Alloy of Law – Brandon Sanderson

Alloy of Law is the fourth book of the Mistborn saga. However, it is the mark of a new series with new characters. You don’t need to read the original trilogy to read this western-esque, fantasy book. It certainly helps (I highly recommend it.) but it’s not required.

If you’ve read my discussion about Brandon Sanderson’s kickstarter, or my review of Tress of the Emerald Sea, then you know I adore Sanderson’s writing. It’s no different with Alloy of Law.

Alloy of Law takes place three-hundred years after the events of Hero of Ages, the final book of the Mistborn trilogy. If you’ve read the original trilogy and adored that cast of characters, I recommend taking some time before reading Alloy of Law. I tried to go into Alloy of Law a few years ago, and I found I couldn’t appreciate the book because I was too attached to the first trilogy.

To put it bluntly, if you’re looking for a hard continuation of the plot lines with Vin, Elend, and Sazed, this isn’t it.

It’s better.

Waxillium Ladrian is a Twinborn nobleman who had left the city and went to the Roughs to fight crime. Being able to use both Allomancy and Feruchemy makes him powerful, powerful enough that he becomes a legend. A year after the death of a loved one, he returns to the city. He’s pushed into an arranged marriage with Steris, a prim and proper noblewoman. Can he return to city life of being a lord and avoid his days of delivering justice?

The answer is no. It would be a boring book if he could.

Let’s go into the positives first. Trust me, there are a lot of these. The first of which is..

Characters.

Brandon Sanderson never fails to write characters that pop off the page. He does this by giving them very specific hobbies, interests, or quirks. The most prominent example of this within this book is Wayne.

Wayne has a habit of “trading” for things. I adored this. He’s hilarious. He would take a whole bottle of bourbon and leave behind a piece of cloth. It’s not stealing. It’s trading. He also makes a lot of witty comments that I find funny. Exhibit A:

“Fortunately, I can change hats, while you, sir, are stuck with that face.”

Marasi’s love for forensics is another example of this. She’s proper, but willing to get her hands dirty to produce results. Her knowledge of forensics and psychology is also a defining aspect of her character. I loved that she mentioned confirmation bias because this book discusses polarizing topics. The acknowledgement that people will seek out information that confirms their preexisting beliefs was a nice touch in a book that discusses good versus evil.

Wax is your classic protagonist. He has a strong sense of justice, special powers and a sparkly background, secrets that make him mysterious, and the desire to help others.

The dynamic between Wax and Wayne is brotherly. It comes from years of knowing each other and working together. I loved it. I want to know more about their past together. What did they face together? What sparked their kinship?

The most impressive thing about this book is the worldbuilding. In the original Mistborn trilogy, we’re introduced to Allomancy in a time when most people use swords and glass daggers rather than guns. This book reads like a western, with guns and train robberies, but with Allomancy and Feruchemy. Some people are capable of both, which is a wild concept to people who have read the first three books, but Sanderson makes it feel natural.

Sanderson built a world, established characters, and made me care about these characters. Then he fast forwarded three hundred years, changed the world completely, but maintained the same magic system, and still made me care.

The magic system is evolving while still maintaining the same rules the first trilogy in the saga had. Steelpushing and Ironpulling are bound by the same set of rules, but there are a greater variety of ways to use magic due to its evolvement. For example, Wayne’s use of a speed bubble. That’s a creative way to evolve the magic system, introduce a new set of rules, while honoring the same basic concept of the first trilogy.

It’s clever. And its done well.

Another thing I have noticed about Brandon Sanderson’s writing is that it incorporates a lot of religious aspects. Not in a sense of Christian beliefs, but in a sense of unique, fabricated religions that add depth to the worlds he has created. Waxillium believes in Harmony and some people worship the Ascended Warrior, or the Survivor. Understanding these belief systems and how they impact the way people behave not only makes the world feel feasible, but it adds another layer of characterization to the protagonist, the antagonist, and everyone in between.

Like I said, the book is done well.

However…

The basic plot structure within this book is just that. It’s basic. It’s simple. And I understand why it was done that way. This is a risky book. Will people care as much as they did with Vin? This book eases you into a world that has Allomancy and Feruchemy without the original cast of characters. You get to learn about Wax, Wayne, and a little bit about Steris without the commitment to a giant, universe destroying and world altering plot.

It’s light. It’s fun.

It leaves a little to be desired.

But geez, I loved every page.

Again, reading the original trilogy is not required, but I highly recommend it. It adds so much.

“The measure of a person is not in how much they lived. It’s in how they make use of what life has shown them.”

Brandon Sanderson, Alloy of law