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A review by cpcabaniss
The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson
5.0
Reread April-May 2020
This was an excellent reread. I love the exploration of the world as it develops after the events of the original trilogy. It's been hundreds of years since those events, but they are still referenced in this world and society that they have shaped. It's excellent.
I also love a good bromance and Wax and Wayne have one of the best bromances. I love this duo.
Reread June 2018
This was my third read of this novel and somehow I still managed to forget just how good it was until I was reading again. It really is excellent.
The characters in this are fantastic. Wayne might be my favorite. His stealing of accents and "trading" of items are wonderful. I can't help a smile breaking across my face whenever he comes into the story. The rest of the characters are pretty excellent as well. Even those that don't get a lot of page time in this first book are interesting, leaving plenty of room to develop them later on.
Bromances are one of my favorite things and the bromance between Wax and Wayne is quite wonderful. Their banter is great and makes me laugh. This is a laugh out loud kind of book, and I love that.
The magic in this, as with all Sanderson novels, is magnificent. Things have changed and evolved since the days of the original Mistborn trilogy, so while it's familiar enough to grasp easily, it's not a copy of the same old magic, which makes it all the more fascinating. Even when books that I've read have time jumps, there usually isn't a lot different as far as the magic goes, only the world itself, so having this morphing of abilities is a really neat touch.
Michael Kramer narrated the audio that I listened to this time. I've listened to one or two of his other narrations, but there's something about him that doesn't quite click with me. I did start to enjoy him more as I listened, but he's not my favorite narrator. The overall performance was still good, however, and I am looking forward to continuing the remainder of the series (what's released of it) in this format for my reread.
Reread September 2015
It's been almost two years since I read this and honestly I don't remember realizing just how brilliant it is. Sanderson had taken his fantasy world introduced in the original Mistborn trilogy and pushed it forward in time three hundred years. The magic has morphed over time, with some merging of Allomancy and Feruchemy. And the combination is dazzling.
I suppose this can be considered steampunk, since trains have been invented and people are using guns. There's also electricity now. These technological advances mixed with the magic system are fascinating. It's like a western but in a high fantasy world. And I adore it.
The original characters and events are still very important with many references to them. It's amazing to see how they shaped this new world. And Waxillium, the main character, is one of Breeze's descendents. There are other traces to other characters.
The characters in this book are absolutely brilliant. Wayne is hilarious, but also very talented and often wise. Wax is a mix of almost every character from the original trilogy, which is fascinating. And Marasi is a strong and smart and powerful in very different ways than previous females in this world. The side characters are also interesting. Ranette and Steris in particular.
Very different from the original trilogy but an excellent read in its own right. I highly recommend this particularly if you've read the original three, but even if you haven't it would still be fun.
“The ways of Wayne are mysterious and incomprehensible.”
This was an excellent reread. I love the exploration of the world as it develops after the events of the original trilogy. It's been hundreds of years since those events, but they are still referenced in this world and society that they have shaped. It's excellent.
I also love a good bromance and Wax and Wayne have one of the best bromances. I love this duo.
Reread June 2018
“He’s like a rash. The more you scratch him, the more irritating he gets.”
This was my third read of this novel and somehow I still managed to forget just how good it was until I was reading again. It really is excellent.
The characters in this are fantastic. Wayne might be my favorite. His stealing of accents and "trading" of items are wonderful. I can't help a smile breaking across my face whenever he comes into the story. The rest of the characters are pretty excellent as well. Even those that don't get a lot of page time in this first book are interesting, leaving plenty of room to develop them later on.
Bromances are one of my favorite things and the bromance between Wax and Wayne is quite wonderful. Their banter is great and makes me laugh. This is a laugh out loud kind of book, and I love that.
The magic in this, as with all Sanderson novels, is magnificent. Things have changed and evolved since the days of the original Mistborn trilogy, so while it's familiar enough to grasp easily, it's not a copy of the same old magic, which makes it all the more fascinating. Even when books that I've read have time jumps, there usually isn't a lot different as far as the magic goes, only the world itself, so having this morphing of abilities is a really neat touch.
Michael Kramer narrated the audio that I listened to this time. I've listened to one or two of his other narrations, but there's something about him that doesn't quite click with me. I did start to enjoy him more as I listened, but he's not my favorite narrator. The overall performance was still good, however, and I am looking forward to continuing the remainder of the series (what's released of it) in this format for my reread.
Reread September 2015
It's been almost two years since I read this and honestly I don't remember realizing just how brilliant it is. Sanderson had taken his fantasy world introduced in the original Mistborn trilogy and pushed it forward in time three hundred years. The magic has morphed over time, with some merging of Allomancy and Feruchemy. And the combination is dazzling.
I suppose this can be considered steampunk, since trains have been invented and people are using guns. There's also electricity now. These technological advances mixed with the magic system are fascinating. It's like a western but in a high fantasy world. And I adore it.
The original characters and events are still very important with many references to them. It's amazing to see how they shaped this new world. And Waxillium, the main character, is one of Breeze's descendents. There are other traces to other characters.
The characters in this book are absolutely brilliant. Wayne is hilarious, but also very talented and often wise. Wax is a mix of almost every character from the original trilogy, which is fascinating. And Marasi is a strong and smart and powerful in very different ways than previous females in this world. The side characters are also interesting. Ranette and Steris in particular.
Very different from the original trilogy but an excellent read in its own right. I highly recommend this particularly if you've read the original three, but even if you haven't it would still be fun.