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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Bored, not as humorous as the first series, not invested in the characters
adventurous
challenging
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Well that was certainly a book.
As my flatmate who lent me the book can attest, I had many emotions while reading it. Ranging from "this is surprisingly decent" to "wtf Brandon" with a clear tendency towards the later. There were so many things that bothered me about this book.
But in case somebody reads this spoiler-y review without knowing what this book is about: let me start with a short summary. It is set in the same world as Mistborn, just 300+ years later – meaning that the setting has shifted from magical fantasy to magical western. The main character – Waxillium “Wax” Ladrian – has left the Badlands and his job as sheriff (or law enforcer, whatever) to return to the City to pick up his duties as new head of house Ladrian but he is distracted from being a responsible adult when a series of thefts occur and he goes crime-chasing with his friend and former partner Wayne. When his nearly-fiancé Steris is kidnapped, they team up with her cousin Marasi to defeat the big evil of this book: Miles.
A list of things that bothered me:
- There are only four somewhat plot-relevant female characters. One is fridged in the first chapter to give Waxillium a tragic event in his past and a mental hindrance when he fights. One gets kidnapped and thereby forces Waxillium into action. One is a young, beautiful woman who sort of hero-worships Waxillium and acts as a love interest. And the last one makes guns, she really is badass.
There are a few more minor characters who also happen to be female but since they don’t contribute anything to the plot and are hardly relevant in any way, I didn’t count them. Compared to the plethora of male characters who appear in supporting and minor roles, the number of female characters doesn’t amount to much.
- On the topic of feminism: "'Don't believe that it is impossible just because you are a woman.'" (I read this in German and this is my translation of that. The original might differ.) HOW ABOUT SHOWING ME THAT INSTEAD OF TELLING, BRANDON?!?!? Four female characters? General assumption that all bandits must be male? Good job. As soon as the plot leaves the high society in the second half of the book, the only women who appear/are referenced are the women mentioned above. (Also Wayne's comments regarding women... -.-)
- While we are talking about the bandits: the Waxillium really shows a blatant disregard for human lives. Not only does he kill the bandits without having any moral conflict about that, no, he also says that shooting people is fun.
Am I supposed to sympathise with the main character? Am I supposed to think that he his good? Because while the books clearly wants me to think so, such comments just really made me dislike Waxillium. He's supposed to be enforcing the laws and justice or whatever, and not go on a killing spree when he feels like it. (Also thanks for making the bandits forgettable henchmen with no past and no motivation of their own. Makes it easier for Wax to kill them I guess.)
- "Miles hadn't felt pain in a long time. Waxillium had no idea how they would pressure him for questioning." Erm, yay police brutality I guess? This sentence really tells you a lot about the main character. (Again, am I supposed to like him?)
- In the note of law enforcement: when Marasi reveals that she studies law, Wax and Wayne joke that they know like nothing about the law... WHICH THEY SHOULD BE ENFORCING??? Like wtf was that? It seemed to me like they felt superior to her, despite an utter lack of knowledge that is highly relevant to their jobs. Well done, you - two men, one 40, the other maybe a bit younger? - are bragging about how you are not fit to do your job to a woman - who's like 20 - when it comes to her field of expertise. Just wow.
- And generally how does their justice system work? Miles is executed like a day after he was arrested. During that time he had some sort of a trial but that seems... unrealistic to me.
Like I know next to nothing about trials but I feel like evidence should be gathered beforehand, witnesses found and questioned, and generally the whole situation should be reviewed before a trial is started. Also why execute Miles? He killed one guy, the rest of his robberies were peaceful.
Wax on the other hand killed like sixty people and destroyed a whole house, so that adds property damage to mass murder, but somehow he just goes free?
I get that it is fantasy, but nobody even questions this or thinks about the implications of how quickly justice is dealt. This book really has some strong black-and-white morality.
- And finally Miles: the book clearly wants me to hate him but somehow I found myself nodding along to some stuff he said?
He is a really interesting character: a law enforcer who realises that fighting crime won't change anything because he is only fighting the symptoms of a broken system that favours the rich at the cost of the poor. He says as much to Wax who replies with "'People have good intentions and make laws that are supposed to prevent the worst - but these laws don't go far enough yet.'" Well, I guess that is the kind of reply I can expect from a guy who is responsible for like ten thousand people or so because he inherited a title? He is a noble and these people work for his house and only that affiliation is giving them their full rights and security. They depend on one guy to make the right decisions and idk, not go crime-fighting when he should be managing finances and stuff? Strangely enough Wax doesn't see how flawed the system is.
Of course Miles is a deeply flawed person but at least he was interesting and had some good thoughts where the main character was just like “yeah no, the system is not the problem, it’s individual people.
Things I liked:
- The general idea of the setting! A western but with magic? Man I love that idea, the execution though…
- Ranette, go on making guns and maybe shoot Wayne while you are at it.
- Steris. I know that she was probably supposed to be comedic relief with all of her planning and such. But I really appreciate that Brandon hinted at romance and then went for a pragmatic marriage. Both sides figuring out how they might tolerate each other and having reasons for pursuing this relationship and none of them is love? I really loved that.
- The last few pages really make the whole thing interesting and kind of make me want to read more but I have a feeling that the following books might turn me into an angry reader again.
Conclusion: this could have been sooooo much better.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It’s a delight to be back in the Mistborn universe, albeit 300 years after the trilogy. This set of four books is looking to be a great addition to the saga.
This world is a combination of the Wild West and the cities of the late-1800s. Electricity is new and exciting, and some speculate that maybe one day there will be flying machines.
There’s a lot of humor here, and the lighter tone is welcome, especially after the oppressive Hero of Ages. This book is far from lighthearted, though. The opening scene is devastating to one of the two main characters. Later, as the grief slowly ebbs, the two are always squabbling and that’s a way to both conceal emotion as well as relieve the pain.
All in all, a quite enjoyable book. I’m headed into the next one.
This world is a combination of the Wild West and the cities of the late-1800s. Electricity is new and exciting, and some speculate that maybe one day there will be flying machines.
There’s a lot of humor here, and the lighter tone is welcome, especially after the oppressive Hero of Ages. This book is far from lighthearted, though. The opening scene is devastating to one of the two main characters. Later, as the grief slowly ebbs, the two are always squabbling and that’s a way to both conceal emotion as well as relieve the pain.
All in all, a quite enjoyable book. I’m headed into the next one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Classism