Mistborn – Wax and Wayne
Brandon Sanderson
This is a combined review of the three Wax and Wayne novels that are set in an era after the original three Mistborn novels (Mistborn, The Well of Ascension, The Hero of Ages). The Mistborn trilogy was actually the first set of Brandon Sanderson novels I ever read, so I had high hopes for these follow-on novels (please don’t laugh at my very old reviews). However, unusually for a Sanderson novel, I was kind of disappointed so I didn’t review them immediately.
The Alloy of Law’s first chapter was the best! I could have heard far more about Wax’s old life rather than his new one. It is interesting to return to the same stomping grounds of the original trilogy 300 years later, where technology has actually happened despite, or perhaps because of, the scarcity of magic. This is something rare for a fantasy series, although my beloved Ruined certainly has magic and technology battling it out. However, the city that Wax sees and the one he fights for frustrates me. Burn it all down and try again! And that bloody uncle of his…
Wax’s slow romance burns a little brighter in the second novel Shows of Self. This novel moved quickly due to Wax’s insistence on doing everything himself. Kandra tactics and the way Kandra have moved on from the original Mistborn series is explored in depth here, and some very surprising information comes to light. It’s nice to have a ‘God’ who actually responds, even if it is sometimes not in the way you expect…
The eventual conclusion of this series in The Bands of Mourning finally plays out the showdown of Wax and his uncle that readers have been anticipating from the beginning of the trilogy. The relative expansion of the physical world of the Mistborn saga allows Sanderson more scope for future novels (although I hope that is not the main reason for doing it). In addition, we also get a look at more Allomancy and Feruchemy which is the part of these novels that I am actually always excited about.
I’m actually going to give these 4 stars… Shock horror! I never expected to downgrade a Sanderson from a 5 stars, but these just lacked the awesome storyline and connectable characters of his latest stuff eg. Legion or Steelheart. Don’t worry, I’m still going to be getting my hands on the latest novels in his epics (even if I’ll never forgive him for taking time off to work on that stupid Wheel of Time epic…)
