The Alloy of Law: A Mistborn Novel (The Mistborn Saga, 4)

Lotta fun. Better prose than the first trilogy in my opinion and a great start to Phase 2 of the Cosmere Literary Universe.

It took me a long time to get interested in these characters. Maybe it was the slow start or just the unusual setting for a fantasy book. I’ve never been a big Western fan, but eventually it captured my attention and was pretty good.

Most book series go either of two ways. The first being they're wrapped up in a strong narrative that encompasses a trilogy of novels, keeping the storytelling tight and non-daunting for newcomers. The second method is continuing the series well after the initial trilogy ends, creating new stories and scenarios for the heroes to overcome while meeting new friends and foes. The latter can have the adverse effect of making the series lose its forward momentum and the interest of its readers. Sanderson has decided to do neither of these while continuing his incredible Mistborn series. Forgoing the use of the previous cast of characters and setting in the favor of a sizable shift in direction for the series. It's unfortunate that Vin and the others will not be making a comeback, but this new take on the universe is fascinating and ripe with possibilities. During an interview regarding his various works, Sanderson claimed that he originally intended for the Mistborn series to be a 'trilogy of trilogies.' As in the first trilogy serving as the mythology for the world's back story while the later iterations would take place in later time periods. It's a brilliant concept, it showcases the technological and social advances of humanity while maintaining the mysticism established in the earlier books. Yet Alloy of Law isn't the start of the preconceived second trilogy but rather a stand-alone novel that takes place in the same time period of the industrial revolution. The book actually came to fruition through a writing process in order to clear his thoughts before writing A Memory of Light in the Wheels of Time series and the next book in the Stormlight Archive. The book was surprisingly better than intended and was released to publication. Sanderson also said in an interview that the Alloy of Law isn't meant to push the overarching storyline forward, but is rather a glimpse into what life would be like in a modern setting in the Mistborn universe. The plot follows the former law keeper Waxillium Ladrian and his indoctrination into the upper class of society. With a recent tragic death in his life, it seems like it's time for Wax to hang up his guns for good and perform his duty as the head of House Ladrian, trying to become the aristocrat his house needs him to be while containing his old passion for fighting crime. Everything is normal until a series of robberies caused by an enigmatic group known as The Vanishers begin targeting noble houses and kidnapping women. When one such robbery hits to close to home, Waxillium and his colleagues find themselves thrown into a dangerous life or death situation, and it's up to a retired law keeper to bring these men to justice while dealing with his own inner demons. At its core it's a crime drama, significant shift from the previous books. It doesn't share the trilogies epic `world-ending' sense of sca...

While I was thrown by a "western" setting at the beginning, it was fascinating watching the author weave the previous elements from the prior books into a remarkably different setting. The dynamic between Wax and Wayne (a fun play on words in itself!) kept me laughing - it's been awhile since I had a good laugh from a book! Marasi was a delightful character; I can't wait to how she develops further in the following book!

As I finished book four of my cosmere reading journey. I enjoyed the old west anti-here turn here story quite a bit. However, there was some spark that i just didn’t feel with the chemistry of the characters through most of the read. Marasi was my favorite character easily. The switch up with her character from shy to a curious/witty person was easily my favorite character developement of the whole book. One major aspect that really got me through the book was all the references to the Finale Empire era of Mistborn. ESPECIALLY when Sazed spoke to Wax. To read “I think” again brought such a huge smile to my face. One thing that really caught my curiosity is good old “Ironeyes” still being around. Just what is he up to? Overall, reading this continuation to the Mistborn story has me excited to keep going with the Cosmere!