So, if anyone was wondering, I am still alive and I have still been reading and writing! For the past several months I was so focused on finishing up my latest draft I’ve forgotten to keep up with my website and newsletter. Anyway, without further ado, here is my latest book review!
Mistborn Era 2 (aka Wax and Wayne series)
- Book 1 – The Alloy of Law
- Book 2 – Shadows of Self
- Book 3 – The Bands of Mourning
- Book 4 – The Lost Metal
Short Synopsis
This book series is a wild west meets Sherlock Holms meets magic type of ride. It is geared toward fans of Brandon Sanderson, but has a different flavor than his other Cosmere books. While part of the Misborn series, it takes place hundreds of years after the events of the first three books.
We begin the series when Waxilliam Ladrian, a descendant of Breeze and a former lawman of the roughs, returns to the city to take over the family estate. After twenty years of intense law enforcement in the wild west, he now has to adjust to city life. Unfortunately, the lawman in him refuses to be put down, and the evil forces at work aren’t finished with him yet. In this series Wax, and his partner Wayne, go up against ruffians, thugs, allomancers, feruchemists, and eventually a god, in their attempts to prevent a type of destruction that hasn’t been seen for hundreds of years.
Writing Style
While these books take place within the same world as the first three Mistborn books they are written in a completely different style, with and old mystery feel sprinkled with a touch of ridiculous humor. They aren’t nearly as dense as the first era books and read a lot easier. While there is plenty of action, there are several chapters where Sanderson allows us to slow down and just appreciate the world he’s created and the incredibly dynamic characters that live in it.
Plot
I won’t say much of the plot, , but there were definitely your classic Sanderson twists and turns. The first book (Alloy of Law) was the slowest, but they definitely pick up after that. Book three (Bands of Morning) was my favorite. The pacing was incredible and I loved being able to witness how the characters have grown into their own brand of crazy. Parts of it reminded me of the enjoyable chaos of the book version of Howl’s Moving Castle.
Characters
Most of the Cosmere characters are very over-the-top in their personalities, and it was strangely refreshing to have a main character like Wax that felt more like a real person and less like a caricature. Now Wayne absolutely was a caricature of the typical comic relief character, but I loved him. He was not only hilarious, but he had a lot of hidden depth and often tore at my heart-strings. Also, the ladies in these books really grew on me as they discovered their own unique strengths and embraced their personalities.
Overall Take
If you like Brandon Sanderson, read these books! They were a crazy ride, but paced well enough to give you moments to stop and enjoy the characters being their earnest, wacky selves 🙂