**edit 11/27/13 
 Mistborn is a refreshing antidote to standard epic quest books. From the societal structures to the magical system, Sanderson breathes life and originality into the world he creates. A thousand years before the story starts, a great hero saved the world from a terrible fate...and then set himself up as the immortal Lord Ruler of the world. The series focuses on the question: can an immortal god be overthrown, and even if that is managed, what would happen to the fabric of society and the very balance of the world if he falls? 
 ... 
 Due to my disapproval of GR's new and rather subjective review deletion policy, 
 The rest of my (typically verbose) review is posted over at Booklikes.