only gets better ...
One of the main things I dislike about fiction is that it is fiction! In the sense that authors tend to shy away from the grim reality of life and tend to find easy solutions to problems in their works of imagination. Not so with Brandon Sanderson who is one of the few authors I have ever read to have both his feet on the ground and totally aware of the reality of the world around him. Happy will eventually turn not-so-happy. That which we consider as failure and misforture might provide beneficial assistance somewhere later in life. People are neither wholly good nor wholly bad - most are somewhere in the middle, their goodness or badness surfacing dependent on the circumstance and situation - and their own inevitable human weaknesses.

Not to ramble too much about the relativity of the world we live in - yes Sanderson is fully aware of these paradoxes and it is well reflected in his books. So the stories are much more complex, evolved and truer to life (though they be fantasy) than most works of fiction - but still very accessible.

Elantris was not too bad. The final kingdom was much better. And the Wells ... is even better. Great storytelling. Sanderson does a twist on the prophecy-hero formula which is quite in line with his realistc worldview.

I can't wait to get my hands on "Hero of the ages" now!

Great action, slow plot
The Well of Ascension has lots of the great action scenes that I loved from Mistborn, but suffers from the slow plot development that plagues many mid-series books.

Vin is back and tougher than ever, and finds a way to make her allomancy even more powerful. We also get to see some Terrisman action, and momentous events shake the world. Despite all this action, however, the plot and character development are on the slow side, with lots of pages wasted on characters moping around and pining. I did enjoy the sections told from Breeze's point of view, however. I'm hoping the author manages to wrap things up nicely in the third novel.

Despite lackluster love story, a can't-miss for fantasy lovers
The second book in the Final Empire series starts up a while after Vin defeats the Lord Ruler. Elend Venture has taken over as king of Luthadel, trying to establish a modern, more enlightened type of government, including a Congress-like Assembly made up of merchants, skaa and noblemen. Vin acts as Elend's bodyguard, protecting him from several assassination attempts by kings who have taken over other sections of the Final Empire after the Lord Ruler's demise.

But all is not good. Two armies have set up camp outside of Luthadel, Elend's father leading one and an influential politician from the West leading the other, and a siege has begun. Everyone is hoping to get their hands on The Lord Ruler's secret stash of alium; unfortunately, Elend and the remaining members of Kelsier's crew have not located it.

To make matters worse, Sazed, who has been traveling to spread his knowledge now that The Keepers no longer have to live in hiding, has heard accounts of the mist killing people. The mist also seems to be staying around longer and longer into the day. Prophesy comes back into play, and a strange mist-creature and a faraway pulsing beat begins to haunt Vin. It seems that the Lord Ruler's dying words--that he was preventing some great evil from taking over the world--might have been true after all.

Again, one main problem with this novel--the characters are again a bit clichéd, but in this book it gets slightly worse with a drawn-out "drama" between Vin and Elend where they can't seem to communicate to each other and misunderstandings take place and love is thwarted and blah blah blah. That is not a plot line I ever enjoy in books, I just find it old-hat, annoying and laaaaame. I thought it was completely distracting in this book and unnecessary and I wish Sanderson had left it out. I feel like one fault of his is his inability to make engaging love stories. I can't even put my finger on why exactly, I just don't really find myself caring about Vin getting with Elend or Sazed and his interest or Ham and his macguffin wife. Like, with Vin and Elend I can get why they would love each other, I just don't "feel" it--you know? I don't know, they're no FitzChivalry and Molly, I'll say that much.

That said, the Vin/Elend drama is an extremely minor aspect to the overall book, which is just as fast-moving and otherwise creative as the first. The plot twists, for me, were also equally surprising as they were in the first book, and the mysteries remained mysterious until the book wanted them revealed. I am unbelievably excited for the third book. Like the first, this book has a quasi-satisfying ending , but the overarching story line is still up in the air. Cannot wait for October!

4.5
i really loved this book.
good second installment to the trilogy.
the characters are expanded on, and as always, there are plenty of really great twists and brutal moments.
the ending was a serious cliff hanger.
i need the third volume now. i cant wait.
i really wish they didnt change the cover when they switched to paperback. the hardcover's painting was so much better.

Excellent
I stayed up far too late finishing this one. Adventure, spectacle, suspense, twists, humor, mystery, gruesome monsters, and something else which makes it more than just another epic fantasy--there's love and there are real characters struggling to do good despite themselves.

I really enjoyed this book.