Anna [Bran. San. Stan]'s Reviews > The Alloy of Law

2024: Yup, I still absolutely love this!

2022: Read #3. I know November and the release of book 7 is still a ways off, but I just can't help myself.

2020: What a brilliant idea: plant the seeds to a post-apocalyptic (unironical) brave new world in Mistborn #3, take the same magic system (and expand it), fast forward 300 years, leave the previous doom-and-gloom mood behind, add some action-mystery, some more humor and reveal something that, though far from utopian, is surprisingly humorous and light.

Though I was intrigued by the whole premise from the outset, I did not expect to be delighted by this story. Was I as heart-broken and deliciously hurting as in the previous books? No. To me, this book does not evoke the same intense feelings as the first trilogy did, but then, I did not expect it to. It was smart to add a new twist, new protagonists (Waxillium Ladrian, Breeze's descendant, and Wayne) and not try and recapture the previous feel of the books, but to deliver something new.

I really enjoyed the expansion of the magic system by the addition of the "missing" four metals and by exploring the abilities of the so-called Twinborn (both Allomancer and Feruchemist - but with access to only one metal each) - so much so I didn’t even miss the fact there are no more full Mistborn (= access to all allomantic metals) in this new world. Discovering ties to the old world was so much fun. too: Lord Mistborn (Spook), the Last Emperor (Elend), the Ascendant Warrior (Vin), Harmony (Sazed), Ironeyes (Marsh). And the ending? Wow.

Still, even though I highly recommend reading this once you’ve read the first trilogy, it does not quite live up to the unfairly high standards the first books set - and as far as I’ve seen from one of his comments, Sanderson simply intended for this to be "fun and enjoyable“ and, since it’s much shorter, without "the depth of the original trilogy.“

Mission accomplished, again: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
(To be fair, the first trilogy was at least 6 stars out of 5.)
*Bran. San. Stan*

“So where were you when the bandits started shooting people in the head?”
Brettin’s face grew red, but Waxillium held his eyes.
“I’m not threatened by you,“ Brettin said.
“Good, I haven’t said anything threatening yet.”
Brettin hissed softly, then pointed at Waxillium, tapping a finger against his chest. “Keep your tongue civil. I’ve half a mind to toss you into jail for the night.”
“Then do it. Maybe by morning you’ll have found the other half of your mind, and we’ll be able to have a reasonable conversation.”

If you’re thinking of reading this, you should really start at the beginning for maximum appreciation of Sanderson's literary genius:

The Final Empire (Mistborn #1)
The Well of Ascension (Mistborn #2)
The Hero of Ages (Mistborn #3)

Happy reading!