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!

#WyrdAndWonder Desert Island Reads

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

It would seem today’s #WyrdAndWonder challenge is Books I Can’t Wait to Read, and another photo challenge. I can’t wait to read Deadly Education by Naomi Novik, but that doesn’t really make for a very long blog post, so I’m going to throw back to last Wednesday’s Desert Island reads challenge now that I have the time. You can read all about the criteria on Desert Island Reads by There is Always Room For One More, but essentially, I choose:

• 8 books (or audiobooks) to take with me on a desert island. They be anything, but if they’re part of a series, each one will count as one of my eight unless they are bound together. No e-readers . . .
• 1 TV, Movie or Podcast
• One luxury item that can be anything I want.
• **It’s supposed to be based around Fantasy titles and things, and I’m realizing that I didn’t quite follow that. Sorry. I still like the list I came up with though so I hope you can forgive me

I’m imagining all these things will get thrown into a kind of trunk which will washup next to me on the beach, a yellow glow leaking from its seams. You know, typical treasure chest stuff. Let’s take a look inside . . .

My 8 books:

So for this, I’d probably want to take a mix of things. Some stuff I’ve been meaning to read, as well as some stuff that is just comforting to me. I’m kinda thinking I would split this up into some research type reading, and then just-for-fun type books. Of course some will be new to me and some will be well read. Here they are:

• Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson – Simply put, this is my favorite book. I’ve read it a whole bunch of times, and I’m sure I’ll read it a whole bunch more. It goes in the trunk
• Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie – Same idea as above, I just love this book. It’s going in the trunk.
• A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik – As mentioned for today’s challenge, I can’t wait to read this book! Better bring it along. (update 6/16/21 – Review of A Deadly Education posted!)
• His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik – Since it seems we’re on a Novik kick, I figure might as well.
• David Mogo Godhunter by Suyi Davies Okungbowa – I just really want to read this one too. I had a preorder for it, but then Amazon just gave up on trying to distribute it to me and so I’m not even sure how to get a physical copy, but it looks really good and so in this fantasy scenario we’ve concocted, it’s also in the trunk.
• The Art of Language Invention by David J Peterson – As long as I’m stranded, might as well skill up. I’ve always wanted to invent a conlang so perhaps this might be a good time to get started.
• Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians Volumes 1-3 by John Gardiner Wilkinson – I’m pretty much fascinated by ancient Egypt. I’ve been meaning to take a crack at this set for a while, but I never seem to have time. Seems like a good use of some forced reading time.
• Egyptian Hieroglyphs for Complete Beginners by Bill Manely – I’ve made it about half way through this book in the past, but bounced off of it. If I’ve got some free time I’d definitely like to try it again
• Structuring Your Novel by K.M. Weiland – I’d like to think I’ll have some time for writing on this crazy adventure. Every time I sit down to write something new, whether a short story or a long novel, I always seem to crack this book open as a reference in the beginning. I think I’ll need it along the journey.
• Why Dinosaurs Matter by Kenneth Lacovara – My understanding of this book is that it’s basically a TED talk . . . About DINOSAURS!! Obviously I’m bringing it!

TV/Movie/Podcast:

Nothing too special here. I’d choose the Imaginary Worlds Podcast. It’s a great podcast which bills itself as a Sci-Fi podcast although they cover lots of Fantasy, and other genres. It’s written (produced?) by Eric Molinsky, and I just love his approach. He always seems to find some new angle on whatever topic he’s casting about, and it has a very journalistic feel which complements his passion for all things SFF really well. Highly recommend.

Luxury Item:

Baltimore BBQ Company Original sauce – The rules post said that food would be taken care of, but I’m still kinda imagining that it will not be food that I would normally eat. I’ll put bbq sauce on pretty much anything so I figure having a bottle of the good stuff along will help ease whatever interesting food choices I’ll have to endure. Even coconuts . . .