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Chapter Thirty-Six Part Two

If I had a chance to rewrite the book again, one of the things I’d change is the scene where Vin gets caught here. If you want to imagine it this way instead, pretend that she dropped both Inquisitors completely, and therefore thought she was safe to inspect the room beyond. The Inquisitors can actually heal far more quickly than I’ve had them do in this book.

My problem with this scene is how easily Vin lets herself be cornered and captured. I think that breaking into the room is exactly the sort of thing she’d do. However, I just don’t think the writing works here (around the section where she gets surprised and grabbed by the Inquisitor.) She’s more careful than that. The way it’s written makes it seem like she gets grabbed simply because that’s what needed to happen. There isn’t enough drama, or enough realization, to the scene.

I do like what happens afterword, however–Vin using the Eleventh Metal. In this book we get our first hints regarding just how much Allomancy has been hidden and obfuscated by the Lord Ruler. Vin realizes that the Eleventh Metal must be part of the structure of Allomantic theory, as is the metal that she’s given that makes her lose all of her other metals. (It’s aluminum, by the way.)

We get a quick Elend Scene here. This is the best I could do for a climax for him, since he really doesn’t have much of a part in the book. (I think he only gets three viewpoints or so.) Considering the limited time, I think this is a fairly good character climax for him. He gets to stand up to his father and try to put some of his beliefs into action. One of my favorite lines is when he’s sitting and thinking about the realities of a skaa rebellion, only to realize that he’s on the wrong side.