For some reason the name “The Well of Ascension” had been distantly familiar to me long before ever even hearing about Brandon Sanderson. I associated it with what I thought to be the great fantasy classics such as “The Wheel of Time” and the like and I am now more than happy to report that the association was not in vain.

“The Well of Ascension” was a near perfect fantasy book about the most fascinating aspect of the fight against evil: what happens after you win? Most stories leave it at the victory party and “so they lived happily ever after”, but this is where the Mistborn series really only starts. Idealistic causes can rouse dramatic uprisings, but their true large-scale sustainability often goes untested.

In the first book of my book set Sanderson himself said that he almost wanted to skip directly to this, which he thought the true story as well. I am glad he didn’t, as it sets up the characters, events and setting of this book perfectly, but I can also see how the best parts were saved for later. In fact, this book contains some of the best plot twists I have read, while still leaving many of them open as mysteries for the next one, which I am now itching to pick up.

Still, for some reason I am not quite as emotionally invested as I was with Stormlight Archive, for example, and so my appreciation is directed more towards the literary quality of its fantastic world building, great structure and potent thematic exploration, which is supported exceptionally well by every single plot point and character interaction. There were a few “oh shit” and “hell yeah” moments, but there is still some inexplicable distance between me and the characters that I find difficult to reconcile.

Thematically this book is an absolute powerhouse, confronting the characters with the weightiest of questions about what it truly means to lead, love and lose. These three, along with the themes of hope, faith and trust and their differences and similarities make up the core of the muddied message of the book that is explored with some downright brutal juxtapositions. What I particularly love about the book is that it sometimes feels like one of the traditional stories with a clear message, which in itself is in a way fresh in the modern day, but it often undercuts that in beautifully dramatic and realistic ways. It is neither moralizing nor does it indulge in despair, despite being quite grim and gory. It simply feels like a very realistic depiction of a bleak fantasy world with certain human realities, where stuff just happens, some of which happens to be bad and some of which is good. You cannot really tell whether the supposedly moral choices lead to good or bad outcomes and thus the question arises: what makes a choice moral or immoral exactly?

The book explores what it means to be a leader, how does one end up, appear and get accepted as such, and what gives a leader their legitimacy. What is true power and where does it come from? Which sacrifices are you expected to make, which should you make, when and why? How do you know and ensure you are doing the right thing? Can you trust yourself? How? Can you trust others? Should you? Who? How much? How do you ensure that the greater good comes about? Who should be its recipients? Who decides what that is? What is faith? Who, what, how and why to worship? How do you know what is true? Why fight, struggle and live?

Brandon Sanderson’s “The Well of Ascension” is a really well written and highly entertaining story offering many things you have not necessarily ever seen before, but even more than that, it is a provocative inquiry into many deep questions about ideals, leadership, faith, love and life, simply disguised as a fantasy story. Given that, I would recommend it to everyone interested in any of the abovementioned themes. Of course, an interest in fantasy helps, but I would challenge readers of drier politics, philosophy and leadership books to see if they can crack the more fantastical case study too. The reframing and further removed, more narrative-driven approach might even stimulate new ideas, call into question old ones or cement some further. Anyway, it’s a great book. Read it!