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Fantasy. Fiction. HTML: From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, the Mistborn series is a heist story of political intrigue and magical, martial-arts action. Three hundred years after the events of the Mistborn trilogy, Scadrial is now on the verge of modernity, with railroads to supplement the canals, electric lighting in the streets and the homes of the wealthy, and the first steel-framed skyscrapers racing for the clouds. The Bands of Mourning are the mythical metal minds owned by the Lord Ruler, said to grant anyone who wears them the powers that the Lord Ruler had at his command. Hardly anyone thinks they really exist. A kandra researcher has returned to Elendel with images that seem to depict the Bands, as well as writings in a language that no one can read. Waxillium Ladrian is recruited to travel south to the city of New Seran to investigate. Along the way he discovers hints that point to the true goals of his uncle Edwarn and the shadowy organization known as The Set. Other Tor books by Brandon Sanderson The Cosmere The Stormlight Archive The Way of Kings Words of Radiance Edgedancer (Novella) Oathbringer The Mistborn trilogy Mistborn: The Final Empire The Well of Ascension The Hero of AgesMistborn: The Wax and Wayne series Alloy of Law Shadows of Self Bands of Mourning Collection Arcanum Unbounded Other Cosmere novels Elantris Warbreaker The Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians series Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians The Scrivener's Bones The Knights of Crystallia The Shattered Lens The Dark Talent The Rithmatist seriesThe Rithmatist Other books by Brandon Sanderson The Reckoners Steelheart Firefight Calamity.… (more)
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A
The Bands of Mourning was as awesome as I expected it to be. The dialog is snappy, there’s plenty of humorous moments, I love the character interactions, and there’s plenty of plot twists and reveals about the greater world. Hoid, a character who appears in all of Sanderson’s cosmere novels, was tangentially plot relevant in this one, and it’s exciting to think about how all the different novels might tie together.
Sanderson continues to use the magic system he set up in the original Mistborn books in new and inventive ways. I’ll admit that my eyes kind of glazed over at the particulars of how everything worked. I’m willing enough to accept that it does work and go from there.
I loved the return of MeLann and Steris’s continued character growth. When I read Alloy of Law, I sort of assumed that Steris would end up being pushed aside by the narrative. I’m so glad that didn’t happen as she’s becoming one of my favorite characters of the series.
The Bands of Mourning is fun, fast paced, and full of adventure. This series has generally felt lighter than the original trilogy, and I’m really hoping that translates into fewer deaths in the final book! If you were a fan of the past two Wax and Wayne books, you should enjoy this one too.
Review originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
The prologue features a young Wax, in Terirs boarding school and already concerned with justice, investigating one of his friends, and the influence (and different character) his sister has on him. We never hear about the friend again, but rumours of the sister still being held by Wax's uncle drive Wax out of the capital and into the Outer Cities. Before he can leave however Wayne manages to interrupt Wax's wedding to the unbending Steris. And although concerned for safety and the unpredictability of the Outer Cities, she accompanies him, for at least she can school him through the social engagements he'll be required to attend. The constable Marasi also accompanies them as the Kendra have come across disconcerting rumours of an ancient Artifcat that allows any ferrochemcial powers to be transferred to any person irrespective of their prior abilities. It seems Wax's uncle is also hunting these as the Set seek to regain their control over the politics of the nation. Railways have come, and so Wax and co enjoy the ride out, until the action starts after which there's very little pause to stop and think about what's happening.
All the ferrochemical discussions get a bit confusing. I'm fairly sure Brandon knows them all very well, but the mix of 16 metals, some alloys and two or three disciplines is too much to make sense of. Fortunately you can more or less take it all on trust that he knows what he's doing, and none of the characters gain any new powers except as explicitly explained. Even remembering what powers they should have is hard enough. In terms of clever tricks though this - always the case with Brandon's worlds - starts to loose it's charm. The first encounter with allomancy in Mistborn was amazing. It was properly edge of the chair gripping reading some so new and inventive, and the ways it could be used were a delight. But we've met most of them now. They're not new or clever, they're just what we expect those people to do in that situation. And so it comes across as either contrived or expected when we play games with the powers. Continually introducing new features doesn't really work either.
Which just leaves the characters, and by now we know them well too. Wax chases, everyone else follwos and tries to keep up. The Uncle is always ahead. Only Wyane's banter makes it entertaining. An yet for all that the plot rattles along at pace, and is enjoyable throughout. Given the required balance of a series not yet complete, and a magic system we're familiar with, it does as well as Brandon can. It's just not as good as Mistborn.
Things are both improved and disimproved. Wax solves some mysteries and fails to solve some and dies (but not permanently) and discovers more about himself and his world.
My favorite part of this series is how it ties back in to the original trilogy. The religions of this time are based around the characters and ideas from those novels. Things we learned about allomancy, feruchemy, hemalurgy, and kandra. This is the world we know but evolved. It is really interesting to see how Sanderson did that.
The protagonist, Wax, is clever, powerful, but not especially wise. Essentially, he's a comic book superhero, kind of like Batman. Nothing wrong with that. Comic book heroes can be fun.
His
We don't see much of the main antagonist, Suit, but he seems to make sense. He's not actually 'evil', but he's a selfish, power-hungry SOB. He's like an amoral corporate suit or a James Bond super-villain.
Another sidekick, Marasi, is a young female cop getting over a case of hero-worship for Wax (finally). She doesn't get a whole lot of face time, but she's a believable character.
The one character I can say I actually like in this book is Steris, Wax's bride to be. She has an undeserved inferiority complex but is probably the only character of the bunch that seems both rational and emotionally stable more than half the time.
All of these characters have distinct personalities and understandable motivations. But then, there's Harmony. I still don't get the need for the Harmony character at all. He's like an almost omnipotent god that pops in from time to time, but his presumed activity behind the scenes makes the actions of the other characters feel kind of pointless, as if they they are game pieces being manipulated...or perhaps more like farm animals. The magic system Sanderson uses in these books doesn't really need the character and, I think, would make more sense without it (keeping in mind that this is fantasy and doesn't bear close scrutiny as far as sense is concerned). Perhaps the role it plays will be clearer in the next book.
3 stars because Shadows of Self was really more fun to read and had more interesting characters moment. This book isn't bad, but it's not like most reviewer are saying it is. The rave review are probably for the last 25 pages or so.
This was such a good instalment into this series! I loved where the plot is going and how things developed, yet it still felt like its own story. Brandon Sanderson just has such a way with words. I can't count how many times I laughed out loud, and giggled to myself while
Steris was amazing. The character development for her in this book was soooo good. I loved how we got to know her more and she became more than just a cold, boring lady. I also enjoyed Marasi's character development and seeing her come into herself more. I can't wait to see where her story line goes. I liked the introduction of more characters in this novel as well - Allik, MeLaan (gets more fleshed out and really becomes a part of the group). The Malwish plot line is definitely going to be interesting. Can't wait to see where that goes.
I really enjoyed getting to see more of this new world, getting outside of Elendel. It was super interesting and I enjoyed the descriptions of New Seran. I'm excited for the expanded world with the Malwish as well!
I cannot wait for The Lost Metal!
Still, an outstanding ending and great epilogue!
There is a lot more attention paid to Wax's fiance, Steris and her sister, Marasi. The now 4 person team get involved in bigger and bigger conspiracies. These books feel like one of the Sherlock Holmes movies, but set in Sanderson's Cosmere, in the world of the Mistborn. Very much action and character driven, it was a lot of fun and really explored the characters a bit more this time. Great stuff.
AND KELSIER APPARENTLY
Overall, I don't think it was quite on the level of Shadows of Self, but that doesn't mean I didn't love it. It's interesting to see this world expand just a little bit more.
4/4 (Great).
Action-packed adventures with a delightful group of weirdos. The world suddenly gets bigger in unexpected ways. And the story never lags. Almost all the issues I had with the previous two books are fixed in this one. Wax still spends
(Sep. 2022)
If there is one thing that can be said about Era 2 it's that these are fun books. The Bands of Mourning is no exception. Based on the initial plot hook I was expecting another romp around Elendel and the surrounding areas. I was not disappointed. While the book does start as a typical adventure, the plot expands in scope after about the first third of the book, giving the story more of an epic feel that has been missing in this era so far. As before, just when I think I have a good understanding of Scadrial, Sanderson reveals yet another secret or three. I can't believe all this time I'd never considered
In addition to expanding the world, there is a lot of character growth. I am so happy that Steris has finally be given a chance to shine. She's gone from interesting, quirky secondary character to possibly my favorite in the series. I hold her ability to plan and organizational skills in awe. She literally thinks of just about everything. Wax is having a crisis of faith regarding Harmony and is still feeling out his relationship with Steris. Wayne temporarily gets over his aversion guns. Marasi continues to doubt herself yet by the end she's decided who she wants to be and embraces it.
Given the new reveals, this leaves a lot of room open for interesting possibilities in the future. I'm ready for the final book!
In just over 500 pages Sanderson covers a lot of ground as the main characters travel, develop as characters, and learn about one another. Besides the long narrative of Wax versus his uncle and “the Set”, Sanderson adds nascent political intrigue outside the city of Elendel as well as expanding the world of Scadrial by showing the Sazed-Harmony is not a very good god by ignoring half the world’s population that is only surviving outside the Basin thanks to the creator of the titular Bands of Mourning that many are looking for. There are several twists throughout the novel, the main one was blatant mainly because Sanderson didn’t want to insult his readers and try misdirection however the twist at the very end has ramifications for the history of Scadrial and possibly the entire Cosmere going forward.
The Bands of Mourning sees not only Brandon Sanderson continuing the arcs of the second Misborn era and setting up a potentially fantastic conclusion, but also is a good narrative on its own.
The tech advanced quite a bit in this book from the first two of the series, and I wasn't totally ready for that. I like
Can't wait for the next in the series. Can't get enough of Wax and Wayne.