Mistborn: The Final Empire (The Mistborn Saga, 1)

Now with over 10 million copies sold, The Mistborn Series has the thrills of a heist story, the twistiness of political intrigue, and the epic scale of a landmark fantasy saga.

Once, a hero arose to save the world. He failed.

Ever since, the world has been a wasteland of ash and mist controlled by the immortal emperor known as the Lord Ruler.

But hope survives. A new uprising is forming, one built around the ultimate caper, the cunning of a brilliant criminal mastermind, and the determination of an unlikely heroine: a street urchin who must learn to master the power of a Mistborn.

Other Tor books by Brandon Sanderson

The Cosmere
The Stormlight Archive

● The Way of Kings
● Words of Radiance
● Edgedancer (novella)
● Oathbringer
● Dawnshard (novella)
● Rhythm of War

● Wind and Truth

The Mistborn Saga
The Original Trilogy
● Mistborn
● The Well of Ascension
● The Hero of Ages


Wax & Wayne
● The Alloy of Law
● Shadows of Self
● The Bands of Mourning
● The Lost Metal


Other Cosmere novels
● Elantris
● Warbreaker
● Tress of the Emerald Sea
● Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
● The Sunlit Man


Collection
● Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection

Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians
● Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians
● The Scrivener's Bones
● The Knights of Crystallia
● The Shattered Lens
● The Dark Talent
● Bastille vs. the Evil Librarians
(with Janci Patterson)

Other novels
● The Rithmatist
● Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds
● The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England


Other books by Brandon Sanderson

The Reckoners
● Steelheart
● Firefight
● Calamity
● Lux
(with Steven Michael Bohls)

Skyward
● Skyward
● Starsight
● Cytonic
● Skyward Flight
(with Janci Patterson)
● Defiant

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Published Sep 24, 2019

576 pages

Average rating: 8.58

404 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

What Bookclubbers are saying about this book

✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI

Readers say *Mistborn: The Final Empire* offers brilliant worldbuilding and a unique, intricate magic system that many find engaging. The characters a...

Jonathan Willis
Jan 13, 2026
8/10 stars
Slow start, but a great ride! I love the power system and the world of this book. The characters are interesting and I really like the big bad. Super intriguing premise and I am excited to see what’s next.
random_wolfe
Jan 02, 2026
6/10 stars
I liked this book, but holly hell, it was hard to get through. It usually takes me 2 to 3 days to get through a book of this length, but this took 7. I did like it, so I can't even really quantify why it was so tough to get through, but it was a STRUGGLE.

No spice in this book, folks! Although Kelsier is
tloster25
Jan 02, 2026
10/10 stars
Wow. This is everything I want from a book. Interesting guiding figures, the wokr building and surprises.
Bosky
Dec 30, 2025
8/10 stars
4.0 stars. Ok I get it now. I get the hype (from ~10yrs back) and why this book has gotten such an amazingly high Goodreads rating. My husband suggested I read this book and very happy I did. It's long and I'm sometimes daunted by books >600 pages.
I loved the carefully crafted world building and character development. I love routing for the underdog and the idea of toppling an archaic societal structure of nobility, lords, and gods. The magic and mysticism was captivating. As a side note, the ideas surrounding religion was also interesting.
Beginning and end were gripping, just couldn't turn the pages fast enough. But the middle dragged... Took me much longer than I wanted to read this book. Happy I stuck to it. Not sure if I'll read the rest of the series, but this one was GREAT.
Farrah Lokey
Dec 15, 2025
8/10 stars
Slow to start, but I really got into it as the story progressed.

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