Unique magic system, check, good characters, check!
★★★★★★☆
Title: The Final Empire (Mistborn #1)
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Genre: Fiction / Fantasy
First published: 2006
Edition: Paperback, published by Gollancz in 2009
For a thousand years the ash fell.
For a thousand years, the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years, the Lord Ruler reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Every attempted revolt has failed miserably. Yet somehow hope survives.
A new kind of uprising is being planned, one that depends on the cunning of a brilliant criminal mastermind and the courage of an unlikely heroine, a Skaa street urchin, who must learn to master Allomancy, the power of a mistborn.
***
It has been a while since I sank my teeth into a chunky fantasy series and boy, did I enjoy the experience! This series has been sitting on my shelf for way longer than it should have.
First of all, I love Sanderson’s writing. It’s easy to read and just flows incredibly nicely. It always feels intelligent enough, but never feels dense. He keeps up the pace nicely and the plot developed evenly throughout the book.
The world and the magic system were very well done. It was not like any magic system I read about before and I definitely appreciated that. I enjoyed the characters, though I would have appreciated a few more women in the mix. Overall, I think the author did a great job building the story and the characters There were a few things that I did find a bit predictable, but nothing that particularly bothered me.
I am glad I finally started this series and I am looking forward to diving back into this world with The Well of Ascension soon.
6 out of 7 stars
Lola Et La Vie 
My adult children love his writing; I find it just passable. I read the entire Mistborn series at their request and liked it, especially what is revealed in the last one, but have no desire to read anything else he’s written.