The pain that Wax felt at the end literally radiated from the pages

I love this one. It’s like a film noir. Complete with the grizzled detective and femme fatale.

It's been a while, but I remember thinking most of the way through that this wasn't quite up to Brandon's usual standard. And then that ending hit! The shock and emotional power of that ending was enough to bring it right back up there for me.

Man, the way Wax finds out that he just killed Lessie for a second time is just soul crushing to a new level inside the Cosmere for me

The last two pages of BoM will give you chills

@tyelerhiggins300

2 жыл бұрын

You're right. I just finished it and had to come back to reply to this comment. My god.

@hitzkooler15

13 күн бұрын

Worst twist in all of Sandersons books....

Me: How's the weather outside. Mike: Mistborn above zero.

Alloy of Law is actually considered to be a syand-alone and Shadow of Self is the first book of a trilogy. Bands of Mourning is book two and book three hasn't come out yet.

@akhansar

4 жыл бұрын

Canonically yes, but since it does pick up from Alloy of Law it does feel like this is the second book of a trilogy (or quadrilogy I guess?) than an intro. You need Alloy of Law to get this book I feel.

Dang appreciate the honesty but dang I love this book. I cry at the end every time.

Wayne is the just enough crazy to keep Wax sane.

Alloy of Law is actually considered to be a stand-alone and Shadow of Self is the first book of a trilogy. Bands of Mourning is book two and book three hasn't come out yet.

If you haven't read Secret History , you should after you finish BoM

Spoilers!! I don’t know if you’re aware of this but there’s a theory that Bleeder/Lessie/Paalm was actually Mare, Kelsier’s wife from era one. There’s a lot of evidence for this and Brando said it was a RAFO so there’s an actual chance that it’s true. This might be a really cool thing to look out for on a full re-read.

@christiaannienkemper2419

4 жыл бұрын

WHHHHHHAAAAATTTTT HOLY

@christiaannienkemper2419

4 жыл бұрын

Everything would make sense.

@oswin5775

4 жыл бұрын

I never even thought about that but wow!

Juste for the ending of this book, that made me cry (a lot), I made this my favorite. I NEVER cry in a book, so it was unexpected ! Honnestly I don't remember what happened in the book and what I thought of it before, because the end was so strong. Si maybe the beginning wasn't as good, I don't know. I don't plan on re-reeading them in a long long time xD

Love the honest opinions!! Thanks mike

Thanks for the review.... I’m massive fan of Brandon Sanderson!! 😊📖

"A very cinematic writer" spot in with this comment!

I also really enjoyed The Alloy of Law and wasn't sure why the series got a bad rap too, but this installment seemed a little shallow. I enjoy the characters more in era 2 over era 1 and he is a much better writer now than he was during era 1 but the overall plot seems to lack the ambition of his other works, including standalones, which is suprising since it is a four book series. I also didn't find the villain as compelling as Miles was in Alloy of Law.

Good review

Alloy of Law was a bigger bang with all new characters and compounding the metals. The idea of that really got me interested and I wanted to see more eventually but I get that canonically they're very rare. I enjoyed getting more of Wax's past here. I never particularly enjoy wondering who the hidden kandra is in any book, but it was worth it overall and definitely a large step to setup I think. The writing for era 2 just feels so smoother to me, assuming its because he's so much more experienced than he was writing Era 1.

BOOK TIME, Yes!!!

For Non-cosmere, you should check out his trilogy of Legion novellas

Thanks for the for the balanced review (for once). Personally I really enjoyed the second era. I just love the feel of these books I really could imagine these books as early 2000s movies. I get your criticism agree with the fluff, I think thinning the book out would of really fortify the story, given the tighter scope of the second era. With that said I had really mixed with feelings about era 1, while I liked the world building the epic scale, the front and center Vin and Elond romance just felt childish given the higher steaks of the first era!

Hi Mike, I disagree with you and maybe it's the Wax thing at the end. I really enjoyed this book. For mistborn era 2 I think this is my favourite of the three we have so far.

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

I think most disagree with me on Era 2. It just isn't for me, I guess.

I really enjoyed the second book than the first book I can't wait to read the third book

Bands of Mourning is awesome.

I am enjoying Era 2 a lot, though for book 2 I had the end revelation spoiled which honestly made the book a lot more enjoyable IMO. I dont know if thats just me or true for everyone but I do like it, its still a bit more dragging than Alloy of Law

@ayoo_wassup

2 жыл бұрын

There a whole video where they did a study. Where if the book is well written and designed with good foreshadowing and logic driven twists. People who were spoiled on major plot points the majority of the time enjoyed the books more. Because you're able to pick out the nuance and guess other things, see things you never would have. Cuz you have a major piece already. So it may undermine the ending. But the journey is typically imporved

As much as I love lord ruler Brandon Sanderson I have to agree with you that this was just not as good as alloy of law, although I do think that bands of mourning is definitely a step up from shadows of self

I read this book about a month ago - can’t remember a single thing apart from a car chase

Spoilers- I think you make some good points, but that twist with Bleeder and that Bridge scene at the end makes the whole book worth it. I’m really hoping the theory about her being Mare turns out to be true. It makes sense since Paalm was specifically Lord Ruler’s Kandra servant.

@malcolmhodnett8874

Жыл бұрын

That wouldn’t make sense, Mare was a Tineye and Kandra can’t use Allomancy

Like you, I preferred Alloy of Law, and I really enjoyed Bands of Mourning more than Shadows of Self

I read the trilogy back to back to back so for me it felt like one long book. Really enjoyed all three of them. Looking forward to book 4. Didn’t like Wayne as much in this book mainly because of how he treats Steris. He is so mean to her. Really goes out of his way to be rude. She’s not a bad person, she’s just a bit odd. I get that Wayne is none too pleased that his BFF is marrying a woman he doesn’t love as a business contract, but that was Wax’s choice. Steris didn’t force Wax into their engagement at gun point. Wax is very patient with Steris, he treats her well and even gets a kick out of her from time to time. The way Wax treats Steris makes me respect him even more, but the way Wayne treats Steris makes me not like him as much.

I personally loved Era 2 (not as much as Era 1 but still quite a bit) but one of my few gripes about Brandon as an author is that his middle books tend to get a bit sloggy and drag a bit. Shadows of Self is definitely the weakest out of the three that are out. Don't worry though, Bands of Mourning is much better.

bands has the three together

I enjoy era 2 a lot but I don’t think it’s better than era 1. I think people thinking that is a newer sentiment because before people gave era 2 mixed reviews.

Late to the party here, but thanks for the review. I could not understand why people dislike this book, but I understand your thoughts in this review. I loved it, massive step up for me from book 1, which felt shallow. I think it is just personal preference, but all the negatives were positives for me. Party splitting up, Wanye serious moments instead of joker, Bleeder way more intersting than Miles for me, pacing good, reveal great at end.

I think that it’s a strong sequel better than alloy of law

Is the mistborn series worth reading

@dpeady78

4 жыл бұрын

Era 1 is an amazing story

@andrewfernandez268

4 жыл бұрын

@@dpeady78 what do you mean by Era 1

@dpeady78

4 жыл бұрын

Andrew Fernandez Mistborn Books 1 - 3 are considered Era 1 Era 2 is a separate series which takes place much later in the same universe and with different characters

@andrewfernandez268

4 жыл бұрын

@@dpeady78 oh ok thanks is he going to write more material for Era 1

@dpeady78

4 жыл бұрын

Andrew Fernandez probably not. That story is complete

I thought alloy of law was good but nothing more. 6/10. But shadows of self was significantly better imo. About 8/10

I'm not sure if those that prefer era 2 believe it to be incredible art or that more likely they just aren't as enthusiastic about era 1 as Mistborn superfans.

I didn't like Era 2 at all on my first read this time around I enjoy it a lot more

Dude why so much Elantris hate

See, it's funny because it was the opposite for me. BoM is the book that dragged on for me. Only pay off was at the end.

I agree that it's one of Sanderson's weaker entries, however for much different reasons. If anything, I thought the pacing was too fast (particularly in the beginning). I think this is most noticeable when it comes to the supporting cast. I usually have a much easier time remembering who's who. When it came to the political intrigue, I thought Elantris was much better (it was actually one of the biggest strengths of Elantris IMO). But I thought compared to Alloy of Law, Paalm was a significantly better villain. Also, I thought the scene with Wayne in the university is the single best Wayne scene we've gotten so far (haven't gotten to Bands of Mourning yet). I think some of the villain motivations wheren't explained the best, but that's something that might come up later.

I've read all the Mistborn novels and Bands of Mourning is easily the best of the second series, but I need to say (and this is a unpopular opinion) I don't like Mistborn at all except The Final Empire. It feels like a story that was milked from the second novel. Sorry :)

Of all of Sanderson's work I enjoy Mistborn 2 the most. Its not the most well written or even the best story but it's the only series where I feel true depth to the characters. Almost all the characters in both Mistborn 1 and Stormlight feel like archetypes instead of complicated people to me. They all seem to represent one singular emotion or point of morality and I find their actions mostly predictable outside of the inevitable "twist" in the magic system that resolves the conflict.

I have been enjoying Era 2 WAY more than Era 1. I feel like Era 1 was too serious and the characters of Vin and Elend are boring AF. THE ALLOY OF LAW was a little too lighthearted and cheesy for me but still more enjoyable than Era 1. I think Wayne is a poorly-written character. I mean,sure, he's consistent as a character but he's not necessarily what I would call "grounded in emotional reality". Overall, I liked the diving deeper into Wax's past though. Looking forward to THE BANDS OF MOURNING though!

@masoodvoon8999

4 жыл бұрын

My feelings exactly. I just thought the world was bland and characters 2-dimensional (w/ a few exceptions) in 1st era. He had some great plot development and magic system was ok but era 2 feels like a real world with real interactions comparatively.

@saeedajaib

3 жыл бұрын

I agree, i did not care for Vin and Elend. The best character of era 1 was gone after the first book.