“That hat looks ridiculous.” “Fortunately, I can change hats,” Wayne said, “while you, sir, are stuck with that face.” 100% agree that the characters could have used more depth, but Wayne's humor was (usually) excellent.

@bevicks9100

3 жыл бұрын

“Wayne’s a little attached to that hat. He thinks it’s lucky.” “It is lucky. I ain’t never died while wearing that hat.”

@belalaloca

3 жыл бұрын

Wayne is actually the best character. He cracks me up every time I read Mistborn Era 2

Omg sterris gets so good in the later books. Hand down favriot character of new generation mistborn!!!

@Loganva

3 жыл бұрын

Not only that, but top 3 Mistborn characters in both eras

@RiseeRee

3 жыл бұрын

I absolutely adore her omg

@AtaraxianWist

3 жыл бұрын

Agree.

@winterwolf7423

3 жыл бұрын

I loved Steris from her first scene. She's the standout of this era for me.

@Tesseract_King

3 жыл бұрын

Steris is my favorite Cosmere character, full stop.

Strangely enough I was listening to an interview with Sanderson from a few years back and the line that stood out was “Wayne should bother you.”

The alloy of law and shadows of self were decent, but the bands of mourning really brings this series to a new level. Can't wait for the lost metal to be released next year

@coren216

3 жыл бұрын

SoS was decent? C'mon, man. The entire ending with the kandra is legit one of the best, most emotional plot twists I've ever read.

@edsheeran1243

3 жыл бұрын

@@coren216 shadows of self was actually my least favorite in the series. I guess I just wasn't that invested in wax's angst about Lessie 🤷🏼

@coren216

3 жыл бұрын

@@edsheeran1243 I guess I can't argue with that. To each their own.

@ivocorte1580

3 жыл бұрын

@@coren216 To each their own indeed. To me Lessie's backstory and following plot threads were some of the most interesting parts of the saga, very gut-wrenching.

@rubensoeteman

Жыл бұрын

(no spoilers) How do you like it now it's out?

I felt the same way about the characters in this book but after finishing all 3 I can say that era 2 is Brandon's best character work. It's important to note that this book was originally meant to be a one-off, so the characters and tone were intentionally tropey and kinda surface level to just have fun in the world. But as he makes this a series boy does he develop them!

@androlgenhald476

3 жыл бұрын

You nailed in perfectly. Once you get into the 2nd and 3rd books, you see the deeper character work.

I felt the same way about these characters from book 1. Can’t wait to see your thoughts after 2 & 3. They go places I really enjoyed. (Yay Steris!)

I really hope you read through Shadows of Self sooner rather than later. It fixes a lot of your complaints and gives us all the stuff we were dying to have

When You read shadows of self then you will realize that Wax's wife served a far greater purpose. Can't wait for your reaction

@bigbundle3223

3 жыл бұрын

yeesssss. this was one of my few complaints about this book and the pay off redeems it entirely

I honestly can't say how you're going to react to the series overall merph, but if there's one thing that i could bet everything in is that you're going to love Steris even more at the end of book 3. Starting at the end of book 2. MARK MY WORDS.

@Donnerjkks

3 жыл бұрын

Who's Mark and why does he have your words?

@theace6725

3 жыл бұрын

@@Donnerjkks 🤣👍

Something I found out during a Q&A Brandon did was that he wrote Alloy of Law to be a single story between Era 1 and 2 of Mistborn. He only wrote more Wax and Wayne books and treating them as Era 2 do to fan popularity. This is probably why the characters feel more developed in the rest of the books.

@thorbjornjohansson1811

Күн бұрын

So Era 2 should have actually been a different story?

This might be considered a spoiler... I do think Mistborn Era 2 is Sanderson's best work when it comes to people interacting with and their feelings towards God (Harmony in this case). I really liked the part where Wax asks himself why didn't Harmony help, and Harmony responds with "I did, I sent you."

@andrewgarlach1011

3 жыл бұрын

Wax and Harmony's scene in book 3 is some of the best philosophical study I've scene in fiction Sanderson in general is really strong in the analysis of faith on characters, even back to Elantris and Hrathen. It's one of my favorite aspects of his writing

@PatrickRyanBookReviews

3 жыл бұрын

@@andrewgarlach1011 I couldn't agree more. The whole spiritual journey Wax goes on throughout the series is very well written and I believe is very relatable to many people.

@Florfilm

3 жыл бұрын

I agree.

@wanderlustlovelace

3 жыл бұрын

Yes! I was a big fan of Pathism in this book, I was brought up in an atheistic family and don't have a close relationship to religion, but I really could see myself engaging with a religious tradition like that, if it were real.

@anicealien

3 жыл бұрын

As a Christian, I really resonated with that line.

The friendship between Wax and Wayne holds it all together amazingly well. Wayne is an absolute riot and I find myself going back to all of Era 2 just for the best Wayne scenes and quotes. Example - "I ain’t drunk, I’m investigatin’ alternative states of sobriety."

Wow... are you gonna LOVE book 3 of this era! All issues you had will be solved (and way more than simply solved). Looking forward for the next reviews

this is my favorite Mistborn book so far, and the tonal shift is a big reason why. it's so much fun. all the world building and lore are still there and it's just a simpler story with a fun tone and wild characters

@ChloeFrizzle

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, I love Era 2 better than Era 2 because of the tonal shift

I can’t wait to hear what you’ll say when you finish Shadows of Self hahahaha I had similar feelings about AoL, but when I read SoL I thought “oh well, I should have given Sanderson more credit, stupid me for not trusting him”. He blew my mind and I am super pumped for BoM now! (I’m starting it next month, probably)

@Fabierien

3 жыл бұрын

The ending of BoM, my golly the ending.

@raquelmarcalsantos

3 жыл бұрын

@@Fabierien I can’t waaaait! hahaha

@raquelmarcalsantos

3 жыл бұрын

@@Fabierien I’m reading The Calculating Stars now (also because Merphy recommended it haha), but I’m soooo excited for BoM! I’ve been postponing it because I know that when I finish it I won’t have any more Mistborn books to read and that makes me sad hahahaha

Steris is one of my favorite sanderson characters. Like, she is up there with Kaladin and Jasnah for me!

@QuestLegacy

3 жыл бұрын

yes!

@zugabdu1

3 жыл бұрын

I thought I'd hate Steris when I started. I have never had my mind changed so completely. She's in the running for my favorite Cosmere character.

@nopenever9829

2 жыл бұрын

Just finished the first book, and i already agree with you ... she jumped directly in my mosted favorite charackters category ...

@DryBooks

2 жыл бұрын

@@nopenever9829 the love grows, trust me!

What good timing, I’m going thru Wax and Wayne right now! Really enjoy the character progression in books 2&3.

I'm excited to read it!! Michael gushed over the currently released books so I'm excited... I'm waiting closer to W&W4 release.

I Love Steris, Loved her from her first scene and I was so sad that she wasn't in the book that much, but omg book 3 fixed that thankfully, she is my favorite character of era 2. I enjoyed era 2 but it is my least favorite series of the cosmere, but Steris is one of my favorite characters and her and Wax my favorite couple

Steris is fantastic in book 3 (which is my favorite)

@lyndseymurray2066

3 жыл бұрын

I agree

I also love Steris so much and so happy to hear that you do too cause most people don’t connect with her till the later books! I know that was initially the case for me

Glad you finally did a review about this one. Can't wait to hear you talk about the other books! 👍🏼😄

Omg I’m so glad you love Steris she is one of my favorite characters ever!! You have to keep reading because she just gets better in every book!

Please love it😭😭😭. I read it recently after putting it off for a while and I loved ittt

Era 2 gets better with every book

Steris is MVP later in the books omg she's so good

Alloy of Law is tied for my favorite with Final Empire. In general, I like when Sanderson is introducing a new setting more than when he adds a bunch of complications to it later.

Sadboi and Cussmouth the cowboy lawmen is the fantasy version of Burn Notice. That should have been my review

@patrickharden9917

3 жыл бұрын

You know...you're not wrong.

very excited to see how you feel about book two, I think book two is where a lot of these characters tropes start to break and things expand more.

I finished mistborn era 1 and have been cautiously excited about continuing into era 2 Thank u Merphy!!

Just finished the era 2 trilogy. Loved Steris and Wayne, especially in the 2nd and 3rd books. Thank you, was waiting for this.

I completely agree with your comment around “perfectly timed action”! I thought it fit the tone of the series so well, and I really enjoyed it!

Merphy, I found this book OK, but each book that followed was better. 'Bands of Mourning' was as good to me as the original trilogy.

I'd very interested in your opinion on characters (specifically Wax) once you finish the next book. Book 2 you always get more detail but I'd love to hear a little bit on placing book 1 in context once book 2 is done.

Just in time when I am about to start Mistborn. Thanks to you and Daniel, you really brought me back to Fantasy. It’s good to see that you returned in time as Sanderson had began writing Wax and Wayne 4!!! And I bet by the time you post next video he would be done with it😅😅😅! But I loved your review.

The narrator for this serious knocked it out of the park, one of my favorite audiobook readings to the point where I don't think I would ever want to read them if I had access to the audiobooks at the time.

I can’t wait for you to read the other two!!

Really interested to see what you say about books 2 & 3. This was a really interesting video

I'm so happy to see this review, I literally just finished this book tonight. Now debating wether I should start the 2nd book in the first law, or continue on with the 2nd book of era 2. Decisions. Decisions.

Agreed with you on the character "types" in the first but keep reading! It gets a lot better.

OH MY GOSH YES STERIS. STERIS IS QUEEN.

Just finished Era 2 last week. Personally, it was kind of on par with the original trilogy. And yeah, Marasi is kind of boring, and seems really like a Shallan clone. But do continue on with the series, the characters and their relationships develop greatly, particularly between Steris and Wax. The whole Lessie thing gets expanded in an interesting way in the next book.

I picked it, then put it down, then picked it... i keep putting it down, but you encourage me! I'll read at least the first entry this year 🙏🏼

I've actually enjoyed era two more than era one so far! I'm excited to see what you think of the other books.

Based on this review, you’ll like the next two books even more!

I'm so glad you like Steris, she is my favorite. I love her so much!

Your thoughts on taking a gap and readjusting expectations between Era 1 and Era 2, is exactly the attitude people should take for avatar and Korra

Considering your gripes with this book, I think the books will get better as they go on for you(as they did for me as well). VERY much looking forward to your future thoughts on the series. And Steris, although she was barely in this, by Bands becomes top 10 Cosmere characters imo

Shadows of Self and Bands of Mourning are super super rad. Alloy of Law really doesn't quite get its feet under it but BrandoSando really picks up the slack with the next two books.

There is definitely more character development as the series goes on. Steris is incredible in the next two books, especially Bands of Mourning. I read this immediately after LOVING Mistorn Era 1 as well and it was such a shock that I don't think I appreciated it for what it was, although I did read the whole trilogy. I'm excited to reread before book 4 comes out! I also think Alloy of Law is so short that its hard to get all that development in there and the style doesn't necessarily need that in the first book since it is so light hearted, though I actually agree with you in general haha. There are a few heart wrenching moments in the next two books so enjoy!

I actually wasn't wild about Steris in the first book, but I came to love her so much later on! I'm looking forward to your reviews on the other two books in the series - as some other people have said, I think those two books will resolve some of your issues with book 1 ☺️ One of the things I loved most about the evolution of the magic system was that Sanderson both expanded it by adding new metals and having people who can use feruchemy and allomancy together BUT he also creates limitations by making it so no one is a full allomancer anymore. As a side note - The investiture on Scadrial feels like it has less in common with other worlds in the Cosmere and I'm just so excited to find out more about how it all fits together. I also love how the era 1 characters are misinterpreted/misrepresented to some extent in era 2 - it's fun to see these characters we came to know so will in era 1 become legends.

One of my favorite parts of this book/series is the relationship between Wax and Wayne. They are so much fun. I also like how Steris is developed in the following books.

Yeah like, era 2 is not for everyone. But if you're a cosmere or stormlight fan, i think you should give it a try, since it's the mistborn era happening in the same time frame of the stornlight archive's "era" 2 (book 6 to 10), and there's a lot of probability of them influencing each other in some way.

I also read Alloy of Law right after Mistborn and had similar mixed feelings. I'm a Western fan so that helped and after the first book I was more adjusted for the new series. I ended up really liking Shadows of Self, not sure if it was because I was adjusted or just that it was a more personal story, but I have strong memories of it. Look forward to hearing your thoughts on it assuming you'll go on to read the rest.

This is the only Sanderson book I have bounced right off of and DNF’ed the first time I read it. I started it right after finishing Mistborn era one and it was so different and so not era one that I wanted nothing to do with it. I eventually gave it another shot after I had finished Way of Kings and really enjoyed it when going in with better expectations for what it was. Era two has also been getting better and better in my opinion, as it goes along. (Though that could be because it feels more like epic fantasy and less like Alloy of Law as it progresses?)

This review makes me want to reread this series. I read them all when they first came out and I've forgotten a lot.

@patrickharden9917

3 жыл бұрын

I keep telling myself I'm going to read them again, too. However, my son is reading them (over and over) so I just ask him what part he's on so I get reminded of all kinds of details. LOL

@akellerhouse83

3 жыл бұрын

@@patrickharden9917 I got my 13 year old daughter to read Elantris and Warbreaker but she just couldn't get into Mistborn. Maybe in a couple more years...

@patrickharden9917

3 жыл бұрын

@@akellerhouse83 Interesting. So, my youngest son is 14 (almost 15) and he's eaten up ALL of the Mistborn series (both eras), Steelheart (all three), and Starsight (both so far). My daughter (18 now) read Mistborn some years ago, but I don't recall exactly when.

I FEEL YOU SO MUCH ABOUT THE "BOOK 2" EFFECT. However, people often say Shadows of Self is basically the second half of Alloy of Law. So, I think the "book 2 effect" might not come until Bands of Mourning (which I really really liked).

I enjoyed this era almost more than era 1. I loved the change in tone and how magic was used, and I love how the characters grow through the series!

I am currently working on my second novel. It's a Dark Fantasy Western with a female protagonist it takes place in 1869. I've never read this book but hopefully that means there's an appetite for Fantasy Western

W&W B2 is a snooze up until the very end, when contents are removed from the refrigerator... but they had been in there for so long, they went bad.

I started with Mistborn era 1, then read Elantris, and just finished Alloy of law...My god I love this book. It's my favorite so far. I have a feeling in hindsight it will fall down the list but Wayne is the best character I have read, He reminds me of what I wanted Ham to be in Era 1. His quips are the best. Can't wait to start the next in the era!

Marasi is me plus a criminology degree and rifle mastry. So I connected best with her. No one puts people like me in adventure books and lets them be in the plot so I really felt seen. Loved the review!

You explained the book exactly how I would. Though I love this series more than era 1. Though I do love era 1 too. I think it's because I just love the world of this series and I love that it has more comedy. I mean I love when Magic and Science clash. I am still dying for the conclusion of this series because we are still waiting for book 4. Are you planning to get your hands on his new graphic novel that just came out?

Character development does occur more throughout the series. I definitely felt a similar way to you with this first book. I read it right after Mistborn 1 and it was jarring. I'm generally not a fan of "wild west" style stories, but I am really looking forward to the 4th book (which Sanderson is writing currently!).

Marasi is personally my favorite character, I really like reading from her POV and I connected with her really quickly. Although I just started Shadows of Self and I can already tell that I'm going to really like Steris

You should look into the "story" behind this book. This may be apocryphal, but as I understand it: Sanderson's publishers had asked him to write a short story for a collection.... but he ended up writing this instead. Leave it to Sanderson to ACCIDENTALLY write a book. I'd keep that in mind going into the rest of Era 2. I don't think it foreshadows as well as Era 1, but I 100% believe that it's due, in part, to how this first book in this era came together. All in all, though, it's a great series!

Wow! I just finished the Mistborn trilogy and I really wanted to watch a review of this so I can decide if I wanna pick it up. Thank you ❤️

@eshaanagarwal6081

3 жыл бұрын

My advice would be to wait a little while between Era 1 and 2. They are so different, and going in with the same expectations as era 1 will inevitably hurt your enjoyment of it. Just my opinion.

@sumitraspov

3 жыл бұрын

@@eshaanagarwal6081 I thought so too after watching the video. Thank you! ❤️

I binged the entirety of the Cosmere for the first time over the past 3 months, and ended up reading the three Mistborn era 2 books in between Oathbringer and Rhythm of War. Having a fun, light and more campy series to break up the very dark and dense Stormlight Archive was such an incredible breath of fresh air. I loved these books a lot mostly for that reason, and was able to forgive a smaller emphasis on character depth with the more 'pulp' tone that the series was bringing to the table. Also, Steris is easily my favourite character in this series by the end of book 3 and it isn't close, so hopefully you'll be able to latch on a bit better moving forward.

Alloy of Law was... Aight. Era 2 is just sanderson playing around with Genre so it's just laid back fun. Not a Cosmere standout but just... Aight

I agree with pretty much everything you said. I was surprised but interested in your perspective on Wayne and how he interacted with women. I had not clocked anything over the line with what Wayne said to women but I’m open to be proven wrong. Absolutely love the way Sanderson elevated the magic as you mentioned.

@Mikeybuttz

2 жыл бұрын

Actually another thing you and several other reviews (I’m bunging reviews after finishing it) overlook I think is the dynamic Wax has with Miles. Wax see’s himself in Miles a little bit. Feels a lot of pain that another lawman has turned to crime and I thought that dynamic was interesting characterization.

LOVE the Mistborn trilogy so much! Im going to start W&W when the 4th book comes out next year! 😬

LOVE STERIS!! I was frustrated how she is treated through the next 2 books by "the gang"... actually took me 3 months to finish Bands of Mourning b/c it kept making me so mad and just check out of the whole story... I can't wait to watch your reviews on the next 2.........

the book sounds fun. i have to read it (after reading mistborn era 1; gosh i have so much to read)

I really really loved era one that I just finished 3 or 4 months ago, and I hesitate to read era 2 since... but yeah I will maybe read Stormlight Archives first to then come back with another type of expectations !

If I remember right, I read somewhere that this book was originally supposed to be a standalone, after it was a very well received creative writing exercise. It was meant to be something like a transitional novel between the eras, so I feel like Sanderson didn’t really try too hard on characters at first. Either that or he just didn’t really know what he wanted to do yet. They all improve astronomically in the later books, when the series really takes off.

Well I guess I'm in the minority. I was not a fan of Mistborn era one! So going into Alloy of Law I had the bar set pretty low. WOW!! I love this book! Wax and Wayne are my new favorite odd couple!! Looking forward to continuing on with this series!! Keep up the good work Merph!!

I put off reading this series because everyone says it’s not as good as era 1. I finally read Alloy of Law last month and loved it! I then read the next 2 books right away and I have to say I like the second era better than the first! I love all the characters too (except for the bad guys). 😊

I read Alloy of Law directly after Hero of Ages and it worked for me, but my dad and brother had already read it and made sure that I knew it was more light-hearted then Hero of Ages

Alloy of Law was just ok, and after the first time I read it I didn't seek out the sequels and didn't come back to the series until years after BoM released. The next few books in the series just got better and after finishing Bands of Mourning I found myself loving the second era and very impatiently waiting for the 4th book

@Fabierien

3 жыл бұрын

me too!

In my review, I called Alloy of Law Sanderson's version of pulp fiction (not the movie but the genre), which I felt was fitting because the newspaper inserts have their own, even more campy, version of pulp fiction.

I liked the second mistborn series because I think all of them have good, tightly written plots, and they make up for the fact that they're not very deep with being generally very enjoyable. The characters get a little bit more fleshed out in the following books but I do think they're best enjoyed if not taken too seriously.

Rest in peace Kentaro Miura

One thing to keep in mind, too, is that Alloy of Law was originally written as just a side-story between Mistborn eras but Sanderson liked the setting and characters enough that he decided to make it into its own era. So the proper Era 2 "trilogy" kinda starts with book 2 anyway

@patrickharden9917

3 жыл бұрын

I must be very confused then, because I thought it was always going to be it's own era trilogy, but he wasn't thrilled with the result of The Alloy of Law which is why Era 2 is going to be 4 instead of 3 books.

@tlamy1992

3 жыл бұрын

@@patrickharden9917 I was going off of the Background section on the Wikipedia page, which says that it started as a creative exercise, which turned into a book, which made him decide to continue their stories: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mistborn%3A_The_Alloy_of_Law?wprov=sfla1

@patrickharden9917

3 жыл бұрын

@@tlamy1992 Well, I trust the uber-fans maintaining Wiki more than my addled memory. Thanks!

I couldn't finish this book which is Rare. Spoilerish re character depth I need to connect with the characters and could not in any way form any connection with Wax. He was so many things I dislike, and no decent internal conflict to get around that. Thank you for validating his lack of depth! Though perhaps I will try again when it's been longer since I've read Mistborn (I miss Elend)

I think this was my favorite mistborn era 2 series. I loved how the world expanded and we got to get some cool development with the worldbuilding. This is my favorite era 2 book although Bands of Mourning is pretty great too

I love era 2 so much mostly because my brain didn't compare it with era 1 at all. And I enjoyed the characters as well but didn't really connect with Marasi. And I love Steris so freaking much!! She's one of the best characters I've ever read! I hope we get her pov in 4th book

I enjoyed this book more than any of the original Mistborn books, which I did like. More light, more fun, better pacing.

I guess I'll give it another shot. I didn't finish the book and I felt exactly how you felt, this was not mistborn

I just finished gardens of the moon I really enjoyed it started out being a little confusing at first but I did get into it eventually will continue with the series I will be reading mistborn era 1 and 2 in the fall right now I'm focusing on stormlight archives and the wheel of time and the dark tower series ☺️😊😁🙂

Just read Then and Now by Somerset Maugham. It may not be up your street, but it is pretty decent and totally different.

I loved Steris so much too! And I love her even more in the second book, she's my favorite character. I like Wayne a lot too but his banter with Wax feels a bit forced to me. But I liked the book a lot nonetheless and liked the second one even better. And I think it'll get even better

If I remember correctly, this book was just supposed to be a one off and then Sanderson decided to write more so that could explain the more lighthearted tone and not as strong character depth until further books.

I'm sure you know, but for those who don't...Sanderson wrote this as just a creative writing exercise to get his mind off WoT stress, but liked the setting/characters so much he released it as a stand-alone, then made it Mistborn Era 2. The real “trilogy” starts with Shadows of Self, AoL is just a fun side story. Wayne is the most-fun-to-read-character Sanderson has ever written IMO.

I read the first 3 mistborn books and loved it. Would you recommend reading this next or going to Way of Kings?

@jasonlandow9291

3 жыл бұрын

Way of Kings for sure. If you're down for 1000+ page high fantasy epics. The Wax & Wayne books are great but getting into Stormlight Archive is just...a whole other experience.

Wow, didn't remember how little of the character development happened in Alloy of Law. In my opinion that's actually the strength of Era 2 in comparison to Era 1, my favorite scene in the whole trilogy (so far -- gib lost metal pls) is one where the characters are just being themselves, and for example Wax's conflict in Bands of Mourning is incredible. So yeah, just keep reading, this will get a lot better.

I didn't realize it when I first read Mistborn Era 2, but it's basically the light version of the Dresden Files. I enjoyed both quite a lot, I think these kinds of fantasy detective books are right up my alley.

@levishanes5717

3 жыл бұрын

To be honest Skulduggery Pleasant is the light version of Dresden Files to me, but that’s because I get invested into all the Cosmere connections in Mistborn era 2 and so it feels different than Dresden.

I can't really remember what was in this book vs the other books in era 2. But overall I think I enjoyed this series maybe even more than the first Era. I really liked era 1, but this series is such a nice change of pace from Sanderson's other books which made me enjoy it even more!

I initially struggled with the change of era from series 1. He took one of my favourite magic systems in my favourite time era and changed the whole system enough that I had to relearn it. Also, moved into one of my most "blah" eras. Saying that, on my second reread, I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. Wayne is brilliant, Wax is fantastic, Sterris is just delightful

Spoilers: How did everybody feel about the deus ex machina near the end? I quite liked it. Thought it was set up well and I'll never stop enjoying any page-time dedicated to our favorite terrisman. But I understand if the trope is just unlikable for some people.

You’re gonna love the character work in BoM