The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson: Mistborn but Better (if that's even possible oh my gosh)

Alloy of Law 

by

Brandon Sanderson

Three hundred years after the Heroes from Mistborn saved the world (and subsequently died horrible deaths) everything has changed. Sprawling cities grow ever larger while dizzyingly tall buildings are built with help of new technology and the magic that still thrives in this new world. Which is fabulous because we now have the wild, wild west in the world of Mistborn. Basically pistols and trains and automobiles coupled with the old magic.

              Which is so freakin cool! Okay, okay back to the plot. Noble born Waxillium has (almost by accident) ended up in the Roughs as a lawkeeper. At least until his Uncle and sister die and Wax is forced to travel back to the capital Elendel to take charge of his house and the people who work for him. Wax expects to live out the rest of his life in utter boredom, calculating finances, going to parties, and marrying the ‘right’ girl. Because this is a book though things quickly get serious with strange robberies/kidnappings happening all over the city.

Characters

Wax: Oh man what can I even say about Wax. He’s fabulous that’s for sure. The retired lawman who can’t belong in either world. In the Roughs he dressed like a gentlemen to throw people off, make them think that he was just a spoiled dandy. In Elendel he dresses like a mildly fashionable cowboy simply to annoy everyone else. 

Basically, I adored him. The funniest part was how much random stuff he knew. True out in the Roughs you had to find somebody who could analyze bullets or you had to learn how to do it yourself. He turned out to be part sharp-shooter, part scientist, part detective. Awesome.

Wayne: I’d call him a kleptomaniac but he’s a bit of a special case. He doesn’t ‘steal’ from people he trades things with them. Without their permission. Or their knowledge. Wayne’s powers were equally awesome. He was a twinborn which meant he had one power from Feruchemy and one from Allowmancy. As a Feruchemist he could heal himself. As an Allowmancer he can create little bubbles of time. Don’t worry he’s not as over powered as he sounds. 

Honestly some of the best parts of this book were when Wayne was the narrator. Still Wayne and Wax’s friendship was the best!

Marasai: I loved her guys. She was great. Sure she wasn’t a fighter like Wax or Wayne but she was hilarious. (actually, that’s not completely true she’s a crack shot with a rifle) As a very prim and proper young women Marasai went to a very prestigious college. And shocked everyone by attempting to become a lawyer. The best part of that was when she got nervous she’d start reciting criminal statistics and strange facts. 

It was simultaneously hilarious and adorable.

Likes

It wasn’t huge thank goodness: if I had to read another six-hundred-page book I would have run crying for the kid’s section. 

Alloy of Law was roughly three hundred pages which made it so much easier to read. Sure that does mean that the plot and world building suffer a little but all in all I thought it was actually an improvement. Congrats Sanderson you have learned to be efficient.

I could actually name all the main characters this time around: There was so many characters in Mistborn! There was no way I could keep track of them all. Thank goodness! There were only three.

There’s pistols, automobiles magic and trains everywhere! How cool is that! It was almost steampunk. But with magic. I’ve never been one for revisiting the world years after the main characters have died. Call me crazy but they never seem to stand up to the old series. Well I take it back because this was awesome.

Can we talk about how the title is a literal pun? It’s about a Lawman who can control metal guys. And Sanderson with his zero chill decided that ‘The Alloy of Law’ was not only awesome it was also hilarious.

Dislikes

Marasai was a tiny bit of a damsel: I’m fully expecting a character arc like Elend Venture though so I’m not really that concerned. And hey compared to Wax and Wayne anybody would be a damsel. I still liked her though.

Wax what are you doing?! excuse me while I completely ignore the utterly beautiful and capable Marasai in favor of her strange and boringly proper sister Steris. 

yep that's a good plan Wax. 

I adored this book! Possibly more than I adored Mistborn! Because this had all the magic, awesome characters, and fabulous writing of the first three books but without the bloated narrative and numerous extraneous characters. Not to mention in a world that I happen to go crazy for on a normal basis. I mean wild west with magic! You can’t get any better than that.