, who pulled into a tie midway through the fourth quarter after trailing for most of the night and by as much as 18 points.
Harden committed seven turnovers and pointed the blame at himself.
“You look within first,” he said. “Look at my turnovers and a lot of them are just on me and nothing they did.”
Cleveland center Jarrett Allen was limited to two points and three rebounds, coming off a 22-point, 19-rebound performance in an elimination game against Toronto.
Two days after both teams won a Game 7, the Pistons started strong and led 37-31 after a quarter. Detroit took a 59-46 lead into the second half, when the cushion was no longer comfortable.
Cleveland pulled within three points late in the third and Ron Holland hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the quarter and put the Pistons up 83-76.
After the Cavs cut their deficit to three again early in the fourth, the Pistons responded with eight consecutive points to restore a double-digit lead.
Cleveland, though, wouldn’t go away.
Harden, playing the Pistons for the first time since Cleveland acquired him, scored seven straight points to pull the Cavs into a 93-all tie with 5:28 left.
Jalen Duren blocked Harden’s next shot and dunked on Detroit’s next three possessions — each off Cunningham assists.
The Pistons won the Central Division this year by eight games ahead of the defending champion Cavs, splitting four games during the regular season.
Detroit earned 60 victories and the top seed in the East just two years after losing 68 games and setting a single-season NBA record with 28 straight losses.
The Pistons rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the first round against Orlando to advance in the playoffs for the first time since 2008.
Cleveland outlasted Toronto in seven games to reach the second round for the third straight year, a run that started with Bickerstaff, who was fired by the Cavs and hired a month later by the Pistons.
- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2605.07 - 10:10
- Days ago: MOM = 3962 days ago & DAD = 616 days ago
- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I post Hey Mom blog entries on special occasions. I post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day, and now I have a second count for Days since my Dad died on August 28, 2024. I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of Mom's death, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of her death and sometimes 13:40 EDT for the time of Dad's death. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
A Sense of Doubt blog post #4097 - Learning From Writers: Mistborn Book One - Brandon Sanderson
As I work on my fantasy novel (more a cyberpunk, sword-sorcery-fantasy mashup), I am engaged in some market research because I feel we writers have to be. Brandon Sanderson is one of the heavy hitters and some would say THE heavy hitter. Two years ago, I read the first WAY OF KINGS book, and even longer ago (March 16-May 6 2020), I read this book, the first Mistborn book.
I am trying to work out if I did not love this book simply because I react negatively to hype, and Sanderson has been hyped out of proportion, or because it's really not great.
Don't get me wrong. This book is good, even very good, maybe. Sanderson has skills. He's a good writer. I like the world building, mostly; I like Allomancy.
But it seems as if there's something missing. The book did not gel for me. I was not riveted. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it well enough to read the next two in the series and his other series -- The Stormlight Archive -- but I have to say I liked SKYWARD -- the first Sanderson I read -- much more than MISTBORN.
I have the three book set, so I was considering reading it again as I have almost NO memory of it.
The word Allomnacy does ring a bell, but I have very little memory of any of it.
So I decided to gather resources, so as to review the book and see if I am going to re-read or move on to book two.
Since I listened to this book, often audio books do not stick as well as books I read with my eye balls. However, even those, my memory is bad. There are books I read with eyeballs that I have very little memory of or none at all.
So, I was trying to decide if I was going to re-read this with eyeballs, re-listen, or just use these resources to learn what was in the book, maybe jogging a little memory, and then move on to book two.
Sometimes it's not the book, it's the narrator. I have trained myself to listen to audio books, even when my mind wanders. And I always have the paper copy of the book for re-reading, refreshing of memory, and consultation.
What little memory I have prompts me to consider that the narrator spoiled this book for me, and I said as much in the review. I felt something was missing. It did not grip me. That could be the narrator. That could just be my headspace at the time I read it. Sometimes I have other expectations given what I have listened to recently. Back in 2020 when I read it, I had just read Fan Girl and Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, both very engaging books with strong narrators for the audio. I had also recently re-read The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks and Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. The latter is one of my all time favorite books, top ten, and not even just in the genre. I also adore Twelve Hawks' book. I remember all those other books as being more gripping and engaging and sticking with me more than Sanderson's. I may also have just had a bad attitude as I mentioned in the Good Reads review.
So, maybe, I was in the wrong headspace.
Still, learning from other authors is vital to work in the genre.
I need to get better acquainted with these books, so I am either re-reading or using this post to move on to book two (for which I also own the audio).
I was attracted to the title because MIST is the name of magic power in my world, but it comes from Mist'abeo, an indigenous word for Great Soul, Oversoul, or as I like to think of it, the Soul Ocean, the energy of all life, in another dimension but one that feeds ours.
Review: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn #1)
Posted on
The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson Recommended: YEP! For a big ol fantasy adventure with a heist-y feel and crew of characters (without being overly “quirky”), for characters who matter whether main or side, for a world of magic and creatures that makes you want to read an encyclopedia just to learn all the interesting facts and rules
For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the “Sliver of Infinity,” reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler’s most hellish prison. Kelsier “snapped” and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark.
Kelsier recruited the underworld’s elite, the smartest and most trustworthy allomancers, each of whom shares one of his many powers, and all of whom relish a high-stakes challenge. Then Kelsier reveals his ultimate dream, not just the greatest heist in history, but the downfall of the divine despot.
But even with the best criminal crew ever assembled, Kel’s plan looks more like the ultimate long shot, until luck brings a ragged girl named Vin into his life. Like him, she’s a half-Skaa orphan, but she’s lived a much harsher life. Vin has learned to expect betrayal from everyone she meets. She will have to learn trust if Kel is to help her master powers of which she never dreamed.
Thoughts
OHHHHHHHHHH MY GOD WHY DID I WAIT OVER TEN YEARS TO ACTUALLY READ THIS!!!!!!!!
Well… the reason is because Sanderson feels like such a force and I was extremely intimidated by his sheer volume and and length of work. That’s the recent reason anyway — I assume the first few years was just kind of forgetting about it. xD Big thanks to my buddy reading Discord for having this as a monthly read right when I was ready for it.
AhemAnyway…
Yeah y’all, it was good. Look, I know I’m not even close to the first person to say that, but it was good!! The one negative thing I can say is that there were definitely info dumps at times, but even those didn’t bother me much because the info was so interesting to me. I wanted to learn more, and it was worked into the story naturally enough through the venue of Vin needing to learn (and us along with her, conveniently).
There’s a touch of moral philosophy in here that I adored. Thank you, Ham! That lent the overall plot a really BIG feeling. The discussions around if and how you kill a god, and especially, if you SHOULD kill a god were all the same questions I was asking as they outlined their plans for the empire. It was refreshing to have the characters themselves challenge the ideas within their group and reduced the amount of disbelief I had to suspend. Constant different views on friendship and relationships are in here as well, from one extreme to the other and everything in between. I loved how much of a variety we got from each of the characters.
And, whoo, Y’ALL! Everyone had personality and a story and mattered and felt like a real whole character. There weren’t many, if any, who were just kind of there to fill a straightforward role like “bad guy” or “dumb guy” or anything similar.
Of course: the plot. THE PLOT. I was a little worried when I realized it was sort of a heist-y story because those can be very tedious for me when it’s the same formula of brilliant faultless leader who never shares plans combined with quirky crew of misfits, and thank goodness this wasn’t like that. Kelsier is a FASCINATING character and reading this made me want to do some whole deep analyses on him. The driving force in the story as far as plot also evolves so much as the story goes, and there were multiple times where I messaged my buddy read group to shout about how I had NOT seen something coming but LOVED it. While some of the broad-strokes elements of the end reveal were things I expected based on the clues along the way, I was still really satisfied with where it all left off.
I do find it odd that it didn’t feel like it forced me into a second book. Like I could probably stop reading here and feel satisfied I’ve seen the story. But I also know that there’s probably so much more good to come in later books that I’ll definitely continue it.
I’m so happy I finally read this. ^.^ Now excuse me while I go read the Coppermind fandom wiki pages about everything so I can nestle deep into all the lore and creatures of the world.
The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) by Brandon Sanderson is a phenomenal fantasy with an incredibly unique premise and dynamic characters.
So I read this a while ago and my review is looong overdue, I know I’m sorry, but it is finally here!
Synopsis: In a world where the dark lord has already won, where revolutions and uprisings are squashed without ever making a dent, where the people are severely governed and enslaved by the rich. What hope is there?
Ash rains from the sky here, the mist owns the night, and the evil is in control. One headstrong young man has had enough, and his troublemaking brain is infinitely clever – as he formulates plan after plan he builds a crew and takes on a young apprentice. This is an unlikely group, but do they have what it takes to free the empire from the evil that has captured it?
— Flawlessly Creates A Strong Atmosphere —
The Writing Style/Narrative. Brandon Sanderson’s writing style is phenomenal. It is incredibly well-structured, it flawlessly creates a strong atmosphere and is very rich and emotive. It is incredibly effective, it draws you into the story immediately and paints a vivid picture of the world and its characters, hooking you, and consistently maintains your interest.
This story is told from two perspectives – Vin and Kelsier, the two main characters. Both perspectives are told in the third person, an effective choice that allows us a lot of insight into the characters, their relationships with each other, and their own motivations. This perspective also allows a sense of restriction, we are not able to see all of the characters thoughts all of the time, nor do we know their plans – this allows for mystery to be built up throughout the story and facilitates some incredible plot twists that effectively shock you and keep you reading.
The dual narrative is very efficient throughout the story. It creates a very interesting dynamic of teacher and apprentice , but also an almost parent-child relationship. Not only does this lend an interesting character dynamic it also created an incredibly interesting perspective, one with a lot of insight the other with a more limited frame of knowledge. This was a fantastic choice that allows you to slowly learn things about the world while simultaneously learning things quickly and efficiently through the more advanced perspective – this meant that the story moved at a good pace, there were no info-dumps and it was always interesting.
— Distinct And Fascinating Fantasy —
The Story/Plot. This, by far, has been one of the most distinct and fascinating fantasy stories I have ever read. The premise is unique and brilliant as it starts in a world where the villain has already won, not only that but he has built an empire that has lasted for a long time and has crushed any and all rebellions/uprisings. This immediately creates a sense of hoplessness and adds to the interest of the story.
We follow Vin and Kelsier. Vin is a Skaa, the lowest class used as slaves. We follow her as she runs as part of a thieving crew, her boss sees her as lucky as things tend to go his way when she is around, but Vin is wary of everyone and refuses to trust anybody. Her story is very interesting as she is drawn into a larger story of rebellion and struggles with trusting her crew. Kelsier on the otherhand is a legend, and he is determined to lead a successful uprising against the Lord Ruler who has oppressed the Skaa for so long.
This was such an interesting plot, watching the plan to overthrow the Lord Ruler develop and evolve as the story went on, but never fully knowing the entirety of it meant there was constant suspense that always paid off. The opposing narratives and the complicated plot meant the story was well paced, there were times where it was a little slower but this perfectly balanced out the action and more tense moments in the story allowing you to remain engaged but not exhausted. The action scenes were very well written, fun to read and each battle, including the final fight was extraordinarily done, they were tense, fast paced and risky – I loved it.
Moreover, the story is incredibly unpredictable, it takes a lot of twists and turns that consistently shock you and keep you interested – you never know how things will play out and the stakes are high. The story is high risk, there is no certainty and that makes it all the more intriguing. The ending was very interesting and sets up well for the rest of the series, it is also devastating, heart-breaking and ominous.
— Dynamic And Multi-Dimensional —
The Magic System/World-Building. This book has an very complex and rich magic system and world. The story is set a while after The Lord Ruler supposedly saved the Empire from a very significant threat, after doing so he divided the people and used the Skaa as slaves and has managed to keep them oppressed for a long time. The Lord Ruler has created a higher class of nobles and an elite force of ‘guards’ that are unkillable.
The higher classes are people born from a noble bloodline, they have the ability to use Allomancy, they can burn metals and utilise their properties as powers. Some Skaa have this ability but can only utilise the properties of one kind of metal – they are known as ‘mistings’. The nobles are the only ones who can be born with the ability to use all the metals, they are called ‘mistborns’.
Though initially confusing as there are a lot of metals to get use to as they each do something different, you can eventually start to grasp it quite easily. I really liked the way the ‘magic’ in this world works, the use of metals and how they work is very unique and the system is very complex. The way the ‘magic’ works is very realistic because it has a lot of consequences and restrictions, it is not overpowered but it can be incredibly powerful. I really liked the technicalities of the Allomancy and how each metal has different strengths and limitations – it creates a very dynamic and multi-dimensional world that actually presents consequences and problems that the characters need to acknowledge and work around.
Allomancy is not the only form of ‘magic’ in this world, I won’t go into detail but I really enjoyed how this type worked as well. It was another distinctive form of magic and again has a lot of positives but also restricitons. This form is a little rarer, and adds another level of depth to this world.
I won’t go into any more detail in order to avoid spoilers but I absolutely adored this world and the way the magic works, it is incredibly in-depth and has many tachnicalities that it makes it feel very realistic and ultimately adds to the complexity of this fantastic world and story.
— Interesting And Powerful —
The Characters. There are a lot of very diverse characters in this story, there is room for more to be added and there is a lack of good female characters, but the characters that do exist are very well crafted and have a lot of layers to them. I really liked the characters in this story as they were so different from each other and really stood out, they were all interesting and powerful and added well to the story.
Kelsier. Kelsier’s character is incredibly interesting and complex. He is very charming, clever, bold and headstrong but he is also independent and secretive. Despite his reluctance to share the entirity of his plans, he has a lot of trust for his friends and his crew. Kelsier is well versed in Allomancy and is unnafraid to take risks, but will not unecessarily risk the lives of his friends. Hie persepctive and character was incredibly dynamic, and a great addition to the novel, particularly as a contrast to Vin’s.
Kelsier has very tight bonds with his friends and crew, but his relationship with Vin is one of my favourites because it is a mix of teacher and student but also a parent-child dynamic. This worked particularly well because the two got on well, had great conversatios, were close but unafraid to criticise and lastly, we get an experienced and a novice perspective allowing us to learn a lot more about the world organically. I loved watching this relationship grow and develop alongside the characters own improvements.
Vin. Vin is a fantastic character. She is strong, clever, good at working alone and has brilliant instincts but she is lonely and afraid of trusting anyone. She is very much an outsider but she develops extraordinarily over the course of the book, she grows more confident and is able to form bonds and loyalty. Vin is not afraid to get her hands dirty but she also has a feminine streak, I loved this balance as it is rare to get female characters who embrace all things they like. I love Vin’s character and her development is phenomenal.
Sazed. Sazed is a bit of an enigma, we know very little about him and he reveals things slowly over the course of the book. But, we do know he is loyal to the crew and will happily protect Vin on her missions. He is witty, sarcastic and very clever and is a character that intrigued me constantly.
The Crew. There are a few members of the crew who I will let you get to know yourself. But, I loved the crew, they are all very interesting characters who are all very different from one another. They have great relationships/friendships with eachother and are all memorable and have their own specialities.
Elend. Elend is a brilliant character who reads at parties, loathes the faux social rules and is very relatable – honestly I loved him. He is clever and charming but an individual unafraid to think outside of the normal social conventions, he is still restricted though. His character development is another I enjoyed watching and his relationships were also very well written. He is one I don’t want to spoil so I won’t say anything more.
The Lord Ruler. An incredible villain that has immense power even in his absence. The control he has over his empire is thorough and astounding, he is a clever villain who rules with a tight leash and so has been able to crush any and all uprisings – it was brilliant. Again, I can’t go into anymore detail because spoilers! But, I thought he was a fantastic villain and definitely a threat.
There is one developed romantic relationship – it is adorable, complex and develops rather organically. I actually quite liked it and think it has a lot of room for development over the course of the series.
Overall. I loved this fantasy – it was unique, multi-dimensional, had a fantastic world and exceptional characters and I cannot wait to continue with this series. I loved the way the magic works and cannot wait to see how things we see in this book have an impact on the rest of the story.
I will definitely continue this series and would recommend it to all high fantasy lovers looking for an epic world and complex magic system.
Mistborn: The Final Empire (Book 1) Recap and Review
This story takes place in a dystopian-esque world where there are brown leaves and a red sun, worshiping anyone but their dictator/god is treasonous and terrifying mist is everywhere. The general populace is scared of going out into this, but many nobles are Mistings, with the ability to burn Allomantic metals, granted to their ancestors by the Lord Ruler. Those with this power can either burn one or all of them- the latter group are known as Mistborns. The peasant group- the Skaa- have been suppressed for a thousand years but a new revolt finally offers hope- led by a rare half-Noble and rarer Skaa Mistborn.
The world building in this story is second to none, Sanderson really dives right into it. It’s confusing at first, but things start to fall together, although you definitely need to pay attention! My main problem was some of the fight/training scenes. They are written well, but just personally I struggle with those types of scenes generally and there are a lot of them in this first book as Vin’s learning about Allomancy. I didn’t know about the chart at the back until I’d finished, so I recommend anyone who hasn’t read it yet keepinga bookmark in that to prevent confusion!
Rating: A-
SPOILER WARNING!
We start on a farm where the famous Kelsier (the only man sent to the Pits of Hathsin who came out alive) arrives to kill a gross noble Lord who enjoys sleeping with young girls then killing them, along with all his men, which means all the workers have to join rebels in a cave.
A young girl called Vin was abandoned by her brother but has continued working with a crew of criminals,valued because the leader believes she brings him good luck, as she actually uses a magic she doesn’t understand to influence the people they are trying to swindle. However she has little trust of anyone, especially when the ally she decides to trust to escape with her betrays her to the crewleader and gets her beaten up. At a job however, her magic is detected by an Inquisitor, who is killed by Kelsier, before he follows them back to the lair and has the crewleader become a beggar, telling the others to leave so he can talk to Vin, giving her a vial filled with metals to ascertain that she can burn multiple metals and therefore is a Mistborn. She’s invited to their meeting planning their rebellion and killing the Lord Ruler with an eleventh allomantic metal, Atium, which they plan to get from the Pits. The entire team seem to believe it’s impossible, but they resolve to try nonetheless. They decide to steal some Atium from a noble but not too powerful family, the Ventures, killing their Lord and disguising another man as him.
At their next meeting, the team decide to turn the houses against each other with a house war, raise an army through persusasion to challenge the Garrison, and Vin suggests they distract the enemy to level the playing field. They plan to use Renoux (a man who has taken on the role of the real (now dead) Renoux), while Vin will act as his relative. His brother Marsh accuses Kelsier of hijacking the true rebellion that Marsh was dedicated to, but he agrees to consider helping. Kelsier begins to train Vin how to use her Allomancy but she remains distrusting of him due to her past experiences: spying; trailing; suspecting he is hiding information from her. He shows her a creature called a Mistwraith, then introduces her to a Terrisman, a group of servants below nobles but above skaa, who according to Vin are not known for their humour
Vin is learning Allomancy fast at Renoux’s mansion, but she is struggling with the noblewoman skills. She is sent to learn specialist Soothing from Breeze at a recruiting meeting. He’s certainly an expert, using servingpeople in different colours to manipulate emotions. The group are disrupted by news that her ex-crew’s lair has been destroyed by an Inquisitor, presumably the one who spotted Vin before, murdering all the ex-members. Kelsier goes to look for Camon with the other beggars, but finds him hung.
Finally the opportunity to test her noblewoman skills comes at what is promised to be regular occurrence for her soon, a ball, where she sees her father- an obligator, who witness the nobility’s promises while watching them- and meets an anti-social lord Elend, who later turns out to be the heir to the greatest house, who Vin is told to stay away from so she doesn’t draw attention to herself. When they return home Vin follows Kelsier to the Lord Ruler’s palace to find more atium. He catches her and is reluctant, but teaches her how to use atium, to see into the future, but they are ambushed by three Inquisitors who seem suspiciously interested in Vin’s parentage before they knock her out. Sazed brings her back.
Eventually she wakes up after 2 weeks. She is no longer allowed to use her powers, so she learns more about Sazed, who is a Keeper (of past cultures, his specific area of expertise is languages, knowing 172! Imagine how useful that would be!) The Lord Ruler tried to ban them from wearing metal because they could store it and save it up. He did succeed in making them eunachs and destroying their religion,it is the only thing they don’t remember. She also discovers that it was probably Kelsier’s wife who betrayed him, and it turns out she found the Lord Ruler’s old journal, which they copy so everyone can read it. Despite her accumulation of knowledge, Vin is going crazy mad and genuinely misses the finery, so she’s excited when she’s allowed to go to another ball. Almost immediately Elend sits down to read again, trying to play it cool but she has to go off to dance with several men, cooling their jealousy by saying Elend is like her brother. It appears a lady has been gossiping about her, this time jealous of her because Shan was Elend’s fiancee, then demeaning ‘Valette’ to her face and using her like a tool. Vin checks out Elend’s books, which turn out to be somewhat rebellious, and he is also meeting up with several young members of opposing houses.
Kelsier is busy disguising himself as a lord then a skaa to get information from different groups, and slipping them information to cause a house war. Vin and the others begin to get a little worried he will hijack the rebellion, as his brother initially feared, speaking of, she goes to train with Marsh, who is surprised by her natural talent without practise. Apparently, his tension with Kelsier is partially because he also had feelings for Mare. Meanwhile Kelsier goes to visit the troops in the cave, replacing Ham with Yeden as their leader and trying to gain the troops’ confidence by making one of them to fight with another in a worryingly heartless way where he strongly considers killing the man he rioted up.
Kelsier may find the journal fascinating, but Vin absolutely hates it! To show he wants to be her suitor, Spook gives her a handkerchief, and she eventually collects another one from Elend. Dox scared her away from him by telling her of his own experiences, that all noblemen are evil rapists and killers, and Shan requires her to memorise all the colours of Elend’s books, but when she finally sees him again she confronts him about if he has ever slept with a skaa woman. It turns out he did only once to please his father when he was thirteen, and has been avoiding her because he fears she’s changed by playing politics. In response she speaks to him more genuinely about the skaa, telling him about the underground movement network, admitting to herself that she probably told him too much. Sazed authorises her to finally use her powers again to follow him to go meet his revolutionary group, although none of them seem as dedicated as him, more concerned with being united before the Lord Ruler. Kelsier seems paternally against Vilend (?), although he does agree not to kill the boys.
Next Vin learns from Ham, but Kelsier quickly throws away his advice when the two Mistborns have to race to the caves to try to save the army, who have been discovered, but despite their best effort there is only a small group left alive, including the old man from the first chapter and the man Keslier chose to fight against the one he rioted, but not the rebellion leader Yeden. The old man tells him to know when to quit but Kelsier is determined to keep fighting. The others of the team also seem to want to stop without an employer or army, but the discussion is stopped as they go out to witness an execution, where Vin’s identifies her father for the others, and they tell her he is in fact the high prelan- the leader of the Ministry. Then the Lord Ruler appears, demonstrating his immense power by Soothing a hundred thousand people! The brutality persuades the crew to revive their plan, with the Garrison now fully out of the way for the House War, despite Vin seeing that Elend and his friends were not involved. The groups they saved from the caves are isolated and each told they are the only ones left, ready to strike later.
Marsh, now undercover as an obligator (so committed he even got tattoos), meets with the mistborns. While they wait for him, Vin learns how to use the 9th metal, gold, which allows you to see how things may have been if they didn’t change in the past. Marsh tells them about the Ministry’s use of Mistings to soothe the entire population of Luthadel, and that the Inquisitors age slowly but can die. He also sends them a map of the soothing stations as his skill is helping him move up in their world, letting them know that Theron’s crew has also been murdered!
In between spreading false information, Vin dates Elend, although they both want each other to leave the city for their safety. He tells her the secret of his family’s power, that they mine the atium mines, but comes to distrust her loyalty when his friend Jastes had her carriage followed and found it empty, making him agree to stand by his family and do as his father wants, in exchange for giving him spies.
Vin is horrified when she finally gets into the journal and it ends on a cliffhanger. She is distracted from that when she attends another Venture Ball, but at this one everyone is acting strange because it will be the last one for a long while. It didn’t hurt for the others to ignore her so much as when Elend ends their relationship, revealing that he knows she’s been lying. Nevertheless, Vin is determined to save him from being assassinated by Shan (who we learn is a Mistborn), which his father is encouraging to make his nephew the air instead. It turns out to be Shan who ends the night dead, at Vin’s hand, officially starting the house war.
After a fight with Kelsier, Vin makes up with him, telling him Elend’s secret and suggests that Mare didn’t betray him on purprose, rather the Inquisitors sensed her. She proves it’s a possibility by sensing what he burns. On their way to see Marsh again they visit the skaa, who seem to see Kelsier as a God, like the Lord Ruler. But when they arrive at the meeting place they find Kelsier’s brother dead with a note that he has been able to find out little except that the Inquisitors have a secret. A vengeful Kelsier goes to destroy the atium crystals in the Pits, his cult of personality growing as he encourages the workers to escape. They expect that the Lord Ruler is striking back with an execution so Kelsier is determined to go witness it, but it turns out to be a trap. The Renoux household and Spook have been captured and cry out for Kelsier. Whilst trying to save them he kills and Inquisitor, but is then murdered by the Lord Ruler! (Had to read that back a couple of times I was so shocked.)
Elend’s spies discovered that Clubs’s shop is a front, and he catches on to the fact that she is skaa. Instead of feeling betrayed, he’s happy she wasn’t a political spy, and is actually excited that he now knows skaas are no different to noblemen! When his father leaves the city Elend remains, given most of the soldiers as his father seems certain they will die. Elend sends most of the soldiers to his enemy Keep Lekal to combine their soldiers, and turns himself in.
We discover that Kelsier knew he would have to die to push the skaa to fight in his name. Despite us seeing him killed, Renoux returns to explain this to the crew, and we learn he is a kandra left to Vin, who can steal bodies when he consumes them, so he can appear as a ghostlike Kelsier to encourage the people. He gives them a copy of Marsh’s map with a message from Kelsier at the top, still directing them from beyond the grave. There is no role for Vin, but instead he gave her the Eleventh metal with a separate message saying he never worked out how to use it and her job is no longer to assassinate the nobles, as she convinced him it was unnecessary. Instead she should be their Mistborn protector. However, Vin decides that she has to use the metal to get into the Palace room Kelsier failed to enter twice. She uses her powers to encourage the Palace guards to join the rebellion, but is captured by the Inquisitors and taken to the Lord Ruler, now an old man rather than the young one who killed Kelsier. She uses the eleventh metal, and like with gold, she sees different aged figures, but these are of the Lord Ruler not herself. They feed her another metal which suppresses the rest of them, leaving her powerless. The Inquisitors reveal her parentage to the Lord Ruler and Vin’s father himself, to have the Lord Prelan killed and make themselves the leaders of the realms rather than the humans.
Vin is thrown back into the dungeons, along with Sazed, who came to save her. Using Feruchemy he grows into Muscle Man and they fight off some soldiers until they come across Elend, who also came to help her! (And is rather distracted by her lack of clothes!) She sends him with Sazed, using the eleventh metal to try to kill the Lord Ruler, or more specifically his past self, unfortunately that doesn’t work. Instead another Inquisitor appears and pulls the spike out of Kar’s back (and all the others too) , killing him. This arrival turns out to be a still alive Marsh! Using the eleventh metal one more time, Vin realises that the Lord Ruler isn’t the man who wrote the journal, but instead his Terris servant- explaining the total differences in their personality. She works out that she needs to remove his bracelets- which he was storing his youth in as a Feuruchemist and Allomancer, so he immediately begins to age, but she stabs him to finish the process.
We’ve feared Vin’s brother the whole book, but it turns out he died protecting her in the end, so for once her Reed’s voice does something good and sends Vin to him, despite her insecurities!
Theories
We still know little about the Lord Ruler. He warns them that he is still protecting them, but we do not learn how. Neither do we understand how he was so powerful and could Push on metals inside peoples’ bodies. The Deepness could be this threat,
In a more urgent way, I think the Inquisitors outside Luthadel will gather together to try to take power based on the Lord Ruler handing it over to Kar. I don’t think they will find the atium until the end of the second book.
I think Vin could have some Terris heritage in her due to her natural skill, her ability to ‘feel’ the Lord Ruler, when she tries to use Sazed’s power she has the same response as other Feruchemists would if it weren’t their metal.
Quote Bank
“New tastes are like new ideas young man, the older you get the more difficult they are to stomach.”
“The Lord’s going to get me sooner or later, at least this way I’ll be able to spit in his face as I go.”
“Belief isn’t simply a thing for fair times and bright days, I think. What is belief- what is faith- if you don’t continue in it after failure?”
“That’s kind of what trust is, isn’t it? A willful self delusion.”
“Sounds foolish.” “Fashion often is Mistress.”
“Men rarely see their own actions as unjustified.”
“I’ve always been very confident in my immaturity.”
“Work is like fertiliser in that I’m glad it exists but I don’t want to get stuck in it.”
“Power is a heavy burden. Seek not to be bound by its chains.”
“You can’t just avoid the game by saying you don’t want to play.”
Below is a chapter summary of Mistborn: The Final Empire, the first book in Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series.
Prologue
Lord Tresting, the owner of a skaa plantation in one of the outer dominances of the Final Empire, walks with an obligator, surveying the skaa working in the fields. He finds Kelsier smiling at him in an act of definiance. He orders a task master to beat Kelsier only to find out that he has disappeared. Later, Keslier drops in on some of the skaa, traveling around the plantation at his leisure. He hears about what Lord Tresting has been doing to the skaa women, and, as he hears one of their cries in the night, he runs over and ends up killing Tresting and burning down his home so that more skaa will join in his fight against the Lord Ruler.
Chapter 1
Vin and Camon win a contract from Prelan Laird by disguising Camon as a desperate nobleman, Lord Jedue, along with a little help from Vin’s allomantic abilities.
Chapter 2
Kelsier and Dockson follow Vin and Camon into the Ministry’s Canton of Finance, where Vin learns Camon intends to cross Theron, the man who put their crew up to this mission. They bring their proposal to high prelan Arriev, and in the process, Vin uses her allomancy on him, which is a bad idea, because the obligators are trained to detect this. Kelsier and Dockson lead the steel inquisitor off their trail.
Chapter 3
Kelsier takes over Camon’s crew, and explains to Vin about Allomancy, where they learn she can use more than two of the metals, which means she is a Mistborn.
Chapter 4
Kelsier lays out the plan to take down Lord Ruler and take over the city.
Chapter 5
Kelsier steals a safe from Lord Venture.
Chapter 6
Kelsier and the crew pass around their plan to overthrow Lord Ruler. It consists of the following:
They plan a house war first
Kelsier then gives Breeze a year to use his allomancy to “encourage up” an army.
They plan to purchase weapons legally, using an imposter of a man named Lord Renoux – Kelsier killed the real Lord Renoux, but has hired a kandra to take his place. They can’t use the kandra to infiltrate the nobility, however, because inquisitors will know.
They agree that Vin will play the role of a noblewoman to infiltrate the great houses to start a war between them.
At the end of the chapter, Kelsier’s brother Marsh shows up.
Chapter 7
Kelsier takes Vin out into the streets of Luthadel at night with him and teaches her all about Allomancy.
Chapter 8
Kelsier brings Vin to the fake Renoux’s manse in Fellise. Here, she meets Sazed, his Terrisman servant. Kelsier disappears for a moment, and comes back to her with the plan. At first, they want her to be a royal heir for Renoux, but decide it’s too risky, as it won’t allow her to spy effectively. Instead, she will be “simply a young scion” Renoux brings with her to Luthadel.
Chapter 9
Kelsier goes on several nightly raids for a period of two months, putting in appearances on the properties of a dozen different noble houses, both in Luthadel and in Fellise, using various disguises and motives to pit the Great Houses against one another.
The crew also decides that Vin will infiltrate Luthadel’s high society with the fake persona of Lady Valette Renoux, fourth cousin to Lord Teven Renoux. They make up a backstory in which Lady Valette’s parents had sent her down to Luthadel to spend some time at court as part of a trade agreement with their distant cousin.
Later, Vin trains with both Kelsier and Sazed in allomancy and in becoming a noblewoman. She gets a haircut that makes her look more feminine. Kelsier asks Sazed to look out for Vin.
Chapter 10
Kelsier sends Vin off to train with Breeze to learn more about Soothing. Breeze is able to skillfully Soothe the crowd Kelsier is making a speech to, and Kelsier is therefore able to convince several of them to join Yeden’s rebellion, finding a “good set of volunteers to send off to the caves.”
They plan on infiltrating the ministry by finding an obligator along Theron’s canal route who is open to bribes, and having him add an “acolyte” to the group from his local chapter.
At the end of the chapter, Ham announces that the ministry has found Camon’s lair.
Chapter 11
Vin and Kelsier’s crew discover the massacre of Camon and his crew. The inquisitors have made a bloody mess of them. Camon was hung out in the square, the common punishment for allomancers who use their abilities incorrectly, indicating he may have known Allomancy, or at least been aware of Vin’s abilities.
Chapter 12
Vin goes to her first ball disguised as Lady Valette accompanied by Sazed. She refuses several dances from different noblemen, and she later meets Elend Venture, who brazenly reads a book in front of her. He makes a memorable impression on her.
At Kredik Shaw, Vin and Kelsier are attacked by several inquisitors. She’s able to survive by burning Atium, but suffers a nearly fatal wound in the process.
Chapter 15
Sazed returns Vin’s body to the crew, and she is hanging on for life. Dockson chastises Kelsier for bringing her along to Kredik Shaw.
Chapter 16
After recovering in Clubs’s shop, Vin takes a carriage with Sazed over to Lord Renoux’s in Fellise. They talk about Kelsier’s past, and the Keepers. Sazed tells her to rest.
Chapter 17
Kelsier, Breeze, Yeden, and Dockson show up at Lord Renoux’s manse to discuss their plans. Vin tells them she is well enough to start mingling with the nobility again. She’s excited for her next ball, and Kelsier tells her about his deceased wife, Mare, and how she used to keep pictures of flowers. He says he wants to create a better world, one that Mare had once envisioned.
Chapter 18
Vin goes to her second ball, the Elariel Ball, and mingles with Elend Venture again. He asks about the skaa, and she learns that he has a fiancee. She talks to the fiancee, Shan Elariel, and Shan sends her Terrisman over to read Elend’s books. Vin stops the Terrisman, reading Elend’s books herself, and finds that he is reading critical texts of the Lord Ruler. She also learns that Elend has been mingling with the boys from rival houses. As she’s leaving, she and Sazed find a beggar skaa outside who gets slaughtered by the nobility.
Chapter 19
Kelsier kills one of the noblemen, Lord Charrs Entrone. He meets with his informant, Hoid, and learns that they are unaware of the situation with Lord Renoux. He also instigates further division among the Luthadel houses by telling Hoid rumors of a covert relationship between Shan Elarial and a lord named Salmen Tekiel, and that she had secured a secret (non-existent) deal with House Hasting. He then sews further division by pretending to be a skaa with Straff Venture, telling him that House Erikell is ripping them off with their arms deals, selling the arms to House Tekiel for half the price that House Venture is paying. Straff Venture mentions the rumors about the Survivor and the Eleventh Metal to Kelsier, showing him that the nobility are aware that something is up with their rebellion.
Later, Vin, Kelsier, and Sazed debrief about the night’s events. They agree to spread rumors to confuse the nobility about the eleventh metal. They discuss Vin’s relationship with Elend Venture, and she sticks up for him, saying that he is reading rebellious books, while Kelsier and Sazed tell her that he is not a friend to them.
Chapter 20
Vin has been to several balls now. She trains with Marsh in burning copper.
Chapter 21
Kelsier visits the caves where the rebel army is gathering. He relieves Ham of his duty, replacing him with Yeden. He’s able to win the faltering soldiers over by having a small, weakling challenge a big man who has been outspoken against their plans. Using allomancy, Kelsier is able to get the smaller soldier to win in a fight in front of the army, and makes a speech to them, saying that they will never be left alone, as long as he is around. This rouses them, getting their spirits back into the fight.
Chapter 22
Vin studies the Lord Ruler’s logbooks, and learns about Feruchemy from Sazed. She learns that Spook is courting her, that several of the men in the crew have wives, and she learns of Dockson’s backstory. She learns from Dockson that all noblemen sleep with skaa women, knowing that they must be killed afterward.
Chapter 23
Vin starts getting gossip from Elan and the other ladies at court about the growing divisions between the houses. She confronts Elend about sleeping with Skaa women. He tells her that he has only slept with one, when he was 13, because his father made him, and he didn’t know what was to happen afterwards. Vin trusts him again, thinking of him as honest. She follows him after the ball, and finds that Kelsier has been following him too. Kelsier explains that Elend and his friends from the other houses are not trying to rebel against Lord Ruler, but instead they are simply drinking and talking politics and philosophy, nothing more, and that they aren’t on the same side as their crew.
Chapter 24
Ham returns, and he and Vin go out to the skaa garrison in Luthadel (the ones who fight for Lord Ruler) and learn that they’ve gotten wind of the rebels gathering in the caves, and that a force has been sent out to head them off.
Chapter 25
Kelsier and Vin run out to the caves for 16 hours straight, burning Pewter. They find that most of the rebel army has been slaughtered in a battle. They marched out to battle because Yeden seemingly got the yips, getting too excited by Kelsier’s charisma. They learn that Yeden has been killed in the fighting.
There are a few soldiers remaining in the caves, however. Kelsier meets a man named Mennis, from the skaa plantation he was on when the story began, and Mennis tells him it’s a moral victory, to have something worth fighting for, even if they are going to lose. This re-energizes Kelsier, who had felt the battle and death was his fault. Now, he wants to show Mennis and the others that it really can be done, that the Lord Ruler can truly be defeated.
Chapter 26
Tensions with the crew come to a head, and Breeze directly calls Kelsier out, saying he is only in this for the money and the glory. They are interrupted by the Lord Ruler’s executions in the town square, and Kelsier makes a speech to the crew, telling them they have to trust him, and stop questioning him at every turn. He tells them that he is only in this thing to stop the Lord Ruler. At the end of the chapter, Vin, too, believes that their true purpose is to stop the Lord Ruler, and to change the way things are.
Chapter 27
Vin is asked to get some intel from Elend so the crew can take down house Venture in the house wars they are instigating. Vin and Keslier talk about the Eleventh metal, and about gold. Vin flares gold for the first time, and finds out the two versions of herself she could be. Marsh returns with news from infiltrating the obligators at the ministry. They have several soothing stations all around the city. Kelsier asks him to obtain a map of these soothing stations.
Chapter 28
Vin attends the Lekal ball. She and Elend talk at length. She warns him of Lady Shan Elariel, while he tells her he wants her to leave the city before the house wars begin. He also spills a secret to her, telling Vin that his family mines atium for the lord ruler, and they are completely dependent upon him. Elend’s friends warn him that Lady Valette is up to something, and his father tells him not to see her again, that he’s set up a luncheon with the daughter of Lord Tegas. Elend agrees, so long as he can have a spy follow Lady Valette.
Chapter 29
Vin finishes the Lord Ruler’s logbook, and asks Sazed where the rest of it is. They talk about Feruchemy, and Vin tries to use his metals for allomancy, but it doesn’t work. Kelsier and the crew get the Soothing map back from Marsh, and decide to use thieving crews to take out the Lord Ruler’s Soothing crews all at once.
Chapter 30
House Venture holds another ball, and there is an uneasy feeling in the air. It’s the last ball, in fact, before the house wars begin. Vin learns that Kliss, one of the gossipers/noblewomen at court, is an informant. She tells Vin she knows House Renoux is behind the attacks on the barges of House Hastings. She promises to keep quiet for a fee, and she tells Vin that Elend’s days are numbered, that his father has arranged for him to be assassinated. Vin runs after Elend to stop the assassination, and she learns that Shan Elariel has been sent to kill him, and is an allomancer. She fights off two mistborn allomancers and wins by burning her Atium, killing Shan as she escapes several archers.
Chapter 31
Vin returns from killing Shan, and tells the crew the news about the fomenting house war. When the group criticizes her for risking her life to save Elend, she scolds them, telling them that they’re not true Skaa. Later, as she calms down, Kelsier talks to her, and they agree that it hurts when someone you love betrays you. Elend learns that Lady Valette was actually part of a skaa thieving crew, and he is not discouraged by this. His father tells him that Shan attempted to assassinate him.
Chapter 32
Vin and Kelsier visit a skaa tenement, and find Marsh’s body. He was apparently killed by an inquisitor, and had with him a sheet of paper, claiming that the inquisitors have a weakness, he just didn’t know what it was. Later, Kelsier explores the crystal mines, knowing, apparently, how to find Atium to ostensibly destroy it and get revenge against the Final Empire.
Chapter 33
The obligators bring more people out into the street for executions, including Spook. Kelsier runs out into the town square and starts fighting the inquisitors.
Chapter 34
Kelsier saves Elend, fights some inquisitors, and kills one of them in the process. He then faces off with Lord Ruler himself, telling him that he can’t be killed. Lord Ruler then kills him.
Chapter 35
The crew goes to the warehouse Kelsier rented, and his kandra hands them a map with some words Kelsier wrote to them from beyond the grave.
Chapter 36
Vin sneaks into Kredik Shaw by soothing one of its guards. Elend parts ways with his father. Vin is caught by the inquisitors. One of the Inquisitors, Kar, points out that Vin is the illegitimate daughter of Tevidian, the Canton of Orthodoxy. The Lord Ruler allows the Inquisitors to then kill Tevidian, and take Vin to a cell for questioning.
Chapter 37
Elend goes to Dockson, and asks him to stop his armies from attacking the nobility. Sazed goes to save Vin at the Lord Ruler’s palace, and uses his Feruchemy to bust her out of her cell. Elend shows up after she is freed, but she goes back to try to kill the Lord Ruler.
Chapter 38
Vin goes to the Lord Ruler’s throne room and attacks him. She burns the 11th metal and attacks the Lord Ruler’s malatium ghost with no success. She fights off the inquisitors around the Lord Ruler as well, and Marsh arrives, as he seems to have risen from the dead. Marsh attacks as well without any success. Vin is able to draw on the power of the mists to remove the Lord Ruler’s jewelry off his arms, which is likely infused with Feruchemy. The Lord Ruler rapidly ages because of this. Sazed arrives and gives Vin some metals so that she can use her allomantic powers once again to defeat the Lord Ruler. The Lord Ruler tells Vin, Marsh, and Sazed that they don’t know the mistake they have made by choosing to kill him. Vin kills him with a spear anyways.
Epilogue
Marsh tells Vin and Sazed about how he became an inquisitor. They talk about Kelsier’s kandra, the one that imitated Lord Renoux, and they have discovered that Kelsier transferred this kandra’s contract to Vin. Vin worries about the Lord Ruler’s warning to them about the mistake they made by killing him, and they talk about the Deepness. Vin contemplates escaping the crew one final time, but decides to go to join Elend instead, as he is the new ruler of Luthadel and the Lord Ruler’s Final Empire, the one that Kelsier had helped create for the skaa.
- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2605.06 - 10:10
- Days ago: MOM = 3961 days ago & DAD = 615 days ago
- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I post Hey Mom blog entries on special occasions. I post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day, and now I have a second count for Days since my Dad died on August 28, 2024. I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of Mom's death, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of her death and sometimes 13:40 EDT for the time of Dad's death. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
