But, about an hour or two into Volume 2 (maybe a 150 pages or so), hope you have a change of underwear ready. It was frankly one of the quickest, most shocking changes I have read in a fiction book. Totally unexpected. Hee, hee...
I'm reading so space may be off BUT I think I have gotten where you mean....right before the ship wreck it happens...and yes...I read Game of Thrones and this was shocking as well this ISN'T game of thrones and mistborn and his other novels I have read didn't have this...and yeah...does it really seem like things are going to get a lot lot worse as he has ten books to do...before they get better.
Did you get to any of the parshani point of view chapters? I find those particularly interesting.