The Well of Ascension - Brandon Sanderson

★★★★☆

The last quarter of this book slammed me like a truck…because WHAT

Narrative Voice: 3rd person omniscient
Cussing/profanity: 1/5*
Drug/alcohol use: 1/5**
Kissing: 1/5
Sex/nudity: 1/5***
Violence/gore: 3/5

As an author, I applaud Sanderson for his ridiculously thorough world building, but as a reader I sometimes found myself trudging through the royal politics haha—I’ve personally never been a fan of politics in books, which, to me, made the first ~half feel slower—this book took me the longest to finish of the trilogy. However, just when I was getting bored, the book slams we with some unexpected action. Vin and Elend are amazing as they continue their character arcs, Straff is abhorrent, the new characters at play are just as detailed as the main cast, and I loved every bit of world building and mystery.

Did I mention the badassery of the fight scenes are incredible? Listening to the audiobook just makes me want to scream “HECK YEAHH!” in the middle of Costco.

But that climax though?! My gosh?! My flabbers were gasted. 5 stars for that.

5/5 would recommend

*bloody, damn, damnation, (exclamation) hell
**a character is revealed to have been slipped [fantasy] drugs to make him an addict / another character is frequently shown appreciating a glass of wine
***sleeping with slaves is discussed multiple times but never shown on page; it is a commonality among the noble culture and is despised. Children out of wedlock and brothels are also discussed. A lord thinks cruel things about one of his slave-mistress’s postpartum body, who breasts are briefly exposed.