Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Mistborn: The Well of Ascension Discussion #4

It's time for another discussion post with Saloni from My Fantabulous Bookshelf about Mistborn: The Well of Ascension, the second book in Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy. There will be some spoilers, so you may want to wait until you've caught up to continue reading. 


  1. Since TenSoon the spy, why do you think he divulged so much information about kandra and their weaknesses?
Courtney: I think that TenSoon was forced by Zane to kill OreSeur and take his place, assuming that Vin would be cruel and manipulative like Zane. His opening up and divulging of secrets was a slow process. I think he genuinely came to care for Vin and she for him. He even warned her to stay away from Zane at times, knowing that Zane was not trustworthy and was playing with Vin’s emotions. I hope we see more of him in the future.
Saloni: Some part of him was playing a role, which involved him acting as OreSeur but even so I don’t think that’s the sole reason he helped Vin so much. I really believe that as he and Vin began talking, some part of him began to trust her and open up to her to the point where she could glean some of his secrets from him. Even at the end TenSoon seemed reluctant to leave Vin and become reassigned which shows me that there was some amount of true trust between them.

  1. Do you think Vin is the Hero of Ages?
Courtney: It seems to obvious for that to be the case. While there are many similarities between the things we know about the Hero of Ages and Vin, I think we are missing vital information. I think she’s important to the Hero of Ages, I just don’t think she is the hero herself. I’m not sure if it’s someone we already know or if they will be introduced later, but I think Vin will play an important part no matter who the hero is.
Saloni: While it is the outcome that makes the most sense, it’s also too predictable. Though Vin does have immense similarities to the Hero of Ages that matches some of the characteristics from the logbook, I think it would be too easy an ending to simply proclaim Vin the Hero of Ages. I think Sazed or Tindwyl will find something in the logbook or the rubbing that shows that someone else is the Hero of Ages.

  1. It was revealed that Zane had a metal spike in his body, do you think this has anything to do with the voice he was hearing? Any thoughts on why the knowledge of this metal spike was important?
Courtney: Sanderson is too focused to give us information that we don’t need. Everything in his novels is important. I feel like this revelation, made here at the end of Zane’s life, was important for us to know. And I do think it has something to do with the voices. I don’t really know how, but I think they are related. So far the only people we know of with metal spikes are Inquisitors, who change because of those spikes. I think the two are somehow related.
Saloni: I was wondering about the same thing actually, more so “God’s” last words before Zane’s death. The fact that Zane wasn’t actually insane has to have some type of importance but I couldn’t figure out how it would play into the story since he was dead. Perhaps the steel Inquisitors are controlled by this “God” whose voice is induced by the spikes? Though I’m not completely sure.

  1. What do you think of the Crew’s plan to send Vin and Elend away? Do you think it will work?
Courtney: The Crew is such an amazing part of this novel. I don’t think that their plan will go as they think it will, but I was happy to see them formulate it nonetheless. It was nice to see them all come together and acknowledge their doom, while trying to save some of their younger friends. And their logic was good, since Vin and Elend would be able to return and help eventually. I just don’t think they will truly leave like the crew expects.  
Saloni: There is no way the crew’s plan is going to work. I feel like there are way too many variables at play for this plan to work out flawlessly. It was an ideal plan but I don’t think it’s going to pan out exactly how it’s supposed to. Perhaps the Hero of Ages is Vin and the plan to send Vin and Elend actually works to get rid of the Mists and save the world. It seems a bit farfetched and very idealistic but maybe a version of it is possible.

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