The Alloy of Law vs The Well of Ascension: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Imaginary places, Magic, Fiction
The Alloy of Law
Three hundred years after the events of the Mistborn trilogy, Scadrial is now on the verge of modernity, with railroads to supplement the canals, electric lighting in the streets and the homes of the wealthy, and the…
vs
The Well of Ascension
The impossible has been accomplished. The Lord Ruler -- the man who claimed to be god incarnate and brutally ruled the world for a thousand years -- has been vanquished. But Kelsier, the hero who masterminded that…
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- The Alloy of Law is the quickest read — about 6 hours vs 14 for The Well of Ascension.
- The Well of Ascension has the widest readership — 719443 ratings behind its score.
- The Alloy of Law runs the darker storyline; The Well of Ascension stays the lighter read.
How to choose
Scores by source
| The Alloy of Law | The Well of Ascension | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.2 (311081) | 4.4 (719443) |
| Hardcover | 4.1 (2105) | 4.3 (3900) |
| Google Books | 4.5 (11) | 4.0 (22) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (1949) | 4.5 (2771) |
Reception
| The Alloy of Law | The Well of Ascension | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 311081 | 719443 |
| Editions | 24 | 36 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 156282 | 210977 |
| Reading it now | 9332 | 35283 |
| Written reviews | 21029 | 52869 |
| Wikipedia attention | 4986 | 6797 |
| Pages | 360 | 792 |