In an oppressive society under the immortal, tyrannical Lord Ruler, nobles and skaa coexist. The nobles need fear little as long as they do not defy the Lord Ruler. The skaa, however, are essentially slaves, condemned to miserable lives due to the actions of their ancestors. Vin, a girl in a thieving band of skaa, has a special ability which she calls Luck. Without it she would have died long ago. Kelsier is something of a hero. He is called the survivor and known to all of the skaa. His goal? To cause as much trouble as he can, and for his latest plan he needs a team. Little does Vin know that she's going to become involved.
I took a bit of a gamble on this book. I usually don't read fantasy books that are quite this obscure (and by obscure I mean with extremely different, elaborate societies and totally different worlds). But this turned out quite well. I was pleasantly surprised that I could follow along with all of the invented terms and such because they were explained adequately. The story is told from mostly Vin's point of view, but also Kelsier's and others' as needed. It is done quite proficiently, as each change of view reveals information that you wouldn't have gotten otherwise. The book does start off in that mysterious way that leaves you completely confused, but everything is explained quickly enough for it to add to rather than detract from the story telling. What I loved the most about the book was the creativity of the skills that Vin has and the clear descriptions of their use (no, I will not expand on that. I don't want to spoil the story). Vin's and Kelsier's personalities are developed very nicely and the change is noticeable (though that is probably made more obvious by Vin's commentary now that I think about it...). But in any case, I enjoyed the story and will probably read the next one. Stay tuned!
No comments:
Post a Comment