Book Review: The Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson

The Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The world of Scadrial doesn’t know it’s under attack by a god from another world that has multiple plans to take control from the planet’s sole god. The Lost Metal is the seventh Mistborn novel in Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere which sees Waxillium “Wax” Ladrian, Wayne, and Marasi Colms travel to the city of Bilming to confront the Set and save the world.

Over the course of almost 750 pages, Sanderson weaves three interconnected story arcs focused on Wax and Wayne, Marasi, and Steris each doing what they can to stop or mitigate a disaster put into motion by the Set led by Wax’s sister who is the avatar of the god Autonomy looking extending her reach beyond her home domain. This culmination of a four-book series not only completes the arcs of the character’s mentioned but also shows how over the course of less than a decade in the timeline the planet went from late 19th Century/early 20th Century technology to the verge of Scadrial’s version of an “atomic” and early Cold War era rocket technology all while including the magical system first introduced in the original trilogy making interesting stories to read. This last installment of this Second Era finds the greater Cosmere truly impacting Scadrial as well as having vibrations across the rest of the Cosmere as a result given the reveal of a certain character in the epilogues. Overall, this was a very good read that brought things to a satisfying conclusion while also making me interested in how Scadrial will develop in two planned future trilogies.

The Lost Metal concludes the Second Era of the Mistborn series in satisfying fashion, once again showing Brandon Sanderson knows how to construct a multi-volume story.

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Book Review: The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson

The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the Cosmere having interactions with a god is not uncommon depending on what planet you live on, but sometimes one just can’t stand meeting them and frankly don’t like them personally because of that god’s actions. The Bands of Mourning is the sixth Mistborn novel within Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere as Waxillium “Wax” Ladrian, Wayne, and Marasi travel to the south of the Elendel Basin to save a kendra as well as to save Wax’s sister from his villainous uncle.

In just over 500 pages Sanderson covers a lot of ground as the main characters travel, develop as characters, and learn about one another. Besides the long narrative of Wax versus his uncle and “the Set”, Sanderson adds nascent political intrigue outside the city of Elendel as well as expanding the world of Scadrial by showing the Sazed-Harmony is not a very good god by ignoring half the world’s population that is only surviving outside the Basin thanks to the creator of the titular Bands of Mourning that many are looking for. There are several twists throughout the novel, the main one was blatant mainly because Sanderson didn’t want to insult his readers and try misdirection however the twist at the very end has ramifications for the history of Scadrial and possibly the entire Cosmere going forward.

The Bands of Mourning sees not only Brandon Sanderson continuing the arcs of the second Misborn era and setting up a potentially fantastic conclusion, but also is a good narrative on its own.

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Book Review: Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson

Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The city of Elendel is seething with angry workers, corrupt politicians, and crime syndicates running amok now throw in an insane immortal out of legend. Shadows of Self is the fifth book in Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series as legendary lawman Lord Waxillium “Wax” Ladrian, his sidekick Wayne, and future sister-in-law and new constable Marasi race to stop a conspiracy that has even the god Harmony concerned.

Over the course of almost 450 pages that cover an exhausting day and a half, Sanderson writes a racing narrative that sees Wax and Wayne come up against a creature of legend that has gone insane and meet characters the readers remember from the original trilogy who are themselves considered holy now. As the two and the constables of the 4th Octant race to save the city’s governor, who probably is corrupt, from assassination there are priests of various religions getting killed by imposters from competing religions ramping up tensions from overwork or no work and growing concern for food. Not since the fall of the Lord Ruler has there been this many people on the streets, but to save the day Wax confronts something that makes him question everything.

Shadows of Self is a quick-paced fantasy thriller that sees Brandon Sanderson take us the reader through a myriad of emotions and action scenes to a stunning conclusion.

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Book Review: The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson

The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After Scadrial’s brush with extinction three centuries before, the survivors rebuilt civilization with help but as life and society recovered and brought about good times a shadow slowly developed. The Alloy of Law is Brandon Sanderson’s return to the world of the Mistborn as a lawman returns to high society to take up his family’s position only to find crime and his former partner barging back into his life.

This story is a mishmash of fantasy and western genres with a dash of mystery and hint of conspiracy thriller thrown in as well. The main character of Waxillium Ladrian, better known as Wax, as a lawman-turned-money aristocrat who can’t stand seeing crime happen in front of him is an engaging individual that drives the narrative. The secondary characters of Wax’s partner Wayne and aspiring prosecutor Marasi Colms add a nice change of pace to the narrative and add to the worldbuilding as well. As there is a 300 year gap between this book and the original trilogy, Sanderson evolves the magic system of Scadrial by having individuals with mixed abilities but has made “Mistborn” now legendary which in fact is hinted at to be the subtle reason behind the main arc of this new set of books. Overall Sanderson reminds the reader of what has gone before without diminishing those characters while establishing a “new” present-day with new characters and situations that result in a fun narrative.

The Alloy of Law is a fun, quick read within the Cosmere as Brandon Sanderson shows what happened after the original Mistborn trilogy in an engaging way.

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Book Review: Mistborn: Secret History by Brandon Sanderson

Mistborn: Secret History by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Survivor, the man whose sacrifice led to the downfall of the Lord Ruler and freedom for the oppressed skaa on Scadrial, died in the first book of the original Mistborn trilogy. Mistborn: Secret History by Brandon Sanderson follows Kelsier after death during the events of the climax of the first novel and then Well of Ascension and The Hero of Ages.

Throughout the original trilogy, the reader knew Vin’s life was being influenced by greater forces that were playing out on a different plain or Realm and in this novella the reader learns that Kelsier prevented himself from going to the Cosmere’s afterlife (the Beyond). Then we follow Kelsier through the background events of the next two books from the Well of Ascension to the final showdown as the Hero of Ages emerges. The supernatural elements of the Cosmere are explained, especially those specific to Scadrial, and other characters from the Cosmere appear for knowledgeable readers through are also intriguing introductions for beginning readers. Absolutely this should be read only after finishing the Mistborn trilogy.

Mistborn: Secret History is exactly that, the now revealed background events that affected Vin’s story in the original trilogy.

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Book Review: The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson

The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The world is dying and everyone is looking for "The Hero of Ages" to save it and them in the conclusion of Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy.  As Vin and Elend attempt to save as many people as possible, they also are racing to find answers left behind by Rashek, the Lord Ruler, to battle the god Ruin and preserve their world as best they can, the rest of the survivors of Kelsier's crew do their best to help throughout the Final Empire.

A year after Vin released Ruin from the Well of Ascension, Elend and she race around the Empire in search of cache's left by the Lord Ruler in the event of his failure to keep Ruin imprisoned.  While besieging Fadrex City, Vin gets captured by it's obligator-king only to find herself also confronting Ruin himself and learning her place in his 'plans'.  Meanwhile Spook, Breeze, and Sazed attempt to gain control of another cache in Urteau ruled by a Church of the Survivor zealot as both Spook and Sazed deal with major psychological conflicts that has a profound impact on the world itself.  And interweaving is the struggle of Kelsier's brother turned Inquistor Marsh, the chief pawn of the god Ruin who alternatively desires the destruction of the world and himself.

"The Hero of Ages" successes in getting all the interwoven story arcs, of both the book itself and the trilogy as a whole, to a successful conclusion at the end of the book unlike it's predecessor "The Well of Ascension" which struggled with it's internal story arcs at the end.  The complexity and brilliance of the system-of-magic created by Sanderson is in full display as well as the fantastic battle scenes using it.  Sanderson also successes in writing a classic misdirection of prophetic fulfillment that doesn't taking away from the whole of the trilogy, but fits perfectly together at the end when looking back over everything in hindsight.  If there is one flaw, it is the unfortunate rehashing of events numerous times usually in internal monologue.  While a certain character's internal monologue of rehashing events or things, it was unnecessary to be done by others on a repeated basis.

While some of the internal monologues are drag in the middle of the book, it can not take too much away from a fantastically written conclusion to the Mistborn trilogy.  "The Hero of Ages" brings culmination to a series of events to the Mistborn world not just over a five year period, but of a thousand and of an infinity of length.  This book and the series as a whole is highly recommended.


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Book Review: The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson

The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"The Well of Ascension" is where the Lord Ruler gained godlike powers to battle the Deepness and then transform the world instead of just releasing it, or that's what Kelsier's crew believed throughout the second Mistborn book by Brandon Sanderson.  The middle volume of the Mistborn trilogy not only has the magic of allomancy of the first but realpolitik as the Final Empire collapses into numerous kingdoms.

The book begins a year after the Collapse following the death of the Lord Ruler with more point-of-view characters from the beginning than "Final Empire" had initially, giving a sense of the bigger scope that "Ascension" is meant to have given the plot threads throughout the book.  The primary character continues to be the street urchin-turned-Mistborn Vin who not only protects the city from antagonistic allomancers bent on assassinating Elend Venture who rules Luthadel as King and who wants to marry her.  Elend along with Vin and the rest of the Kelsier crew must deal with three armies arriving and besieging the former imperial capital as well as dealing with internal political intrigue.  And only to add stuff on top of that, the ever present nightly mist is starting to crept into the day, form spirits, and kill people.

At about 760 pages, "Ascension" is a 100 pages longer than "Final Empire" and given the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and political conflicts within the book this seems a reasonable.  Unfortunately there were brief stretches in which the writing drags in the middle and last third of the book as internal conflicts are rehashed once again for Vin and Elend in regards to themselves and the other, the sheer amount of times it's repeat gets wearing to the reader.  The book has a lot of unforeseen twists that catches the reader off guard both positively and negatively depending on the clues only picked up on after the fact, if there are any.  However unlike the "Final Empire" in which the last 100 pages turned out to be a weakness, the last 100 pages of Ascension was a strength as subplots were resolved and the story threads quickly interwove for quiet a interesting ending that makes you want to see what happens next in "Hero of Ages".

As with all second acts, all doesn't go well for the heroes even though they survive (for the most part) and strive to build a better world than the one they've had.  "The Well of Ascension" builds upon what Brandon Sanderson began in "Final Empire" not only in the present time frame of his world, but into it's past and setting up a potentially fantastic ending to the "Mistborn" trilogy.


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Book Review: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The "Mistborn" are suppose to be of noble birth, however in Brandon Sanderson's first book of the series of the same name it turns out this is not the case and it proves to be the undoing to the evil seemingly immortal Lord Ruler in the end.  The first book of the "Mistborn" finds both tropes and fantasy genre clichés used in familiar as well as twisted ways, resulting in a excellent read.

The plot followed two individuals, both the titular mistborn: Vin, a young thief just trying to survive, and Kelsier, the master thief who survived a living death sentence and plans to topple the Final Empire by starting an actual skaa (think serfs) rebellion.  Set in a world where the hero failed a 1000 years before and the evil dark lord has ruled ever since, Kelsier brings Vin who doesn't know she's a mistborn into his high-end thieving crew with a plan to destabilize and topple the Final Empire.

Giving "Mistborn" its major fantasy element is Sanderson's inventive magic system of Allomancy, which individuals "burn" metals they have ingested that affect either internally or externally things specific to those metals.  The titular mistborn have the ability to burn all known metals while mistings are only able to burn one metal, nearly all of Kelsier's crew use allomancy in one form or another which is how Vin trains in the uses of her mistborn powers.

For almost 550 pages, Sanderson writes a in riveting cannot put the book down style that keeps on raising the reader's anticipating to see how he ends the story.  Unfortunately the last 100 pages prove to be the weakest part of the book as Sanderson ties up all the various story elements he's laid down.  It isn't the fact Sanderson ties it up, it's how he does it.  It almost felt like several things happening on top of one another that kept on pushing down the big showdown that you knew was coming and then didn't give enough time for a proper denouement, which got regulated to the epilogue.  However the decision to have the Lord Ruler appear only in the last tenth of the book and the bait-and-switch of his true identity was a pleasant surprise.

"Mistborn: The Final Empire" is a satisfying read even with a unfortunate weak end but not even not to make you want to find out what happens next in the aftermath in the Final Empire's fall.


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