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julies_reading 's review for:
The Alloy of Law
by Brandon Sanderson
Hundreds of years after the fall of the Final Empire, Vin and her friends have become history - and religion. It's a new era of industry and of magic, with the elements of allomancy and feruchemy now mixing. Waxillium and Wayne are vigilante lawkeepers in the wild west-like Roughs, but when Wax is called back to the city to assume the lordship his late uncle has left him, he's ready to leave that life behind. Then Wayne comes to him with news of impossible heists being pulled off under the city's nose. Little do they know that the elegant city can be even more dangerous than the gritty Roughs.
I read and loved the first era of Mistborn ages ago, and was hesitant going into this addition to the series - I usually don't like sequel series, the large time jump, none of our favorite characters, etc. - but I shouldn't have been worried at all. While this first installment in era 2 is lighter in tone than the previous books (and the ones to come), this is a fantastic continuation of this world that feels ridiculously natural.
The strongest part of this book is how Sanderson has evolved this world. The society we see is recognizable with its lords in the city, but with more freedom and a new slew of religions, plus updates to technology. Even better is the updates to the magic system - some people now have access to multiple magic types, and Sanderson does his due dilligence incorporating the reality of the physics into the action and movement of his characters. As an engineer with a focus in physics, I adored reading this, but it's by no means inacessible. Then for our plot, we have (very cleverly) the exact reverse of the first book - busting an impossible heist. I loved the mystery and investigative elements in this, and how that interacted with magic. This story is shorter than the other books and is fast-paced but still satisfying. I loved the new characters we're introduced to almost immediately. Wax is brooding and struggling overcoming trauma, Wayne is very silly but more insightful than meets the eyes, and Marasi is excitable and a nerd for justice (also, she's an educated woman in an industrial era, super cool to see. The dialogue and banter between them is not only funny and entertaining, it also does a great job characterizing them and also moving the plot along.
Overall, this was a fun surprise I didn't want to put down. I was worried it wouldn't be enough like the first series, but it's a great successor.
I read and loved the first era of Mistborn ages ago, and was hesitant going into this addition to the series - I usually don't like sequel series, the large time jump, none of our favorite characters, etc. - but I shouldn't have been worried at all. While this first installment in era 2 is lighter in tone than the previous books (and the ones to come), this is a fantastic continuation of this world that feels ridiculously natural.
The strongest part of this book is how Sanderson has evolved this world. The society we see is recognizable with its lords in the city, but with more freedom and a new slew of religions, plus updates to technology. Even better is the updates to the magic system - some people now have access to multiple magic types, and Sanderson does his due dilligence incorporating the reality of the physics into the action and movement of his characters. As an engineer with a focus in physics, I adored reading this, but it's by no means inacessible. Then for our plot, we have (very cleverly) the exact reverse of the first book - busting an impossible heist. I loved the mystery and investigative elements in this, and how that interacted with magic. This story is shorter than the other books and is fast-paced but still satisfying. I loved the new characters we're introduced to almost immediately. Wax is brooding and struggling overcoming trauma, Wayne is very silly but more insightful than meets the eyes, and Marasi is excitable and a nerd for justice (also, she's an educated woman in an industrial era, super cool to see. The dialogue and banter between them is not only funny and entertaining, it also does a great job characterizing them and also moving the plot along.
Overall, this was a fun surprise I didn't want to put down. I was worried it wouldn't be enough like the first series, but it's a great successor.