Evil has been defeated. The war has just begun. After destroying the Lord Ruler in the Final Empire, the crew that deposed him is left to pick up all the pieces and come up with a way to solve the Lord Rulers final riddle. It may just be that killing the Lord Ruler was the easy part. Surviving the aftermath of his fall is going to be the real challenge.
Vin is the most powerful Mistborn in the land, but without Kelsier her training is not fully complete. While her power is without compare she is still “learning the ropes” and Elend (Venture) who loves her has his own problems. As the proclaimed ruler of Luthandel, he has to deal with the several armies wishing to conquer his kingdom while at the same time trying to build a new empire from the ashes that are left.
Starting one year after the events of The Final Empire, Elend’s rule is one of conflict and disharmony. The citizens of the land do not believe in him and many of his former peers see him as a very temporary and idealistic ruler who while very knowledgeable – has no real experience as a Leader. This includes his father – a leader of an army that is attacking Luthandel to retrieve the Atium that is said to be stored there.
As the siege tightens, an ancient legend seems to offer a glimmer of hope. But even if it really exists, no one knows where to find the Well of Ascension or what manner of power it bestows. While armies attacking might seem to be the only problem – something is wrong with the mists and people are losing their lives with no rhyme or reason.
The Well of Ascension continues expanding on the other characters in the Final Empire and the Kandra and Koloss are explored to a much greater degree than in the previous book. In addition the Terrasmen play a much larger role in this and the next book and while the other characters from the “crew” are not given as much page time, Vin and Elend are covered extremely fully.
Something else to enjoy and read with great care are the prophecies of Alendi which are the chapter headings at the beginning of each chapter. Taken together – they would make a book in itself!