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| Categories | Action & Adventure |
| Author | Brandon Sanderson |
| Publisher | Tor Books (July 4, 2023) |
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 352 pages |
| Item Weight | 12.8 ounces |
| Dimensions |
6.2 x 0.95 x 9.15 inches |
I. Book introduction
Mistborn: The Alloy of Law is a fantasy novel written by American author Brandon Sanderson. It was published on November 8, 2011, by Tor Books and is the first book in the Wax and Wayne series and fourth in the Mistborn series. It is preceded by The Hero of Ages from the Mistborn Original Trilogy in 2008 and followed by Shadows of Self in 2015.
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, The Alloy of Law continues the Mistborn series, a heist story of political intrigue and magical, martial-arts action.
Three hundred years after the events of the Mistborn trilogy, Kelsier and Vin have passed into the realm of history and myth, and the world of Scadrial is on the verge of modernity. In the frontier lands known as the Roughs, the old magics are a crucial tool for those who establish order and justice.
One such is Waxillium Ladrian, a rare Twinborn, who can Push on metals with his Allomancy and use Feruchemy to become lighter or heavier at will. After twenty years in the Roughs, tragedy has driven Wax back to the metropolis of Elendel. Now he must reluctantly put away his guns and assume the duties of the head of a noble house. But when a gang of Allomancers turn to train robbery and kidnapping, Wax will soon learn that the mansions and elegant tree-lined streets of the city can be more dangerous than the dusty plains of the Roughs.
Plot
The Alloy of Law is set in an analog to the early 20th century, on Scadrial, approximately 300 years after the conclusion of the original trilogy. It also introduces the concept of Twinborn, beings naturally born with one allomantic and one feruchemical ability, for the first time in the series.
Lawman Waxillium Ladrian and his partner Lessie are investigating a serial killer in Feltrel, a small town in the Roughs. They decide to split up and Wax follows the murderer’s tracks, leading him into a small church, where he finds that Lessie had been captured and held hostage by the serial killer. While trying to free her, Wax accidentally kills Lessie.
Five months after the death of Lessie, Wax has given up the role as peacekeeper, and returned to Elendel, where after the death of his uncle and sister who were involved in a carriage accident, he has become the head of his house. Due to his uncle’s inadequate financial operations, Wax is trying to save House Ladrian from bankruptcy. The only way to do it is to find a suitable high-born lady from a financially stable house to marry.
Just before meeting with promising prospect Lady Steris and her father, Wax is unexpectedly visited by his friend, deputy, and master of disguise Wayne who is also a Twinborn with the abilities to create speed bubbles, and store health in his goldminds, who has come to Elendel to investigate a series of robberies and kidnappings for which a rogue band called “the Vanishers” is responsible. He wants Wax’s help to solve the case. Although still torn between his previous life as a lawman and his obligations to House Ladrian, Wax declines to join him. During the meeting with Lady Steris, her father, and her half-sister Marasi who is posing as a distant cousin to Lady Steris, for she is illegitimately born, Wayne pretends to be Wax’s distant uncle. Wax and Lady Steris come to an agreement to marry after several months of courting, and to introduce themselves as a couple to the elite society.
At a wedding party held by House Tekiel, the Vanishers show up and try to kidnap Steris and Marasi. Wax and Wayne, working as a team, manage to save Marasi, and kill most of the Vanishers when the event becomes violent. However, their leader and a few others slip away with Steris. Wax decides to solve the case and rescue his wife-to-be. After a careful recollection of the events at the wedding, Wax comes to the conclusion that the band is led by a former lawman named Miles, who is a Twinborn with the ability to cure any injury almost immediately.
Wayne discovers the bandits’ hideout after interrogating one of the captives in police custody, and meets with Wax and Marasi in House Ladrian’s mansion to share his findings. There Wax’s butler tries to kill him, but the trio manage to escape.
Wax and Wayne, accompanied by Marasi, go to the bandits’ hideout, and find it deserted, with minimal remaining evidence. They visit an old acquaintance – a gunsmith named Ranette – and form a plan to capture the bandits during their next robbery.
Wax deduces that the Vanishers will try to rob a train transporting large amounts of aluminium which is extremely valuable due to its immunity to allomancy. He manages to slip into the cargo hold of the train. Meanwhile, Wayne and Marasi watch as the bandits switch the train’s carts, and manage to follow them to their new hideout. There, after a long battle, in which all the bandits except Miles are killed, Wax and Marasi manage to distract Miles long enough with Marasi’s Allomantic ability to slow down time inside a speed bubble for Wayne to fetch enough law officers to subdue and capture Miles. Lady Steris is saved, and although Wax feels attraction to Marasi, he decides to continue with the planned marriage.
Wax discovers that the person who had recruited Miles in the first place is the presumed dead Lord Edwarn Ladrian, Wax’s uncle, who still holds the other kidnapped women. Edwarn is connected to a shadowy organization known as the Set, and has used the robberies to commit profitable insurance fraud. Wax and Wayne decide that they will stay in Elendel and try to stop Lord Edwarn and his organization from fulfilling their plans. Miles is stripped of his metalminds and publicly executed. Marasi is approached by Ironeyes, Marsh, now revered as Death himself and given a mysterious book.
About the Author (Brandon Sanderson)
Brandon Sanderson (Brandon Winn Sanderson, born December 19, 1975) is an American author of high fantasy, science fiction, and young adult books. He is best known for the Cosmere fictional universe, in which most of his fantasy novels, most notably the Mistborn series and The Stormlight Archive, are set. Outside of the Cosmere, he has written several young adult and juvenile series including The Reckoners, the Skyward series, and the Alcatraz series. He is also known for finishing Robert Jordan’s high fantasy series The Wheel of Time. Sanderson has created two graphic novels, including White Sand and Dark One.
A New York Times best-selling author, Sanderson created Sanderson’s Laws of Magic and popularized the idea of “hard magic” and “soft magic” systems. In 2008, Sanderson started a podcast with author Dan Wells and cartoonist Howard Tayler called Writing Excuses, involving topics about creating genre writing and webcomics. In 2016, the American media company DMG Entertainment licensed the movie rights to Sanderson’s entire Cosmere universe, but the rights have since reverted back to Sanderson. Sanderson’s March 2022 Kickstarter campaign became the most successful in history, finishing with 185,341 backers pledging $41,754,153.
II. Reviewer: The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson
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1. CLACE reviews The Alloy of Law
4.50!
“The mark of a great man is one who knows when to set aside the important things in order to accomplish the vital ones.
This review is not going to be like my typical ranty detailed brando sando reviews, its gonna be short and cute because that’s what this book was. I feel like Brandon always wanted era 2 to be a trilogy and he wrote this book as a bridging book for us to understand and connect to the characters better, which I think was necessary cuz it’s set after 300 years and its such a massive change, the whole world has evolved to the point where they use revolvers and trains and I didn’t notice it this time around myself but rather because of Hoda’s reaction. I think Brandon as usual excels at this point and this book showed his range to write practically anything.
Wax is one of our main characters. His morals are the best part and the tragedy that he faces (that we read in the prologue) and is trying to heal from it, its a major part of the book. I liked his character a lot we also had Wayne he was so goofy and cute, his banter with Wax was the best part about this book. I was so sad reading his backstory but the character is so cheerful that it’s hard. Marasi and Steris both were side characters here and will play a bigger role in the following books but it was so fun to see them and meet them again at their starting points. It was honestly such a great introduction.
I think I personally liked it because it was new and it was different, also because it was light and fun with high stakes. It was action packed and more of a murder mystery which made me more pumped up for it and to see the world evolve and be named after characters from the first book and occasional name drops was such a nice sprinkle. It’s things like this that make me excited for spin offs. My level of enjoyment for a 300 paged book was beyond what it should be so safe to say it surpassed my expectations. I also loved the interior of the book with newspapers.
Overall. a perfect bridging book and a great way to start a new era in transformed planet of Scadriel!!
__
This is what I need right now so time to start my reread for era 2 (prepping for SA5.)
2. FELICIA reviews The Alloy of Law
I mean…Sanderson is just amazing. He writes so well, his characters are SO well-drawn, you simply can’t stop reading. There’s a feeling of completeness in his plotting that makes you feel completely taken care of. The worldbuilding is stunning and vibrant and new…it’s just, kind of ridiculous.
This is a followup in the world of Mistborn, but you DONT need to read the first three to understand what’s going on (you should read them though, because it is icing on the cake as far as details.) This is a world with an amazing magic system, but vaguely steampunk/industrial-era in ambience. I went in without really remembering the first three, but the opening is one of the best I’ve read in a very long time. You INSTANTLY are drawn into the story.
So, if you like high fantasy, or a urban fantasy, or anything like that, pick this up.
3. MARY reviews The Alloy of Law
Actual Rating: 4.5 Stars
“Wayne, you can’t make bets with people when they aren’t there.”
HOLD ON. HOLD ON A SECOND. I NEED TO SAVOR HOW HAPPY I AM IN THIS MOMENT.
You guys, I cannot express how much I adore the Mistborn novels. The series is written so well, with characters that I love.
This was such a clever and seamless transition into a new Mistborn era. As we have seen, adding to an already golden series doesn’t always work out for the best. I’m looking at you J.K. Rowling.
Wax and Wayne are a perfect, hilarious duo. The new setting with a western spin is so refreshing!This book was a great introductory piece, and I’m so excited to continue on with their story. Also special shout out to all those throwbacks to the original Mistborn trilogy, for they made my heart glad.
Buddy read this one with my girls Celeste AND Nafeeza!!!
4. WISE YOUNG reviews The Alloy of Law
Great story, enormously imaginative, and well-written. A classic.
Wax is a coinshot, an allomancer, and a moral man. According to the Wikipedia article on this book, it was intended to be an exercise to clear Brandon Sanderson’s mind, so that he could work on a Memory of Light, a continuation of the Wheel of Time. I don’t know anybody who would or could write a book in order to clear the mind for another book. It did not read like an exercise. In fact, it read like a start of another great series that would and should be as great as the Mistborn and other series that Sanderson has written. The world of allomancers is strange but remarkably compelling. Based on Newton’s laws of mass, energy, force, and velocity, it is simultaneously Einsteinian in its assumptions of how energy transformed into mass and vice verse. I know that some of those assumptions must be wrong or at least inconsistent but there wasn’t time while I was reading to solve those equations and the book was just too good to ruin with over-analysis. The most difficult part to explain was Miles, the fellow lawman who went rogue and evil. Miles was able to translate gold to healing so that he was indestructible and immortal, able to store the energy for healing . While I am able to accept some magic, the concept of shooting itself in the head with a shotgun and surviving is just too much. Despite these flaws, I gave the book 5 stars because it was so well-written, expressive, and riveting. I could not put my iPad down at times. I read slower because I did not want the book to end. I relished the fight scenes because of the action and explanations. The romantic exchanges between Wax and a younger woman Marisa were limited by Wax’s morality and urge to protect her. Wax is engaged to Steris who is Marisa’s cousin and closer to his age and knew that he would put Marisa into danger. Finally, I cannot leave out Wayne, Wax’s best friend and fellow fighter. They are like the closest brothers, always insulting and saving each other in equal measure. They are great and memorable characters. I recommend the book highly.
5. ABHIJIT BIDWE reviews The Alloy of Law
Action packed.. reads like a movie!
I loved how the book wasn’t too long per Sanderson standards but still had that essence and soul of a Sanderson novel. I loved the main characters and their chemistry with each other. Must read if you like Sanderson and fast paced action novels.
On the delivery, received it in a day, fast delivery! I wish the book was wrapped in a plastic cover bag like books usually are from Amazon (part 2 of this series came in a plastic cover). There are some dents on the bottom from shipping I presume. And also has a fragrance akin to a storage room, feels like this has been sitting open somewhere in a humid room.
6. RICH reviews The Alloy of Law
Read the original Mistborn trilogy first.
I read the original Mistborn trilogy a couple of years ago prior to the release of Brandon Sanderson’s first Wheel of Time installment. I’d been reading the Wheel of Time since 1992 and I wanted to get a feel for his work. I think it’s quite important for someone considering “Alloy of Law” to read the original Mistborn trilogy first because there’s simply too much stuff in here that refers back to the original three books for someone to appreciate this book properly without having read the other three. From the practical standpoint, the system of magic is fairly extensively explained in the first trilogy and it helps to understand it because it’s fairly unique in terms of magic systems in fantasy novels. From the enjoyment standpoint, the book is full of place names and “historical” references that depend on the first trilogy, and you will NOT understand the ending of this book if you haven’t read the first three.
With all that said, I enjoyed this installment. It was entertaining and I found the characters to have somewhat more personality than the ones in the original trilogy, although I have to admit that at times they seemed almost a little bit cartoonish (Wayne in particular). Wayne reminded me a little bit of a less-developed and less-complex version of David Eddings’s character Silk, who was one of my favorite characters in those books. (Incidentally, I found it amusing that in a world where a lot of characters have names you don’t see in the real world, such as Marasi or Sazed or Elend or Breeze or Spook, we find a guy named Wayne. I assume Mr. Sanderson simply found the pun that arises with two protagonists named “Wax” and “Wayne” to be irresistible.) One of the lead reviews here on Amazon refers to this as a cross between Mistborn and a western. I can see that, but in some ways I find it more a cross between Mistborn and an animated Saturday matinee because the humor factor is ratcheted up substantially compared to the original trilogy (and the “Wax” and “Wayne” aspect is but one example of that). Put differently, this is an entertaining read but it’s not a “great” read. I’ve heard that Mr. Sanderson wrote it in part to help clear his mind between all the heavy-duty work he’s doing on the Wheel of Time and the Stormlight Archive. That was rather apparent to me as I read this book, but it in no way diminished my enjoyment of it. In fact I was reading it because I wanted some lighter material between volumes of Song of Ice and Fire, and I found it perfect for that.
One last note: I remember reading a comment from Terry Goodkind where he talked about how he hates it when you pick up a book in a series to find all new characters and that he thinks readers want to follow their heroes. In many cases I agree with that, but “Alloy of Law” was one situation where having all new characters was interesting. Of course, part of that was unavoidable; anyone who finished the original trilogy understands why that is. But I went into this book having heard that Mr. Sanderson wants to explore his world’s development over time, so having new characters some years later is a natural evolution. (One thing I would have liked to have found out was what happened to the cities in the original novels. Maybe that will come in the future Mistborn books.)
So, in sum, I recommend this only to people who have first read the original trilogy.
7. JB reviews The Alloy of Law
A worthy addition to the world of Mistborn
This book surprised me. Like a lot of others have said, I was worried that the change of main characters would kill my interest especially since I only started and finished the Mistborn trilogy this year, finishing the final book only a week before starting this one. All the Mistborn characters were still so fresh in my mind I couldn’t imagine jumping 300 years into the future and not feeling like something was missing. My worries were unfounded, the new characters are great in their own unique ways and the world itself embraces and expands on the established metal-fueled powers. There are few books that truly hook me in so I can often take months to finish a book but this one was done within a week of arriving. It is a very quick read, much faster for me than the Mistborn books even though I loved them too. Being done so quickly would be upsetting if I didn’t have the next two on my shelf ready and waiting. The final book The Lost Metal has also just released so it’s a relief to know I’ll be able to finish the storyline without waiting.
8. WARDA reviews The Alloy of Law
I mean, are we in any doubt that Sanderson is THE main man, THE author of epic and original fantasy?!
I swear, he’s close to being a god. I cannot fathom how he writes books like this. Where does he get his ideas?
This glorious story is set 300 years after the events of The Hero of Ages. The transition to this world was just smooth and epic, with some of the lands and Houses being named after the characters in the Mistborn Trilogy. Safe to say I squealed numerous times and felt the need to cry as well.
It follows probably one of the best duo, Wax and Wayne, who I became obsessed with. The wittiness, the constant banter even when everything was going to shits brought me pure and utter joy.
This book is way more lighthearted than the original trilogy. It’s different, in the best possible way, but still there’s that thread that links it to that other world. I was endlessly reminiscing. Nani, who I was buddy reading with, and I couldn’t stop geeking out! 😀
As for the plot, I feel we’ve probably only managed to scratch the surface with The Alloy of Law, to the point where I don’t feel the need to mention it here in my review. It seems minute (and the story is mainly centred around those Wax and Wayne) and more than likely, there’s a LOT more left to explore.
P.S. THAT EPILOGUE FUCK ME! I NEED ANSWERS!
9. MAY reviews The Alloy of Law
i’ve really been putting off the second era of mistborn bc i heard so much about how it lacked compares to the first era………and while that has SOME truth to it, IT WAS SO MUCH FUN
“That hat looks ridiculous.”
“Fortunately, I can change hats,” Wayne said, “while you, sir, are stuck with that face.”
don’t really have much to say on the book bc SO MUCH HAPPENS but this takes place wayyy after era 1, where all the characters we love and adore are known as myths and legends. our current main characters are two goofs, wax and wayne and their dynamics and friendship HAS GOT ME WEAK
it was action packed and fun and fast paced and filled with even more allomancy and tragedy (bc you know how sanderson literally cannot go two seconds without making me grieve)
like always, the characters are incredibly developed as is the world and the magic system. i adore the audiobooks bc the narrator remains the same and WOW it makes me feel like i’m back home
to conclude: read it
4.5 stars
10. EON WINDRUNNER reviews The Alloy of Law
I remember having liked this book the first time around, but that it did disappoint me slightly. I wasn’t sure why, but having now reread it, I can say that it is better than I remembered and another excellent entry into the Mistborn series of trilogies.
The problem I experienced the first time around, was that I was expecting another The Final Empire. That book blew me away the first time I read it. I had never read anything so imaginative or epic up to that point and it set the standard for me by which I was to measure future forays into the world of fantasy books.
The second problem was that I fell in love with the characters in the first series and found it hard to part with them. There are a lot of references in this book to those characters, and although these reminders are cool, they also stirred a sense of sadness in me. I won’t get to see most of them again. I even feel sad that the characters from the different trilogies won’t get to meet each other and I guess that means that I need to tip my hat to Mr Sanderson and blame him for making me like the first trilogy too much.
So to set this straight.
This book is NOT a more modern version of the Final Empire, but it is a story set 300 years after the events in The Hero of Ages, and thus in a more modern world. It did not have that epic feel, but instead it was a light and fun story set in the same world with some pretty cool characters who kicked ass. Think allomancers in a steampunk western. Yep, mistborn style action in a world with guns and gadgets. These allomancers don’t have the powers of old, in fact nowadays they only ever possess one of the allomantic abilities. Some others have inherited a single feruchemical ability. And in rare cases there are twinborn with both. Meet Waxillium Ladrian AKA Wax.
Wax is a lawman. He policed the Rough for many years, but has now returned to the city of Elendel and is being forced to change his gun-toting ways to fit in with civilized society. Events conspire however, that force his hand. Evil is afoot. Picking up his gun, cloak and hat again, he teams up with his old partner Wayne (who is weird, inappropriate and hilarious at the same time) and sets of to kick ass and solve mysteries. There is great banter between these two and Lady Marasi (a fact-quoting criminologist) who gets involved in helping them track the villains and solve the case. She also happens to bring a little romantic interest to the table that I hope we will see more of later on.
There is no question about it. This is a great book with awesome storytelling that deserves nothing less than five stars.
III. The Alloy of Law Quotes by Brandon Sanderson
The best book quotes from The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson
“Some mistakes, though, you can’t fix by being sorry. Can’t fix them, no matter what you do.”
“To be of use in even a single burst of flame and sound is worth more than a lifetime of achieving nothing.”
“The more alone you are,” Waxillium said softly, “the more important it is to have someone you can rely upon.”
“The mark of a great man is one who knows when to set aside the important things in order to accomplish the vital ones.”
“That hat looks ridiculous.”
“Fortunately, I can change hats,” Wayne said, “while you, sir, are stuck with that face.”“Wayne’s a little attached to that hat,” Waxillium said. “He thinks it’s lucky.”
Wayne: “It is lucky. I ain’t never died while wearing that hat.”
Marasi frowned. “I … I’m not sure I know how to respond.”
Wax: “That’s a common reaction to Wayne.”“So,” Marasi said, “you traded a dead man’s scarf for another dead man’s gun. But…the gun itself belonged to someone dead, so by the same logic—”
“Don’t try,” Waxillium said. “Logic doesn’t work on Wayne.”
“I bought a ward against it off a traveling fortune-teller,” Wayne explained. “It lets me add two ’n’ two and get a pickle.”“It’s all right Wayne,” Waxillium said softly. “I’ve made a promise. I told Lord Harms I’d return Steris to him. And I will. That is that.”
“Then I will remain and help,” Marasi said. “That is that.”
“And I could really use some food,” Wayne added. “Fat is fat.”“The ways of Wayne are mysterious and incomprehensible.”
“I really am impressed that you have been shot so often. Really.”
“Getting hit’s not really that impressive,” Wayne noted. “It don’t take much skill to get shot. It’s avoiding the bullets that’s tough.”“Actually, [Wax] said, we came here because we needed someplace safe to think for a few hours.”
Ranette: “Your mansion isn’t safe?”
Wax: “My butler failed to poison me, then tried to shoot me, then set off an explosive in my study”
Ranette: “Huh…. You need to screen these people better, Wax.”“The measure of a person is not how much they have lived. It’s in how they make use of what life has shown them.”
“I need something, Wax. A place to look. You always did the thinking.”
“Yes, having a brain helps with that, surprisingly.”“Once one becomes a man, he can and must make his own decisions. But I do offer warning. Even a good thing can become destructive if taken to excess.”
“People today…it seems they are good, or sometimes evil, mostly by inertia, not by choice.”
“And don’t waste time worshipping Harmony. Doing good was the worship.”
“Doesn’t matter how good your bullets are if you don’t aim carefully.”
“You are inexperienced. So was I, once. So is every man. The measure of a person is not how much they have lived. . . It’s in how they make us of what life has shown them.”
“Oh, Wax has always been solemn, but when he’s at his best, there’s a smirk underneath.”
“Why do they call it research if I’ve only done it this one time?”
“If you remove the foundation of trust from a relationship, then what is the point of that relationship?”
“I was a little busy being shot at.” “Busy? Aw, mate. It doesn’t take any effort at all to get shot at.”
“Why is it,” Marasi said angrily, “that small-minded men must destroy that which they know is better, and greater, than they?”
“What wasdat, sir? What wazzat sir? What wassat, sir?”
“Wayne, what are you babbling about?” Waxillium asked.
“Practicing my pretzel guy,” Wayne said. “He had a great accent…”
Waxillium glanced at him. “That hat looks ridiculous.”
“Fortunately, I can change hats,” Wayne said in the pretzel-guy accent, “while you, sir, are stuck with that face.”“It’s what happens when you shoot someone,” Wayne pointed out. “At least, usually someone has the good sense to get dead when you go to all the trouble to shoot them.”
“Funny, how quickly someone can stop calling you a miscreant and a rogue when they want your help,”
“Wayne claimed to have memorized the names of all of the different possible combinations of Twinborn. Of course, Wayne also claimed to have once stolen a horse that belched in perfect musical notes, so one learned to take what he said with a pinch of copper.”
“Too much in high society is built around the idea of making certain you don’t need to trust anyone,” Waxillium said. “Contracts, detailed operating reports, not being seen alone with an eligible member of the opposite gender. If you remove the foundation of trust from a relationship, then what is the point of that relationship?”
Excerpted from The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson
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