However, when a job goes wrong, the company draws the lethal attention of a Steel Inquisitor, one of the Lord Ruler’s most terrifying officials. All she knows is that she has a strange talent, which she christens her Luck: an innate gift which allows her to subtly influence the emotions of those around her. And yet, to those who know what to look for, Vin has a rare gift. To them, she is little better than livestock. She is skaa, a member of the labouring underclass, invisible and unregarded by the noble elite. Now she lives hand-to-mouth in a company of thieves, doing her best to make herself useful. Vin has spent most of her short life on the streets, scrabbling to survive. In part a self-contained adventure story, and in part a clearly-signposted springboard for future events, this is a satisfying romp full of honourable thieves, dark religions, disguise and politics: just up my street. While his inventive world-building and magic system didn’t disappoint, I was initially underwhelmed by his writing style but that bothered me less as I made my way through the book. I’ve heard a lot about Sanderson in recent years – he’s definitely one of the most popular modern fantasy authors, in part thanks to his completion of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series – and my expectations were, inevitably, high.

It’s the first novel I’ve read by Brandon Sanderson and, while it isn’t the first in his Cosmere saga (that would be Elantris), it marks the beginning of its own sub-series, Mistborn. How, for example, does one manage to appear professional on a Zoom call from one’s bedroom? (I need to experiment with backgrounds.) However, weekends are still sacred and I’ve spent this particular chilly Sunday afternoon curled up on the sofa with The Final Empire. I’ve now been back at work for a couple of weeks, thank goodness, and have been happily readjusting although this strange new world brings new challenges.

The final empire