Superhero Scadrial? ‘The Lost Metal’ Is Good But Hard to Pin Down.

Well we’ve made it. The end of an era. Specifically, the end of the 2nd era of Mistborn novels by Brandon Sanderson.

We’ve followed Waxillium Ladrian, Wayne (lolz Wayne doesn’t have a last name), and Marasi Colms through three previous adventures, each of which has tested our heroes not only against the worst criminals, conspirators, and evil gods in the Cosmere, but also against the conventions, tropes and themes of several different genres of Fantasy as well.

In Alloy of Law, we had the perfect alloy of a rough(s) and tumble(weed) Western mixed with Sanderson’s typical Fantasy stylings. Shadows of the Self focused on the city, and the inner depths of character, like noir but with fantasy elements. And The Bands of Mourning took on the deconstruction of Action-Adventure, with perhaps somewhat mixed results.

What is left then for The Lost Metal?

Honestly it’s pretty hard to pin down. The comparison which stands out to me the most is actually like a kind of “team up” style Superhero Film. Like the 2012 Avengers movie, in which a group of characters must work together to solve a really big problem.

This is most obvious in the Marasi chapters as she literally teams up with an Avengers-like organization, partnering with (primarily) two other heroes from other places within the Cosmere to keep an evil army from another planet from coming to Scadrial (Wow that is actually JUST like The Avengers lol).

But there is enough going on (perhaps too much going on) in The Last Metal that a one-to-one genre comparison is difficult, and perhaps not really useful anyway, because this book does not seem to be doing the same kind of deconstructive work that we’ve seen in previous Era 2 titles. It does not focus on trope subversion (it seems to play all the aforementioned super-hero stylings pretty straight) and seems to generally be trying to do its own thing.

While I felt this was somewhat a shame — part of my enjoyment of the previous books was exactly that kind of genre spoofing — ultimately I still enjoyed the book because of how it progressed the overarching Cosmere narrative, which (without spoilers) was basically to blow the whole thing wide open.

If you’re even a little bit of a Cosmere junkie, this book will be like crack cocaine for you. There are so many little details dropped so casually that my head was pretty much spinning the entire time trying to process it all. Did I know this bit of info before? Should I have seen this coming? Where does this fit in?

These were the questions going through my mind at almost every point within the novel, but especially during the aforementioned Marasi chapters. Like woah.

If these are not the parts of the story you enjoy, or if this is somehow your first Cosmere book (weird flex starting on the fourth book of a series but ok), then it’s hard to say what your experience will be. I’ll admit that even I had to eventually just let these details go by as there was too much to fully investigate or consider. And once I kinda stopped paying attention to the all the Cosmere connections, I still feel the story was serviceable if somewhat crowded.

Finally, I felt myself getting a bit sad, and almost grieving a little while reading this one, as it is presumably the last Wax and Wayne book we’ll read. And with that realization, came the realization that there was still so much I had hoped to see and explore before these stories were through.

For instance . . . the entire Malwish (southern?) territories. Perhaps they will get their own spin off in like a Dawnshard/Edgedancer type novel or novella, but so far as I know, this has yet to be announced. Sigh . . .

Give This One A Read?

Yep! If you’ve been trying to “keep up with the Cosmere” I think it’s virtually a must. If you’re just looking for a good send off of these beloved characters, I’d say The Lost Metal is a satisfying read on this front as well.

If you’re hoping for the same kind of nuanced commentary and genre deconstruction present in previous outings of the series, you may be somewhat disappointed as I didn’t feel this book continued that approach, but ultimately I did feel that it was an enjoyable read overall.

That’s all I have for this week. Has anyone read this one yet? What were your thoughts? Were there any lingering questions you wanted answered? Any places you wished you could have seen? Let me know in the comments. I’m looking forward to talking about this one!

Until next time!

Rereading ‘The Alloy of Law’ After a Decade . . .

I didn’t pick up The Alloy of Law with the intent of writing a ‘Rereading After a Decade’ post (earlier examples include Jurassic Park and Dune), but according to my Goodreads account, I first shelved this title back in November of 2011. It being January of 2023, it’s been about 11 years since I first loaded my Sterrions and set off into the mists in pursuit of a man who can’t be killed . . .

I’ll be damned if it doesn’t feel like five decades have passed since then, all the while anxiously awaiting each new installment. Of course the latest, and final story in “Mistborn era 1.5”, The Lost Metal, just came out this past November, after gap of six years.

Not quite as bad as the wait for certain other titles I might name which rhyme with Behind (at) the Printer or Loves to Postpone (wow those are just terrible considering the time I spent on them yikes), but still quite a while.

It’s not like Brandon Sanderson has been idle during this time however. He has managed to release somewhere on the order of 16 titles since Bands of Morning, including two monster Stormlight novels (Oathbringer and Rhythm of War), an entire YA series with multiple installments (Skyward Flight), some graphic novels, and a cool little short story called Snapshot.

When your a Brandon Sanderson fan, there’s no completionism. You learn to hold out for the series you like the best, and not stress about how many other books you’re behind on.

This is the way.

And for me, Mistborn is THE series.

Mistborn: The Final Empire (Era 1 book 1), was the book that got me interested in his writing all the way back in 2007, and still one of my favorite books of all time. Sanderson is now well known for the use of magic systems in his books (to the point where it is now almost a cliche), even having coined 3 laws of magic which writers often cite as tools they’ve used to develop the magic in their own works. However, I feel this was still relatively new back when Mistborn arrived on the scene, and it was certainly new to me when I first read it in 2007.

It blew me away. Not to mention a few other twists and turns in the plot that book contained which I won’t spoil here. The magic, the world building, the characters, all combine to become something that was unlike any book I had read previously, and many I’ve read since.

Obviously I tore through the rest of the Era 1 books, but was somewhat skeptical when I first learned of Sanderson’s ‘side project’ (given how this novel came to be, the ‘secret projects’ during 2022 should have been no surprise at all), The Alloy of Law. A Western? A Fantasy book? Which was it?

In what’s come to be true Sanderson fashion, this book is a little of both. A kind of “alloy”, you might say (ehh?), and for me, another perfect mix. I don’t know if I’ve ever read any westerns, but I’ve watched a few here and there, and allusions to this American pastime are rife throughout pop culture (I even caught a couple minutes of The Good, The Bad, And the Ugly in Black Adam recently).

We know the tropes, we know what it’s supposed to look like, and I’m sure I’m not the first to think that the whole thing has gotten a little tired. Which is why Sanderson’s injection of fantasy, magic, and wonder is still so refreshing even over a decade later.

And again, because nothing Sanderson does is ever simple, Alloy of Law isn’t just a western and fantasy mashed together, it’s also a thrilling and humorous (thanks Wayne) mystery. If this seems like too much to cram into a scant (for Sanderson) three-hundred and thirty-six pages, it isn’t. AoL never felt rushed, or confusing. One of Sanderson’s strengths (I feel) has always been pacing and tension. Things are no different here. We’re constantly pulled through an impressive amount of world building by each new question, whose answer is always just around the next corner, at the end of the end of these rail tracks, or right in front of us all along though we just couldn’t see it.

Of course, Wax, Wayne, and Marasi’s adventures in AoL are part of a larger universe, the Cosmere, and while I’m starting to get fatigued with cinematic universes and having to read (or reread) ten or twelve novels just to enjoy whatever the newest installment is, Alloy of Law manages to keep references to the original Mistborn trilogy, and the larger shared universe, relatively inconsequential. Added fun which sweetens the story for those who know, but stays far away from homework or required reading. It seems “keeping up with the Cosmere” is becoming more and more important with each new installment, but I enjoyed the fact that this one was pretty self contained. A look back on simpler times.

Finally, Sanderson has mentioned often his love for Terry Pratchett and how he feels Terry Pratchett’s Discworld Might Be The Highest Form of Literature on the Planet. Having recently read Men at Arms and Feet of Clay, I could feel those influences in Wax’s story arc (as compared to Grimes), Wayne’s bizarre personality, and even the mists themselves. Maybe I’ll eventually get around to a post in which I pin it all down, but for now, just add one more cool thing to Alloy of Law’s rap sheet: homage to Sir Terry himself.

Give This One a Read?

Absolutely. After at least ten years, it’s possible I enjoyed this book EVEN MORE than I did during my original read through way back when. Come for the novelty of a fantasy western, stay for the thrilling mystery (there’s always another secret), then get your corkboard and red yarn so you can spend entirely too much time connecting allusions to previous Cosmere novels and even other author’s works as well. You won’t be disappointed.

Alright, who’s read this one? What’s the most thrilling moment? The coolest use of allomancy? What references did you catch to the rest of the Cosmere? To other authors? Leave your replies in the comments!

See you next time!