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Cover of The Well of Ascension
Era 1 · almost a year after The Final Empire

The Well of Ascension

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Three armies besiege Luthadel, and Vin and Elend must hold the city while the mists start to change

Pages590 pagesWhere to buyAmazonIn your readingnot read yet
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Do you need to read it?

Yes. It's in the Main story, the list of only what moves the plot forward to the end of the saga.

Where it falls in the order

  • Main story2 of 3
  • Chronological2 of 8
  • Everything2 of 8
BeforeThe Final EmpireAfterThe Hero of Ages
Spoilers for this title

Quick recap

Almost a year after the Lord Ruler's fall, Elend is king of Luthadel and tries to rule through an assembly. Three armies besiege the city: his father Straff Venture's, Ashweather Cett's and a koloss horde. The assembly votes Elend out. Vin is shadowed by Zane, another Mistborn, who tries to pull her away from Elend. She kills him and marries Elend. The koloss break into the city, and several people close to the crew die. Vin takes control of the koloss with Allomancy, kills Straff, and the nobles swear fealty to Elend as emperor. At the Well of Ascension, Vin releases the power, believing she's saving the world. It was a trap: she frees Ruin. Elend, mortally wounded, survives because Vin makes him a Mistborn.

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5 trivia

Trivia

  1. Behind the scenesAfter the good guys win

    Publishers Weekly put it this way: it will please anyone who always wanted to know what happened after the good guys won. Instead of another revolution, you get politics, a siege and an assembly.

    source ↗
  2. Behind the scenesThe longest of the trilogy

    It runs 590 pages and about 244,000 words in the US hardcover, the longest Era 1 book. The Final Empire is around 210,000.

    source ↗
  3. SetupCarved in steel

    The epigraphs now come from a text a Terris scholar carved into metal instead of writing on paper. The choice of material is no accident.

    source ↗
  4. SetupDaytime mists

    Watch for reports of mists appearing during the day and people falling sick in them. It reads like background, but it's the first sign of something bigger.

    source ↗
  5. ReferenceVin's kandra

    Vin inherits the contract of the kandra who worked for Kelsier. The kandra, creatures that copy bodies, matter more here and come back later in the saga.

    source ↗
No spoilersThe easter eggs give away parts of the title. They open once you mark it as seen.

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