Mistborn: The Final Empire

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussion of death and racism.

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn: The Final Empire presents a world where ash falls from the sky and mists dominate the night. How did this unique setting impact your experience of the story, and what emotions did it evoke?

2. The Allomantic magic system in Mistborn is highly structured, with specific rules and limitations. How does this compare to magic systems in other fantasy works you’ve read, such as Sanderson’s own The Stormlight Archive, with its Surgebinding, or Patrick Rothfuss’s sympathy magic in The Name of the Wind?

3. Mistborn balances heist story elements with epic fantasy. Which aspects of the novel did you find most compelling—the meticulous planning of Kelsier’s crew, Vin’s growth from street urchin to powerful Mistborn, or the intricate Allomantic magic system?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Vin struggles throughout the book with learning to trust others after years of betrayal. Reflect on a time when you had to rebuild trust after a betrayal. How did Vin’s journey resonate with your own experience?

2. Kelsier maintains his smile as an act of defiance against the Lord Ruler’s oppression, even displaying it moments before his death. What small acts of resistance or defiance have you incorporated into your own life when facing difficult circumstances?

3. The crew members each bring unique skills and personalities to their shared mission. Which crew member do you most identify with and why?

4. Sazed preserves forgotten religions with the belief that they hold value regardless of their current popularity. What traditions, skills, or knowledge do you feel responsible for preserving in your own life?

5. Throughout the novel, characters must decide when to conform to social expectations and when to rebel. Describe a situation in your life where you had to make a similar choice between conformity and rebellion.

6. Vin discovers her identity as a Mistborn gradually throughout the story. Describe a time when you discovered an unexpected talent or aspect of your identity that changed how you view yourself.

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. Mistborn depicts a rigid class system with the skaa serving as an oppressed lower class. How does Sanderson’s exploration of class struggle reflect real-world social hierarchies, both historical and contemporary?

2. The Lord Ruler maintains control through a combination of religious authority, military might, and supernatural power. What parallels do you see between the Final Empire’s methods of control and authoritarian regimes in human history?

3. Representation of diverse characters in fantasy literature has been increasingly discussed in recent years. How do you interpret Sanderson’s inclusion of the Terris people and their persecution, and what commentary might this offer on cultural genocide and the preservation of minority traditions?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. How does the mist work as a symbol in the novel. How does it function both as a literal element of the world and as a metaphor for knowledge, power, and identity?

2. Kelsier and the Lord Ruler represent contrasting models of leadership, similar to how Aragorn and Sauron function in Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring. How does Sanderson use these characters to explore the theme of heroism and its complexities?

3. The novel frequently employs epigraphs from the Hero of Ages’s journal. What purpose do these serve in the narrative structure, and how do they affect your understanding of the plot as it unfolds?

4. Vin’s character arc moves from extreme distrust to love and friendship. What key moments mark this transformation, and how does Sanderson make this evolution believable?

5. The kandra serve as a motif related to identity and impersonation throughout the novel. How does this connect to broader themes of authenticity and self-discovery?

6. Consider the ending of the novel, particularly the Lord Ruler’s final words: “By killing me, you have doomed yourselves” (631). Given what we learn about the Deepness in the epigraphs, how does this statement function as both resolution and a hook for the sequel?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. The crew designs an elaborate plan to overthrow the Final Empire. What would your role be if you were part of Kelsier’s crew? What skills would you contribute, and what Allomantic power would you most want to possess?

2. The Lord Ruler transformed Scadrial with ashfalls and mist after taking the power at the Well of Ascension. Draft a brief description of how Scadrial might look today had the Hero of Ages defeated the Deepness as prophesied. What natural features would exist? How might society be structured differently?

3. Kelsier creates a religion around himself to inspire the skaa rebellion. Design a symbol or ritual that might emerge in the worship of the “Survivor” following the events of the novel.

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