Brandon Sanderson

The Mistborn trilogy has become a firm favourite with fantasy fans the world over. The imagination that Sanderson brought to the series and his skill at marshalling epic storylines and dramatic action, his ability to create vivid characters made him a natural choice to complete Robert Jordan's epic wheel of time sequence. But with Mistborn, his standalone fantasies and his new series, The Stormlight Archive, Sanderson has shown his bountiful talents in his own fiction. Now he returns to the series that made his name with a new story set years after the events of Hero of Ages. In a world recovering only slowly from evil, a world where allomancers wield immense power through their ability to unleash the magic bound up in common metals someone who can burn metals that no-one has burned before can tip the balance... Sanderson has the knack of giving the epic fantasy reader exactly what they want. This ability has thrown him to the forefront of the genre and the dramatic story within The Alloy of Law shows off this skill to its very best.

The Alloy of Law

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, the Mistborn series is a heist story of political intrigue and magical, martial-arts action. Three hundred years after the events of the Mistborn trilogy, Scadrial is now on the verge of modernity, with railroads to supplement the canals, electric lighting in the streets and the homes of the wealthy, and the first steel-framed skyscrapers racing for the clouds. Kelsier, Vin, Elend, Sazed, Spook, and the rest are now part of history—or religion. Yet even as science and technology are reaching new heights, the old magics of Allomancy and Feruchemy continue to play a role in this reborn world. Out in the frontier lands known as the Roughs, they are crucial tools for the brave men and women attempting to establish order and justice. One such is Waxillium Ladrian, a rare Twinborn, who can Push on metals with his Allomancy and use Feruchemy to become lighter or heavier at will. After twenty years in the Roughs, Wax has been forced by family tragedy to return to the metropolis of Elendel. Now he must reluctantly put away his guns and assume the duties and dignity incumbent upon the head of a noble house. Or so he thinks, until he learns the hard way that the mansions and elegant tree-lined streets of the city can be even more dangerous than the dusty plains of the Roughs. Other Tor books by Brandon Sanderson The Cosmere The Stormlight Archive The Way of Kings Words of Radiance Edgedancer (Novella) Oathbringer (forthcoming) The Mistborn trilogy Mistborn: The Final Empire The Well of Ascension The Hero of Ages Mistborn: The Wax and Wayne series Alloy of Law Shadows of Self Bands of Mourning Collection Arcanum Unbounded Other Cosmere novels Elantris Warbreaker The Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians series Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians The Scrivener's Bones The Knights of Crystallia The Shattered Lens The Dark Talent The Rithmatist series The Rithmatist Other books by Brandon Sanderson The Reckoners Steelheart Firefight Calamity At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

A Mistborn Novel

hana

Man, this is delightful. When I first read this eight or nine years ago, I was underwhelmed, but honestly, I really enjoyed this. I think it definitely helps that, unlike the first time I read this book, I'd just finished reading the original trilogy, so everything was still pretty fresh in my brain from those books.

Also, the first time I read this, I thought Steris was soooooo boring, and I could not fathom why Wax wasn't just falling at Marasi's feet in comparison. Now? Steris was barely in this, but she's probably my favorite (though Wayne is a solid contender). And she's also me. Very much me. I would be the kind of person to draft a multi-page contract for a marriage of convenience.

This is seriously such a clever, creative way to continue the story of Mistborn in a fresh way, where there's enough of the first trilogy to hook you in and then plenty of intriguing concepts and fun characters to keep you around for the ride. It's just so much fun. It's definitely a different tone from the first trilogy (or, at least, this book is), but in a good way. Eases up a bit on the kind of unrelenting grit of the original three.

Dessa

Man, this is delightful. When I first read this eight or nine years ago, I was underwhelmed, but honestly, I really enjoyed this. I think it definitely helps that, unlike the first time I read this book, I'd just finished reading the original trilogy, so everything was still pretty fresh in my brain from those books.
Also, the first time I read this, I thought Steris was soooooo boring, and I could not fathom why Wax wasn't just falling at Marasi's feet in comparison. Now? Steris was barely in this, but she's probably my favorite (though Wayne is a solid contender). And she's also me. Very much me. I would be the kind of person to draft a multi-page contract for a marriage of convenience.
This is seriously such a clever, creative way to continue the story of Mistborn in a fresh way, where there's enough of the first trilogy to hook you in and then plenty of intriguing concepts and fun characters to keep you around for the ride. It's just so much fun. It's definitely a different tone from the first trilogy (or, at least, this book is), but in a good way. Eases up a bit on the kind of unrelenting grit of the original three.

"Three hundred years after the events of the Mistborn trilogy, Scadrial is on the verge of modernity, with railroads to supplement the canals, electric lighting in the streets and the homes of the wealthy, and the first steel-framed skyscrapers racing for the clouds. Kelsier, Vin, Elend, Sazed, Spook, and the rest are now part of history--or religion. Yet even as science and technology are reaching new heights, the old magics of Allomancy and Feruchemy continue to play a role in this reborn world. Out in the frontier lands known as the Roughs, they are crucial tools for the brave men and women attempting to establish order and justice. One such is Waxillium Ladrian, a rare Twinborn who can Push on metals with hisAllomancy and use Feruchemy to become lighter or heavier at will. After twenty years in the Roughs, Wax has been forced by family tragedy to return to the metropolis of Elendel. Now he must reluctantly put away his guns and assume the duties and dignity incumbent upon the head of a noble house. Or so he thinks, until he learns the hard way that the mansions and elegant tree-lined streets of the city can be even more dangerous than the dusty plains of the Roughs."--

a Mistborn novel

It was nice entertaining and so easy and quick to read. 

It was action packed but a bit too action packed in a way? Like too many stuff happened in the fight scenes and not entirely grasping the stakes I was like yeah what are you fighting for remind me? 

You get it I felt like for a B Sanderson story the stakes were a bit low and not fully understanding the character’s motivations I’m like how is this a 4 books series ? 

In a true Sanderson style, there’s more than meet the eyes and I have so many questions after that epilogue !! So I see that it’ll only get higher in scope, and I can’t wait to see how are we going to move forward from now on and hopefully understand the stakes more in the next book! But still great set up as usually very interesting to see 19th cent inspired background. It felt very atmospheric and of course this variation of the Mistborn magic system on point ! Plot wise there’s still more to know

And Wayne dude stop with the hats? 🎩 lmao most funny and quirky character I’ve ever met 

Amira BEN

3.5 ⭐️

It was nice entertaining and so easy and quick to read. 
It was action packed but a bit too action packed in a way? Like too many stuff happened in the fight scenes and not entirely grasping the stakes I was like yeah what are you fighting for remind me? 
You get it I felt like for a B Sanderson story the stakes were a bit low and not fully understanding the character’s motivations I’m like how is this a 4 books series ? 
In a true Sanderson style, there’s more than meet the eyes and I have so many questions after that epilogue !! So I see that it’ll only get higher in scope, and I can’t wait to see how are we going to move forward from now on and hopefully understand the stakes more in the next book! But still great set up as usually very interesting to see 19th cent inspired background. It felt very atmospheric and of course this variation of the Mistborn magic system on point ! Plot wise there’s still more to know
Also Miles…. Why? Lol

And Wayne dude stop with the hats? 🎩 lmao most funny and quirky character I’ve ever met 

Sunny

About 25% in I was CONVINCED that this would be a dnf, but I am so so glad I continued on with it. 

I was squealing alllll the way through the epilogue and um????

omg.
brandon sanderson.
omg.

Vicky  Nuñez 

I love Brandon Sanderson! I love fantasy! I love life!
That's how this book left me. Just praising everything. 

I feel like this book took me a while to read because every time I told someone wanted to read it they told me how terrible it was and it didn't compare to the original trilogy. Which shocked me because I honestly thought it impossible to dislike Sanderson's books. 

But I honestly don't know what those people were talking about and I'm so happy I finally decided to read it. It's everything you can expect from a great fantasy book: thrilling, incredible world building and really unique characters. 

I loved the steampunk element. How it was still the Mistborn magic, but now guns are involved. I also loved the characters and how old they were. Because when I heard about the 'Wax and Wayne' series I envisioned 18 yo running around with guns and its so nice to have and older, more experienced man kind of like Kelsier(but not really because no one can compare to him). 
Also, I loved Marasi's character. She's such a soothing counterpart to Wax and Wayne. And how she's all shy and I'm sure we can expect great things to come from her. 

The only thing I disliked was that awkward bit at the end between Marasi and Wax. No, just don't do that to us Brandon. Please don't. You are so much better than that. 

But in short, it's a great book and I can wait to read the trilogy. 

To all those people who didn't like this book: you are missing on something incredible. Also I am still a Sanderson fan girl and I couldn't be happier.

Nick Perronteau

4/5
-
The chemistry between Wax and Wayne is what Sullivan’s ‘Theft of Swords’ wished it had.

Not often are time jumps done effectively in any story medium, but holy cow does Sanderson do it so well here! I guess the lesson to take away is to never doubt this man’s writing.

Jeff Kelly

Pulpy fun, but it's no Stormlight Archive. Good action sequences and interesting speculations about how alloymancy would affect a more modern world (think late 1800s - early 1900s, Wild West). The main character and his sidekick were a bit too capable and the way the female companion/love interest is described and generally portrayed is ridiculous.

Great book, got hooked and finished it in a day

Ben McDonald

After twenty years in the Roughs, Waxillium Ladrian is forced by family tragedy to return to Elendel, where he learns the hard way that the elegant streets of the city can be more dangerous than the dusty plains of the Roughs.

Lacy W

3.5 stars! 

 tw: child neglect/abuse (mentioned but not shown on page)

Well, I am disappointed. I really loved the Mistborn trilogy or the first three books, since this is the fourth book in the series. Sazed was my guy and needed to be protected at all costs. Vin was the star of the book with her exceptional character growth. The action and adventure along with the metal powers and political intrigue is what captured my heart. The trilogy was top notch, despite the less than positive remarks from the author about the LGBTQIA+ community. 

But this? I don't know. I was more or less bored during most of it. Even the plot twist at the end was just kind of eh. It came a bit too late for me. The plot was interesting but the way it was executed was just not for me. I found that I couldn't care enough about it. The only thing that made me laugh and gave me life was the friendship between Wax and Wayne along with the absolutely amazing Marasi.

Wax and Wayne together was just hilarious. Good natured ribbing and bickering friendships give me life as that is how I am with my friends. The friendship never felt toxic or imbalanced. I mention the imbalance because Wax comes from a much better upbringing than Wayne and I know sometimes that leads to imbalance and toxicity in friendships. But that wasn't the case in this friendship. Each brought something to the table and were as close as brothers. I seriously could read an entire book of them just talking. 

Marasi. What an absolute gem. She is in school to be in law (which was considered very unfeminine in this book) but despite that, she does it and still retains her femininity (she isn't a big fan of pants). I loved how analytic she was but she wasn't robotic. All she wanted to do was change the world and I had nothing but respect for her. I like that her femininity wasn't lost for toughness and vice versa. Often times, women in fantasy books aren't written the best but Marasi was written so well. I hope we get more of her in the next book. 

Yes, despite me being bored for most of the book, I want to continue. I'm hoping I will get more into this series and try to remember that this won't be the Mistborn that I know and love. I think I might have had better thoughts about this book if it was it's own separate entity. I mean it could still be Mistborn but a different series. Really, it's only for the Wax/Wayne friendship and Marasi. But whatever. I'll take what I can get.

Dipo Apelehin

I like where this is headed... 3 stars mostly because I'm greedy.

Jamieson

me everytime there was a reference to something in mistborn: 



I'm not sure how to feel about this? Here's some thoughts in dot point form because I don't have it together

 - this was hard to get into at the beginning, but then about 1/4 to 1/2 through I got really into it and the mystery. However, despite that I was engaged I thought this book took AGES to read even though its only *just* 300 pages long?

- I liked Wayne as a character most. Waxillium annoyed me, and I WANTED to like him but his character was so boring. He was just one of those male protagonists thats ridiculously good at everything and has one of those 'gotta save the women because im a strong man man' complex which is annoying

- Marasi could have been a great character but I kinda hate how she was written sometimes? She was written so much as being a love interest/damsel character and it was ANNOYING. She was supposed to be smart and capable but the narrative constantly put her in bad positions and had everyone slowly explaining concepts to her smhhh. And it was annoying after Mistborn which had Vin, and I just think the way Elend and Vin worked together was so much better and good? And I know it's unfair to compare the trilogies but I don't get how you went from THAT to THIS

- the setting was cool. I love Steampunk, I don't read much western but I liked it here. It was interesting to see how the world had developed since Mistborn and I liked that it's a moving world and not just static

- The action scenes were well written, and I liked the introduction of new alloys that changed how fighting was done in this world. For example, bendalloy and aluminium played an interesting part. But I feel this book didn't have the grand ending, or the twisty turny unpredictable grandness of other Sanderson books. It was much more predictable

- I would continue this series, but I don't feel I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT like I have in previous Sanderson books

- as always I need to mention like I do for every Sanderson books they're really unrepresentative

THOSE are my basic thoughts for now. I will think on this book some more and come up with a star rating (I know it's gonna be between 3-4 stars but not sure yet)

Shay

Actual rating 4.25, rounded down to 4.

I finished Mistborn Era 1 almost a year ago and it took me a while to pick up The Alloy of Law after that. I was worried about having strong expectations going into Era 2 so I needed some time away from Era 1 before I could come back to this with some semblance of impartiality. 

And I'm honestly sad it took me this long, because this book was fantastic!

I LOVED all of the little references to the original crew (some of which I'm sure I missed because I waited so long to start reading it.) We've got Elendrel, mentions of the Cett family, Demoux Promenade... I love it so much. It's a nice touch to throwback to the original gang, and it makes me feel kinda bittersweet about moving on to a new series knowing they're all long gone. 

As a whole, this book was pretty low stakes, which is very different from Sanderson's other novels. I felt so relieved that the heroes in this book (Mr. Waxillium and Mr. Wayne) had weaknesses and were not perfect. Following a series like Mistborn, where all of the characters are mega-powerful, it was nice to see society taking a step back in terms of mystical all-powerful beings rather than pushing forward and finding ways to make them all even more powerful.

The more I read about the characters, the more I loved them. Especially Wax. And I think that's a pretty common theme in Sanderson's books. Wax and Wayne had so much personality right from the beginning and I thought they were a lot more likeable than some of the characters in the OG Mistborn crew. You can definitely see a big difference in Sanderson's writing from one series to the other. 

At first I wasn't sure what Brandon was going to do for his surprise twist at the end of the book. I couldn't fathom what he could possibly have in mind, but I'm so so excited to continue reading this series after finding out what he had up his sleeve. (view spoiler)[HONESTLY SERIOUSLY MARSH IS STILL THERE??? (hide spoiler)] I never saw that coming and I cannot wait to see where this is going. I'm begging for the return of the mistborn and I'm hoping that you-know-who has something to do with it.

Sade A

RAHHHHHHHHHH!!! 
Was going to go with 3 stars previously BUT it got pretty kick ass in the end + points for all the mystery even though i kinda guessed who one part of the baddie was.
Alright so i have to say at first i wasn't totally enamoured by the story, Wax did a lot of thinking kinda boring but when Wayne popped into the show (hurrah!!!) things did start to pick up, and plus side he totally made me appreciate Wax's character more.
Love Marasi, smart capable woman she's got balls yo!! Although i can't help worrying about her, don't know why... Glad the whole love thing got nipped in the bud though.

I can say one of the things i did not really appreciate was how the book went on and on about how the metals worked, especially in regards to coinshots and lurchers - at this stage i'm treating it like the offside rule in football, explain it to me shit number of times, i really still don't get it; which was overly long in some parts and weirdly repetitive.

All in all a really good read, wouldn't call it an epic read though. For a moment i really did think Sanderson was going to dissapoint me (oh me of little faith). 
p.s: was i the only one that got Kelsier vibes from Miles? I felt he was totally channeling Kelsier albeit a Kelsier with zero compassion though. but still, chills

I was going to give it 4,5 stars, for being a bit predictable compared to the initial Mistborn trilogy. But the ending... It had me more than flabbergasted! I admire and love Sanderson's work more and more each time I read it! 

Mary Sprey

tina

i was getting so used to slower paced books that the pacing in this one really surprised me. i guess it makes sense since this is mistborn era 2 and the world and magic system has already been established in the first trilogy. this was, surprisingly, such a fast read. i thought the characters were really interesting and entertaining to read about. the plot was gripping and made me want to know more. it's a sanderson book so it's obviously good. it definitely has a lighter storyline compared to mistborn era 1 but that doesn't take away the fact that this is a good book with well written plot, characters, and world. i can't wait to continue this series!

andrea

it was not bad, but i expected something more spectacular as it is the start of a new mistborn era. i liked it, but it felt... average.
the plot is obviously building towards bigger events (duh, it is a sanderson book after all and we are talking about mistborn. yes i expect great things), but in this first part there is not much going on. it was easy to read, i loved every single mention of the original mistborn characters, i love them so much... i'm never getting over them. ((view spoiler)[ spook being called lord mistborn, luthadel renamed to elendel because of the last emperor my beloved elend venture, vin being known as the ascendant warrior and being a role model for women, harmony and MARSH AT THE END. it was sooo nice to see him again. and, of course, the mentions of kelsier and knowing that wax is breeze's and allrianne's descendant. i wonder if that fact is what makes sazed more prone to help him and 'guide' him, in a way? or is wax just special and his family has nothing to do with it?  (hide spoiler)])
talking about characters, this first book does not show us much about wax, wayne, marasi and steris. they made a good impresion on me, some of them more than others, but i don't adore them or feel any strong emotion towards them at the moment. i cannot even tell which one was my favorite, and i usually don't have that problem in a cosmere book because one of sanderson's strong points is the way he writes his characters. was it probably wayne? even if sometimes i felt that the comedic relief, the banter between him and wax was too much for my personal taste (but i get it, it's part of their personalities and relationship between them. it is kind of cute, they act like brothers). steris caught my attention as well even if she doesn't appear as much as the other 3 characters formerly mentioned, so i hope i can see more of her in the following books. 
quite simple, nice story to get back to scadrial.

ashley

Jamal Jones 

Natalie

The literal tin foil hats are a nice touch.

Entertaining and fast to read, but definitely Lesser Sanderson. Was lovely to read more in the Mistborn universe, though. Nice echoes of the trilogy, as well.

Abdul H

Alejandro

I thought that I wouldn't like Mistborn Era 2 after Era 1 becoming one of my favourite books of all time. And, at least for now, Era 2 doesn't top it but it doesn't have to. It's amazingly great as it is. 

Moving the world 300 years into the future, make it feel more modern, with fire weapons, yet still being clearly the same Mistborn world that we know and love. Taking the incredible reveals of last era and making it an intrinsic part of the lore. 

It's just gorgeous. 

I miss Kelsier and Vin, but I want to know more about Wax and Wayne.

James Eaton

What a fun continuation of the Mistborn world! Totally different tone and focus, but I really enjoyed the book. 

Sanderson creates such incredible main and side characters and I’m just along for the ride. I could see this as a movie or show easily. I had thoughts of the Wild, Wild West movie during some of the train heist scenes and that made me happy. 

I’m going to finish the other two so I can read the 4th Wax and Wayne novel when it releases this fall.

Nicholas Conner

At first, I wasn't sold on this new series from Brandon Sanderson. Looming out of the shadows of the Mistborn trilogy I was torn. Mistborn was such a beautiful work of fiction and the trilogy stood so well on its own, I was worried that anything else set in this realm would just tarnish the fond memories of the original series. To make matters worse, it's set in an industrial revolution era - that's just really not my thing.

Or so I thought.

While I still don't count these new additions to the Mistborn world as my favorites from Sanderson, I have been pleasantly surprised by The Alloy of Law and it's sequels. Sanderson's world and character building prowess are present in full here, and he makes excellent use of the Mistborn legacy while still managing to create an adventure that is original and engaging. 

I highly recommend this series to anyone who is a fan of Brandon's work. You can certainly pick this series up without having read the Mistborn trilogy, but you'd be doing yourself something of a disservice.

The Alloy of Law

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