“That hat looks ridiculous.” “Fortunately, I can change hats,” Wayne said, “while you, sir, are stuck with that face.” 100% agree that the characters could have used more depth, but Wayne's humor was (usually) excellent.
The alloy of law and shadows of self were decent, but the bands of mourning really brings this series to a new level. Can't wait for the lost metal to be released next year
@@coren216 To each their own indeed. To me Lessie's backstory and following plot threads were some of the most interesting parts of the saga, very gut-wrenching.
I felt the same way about the characters in this book but after finishing all 3 I can say that era 2 is Brandon's best character work. It's important to note that this book was originally meant to be a one-off, so the characters and tone were intentionally tropey and kinda surface level to just have fun in the world. But as he makes this a series boy does he develop them!
I really hope you read through Shadows of Self sooner rather than later. It fixes a lot of your complaints and gives us all the stuff we were dying to have
I honestly can't say how you're going to react to the series overall merph, but if there's one thing that i could bet everything in is that you're going to love Steris even more at the end of book 3. Starting at the end of book 2. MARK MY WORDS.
Something I found out during a Q&A Brandon did was that he wrote Alloy of Law to be a single story between Era 1 and 2 of Mistborn. He only wrote more Wax and Wayne books and treating them as Era 2 do to fan popularity. This is probably why the characters feel more developed in the rest of the books.
I can’t wait to hear what you’ll say when you finish Shadows of Self hahahaha I had similar feelings about AoL, but when I read SoL I thought “oh well, I should have given Sanderson more credit, stupid me for not trusting him”. He blew my mind and I am super pumped for BoM now! (I’m starting it next month, probably)
@@Fabierien I’m reading The Calculating Stars now (also because Merphy recommended it haha), but I’m soooo excited for BoM! I’ve been postponing it because I know that when I finish it I won’t have any more Mistborn books to read and that makes me sad hahahaha
this is my favorite Mistborn book so far, and the tonal shift is a big reason why. it's so much fun. all the world building and lore are still there and it's just a simpler story with a fun tone and wild characters
This might be considered a spoiler... I do think Mistborn Era 2 is Sanderson's best work when it comes to people interacting with and their feelings towards God (Harmony in this case). I really liked the part where Wax asks himself why didn't Harmony help, and Harmony responds with "I did, I sent you."
Wax and Harmony's scene in book 3 is some of the best philosophical study I've scene in fiction Sanderson in general is really strong in the analysis of faith on characters, even back to Elantris and Hrathen. It's one of my favorite aspects of his writing
@@andrewgarlach1011 I couldn't agree more. The whole spiritual journey Wax goes on throughout the series is very well written and I believe is very relatable to many people.
Yes! I was a big fan of Pathism in this book, I was brought up in an atheistic family and don't have a close relationship to religion, but I really could see myself engaging with a religious tradition like that, if it were real.
I Love Steris, Loved her from her first scene and I was so sad that she wasn't in the book that much, but omg book 3 fixed that thankfully, she is my favorite character of era 2. I enjoyed era 2 but it is my least favorite series of the cosmere, but Steris is one of my favorite characters and her and Wax my favorite couple
Wow... are you gonna LOVE book 3 of this era! All issues you had will be solved (and way more than simply solved). Looking forward for the next reviews
The friendship between Wax and Wayne holds it all together amazingly well. Wayne is an absolute riot and I find myself going back to all of Era 2 just for the best Wayne scenes and quotes. Example - "I ain’t drunk, I’m investigatin’ alternative states of sobriety."
Just finished Era 2 last week. Personally, it was kind of on par with the original trilogy. And yeah, Marasi is kind of boring, and seems really like a Shallan clone. But do continue on with the series, the characters and their relationships develop greatly, particularly between Steris and Wax. The whole Lessie thing gets expanded in an interesting way in the next book.
I also love Steris so much and so happy to hear that you do too cause most people don’t connect with her till the later books! I know that was initially the case for me
Era 2 is way better than Era 1. Alloy of Law is just too simple and short, because it was made to be stand-alone, but oh well... The character will get better. The next book elevates the character work a lot. About his wife... oh, it gets better................
This was beyond underwhelming. I’m extremely upset that the series I loved is being dragged through the mud with corny punchlines and Scooby-Doo troupes.
This is the only Sanderson book I have bounced right off of and DNF’ed the first time I read it. I started it right after finishing Mistborn era one and it was so different and so not era one that I wanted nothing to do with it. I eventually gave it another shot after I had finished Way of Kings and really enjoyed it when going in with better expectations for what it was. Era two has also been getting better and better in my opinion, as it goes along. (Though that could be because it feels more like epic fantasy and less like Alloy of Law as it progresses?)
Shadows of Self and Bands of Mourning are super super rad. Alloy of Law really doesn't quite get its feet under it but BrandoSando really picks up the slack with the next two books.
There is definitely more character development as the series goes on. Steris is incredible in the next two books, especially Bands of Mourning. I read this immediately after LOVING Mistorn Era 1 as well and it was such a shock that I don't think I appreciated it for what it was, although I did read the whole trilogy. I'm excited to reread before book 4 comes out! I also think Alloy of Law is so short that its hard to get all that development in there and the style doesn't necessarily need that in the first book since it is so light hearted, though I actually agree with you in general haha. There are a few heart wrenching moments in the next two books so enjoy!
the reason era 2 works the way it is is because the world has been in this golden era for more 200 years. there is nothing major for world building but just the reader adjusting to this new world and really nothing much to as opposed to era 1 threw you at the peak of the conflict. this book was great if you look at it from the perspective of a world that is discovering its ownself and just having fun with it. LOOK AT IT THE WAY YOU LOOK AT *THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY*
I'd very interested in your opinion on characters (specifically Wax) once you finish the next book. Book 2 you always get more detail but I'd love to hear a little bit on placing book 1 in context once book 2 is done.
LOVE STERIS!! I was frustrated how she is treated through the next 2 books by "the gang"... actually took me 3 months to finish Bands of Mourning b/c it kept making me so mad and just check out of the whole story... I can't wait to watch your reviews on the next 2.........
Non-spoiler summary of the spoiler section on characters: Her whole "the characters overall lack depth" just boiled down to the MC being overly altruistic and everyone else either having one thing that threw her off, or not having enough screen time. Seriously, the only character she actually says didn't have enough depth (and the goes over all of the main ones) was Wax. Everyone else she loved (even if she didn't love them as much as she wishes she did) and apparently had more than enough depth.
Alloy of Law is tied for my favorite with Final Empire. In general, I like when Sanderson is introducing a new setting more than when he adds a bunch of complications to it later.
I'm sure you know, but for those who don't...Sanderson wrote this as just a creative writing exercise to get his mind off WoT stress, but liked the setting/characters so much he released it as a stand-alone, then made it Mistborn Era 2. The real “trilogy” starts with Shadows of Self, AoL is just a fun side story. Wayne is the most-fun-to-read-character Sanderson has ever written IMO.
Alloy of Law was just ok, and after the first time I read it I didn't seek out the sequels and didn't come back to the series until years after BoM released. The next few books in the series just got better and after finishing Bands of Mourning I found myself loving the second era and very impatiently waiting for the 4th book
I actually wasn't wild about Steris in the first book, but I came to love her so much later on! I'm looking forward to your reviews on the other two books in the series - as some other people have said, I think those two books will resolve some of your issues with book 1 ☺️ One of the things I loved most about the evolution of the magic system was that Sanderson both expanded it by adding new metals and having people who can use feruchemy and allomancy together BUT he also creates limitations by making it so no one is a full allomancer anymore. As a side note - The investiture on Scadrial feels like it has less in common with other worlds in the Cosmere and I'm just so excited to find out more about how it all fits together. I also love how the era 1 characters are misinterpreted/misrepresented to some extent in era 2 - it's fun to see these characters we came to know so will in era 1 become legends.
So I am one of the 3 people out there that like Era 2 better than era 1. Sanderson rarely is able to connect characters with me, instead I connect with his worlds. There was not a single character I liked by the end of Era 1, but I loved the story of the world. I loved Steris and Wayne (discounting some of his gross comments) and they all get better and better.
Yeah like, era 2 is not for everyone. But if you're a cosmere or stormlight fan, i think you should give it a try, since it's the mistborn era happening in the same time frame of the stornlight archive's "era" 2 (book 6 to 10), and there's a lot of probability of them influencing each other in some way.
As I recall, Sanderson said that Era 2 was meant to be only three books, but The Alloy of Law didn't go the way he intended and so he sketched out a new outline for a total of four books. That being said, Wayne is easily one of my favorite fictional characters. He has a moment in a future book that was almost too progressive for his character, but Sanderson made it work and it was amazing.
If I remember right, I read somewhere that this book was originally supposed to be a standalone, after it was a very well received creative writing exercise. It was meant to be something like a transitional novel between the eras, so I feel like Sanderson didn’t really try too hard on characters at first. Either that or he just didn’t really know what he wanted to do yet. They all improve astronomically in the later books, when the series really takes off.
I like the question posed "If Wax was in era 1, would he be on the rebellions side, or the Lord Rulers?" (I think that was posed in this one, if not its not a spoiler lol) But I thought that was an interesting moral/ legal dilemma.
The morality is well explained in the religious system of the book which Wax follows (Pathism) - it is about doing what is right by finding ones own right path, not by following systemic justice. The religion obviously didn't exist yet but considering he has the same moral code, he would be acting against repression in the rebellion, I think.
Saying "this is very different from Mistborn," kinda ignores the fact that Mistborn is meant to be a 13(ish?) book series. It's not that this deviates from the spirit or essence of "Mistborn," I think it's more that this era is establishing just how wide and varied the overall series will be.
Ok Mistborn is now one of my favorite books and it’s the characters so a bit nervous about this but going to read this- just finished way of kings so be a while just to finish that series :)
I keep telling myself I'm going to read them again, too. However, my son is reading them (over and over) so I just ask him what part he's on so I get reminded of all kinds of details. LOL
@@patrickharden9917 I got my 13 year old daughter to read Elantris and Warbreaker but she just couldn't get into Mistborn. Maybe in a couple more years...
@@akellerhouse83 Interesting. So, my youngest son is 14 (almost 15) and he's eaten up ALL of the Mistborn series (both eras), Steelheart (all three), and Starsight (both so far). My daughter (18 now) read Mistborn some years ago, but I don't recall exactly when.
very surprised that you loved Steris in the first book, but it still makes my heart happy. Mirasi in this book was 100% just.... meh. And Wayne is a national treasure that must be protected at all costs. This definitely reflects the fact that Sando kinda wrote it on a whim. I think more effort is put into the subsequent books
Probably the reason why you didn't like Marasi was because this is like the fifteenth time he's written the "prim and proper woman" type of character (Vivenna, Shallan, Sarene, etc.) except unlike those other ones Marasi has nothing deeper.
I think you should read era 2 first as it is less of a commitment than stormlight and continues the plot of Mistborn especially in the later books but u can do what you want
@@bridge7616 thanks for the suggestion! However I've heard mistborn era 2 isn't even finished yet?! There is apparently a fourth book to come out later?
For me the striking difference between 'Era 1' and 'Era 2' is this... Mistborn Era 1 was about the characters, their struggle, and growth. The setting and theme were secondary in terms of importance (still stellar though). Mistborn Era 2 is a "hearkening back to classic serials and pulp novels" (Sanderson quote). It is about the setting, theme, and action. The characters are somewhat secondary in these books, I think they are supposed to be 'caricatures'. I just finished book 1 a few days ago. Your review aligns pretty well with my feelings as well. I feel these books are viewed poorly just because they stand in the shadow of Era 1, they are actually pretty good. To be clear, it isn't Mistborn Era 1, but don't go in thinking that it has to be and you will have a good time. Edit: added the word "action".
The narrator for this serious knocked it out of the park, one of my favorite audiobook readings to the point where I don't think I would ever want to read them if I had access to the audiobooks at the time.
As someone who didn't particularly care for ANY of the characters in the original Mistborn trilogy apart from Kelsier, I will say I really enjoyed the characters in the second era. They started out a bit clunky in the first book but by the third I pretty much loved every single one of them, with Wayne and Steris being my favorites.
I am currently working on my second novel. It's a Dark Fantasy Western with a female protagonist it takes place in 1869. I've never read this book but hopefully that means there's an appetite for Fantasy Western
I didn't realize it when I first read Mistborn Era 2, but it's basically the light version of the Dresden Files. I enjoyed both quite a lot, I think these kinds of fantasy detective books are right up my alley.
To be honest Skulduggery Pleasant is the light version of Dresden Files to me, but that’s because I get invested into all the Cosmere connections in Mistborn era 2 and so it feels different than Dresden.
I love era 2 so much mostly because my brain didn't compare it with era 1 at all. And I enjoyed the characters as well but didn't really connect with Marasi. And I love Steris so freaking much!! She's one of the best characters I've ever read! I hope we get her pov in 4th book
My husband pointed out to me, years after I read this book, that their names were references to the waxing and waning of the moon. I felt very dumb, lol.
Now that era 2 is over, and going back to this review--I think the "oh its not as good as era 1" critique is right on the money. era 2 was REALLY fun to read, and really easy to read...but it didn't touch the high highs of era 1. Looking forward to the eventual era 3.
I FEEL YOU SO MUCH ABOUT THE "BOOK 2" EFFECT. However, people often say Shadows of Self is basically the second half of Alloy of Law. So, I think the "book 2 effect" might not come until Bands of Mourning (which I really really liked).
You should look into the "story" behind this book. This may be apocryphal, but as I understand it: Sanderson's publishers had asked him to write a short story for a collection.... but he ended up writing this instead. Leave it to Sanderson to ACCIDENTALLY write a book. I'd keep that in mind going into the rest of Era 2. I don't think it foreshadows as well as Era 1, but I 100% believe that it's due, in part, to how this first book in this era came together. All in all, though, it's a great series!
So I actually read Era 2 first before Era 1 and I like Era 2 better. I'm going through Era 1 now and am on Chapter 22 of the third book. But idk it just feels too gritty for my liking I guess. The first book was great but the second book just draaaaagged for me. Third book is alright so far. Era 2 was just a fun adventure. Reminded me of the Sherlock Holmes movies mixed with Indiana Jones. But I like more light hearted stuff. To me though reading Era 2 first kind of made Era 1 not feel like Mistborn, which I know is crazy. I will say that Era 1 has better character development especially when you compare the first books though. *Spoiler* I also enjoyed more of the spiritual stuff in Era 2. Think itll be useful for understanding the Cosmere down the road.
Uhh... wtf .. "fridgeing"? I'm sorry but how ... is that a trope. What other books etc have a female suffering so a man can go on adventure or whatever. The only thing I can think off is that horrible WoT show, where perrin kills his wife, and that was an addition of the "inclusive" rewriters of the story. Not actually in the book Can we stop calling every single thing a trope. Because the word has lost all its meaning. We have just started calling stuff trope when we don't like them. Esp in the context of anything negative happening to any woman ever while a man is present.
Wow, didn't remember how little of the character development happened in Alloy of Law. In my opinion that's actually the strength of Era 2 in comparison to Era 1, my favorite scene in the whole trilogy (so far -- gib lost metal pls) is one where the characters are just being themselves, and for example Wax's conflict in Bands of Mourning is incredible. So yeah, just keep reading, this will get a lot better.
Just finished Alloy of Law, i didn't at the time. I didn't like the wild west idea. I ve got to say Sanderson knows his craft I just loved this book and cant wait to finish the series
Would the "women in refrigerators" trope apply to someone like Kaladin too? It isn't a woman who kickstarts his story/character development, but besides the genders being swapped it's extremely similar to what happens in Alloy of Law (loss of a character in a flashback being the main motivation for character development). Maybe I haven't read enough fiction where this trope is present to understand why this distinction exists, but isn't it the case that most fictional protagonists fall under the umbrella of someone else's suffering forcing them to develop as characters?
I would have liked era 2 better if I didn’t think it was a side story before era 2 set in the 1980’s, so I kind of thought of Alloy of Law was Mistborn book 3.5 when I first read it. I liked Wayne and Sterris. It’s a shame I never liked, connected with or cared about Wax. I am looking forward to this era ending so it can move onto the next era, which I have higher hopes for, as that one was probably planned for the series rather than one that ‘grew in the writing’ as authors often phrase it, like the current era seems to be. I do still miss Vin though, long live era 1.
I'm so glad you also like Wayne! I've only read the first book so far, but a lot of people I've seen talk about Era 2 mention that they can't stand Wayne. I'm a sucker for a loyal sidekick and he fits that perfectly. I also didn't really love his weird "flirting" I guess you could call it. But also I read this not long after seeing the netflix adaptation of Shadow and Bone, and was kind of superimposing Jaspar onto Wayne. So in my head Wayne was gay, and it felt really discordant to see him not acting like that.
I read this series last year right after finishing the 1st trilogy and I really felt that the 2nd trilogy wasn't as good as the 1st mainly just based off the starting book in each trilogy. The 2nd and 3rd books were much more enjoyable though. But overall I'd say the 1st trilogy was better, maybe I just don't like westerns. But I absolutely loved Wayne, Steris, and Marasi.
For me Alloy of Law was decent, Shadows of Self was better, and Bands of Mourning was best. Now minor spoiler: The Fridging trope you mentioned. It comes back pretty hard in Book 2, but I personally like how it was done better there than in Alloy.
Alloy was written as a purposeful Western Pulp story that intended on all the included tropes. And like all Sando stuffs it gets So. Much. Better. Im very excited to watch your reviews on Shadows of Self and Bands of Mourning. P.S. .... Steris is Bae!!!
Well I guess I'm in the minority. I was not a fan of Mistborn era one! So going into Alloy of Law I had the bar set pretty low. WOW!! I love this book! Wax and Wayne are my new favorite odd couple!! Looking forward to continuing on with this series!! Keep up the good work Merph!!
I actually enjoyed this one. I was glad it was a much smaller scale story than the previous books. And I was actually drawn to these characters quicker than I was in the last trilogy. I may be in the minority here but I was not drawn to Kelsier at all, I liked almost every other character better. I felt like Kelsier was someone I was “supposed” to like but wasn’t given the chance to grow with at all, (some revelations made me understand him a little more but I still didn’t like him much). With this one being more condensed I soon realized I had to judge this book differently and enjoy it for the western, steampunk, adventure it is, and honestly after the way the first trilogy ended, I welcome a lighter tone.
I think a lot of people go into this expecting fantasy on the level of Era 1 and immediately discount it because it isn’t that. Not everything HAS to be massively epic fantasy! If you give it a chance it’s a really fun read. And the characters develop a lot more as you go through the series- remember this was meant as a stand-alone until Sanderson decided to write more with Wax and Wayne.
Spoilers: How did everybody feel about the deus ex machina near the end? I quite liked it. Thought it was set up well and I'll never stop enjoying any page-time dedicated to our favorite terrisman. But I understand if the trope is just unlikable for some people.
I started with Mistborn era 1, then read Elantris, and just finished Alloy of law...My god I love this book. It's my favorite so far. I have a feeling in hindsight it will fall down the list but Wayne is the best character I have read, He reminds me of what I wanted Ham to be in Era 1. His quips are the best. Can't wait to start the next in the era!
In my review, I called Alloy of Law Sanderson's version of pulp fiction (not the movie but the genre), which I felt was fitting because the newspaper inserts have their own, even more campy, version of pulp fiction.
I loved this book i’m so happy you read it! I will say and ik this is unpopular but I loved Wayne sooo much more that Wax. Wayne made me laugh and i enjoyed his humor, while i found reading from Wax’s perspective at bit depressing.
I think that Alloy of Law might lack some depth since Sanderson intended it to be a single book in the beginning. It is a fun stand alone but in the first book it does not really feel like a series yet. Book 2 and 3 does not have the same issue since they were intended to be part of a bigger narrative. I also remember reading/hearing somewhere (don't remember who said it so can't give credit unfortunately) that Wayne really liked Lessie so when he is disrespectful against Steris in particular it could be an unconscious way for him to defend her and her memory. She is the 'evil seductress' that makes Wax forget about Lessie. That does not excuse his behaviour but I thought that was really interesting and if that was intentional it is a cool depth to his character. Ofc, he does have some things to learn about how to treat women and Steris is not his only 'target'.
“That hat looks ridiculous.”
“Fortunately, I can change hats,” Wayne said, “while you, sir, are stuck with that face.”
100% agree that the characters could have used more depth, but Wayne's humor was (usually) excellent.
“Wayne’s a little attached to that hat. He thinks it’s lucky.”
“It is lucky. I ain’t never died while wearing that hat.”
Wayne is actually the best character. He cracks me up every time I read Mistborn Era 2
Omg sterris gets so good in the later books. Hand down favriot character of new generation mistborn!!!
Not only that, but top 3 Mistborn characters in both eras
I absolutely adore her omg
Agree.
I loved Steris from her first scene. She's the standout of this era for me.
Steris is my favorite Cosmere character, full stop.
The alloy of law and shadows of self were decent, but the bands of mourning really brings this series to a new level. Can't wait for the lost metal to be released next year
SoS was decent? C'mon, man. The entire ending with the kandra is legit one of the best, most emotional plot twists I've ever read.
@@coren216 shadows of self was actually my least favorite in the series. I guess I just wasn't that invested in wax's angst about Lessie 🤷🏼
@@edsheeran1243 I guess I can't argue with that. To each their own.
@@coren216 To each their own indeed. To me Lessie's backstory and following plot threads were some of the most interesting parts of the saga, very gut-wrenching.
(no spoilers)
How do you like it now it's out?
I felt the same way about the characters in this book but after finishing all 3 I can say that era 2 is Brandon's best character work. It's important to note that this book was originally meant to be a one-off, so the characters and tone were intentionally tropey and kinda surface level to just have fun in the world. But as he makes this a series boy does he develop them!
You nailed in perfectly. Once you get into the 2nd and 3rd books, you see the deeper character work.
I really hope you read through Shadows of Self sooner rather than later. It fixes a lot of your complaints and gives us all the stuff we were dying to have
I felt the same way about these characters from book 1. Can’t wait to see your thoughts after 2 & 3. They go places I really enjoyed. (Yay Steris!)
Strangely enough I was listening to an interview with Sanderson from a few years back and the line that stood out was “Wayne should bother you.”
I honestly can't say how you're going to react to the series overall merph, but if there's one thing that i could bet everything in is that you're going to love Steris even more at the end of book 3. Starting at the end of book 2. MARK MY WORDS.
Who's Mark and why does he have your words?
@@myrojyn 🤣👍
When You read shadows of self then you will realize that Wax's wife served a far greater purpose. Can't wait for your reaction
yeesssss. this was one of my few complaints about this book and the pay off redeems it entirely
Something I found out during a Q&A Brandon did was that he wrote Alloy of Law to be a single story between Era 1 and 2 of Mistborn. He only wrote more Wax and Wayne books and treating them as Era 2 do to fan popularity. This is probably why the characters feel more developed in the rest of the books.
So Era 2 should have actually been a different story?
I can’t wait to hear what you’ll say when you finish Shadows of Self hahahaha
I had similar feelings about AoL, but when I read SoL I thought “oh well, I should have given Sanderson more credit, stupid me for not trusting him”.
He blew my mind and I am super pumped for BoM now! (I’m starting it next month, probably)
The ending of BoM, my golly the ending.
@@Fabierien I can’t waaaait! hahaha
@@Fabierien I’m reading The Calculating Stars now (also because Merphy recommended it haha), but I’m soooo excited for BoM! I’ve been postponing it because I know that when I finish it I won’t have any more Mistborn books to read and that makes me sad hahahaha
Sadboi and Cussmouth the cowboy lawmen is the fantasy version of Burn Notice. That should have been my review
You know...you're not wrong.
this is my favorite Mistborn book so far, and the tonal shift is a big reason why. it's so much fun. all the world building and lore are still there and it's just a simpler story with a fun tone and wild characters
Yeah, I love Era 2 better than Era 2 because of the tonal shift
This might be considered a spoiler...
I do think Mistborn Era 2 is Sanderson's best work when it comes to people interacting with and their feelings towards God (Harmony in this case). I really liked the part where Wax asks himself why didn't Harmony help, and Harmony responds with "I did, I sent you."
Wax and Harmony's scene in book 3 is some of the best philosophical study I've scene in fiction
Sanderson in general is really strong in the analysis of faith on characters, even back to Elantris and Hrathen. It's one of my favorite aspects of his writing
@@andrewgarlach1011 I couldn't agree more. The whole spiritual journey Wax goes on throughout the series is very well written and I believe is very relatable to many people.
I agree.
Yes! I was a big fan of Pathism in this book, I was brought up in an atheistic family and don't have a close relationship to religion, but I really could see myself engaging with a religious tradition like that, if it were real.
As a Christian, I really resonated with that line.
I Love Steris, Loved her from her first scene and I was so sad that she wasn't in the book that much, but omg book 3 fixed that thankfully, she is my favorite character of era 2. I enjoyed era 2 but it is my least favorite series of the cosmere, but Steris is one of my favorite characters and her and Wax my favorite couple
Era 2 gets better with every book
Wow... are you gonna LOVE book 3 of this era! All issues you had will be solved (and way more than simply solved). Looking forward for the next reviews
What good timing, I’m going thru Wax and Wayne right now! Really enjoy the character progression in books 2&3.
Steris is MVP later in the books omg she's so good
Steris is fantastic in book 3 (which is my favorite)
I agree
Merphy, I found this book OK, but each book that followed was better. 'Bands of Mourning' was as good to me as the original trilogy.
Alloy of Law was... Aight. Era 2 is just sanderson playing around with Genre so it's just laid back fun. Not a Cosmere standout but just... Aight
I'm excited to read it!! Michael gushed over the currently released books so I'm excited... I'm waiting closer to W&W4 release.
Steris is one of my favorite sanderson characters. Like, she is up there with Kaladin and Jasnah for me!
yes!
I thought I'd hate Steris when I started. I have never had my mind changed so completely. She's in the running for my favorite Cosmere character.
Just finished the first book, and i already agree with you ... she jumped directly in my mosted favorite charackters category ...
@@nopenever9829 the love grows, trust me!
The friendship between Wax and Wayne holds it all together amazingly well. Wayne is an absolute riot and I find myself going back to all of Era 2 just for the best Wayne scenes and quotes. Example - "I ain’t drunk, I’m investigatin’ alternative states of sobriety."
Based on this review, you’ll like the next two books even more!
OH MY GOSH YES STERIS. STERIS IS QUEEN.
Please love it😭😭😭. I read it recently after putting it off for a while and I loved ittt
Just finished Era 2 last week. Personally, it was kind of on par with the original trilogy. And yeah, Marasi is kind of boring, and seems really like a Shallan clone. But do continue on with the series, the characters and their relationships develop greatly, particularly between Steris and Wax. The whole Lessie thing gets expanded in an interesting way in the next book.
I also love Steris so much and so happy to hear that you do too cause most people don’t connect with her till the later books! I know that was initially the case for me
I completely agree with your comment around “perfectly timed action”! I thought it fit the tone of the series so well, and I really enjoyed it!
Omg I’m so glad you love Steris she is one of my favorite characters ever!! You have to keep reading because she just gets better in every book!
Era 2 is way better than Era 1. Alloy of Law is just too simple and short, because it was made to be stand-alone, but oh well... The character will get better. The next book elevates the character work a lot. About his wife... oh, it gets better................
This was beyond underwhelming. I’m extremely upset that the series I loved is being dragged through the mud with corny punchlines and Scooby-Doo troupes.
If you liked Sterris in this book you should definitely continue as she only gets better
This is the only Sanderson book I have bounced right off of and DNF’ed the first time I read it.
I started it right after finishing Mistborn era one and it was so different and so not era one that I wanted nothing to do with it.
I eventually gave it another shot after I had finished Way of Kings and really enjoyed it when going in with better expectations for what it was.
Era two has also been getting better and better in my opinion, as it goes along. (Though that could be because it feels more like epic fantasy and less like Alloy of Law as it progresses?)
I finished mistborn era 1 and have been cautiously excited about continuing into era 2
Thank u Merphy!!
Shadows of Self and Bands of Mourning are super super rad. Alloy of Law really doesn't quite get its feet under it but BrandoSando really picks up the slack with the next two books.
W&W B2 is a snooze up until the very end, when contents are removed from the refrigerator... but they had been in there for so long, they went bad.
There is definitely more character development as the series goes on. Steris is incredible in the next two books, especially Bands of Mourning. I read this immediately after LOVING Mistorn Era 1 as well and it was such a shock that I don't think I appreciated it for what it was, although I did read the whole trilogy. I'm excited to reread before book 4 comes out!
I also think Alloy of Law is so short that its hard to get all that development in there and the style doesn't necessarily need that in the first book since it is so light hearted, though I actually agree with you in general haha. There are a few heart wrenching moments in the next two books so enjoy!
Really interested to see what you say about books 2 & 3. This was a really interesting video
the reason era 2 works the way it is is because the world has been in this golden era for more 200 years. there is nothing major for world building but just the reader adjusting to this new world and really nothing much to as opposed to era 1 threw you at the peak of the conflict. this book was great if you look at it from the perspective of a world that is discovering its ownself and just having fun with it.
LOOK AT IT THE WAY YOU LOOK AT *THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY*
I'd very interested in your opinion on characters (specifically Wax) once you finish the next book. Book 2 you always get more detail but I'd love to hear a little bit on placing book 1 in context once book 2 is done.
LOVE STERIS!! I was frustrated how she is treated through the next 2 books by "the gang"... actually took me 3 months to finish Bands of Mourning b/c it kept making me so mad and just check out of the whole story... I can't wait to watch your reviews on the next 2.........
Non-spoiler summary of the spoiler section on characters:
Her whole "the characters overall lack depth" just boiled down to the MC being overly altruistic and everyone else either having one thing that threw her off, or not having enough screen time. Seriously, the only character she actually says didn't have enough depth (and the goes over all of the main ones) was Wax. Everyone else she loved (even if she didn't love them as much as she wishes she did) and apparently had more than enough depth.
Alloy of Law is tied for my favorite with Final Empire. In general, I like when Sanderson is introducing a new setting more than when he adds a bunch of complications to it later.
I'm sure you know, but for those who don't...Sanderson wrote this as just a creative writing exercise to get his mind off WoT stress, but liked the setting/characters so much he released it as a stand-alone, then made it Mistborn Era 2.
The real “trilogy” starts with Shadows of Self, AoL is just a fun side story. Wayne is the most-fun-to-read-character Sanderson has ever written IMO.
Alloy of Law was just ok, and after the first time I read it I didn't seek out the sequels and didn't come back to the series until years after BoM released. The next few books in the series just got better and after finishing Bands of Mourning I found myself loving the second era and very impatiently waiting for the 4th book
me too!
I actually wasn't wild about Steris in the first book, but I came to love her so much later on! I'm looking forward to your reviews on the other two books in the series - as some other people have said, I think those two books will resolve some of your issues with book 1 ☺️
One of the things I loved most about the evolution of the magic system was that Sanderson both expanded it by adding new metals and having people who can use feruchemy and allomancy together BUT he also creates limitations by making it so no one is a full allomancer anymore.
As a side note - The investiture on Scadrial feels like it has less in common with other worlds in the Cosmere and I'm just so excited to find out more about how it all fits together.
I also love how the era 1 characters are misinterpreted/misrepresented to some extent in era 2 - it's fun to see these characters we came to know so will in era 1 become legends.
Your thoughts on taking a gap and readjusting expectations between Era 1 and Era 2, is exactly the attitude people should take for avatar and Korra
I guess I'll give it another shot. I didn't finish the book and I felt exactly how you felt, this was not mistborn
So I am one of the 3 people out there that like Era 2 better than era 1. Sanderson rarely is able to connect characters with me, instead I connect with his worlds. There was not a single character I liked by the end of Era 1, but I loved the story of the world. I loved Steris and Wayne (discounting some of his gross comments) and they all get better and better.
I agree on liking era 2 more.
How can you be reading so many books and remembering it all in details? Your intellectual capability is beyond my comprehension.
Yeah like, era 2 is not for everyone. But if you're a cosmere or stormlight fan, i think you should give it a try, since it's the mistborn era happening in the same time frame of the stornlight archive's "era" 2 (book 6 to 10), and there's a lot of probability of them influencing each other in some way.
As I recall, Sanderson said that Era 2 was meant to be only three books, but The Alloy of Law didn't go the way he intended and so he sketched out a new outline for a total of four books. That being said, Wayne is easily one of my favorite fictional characters. He has a moment in a future book that was almost too progressive for his character, but Sanderson made it work and it was amazing.
Oh, and the fridging thing? I totally get it from the perspective of book one in this series. Keep reading.
If I remember right, I read somewhere that this book was originally supposed to be a standalone, after it was a very well received creative writing exercise. It was meant to be something like a transitional novel between the eras, so I feel like Sanderson didn’t really try too hard on characters at first. Either that or he just didn’t really know what he wanted to do yet. They all improve astronomically in the later books, when the series really takes off.
I like the question posed "If Wax was in era 1, would he be on the rebellions side, or the Lord Rulers?"
(I think that was posed in this one, if not its not a spoiler lol) But I thought that was an interesting moral/ legal dilemma.
The morality is well explained in the religious system of the book which Wax follows (Pathism) - it is about doing what is right by finding ones own right path, not by following systemic justice. The religion obviously didn't exist yet but considering he has the same moral code, he would be acting against repression in the rebellion, I think.
I enjoyed this era almost more than era 1. I loved the change in tone and how magic was used, and I love how the characters grow through the series!
Saying "this is very different from Mistborn," kinda ignores the fact that Mistborn is meant to be a 13(ish?) book series. It's not that this deviates from the spirit or essence of "Mistborn," I think it's more that this era is establishing just how wide and varied the overall series will be.
Wax gets deeper in the next two books. We start out knowing little about him but his past gets slowly revealed.
Rest in peace Kentaro Miura
Ok Mistborn is now one of my favorite books and it’s the characters so a bit nervous about this but going to read this- just finished way of kings so be a while just to finish that series :)
This review makes me want to reread this series. I read them all when they first came out and I've forgotten a lot.
I keep telling myself I'm going to read them again, too. However, my son is reading them (over and over) so I just ask him what part he's on so I get reminded of all kinds of details. LOL
@@patrickharden9917 I got my 13 year old daughter to read Elantris and Warbreaker but she just couldn't get into Mistborn. Maybe in a couple more years...
@@akellerhouse83 Interesting. So, my youngest son is 14 (almost 15) and he's eaten up ALL of the Mistborn series (both eras), Steelheart (all three), and Starsight (both so far). My daughter (18 now) read Mistborn some years ago, but I don't recall exactly when.
very surprised that you loved Steris in the first book, but it still makes my heart happy. Mirasi in this book was 100% just.... meh. And Wayne is a national treasure that must be protected at all costs. This definitely reflects the fact that Sando kinda wrote it on a whim. I think more effort is put into the subsequent books
Probably the reason why you didn't like Marasi was because this is like the fifteenth time he's written the "prim and proper woman" type of character (Vivenna, Shallan, Sarene, etc.) except unlike those other ones Marasi has nothing deeper.
I really like Sanderson, but I gotta admit he can be repetitive as hell especially with characters
I'm so confused whether I want to read it or not! LOVED Mistborn Era 1, haven't picked up Stormlight yet!
Read it! Its awesome
I think you should read era 2 first as it is less of a commitment than stormlight and continues the plot of Mistborn especially in the later books but u can do what you want
Definitely read era 2 first
@@bridge7616 thanks for the suggestion! However I've heard mistborn era 2 isn't even finished yet?! There is apparently a fourth book to come out later?
@@tikotap277 I'm afraid it might be too "campy" or "western" for my taste! What did you think? Is it interesting like era 1 but just more fun/silly?
Just finished the era 2 trilogy. Loved Steris and Wayne, especially in the 2nd and 3rd books. Thank you, was waiting for this.
very excited to see how you feel about book two, I think book two is where a lot of these characters tropes start to break and things expand more.
For me the striking difference between 'Era 1' and 'Era 2' is this...
Mistborn Era 1 was about the characters, their struggle, and growth. The setting and theme were secondary in terms of importance (still stellar though).
Mistborn Era 2 is a "hearkening back to classic serials and pulp novels" (Sanderson quote). It is about the setting, theme, and action. The characters are somewhat secondary in these books, I think they are supposed to be 'caricatures'.
I just finished book 1 a few days ago. Your review aligns pretty well with my feelings as well. I feel these books are viewed poorly just because they stand in the shadow of Era 1, they are actually pretty good. To be clear, it isn't Mistborn Era 1, but don't go in thinking that it has to be and you will have a good time.
Edit: added the word "action".
The narrator for this serious knocked it out of the park, one of my favorite audiobook readings to the point where I don't think I would ever want to read them if I had access to the audiobooks at the time.
I love the Sherlock Holmes-I-ness of this era. It’s just so campy and low stakes compared to other cosmere novels.
Me too!
As someone who didn't particularly care for ANY of the characters in the original Mistborn trilogy apart from Kelsier, I will say I really enjoyed the characters in the second era. They started out a bit clunky in the first book but by the third I pretty much loved every single one of them, with Wayne and Steris being my favorites.
I am currently working on my second novel. It's a Dark Fantasy Western with a female protagonist it takes place in 1869. I've never read this book but hopefully that means there's an appetite for Fantasy Western
I didn't realize it when I first read Mistborn Era 2, but it's basically the light version of the Dresden Files. I enjoyed both quite a lot, I think these kinds of fantasy detective books are right up my alley.
To be honest Skulduggery Pleasant is the light version of Dresden Files to me, but that’s because I get invested into all the Cosmere connections in Mistborn era 2 and so it feels different than Dresden.
So early Wayne isn't even in the comments yet to tell us we are ugly.
I enjoyed this book more than any of the original Mistborn books, which I did like. More light, more fun, better pacing.
I love era 2 so much mostly because my brain didn't compare it with era 1 at all. And I enjoyed the characters as well but didn't really connect with Marasi. And I love Steris so freaking much!! She's one of the best characters I've ever read! I hope we get her pov in 4th book
My husband pointed out to me, years after I read this book, that their names were references to the waxing and waning of the moon. I felt very dumb, lol.
I like era 2 of mistborn better than era 1. 🤷♀️
I really like how characters and their relationships develop over the arc of the books.
Now that era 2 is over, and going back to this review--I think the "oh its not as good as era 1" critique is right on the money. era 2 was REALLY fun to read, and really easy to read...but it didn't touch the high highs of era 1. Looking forward to the eventual era 3.
I FEEL YOU SO MUCH ABOUT THE "BOOK 2" EFFECT. However, people often say Shadows of Self is basically the second half of Alloy of Law. So, I think the "book 2 effect" might not come until Bands of Mourning (which I really really liked).
You should look into the "story" behind this book. This may be apocryphal, but as I understand it: Sanderson's publishers had asked him to write a short story for a collection.... but he ended up writing this instead. Leave it to Sanderson to ACCIDENTALLY write a book.
I'd keep that in mind going into the rest of Era 2. I don't think it foreshadows as well as Era 1, but I 100% believe that it's due, in part, to how this first book in this era came together.
All in all, though, it's a great series!
So I actually read Era 2 first before Era 1 and I like Era 2 better. I'm going through Era 1 now and am on Chapter 22 of the third book. But idk it just feels too gritty for my liking I guess. The first book was great but the second book just draaaaagged for me. Third book is alright so far. Era 2 was just a fun adventure. Reminded me of the Sherlock Holmes movies mixed with Indiana Jones. But I like more light hearted stuff. To me though reading Era 2 first kind of made Era 1 not feel like Mistborn, which I know is crazy. I will say that Era 1 has better character development especially when you compare the first books though.
*Spoiler*
I also enjoyed more of the spiritual stuff in Era 2. Think itll be useful for understanding the Cosmere down the road.
Uhh... wtf .. "fridgeing"? I'm sorry but how ... is that a trope. What other books etc have a female suffering so a man can go on adventure or whatever. The only thing I can think off is that horrible WoT show, where perrin kills his wife, and that was an addition of the "inclusive" rewriters of the story. Not actually in the book
Can we stop calling every single thing a trope. Because the word has lost all its meaning. We have just started calling stuff trope when we don't like them. Esp in the context of anything negative happening to any woman ever while a man is present.
Wow, didn't remember how little of the character development happened in Alloy of Law. In my opinion that's actually the strength of Era 2 in comparison to Era 1, my favorite scene in the whole trilogy (so far -- gib lost metal pls) is one where the characters are just being themselves, and for example Wax's conflict in Bands of Mourning is incredible. So yeah, just keep reading, this will get a lot better.
Just finished Alloy of Law, i didn't at the time. I didn't like the wild west idea. I ve got to say Sanderson knows his craft
I just loved this book and cant wait to finish the series
Would the "women in refrigerators" trope apply to someone like Kaladin too? It isn't a woman who kickstarts his story/character development, but besides the genders being swapped it's extremely similar to what happens in Alloy of Law (loss of a character in a flashback being the main motivation for character development). Maybe I haven't read enough fiction where this trope is present to understand why this distinction exists, but isn't it the case that most fictional protagonists fall under the umbrella of someone else's suffering forcing them to develop as characters?
I would have liked era 2 better if I didn’t think it was a side story before era 2 set in the 1980’s, so I kind of thought of Alloy of Law was Mistborn book 3.5 when I first read it.
I liked Wayne and Sterris. It’s a shame I never liked, connected with or cared about Wax.
I am looking forward to this era ending so it can move onto the next era, which I have higher hopes for, as that one was probably planned for the series rather than one that ‘grew in the writing’ as authors often phrase it, like the current era seems to be.
I do still miss Vin though, long live era 1.
I'm so glad you also like Wayne! I've only read the first book so far, but a lot of people I've seen talk about Era 2 mention that they can't stand Wayne. I'm a sucker for a loyal sidekick and he fits that perfectly. I also didn't really love his weird "flirting" I guess you could call it. But also I read this not long after seeing the netflix adaptation of Shadow and Bone, and was kind of superimposing Jaspar onto Wayne. So in my head Wayne was gay, and it felt really discordant to see him not acting like that.
I read this series last year right after finishing the 1st trilogy and I really felt that the 2nd trilogy wasn't as good as the 1st mainly just based off the starting book in each trilogy. The 2nd and 3rd books were much more enjoyable though. But overall I'd say the 1st trilogy was better, maybe I just don't like westerns. But I absolutely loved Wayne, Steris, and Marasi.
For me Alloy of Law was decent, Shadows of Self was better, and Bands of Mourning was best.
Now minor spoiler:
The Fridging trope you mentioned. It comes back pretty hard in Book 2, but I personally like how it was done better there than in Alloy.
Alloy was written as a purposeful Western Pulp story that intended on all the included tropes. And like all Sando stuffs it gets So. Much. Better. Im very excited to watch your reviews on Shadows of Self and Bands of Mourning. P.S. .... Steris is Bae!!!
Well I guess I'm in the minority. I was not a fan of Mistborn era one! So going into Alloy of Law I had the bar set pretty low. WOW!! I love this book! Wax and Wayne are my new favorite odd couple!! Looking forward to continuing on with this series!! Keep up the good work Merph!!
I actually enjoyed this one. I was glad it was a much smaller scale story than the previous books. And I was actually drawn to these characters quicker than I was in the last trilogy. I may be in the minority here but I was not drawn to Kelsier at all, I liked almost every other character better. I felt like Kelsier was someone I was “supposed” to like but wasn’t given the chance to grow with at all, (some revelations made me understand him a little more but I still didn’t like him much). With this one being more condensed I soon realized I had to judge this book differently and enjoy it for the western, steampunk, adventure it is, and honestly after the way the first trilogy ended, I welcome a lighter tone.
I think a lot of people go into this expecting fantasy on the level of Era 1 and immediately discount it because it isn’t that. Not everything HAS to be massively epic fantasy! If you give it a chance it’s a really fun read. And the characters develop a lot more as you go through the series- remember this was meant as a stand-alone until Sanderson decided to write more with Wax and Wayne.
Spoilers: How did everybody feel about the deus ex machina near the end? I quite liked it. Thought it was set up well and I'll never stop enjoying any page-time dedicated to our favorite terrisman. But I understand if the trope is just unlikable for some people.
I started with Mistborn era 1, then read Elantris, and just finished Alloy of law...My god I love this book. It's my favorite so far. I have a feeling in hindsight it will fall down the list but Wayne is the best character I have read, He reminds me of what I wanted Ham to be in Era 1. His quips are the best. Can't wait to start the next in the era!
In my review, I called Alloy of Law Sanderson's version of pulp fiction (not the movie but the genre), which I felt was fitting because the newspaper inserts have their own, even more campy, version of pulp fiction.
I loved this book i’m so happy you read it! I will say and ik this is unpopular but I loved Wayne sooo much more that Wax. Wayne made me laugh and i enjoyed his humor, while i found reading from Wax’s perspective at bit depressing.
I think that Alloy of Law might lack some depth since Sanderson intended it to be a single book in the beginning. It is a fun stand alone but in the first book it does not really feel like a series yet. Book 2 and 3 does not have the same issue since they were intended to be part of a bigger narrative.
I also remember reading/hearing somewhere (don't remember who said it so can't give credit unfortunately) that Wayne really liked Lessie so when he is disrespectful against Steris in particular it could be an unconscious way for him to defend her and her memory. She is the 'evil seductress' that makes Wax forget about Lessie. That does not excuse his behaviour but I thought that was really interesting and if that was intentional it is a cool depth to his character. Ofc, he does have some things to learn about how to treat women and Steris is not his only 'target'.