Mistborn Liveblog 35

Chapter 34

I think I made the right choice to keep reading. I don't think this chapter would have had much meaning without the carryover from the previous chapter. And with it being the end of a section, it's a nice place to take a weekend. Next week will be my last week with Mistborn. There are four more chapters left, and I think I'll do a wrap-up post on Friday. Then, who knows. I'm still not quite sure what I'm going to do. Probably take a bit of a break.

Anyway, this is basically all spoilers (pretty big ones, so click through at your own risk):
My first reaction to the huge fight is that it felt like a movie, complete with multiple POV shifts. I liked the descriptions, but those POV shifts kept throwing me off, particularly since Vin never really amounted to anything. It would be one thing if showing her view helped explain what brought her and Kelsier to cross paths, but the way it happened, I don't think so many shifts were necessary. It was more like Vin was providing commentary for the reader, which I didn't like.

But the action and fight itself, basically everything from Kelsier's view was really good. I'd rather the whole scene was his view, including the sudden ending with the Lord Ruler. But I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. First off, the way Kelsier killed the Inquisitor was pretty great. Sure, it played a bit cheesy when I reflect on it, but in the moment, I really liked how it happened.

Now, with the Lord Ruler's arrival and the confrontation between Kelsier and him, I can't help but consider why Brandon chose to put it all from Vin's view. I think there must be a reason, because I would think the scene from Kelsier's view would have been much more impactful, except for the dying part, of course. It leads me to think that somehow Kelsier's death is faked. I'm not sure how, but it would fit with the repeated theme of a secret plan. Perhaps it has something to do with the Kandra that keeps getting mentioned and not explained-- Elend's father has one, Renoux is one, and it seems they can assume identities. I'm not sure how that would play into Kelsier's death, but I really don't think he's dead.

If I believed him dead, I think this would be a huge moment for the plan, but since he's not revealed his secret plan, I cannot believe that he's dead, leaving that whole theme unanswered. Nope. I doubt he's dead. But I have no idea how he pulled it off.

Kind of a poor place to take a weekend. But I'll be back Monday with my final week. Happy reading.

Jameson