Year of Cosmere discussion

This thread is to discuss everything that happens in The Well of Ascension!!! It will have end of book spoilers!

What did you think of the crazy adventure that is the Well of Ascension? What star rating did you give it? What was your favorite moment and what surprised you the most? How do you feel about it compared to the first book in the trilogy?

If you loved this book, you should definitely join us next month for Hero of Ages and finish this trilogy!

I'm a bit ahead of schedule but, gosh! I could not stop reading.
I don't know what the hell did I think about its ending.
It was frustrating. It was like "why god why do you need to make our agony longer and darker? why?"
But at the same time it was awesome and what it was supposed to be. The way Vin acted in the end, like something finally clicked in her, and TenSoon (gosh I love him so much, even more than I love Marsh, and almost as much as Sazed, and that is to say a lot!).
But I did not like at all the fact that Elend became a Mistborn. I just thought it not right. He's got it all now, he's too perfect. There is no-one that perfect and it was great the way it was.
So I just picked up The Hero of Ages, and I am dying to go through it.

I was so shocked during the big reveal about TenSoon and I also did not like the fact that Elend is now a Mistborn. I feel like Vin should be the only one who gets to do awesome things.

Dana wrote: and I also did not like the fact that Elend is now a Mistborn. I feel like Vin should be the only one who gets to do awesome things."
but thats even better for her awesomeness.
up until now we have compared Vin to mistings and she was sooo awesome copared to them. but there always was a voice in our head reminding us that maybe its because she is a mistborn and they only mistngs...
but now even against other mistborn her awesomeness outshines everyone else's...

Jelly wrote: "I'm a bit ahead of schedule but, gosh! I could not stop reading.
I don't know what the hell did I think about its ending.
It was frustrating. It was like "why god why do you need to make our agony ..."

I also was a bit mind blown with the Elend gets magic situation :D I think it's something that took a little bit of getting used to but it does make sense over the series and as Ungar5 says it does help to compare Vin to other Mistborns :D

I adore the last book though, can't wait to see people's thoughts on that!

Dana wrote: "I was so shocked during the big reveal about TenSoon and I also did not like the fact that Elend is now a Mistborn. I feel like Vin should be the only one who gets to do awesome things."

TenSoon is awesome. That's all :D
Vin is no less epic for Elend joining the Mistborn ranks and who knows, maybe they can lear from one another as the books go on! ;)

I'm just used to Elend being his awkward self. I guess I shouldn't be complaining because now he can finally help Vin save the empire in terms of fighting.

Dana wrote: "I'm just used to Elend being his awkward self. I guess I shouldn't be complaining because now he can finally help Vin save the empire in terms of fighting."

I totally know what you mean. He was a pretty cute awkward Elend :D But indeed, he certainly can now be more on a level with Vin and potentially work with her!

Dana wrote: "I'm just used to Elend being his awkward self. I guess I shouldn't be complaining because now he can finally help Vin save the empire in terms of fighting."
YES also I talk about this more down below because I am PASSIONATE about Elend being a mistborn :)

Kaitlin wrote: "Jelly wrote: "I'm a bit ahead of schedule but, gosh! I could not stop reading.
I don't know what the hell did I think about its ending.
It was frustrating. It was like "why god why do you need to m..."
I love Elend as mistborn :) explanations down below hehehe.

Ungar5 wrote: "Dana wrote: and I also did not like the fact that Elend is now a Mistborn. I feel like Vin should be the only one who gets to do awesome things."
but thats even better for her awesomeness.
up until..."
YES YES YES YES. Also, I just think it add a different side to Elend's character. First he was the one telling Vin what to do, and she had to do some really difficult things as his Mistborn assassin fighter person. But now he has to deal with being one himself and becoming a different even better kind of leader. I love seeing him change from this passive bookish person to this amazing leader! So inspiring!

Dana wrote: "I was so shocked during the big reveal about TenSoon and I also did not like the fact that Elend is now a Mistborn. I feel like Vin should be the only one who gets to do awesome things."
I was totally shocked as well, BUT I love that Elend is a Mistborn now! I explain a little bit about that down below!

Jelly wrote: "I'm a bit ahead of schedule but, gosh! I could not stop reading.
I don't know what the hell did I think about its ending.
It was frustrating. It was like "why god why do you need to make our agony ..."
Ahhh yay! It is totally okay that you are ahead of schedule! It will give you more time to read the chunkier stormlight books! I actually loved the ending, even though it put me in agony, because it made me immediately want to jump into book three. I thought that the first book had a great conclusion, but it really didn't compell me to immediately dive into book two. Ugghhh, I ADORE TenSoon! The Kandra are my favorite in the entire series, and I can't wait for you to read book three so you can learn even more about them! Also, it totally surprised me when we found out the Kandra was different! I was like AHHH OMG. About Elend, this is where we will have to differ in opinion. I think that it really tests him as a leader and I think the character development that comes from him being a Mistborn is fantastic. I know some people don't like that he is too "perfect" but he didn't start out that way and he just tries so hard to be the best he can be and tries so hard to fight this evil and I think it is so completely endearing! I also kinda just love Elend though :P

I love Elend, too. I am so curious how everything will play out.

I am confused about Marsh's role in all of this, though.

Désirée wrote: "I love Elend, too. I am so curious how everything will play out.

I am confused about Marsh's role in all of this, though."
I think in general you find out more about March in the third book! From what I recall I think we even get his perspective at times? So no fear :D

Sanaa wrote: "Désirée wrote: "I love Elend, too. I am so curious how everything will play out.

I am confused about Marsh's role in all of this, though."
I think in general you find out more about March in the t..."

That is so cool! But I am trying to not read it right away because I want to treasure it longer. In April then! :)

Ok so Eland is now a Mistborn. Why? Couldn't he stay the same as he was but maybe with him and Vin together they can take out the bad thing. And Marsh disappearing, where did he go? Will he still be bad now?
I can't wait to read the next book next month.

WHAT
I gave it 5 stars, I wonder if I am ever going to give a Sanderson book less than full 5 stars.
It was amazing, I basically talked about my thoughts in all the discussion threads and I don't want to repeat myself.
I don't think Elend becoming a mistborn is necessarily a bad thing, I am going to wait and see how it all turns out, but I love Elend so I am just ecstatic he is not dead.
I wasn't that impressed by Sazed in the first book, I mostly liked Kelsier out of everyone, but I was turning pale when he had that fight with Marsh and I really started liking him in the second book, one of my favourites now.

This is a trilogy I could keep on re-reading forever! I LOVED it!

The characters, OMG the characters in this book are just phenomenal. I can gush and talk about them all day long. Vin is just ridiculous! I mean, her growth.. I can't even from words!

I love that Elend is a mistborn now. I can't wait to read how Sazed's character is going to develop. Tensoon I just adore!!

I love how Sanderson makes me feel for the characters he's created. He just makes me worry and care about them too much!

Aah this book!!

I never thought marsh would be evil. I hope that in the next book Vin isn't so undecided over her relationship with elend. And during this whole book I kept expecting kelsier to comeback but no joy.

It was an engrossing read.

Wait. Zane talked about a spike in his chest/back that messed up his cloak. If Marsh wasn't dead without that spike being removed...

Where was Hoid? I couldn't seem to find him anywhere in this book.

Todd wrote: "Where was Hoid? I couldn't seem to find him anywhere in this book."

Dammit, I forgot about Hoid again, I always forget to keep an eye out for him.

"Hoid meets Elend and Spook on their way back to Luthadel as the unnamed leader of the Terris refugees following the Inquisitor attack on Tathingdwen."

I knew where he would be, in which part and which chapter, but forgot to pay attention. The above is an excerpt form wiki.

Thanks.

SO GOOD. I neglected pretty much all of my life responsibilities and read this in two days flat, which I am never able to do with books this long. I'm probably going to jump ahead and start The Hero of Ages immediately, because like someone said--this one was a little bit more intense toward the end and not wrapped up as neatly as book 1.

Sazed's character development in this book was incredible, and my heart broke when Tindwyl died and he sunk into that depression.

TenSoon! Why did he have to leave?! I hope he comes back.

I'm still kind of feeling apathetic toward Elend. I can't decide if I like him yet or not, but I'm guessing that will be decided for me in book 3 when we see how he handles his new powers.

Overall, another great book. Originally I was just going to join in yearofcosmere for this series, but I think I might try and keep up all year, because I am loving Sanderson.

I gave this book 5 stars. I liked it so much more than the first one.

TenSoon was absolutely my favorite character, and I find the kandra immensely intriguing. I cannot wait to find out more about him and them.

I'm very happy with the twist about the Well of Ascension because I didn't expect it, and now I can't tell where the story is going.

However, I do not like Elend becoming a Mistborn. I have always been lukewarm about him because he's just too good, but I am hopeful that this will add to his character development in a relatable way.

One of the things I most want to find out is what the mist character is. Or who?

I cannot wait for April!

I just finished and I have so many thoughts!
First, TenSoon. Wow, I did NOT see that coming. I'm so happy with his character though! I'm so excited to learn more about him. I hope the 3rd book focuses on him more.
Second, I'm SO GLAD that Sanderson stomped that little love triangle between Zane, Vin, and Elend. I was really scared where that was going.
Third, I'm with all of you on Marsh. What the hell? How did he turn bad? I'm so confused!
Lastly, I agree about Elend being a Mistborn. It kind of seemed like Sanderson was saying yea, he needs to be a Mistborn to be something greater. I felt like as a character, Elend was so strong without being Mistborn and represented the fact that you could have awesome people in this world without having Allomantic powers.

I think that this book was even better than The Final Empire. Definitely a 5 star - it was so epic! I have no complaints apart from the fact that Elend became a Mistborn. It's not a huge thing and not necessarily a bad thing but I agree with Lindsay. I am interested to see how his character develops in the next book.

Lindsay wrote: "I felt like as a character, Elend was so strong without being Mistborn and represented the fact that you could have awesome people in this world without having Allomantic powers."

Michelle wrote: "Wait. Zane talked about a spike in his chest/back that messed up his cloak. If Marsh wasn't dead without that spike being removed..."

Wait..what!?! That is such a good theory. Wow. I've only read this book and The Final Empire but I get the feeling Brandon Sanderson does everything for a reason. I don't feel like he would mention the spike in Zane's back if it wasn't important.

I watch Sanaa's review/discussion video and I also get the feeling that Sazed might become a villian-y character in the next book. There are so many things hinted at and I am super excited to see how everything turns out in the third book.

Book one: "Let's spread chaos and dissent. murder a few people and create general mayhem!"

Book 2: "Somehow we're now in charge of our own chaotic mess, how are we even gonna start solving this!?"

I really loved this book and I didn't see the major plottwist ending come. That was awesome!
I think I liked the first book a little better though, I guess I'm just a bigger fan of tearing things down than building things up...I also miss Kelsier... >.<

I had my suspicions about TenSoon about halfway trough the book, still I couln't find it in my heart to dislike him, really hope we get to find out more about him in the next book! As it stands he and Breeze are now my favourite characters :)

I'm a bit ambivalent about Elend being mistborn, on the one hand it feels a bit like he's too awesome and perfect now, on the other hand he's now able to fight better - this might free up some time for Vin to go off and be awesome instead of babysitting him.
(also am I the only one who thinks Elend's getting a bit boring now that he's responsible?)

Looking forward to finding out what happens in the next book! :D

Aereya wrote: "also am I the only one who thinks Elend's getting a bit boring now that he's responsible?

Nope, you are most definitely not the only one. I missed Kelsier like crazy in this book because he is still the most interesting character in Mistborn. I really liked Breeze too but he doesn't have as much 'screentime'.

Upon my re-read via audiobook, it became very apparent the number of times that Vin has to tell Elend that he is "a good man". That got really tiresome after a while.

I still love the entire trilogy but this book to me was the weakest of the lot.

It was a little slow moving and didn't really have as much interesting world building/exploration as the first book.

The kandra reveal was a little questionable. How was TenSoon reporting back to the enemy? Surely people would notice the wolf hound walking around without vin and leaving the castle, etc. It's clearly a noticable dog from others comments.

What's the point of Elend being an allomancer now? If you can just make someone into a mistborn, wouldn't everyone gain the power eventually? Stalemate.

Who was the God talking to Zane? (Same God from the Way of Kings?)

Oh, this plot twist was sooo good!!! I definetely didn't like this book as much as the Final Empire in the beginning, but now I do!

Michelle wrote: "Wait. Zane talked about a spike in his chest/back that messed up his cloak. If Marsh wasn't dead without that spike being removed..."

Yes! I thought about that too! I definetely think Zane is still alive, and that "God" in his head is the mist spirit, and that the mist spirit is either Kelsier or Alendi. All conjecture, obviously...

I also think that Elend will struggle with his new powers, both allomantic and political. Could he be corrupted by it? I hope not! And I hope that when (if) Zane comes back he doesn't steal Vin away from Elend. Because if Zane does come back, he might be good, since he listens to the force that was trying to prevent Vin from releasing the evil thing in the well...

Am I making any sense? I don't know and Iove it!

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned, but I'd love to hear other people's take on this:

If I have one criticism, it would be that finding the ball of metal at the Well of Ascension that not only saves Elend's life, but transforms him into a Mistborn, is way to convenient. That scene felt like a major deus ex machina moment to me. Think about it, the Lord Ruler moved the Well of Ascension to its current location under Kredik Shaw. If the metal bead found at the well has the ability to create new Mistborn, the Lord Ruler would have made sure that every last bead was either destroyed or hidden in a ultra secure location. Assuming that's what he did, how was one bead left behind? The Lord Ruler would have simply burned Iron to make sure all of the metal beads were accounted for. In a otherwise tight novel, this feels like a major plot hole to me. Am I missing something here? Hopefully there will be a rational explanation for this event in the third novel.

He couldn't destroy it when he might have had need of it in the future,
and it was hidden in a super secure place, underground with the only entrance being in his personal study next to The Well of Ascention.

I don't think there was a place anymore secure than that, well while he was alive..