Mistborn Saga by Brandon Sanderson ~ 2nd Trilogy Review
Hello Readers,
I’ve finally gotten around to putting down in writing my thoughts for the Mistborn Era Two instalment of the Mistborn Saga. I will just say, it’s been a while since I picked up these books but I’ll do my best to give you a comprehensive review from what I remember ~ I’ve read a lot books since! There’s also a fourth book coming this year to finish off this Era of the Mistborn Saga called The Lost Metal, but I wanted to write my review for the first three books and then once I’ve read the finale one, I’ll review that also.
If you’re not sure what this era of the Mistborn Saga is about, let me give you a little overview of the first book {because going into the others would be spoilers} before I get into my thoughts…
The books that make up this trilogy are The Alloy of Law, Shadows of Self, and The Bands of Mourning.
The Alloy of Law is set 300 years after the final events of The Hero of Ages. The world have moved on from that medieval feeling era to a more industrial / western feeling world. Allomancy is still ever present in this world but it has evolved and other forms of it that were touched on in the previous trilogy are now more common. This section of the saga focuses on Wax, whose ancestor was a member of Kelsier’s crew in the previous trilogy. Wax is a Lawman who, along with his friend Wayne, uses their allomancy to help the authorities to catch criminals. But soon there seems to be something bigger going on than your average everyday crimes. This storyline carries through all three books as Wax, Wayne and few other characters try to uncover what is going on.
I don’t want to go into anymore detail than that as I don’t want to spoil these books or the previous ones.
Personally, I loved these books so much, it’s a little lighter to read in many ways than the first set of three books in this saga, those are definitely more dark, epic fantasy and Wax and Wayne are definite favourites of mine within this entire Saga so far. The way Sanderson has expanded the world and yet tied in so many elements of the elements and characters from the main trilogy is just amazing. The world has not forgotten them or what they did and I loved that!
None of the plot line felt forced or convenient in any way, the characters felt like they all had depth to them and it was wonderful to learn more about them as you progressed through these books. I will say that because there are quite a few tie ins to the previous trilogy, The Alloy of Law isn’t the starting point ~ if you want to explore this world, you really need to start with The Final Empire. If you want to know about the first three books, you can find my review here.
The majority of the story takes place in the same city as the first three books in the saga but it has a new name and it’s a lot more industrial than the original city. Yet, it still felt familiar as the characters travelled from area to area within the city. I felt that was very realistic of cities that stand the test of time; yes the buildings around you may change and evolve over time but the feel of the place and it’s familiarity often stays the same. So while Lutherdel became Elendel within this latest instalment of the Mistborn Saga, it still felt like the old city in some ways and I really liked that.
The world expands as you progress through the books and it was really interesting to see the contrast between the places further away from the main city and the city itself. Elendel gave me a feeling of the London in a Dickens novel but the areas outside of that felt like towns featured in old western films and books, with saloons and gunslingers. Yet, I found the two worked well together and think that’s mainly because of how characters were written. Wax and Wayne are first working as Lawmen in that western setting and then you follow them back to the city and acclimate back into that very different lifestyle with them, so the contrast doesn’t feel as jarring as it might if they were out and out high society city men heading into the more western setting.
I also couldn’t write a review on these books without mentioning the wonderful maps and charts that are again featured in these books. I love a good map in a book as it can help you follow the character’s journey throughout the world and also make you feel more a part of the story. It was interesting to also compare them to the maps in the first trilogy and to see the changes to the city and the new areas now within its walls. Honestly, I wish more books had them.
Another helpful feature is that the Art Arcanum is back. This was a really helpful feature of the first trilogy as it’s charts all the different metals in the world and what it is used for. So with Allomancy evolving within this second era of the Mistborn world, along with it’s different types, this chart again proved so useful; while Sanderson does a great job of clearly explaining when they’re used, sometimes I just needed a bit more information and so having the chart to refer to was great as it helped remind me what the metal were, what they did and how certain abilities were gained.
The Mistborn Saga is the second series of Brandon Sanderson’s that I’ve delved into, I have also read the Skyward series and within those books there’s illustrations to help you visualise the ships and different races wfeatured in the series. So as a writer, Sanderson does an excellent job of helping his readers understand the elements and characters within his stories and personally, I’m very grateful for that.
So, overall I have really enjoyed the first three books of the second era of the Mistborn Saga and I’m really looking forward to seeing how it is concluded when the finale book is published later this year.
Have you read any of the books within this saga? I’d love to know your thoughts if you have.
Stay Safe. Read a Book.
L x
