Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Fantasy, Mystery, Crime, Thriller
Centuries after the Mistborn trilogy, Scadrial is on the verge of modernity – railroads, electric street lights, and skyscrapers. Waxillium Ladrian can Push on metals with his Allomancy and use Feruchemy to become lighter or heavier at will. After 20 years in the dusty Roughs, in the city of Elendel, the new head of a noble house may need to keep his guns.
The Mistborn era 2 is very different from the first, but just as exhilarating and mind-blowing. Sanderson’s world building is flawlessly written. He expands and adds new elements to create a cohesive world that feels similar to the first era, but also feels different in a logical progression.
The second era is mystery crime thriller set in the original fantasy world. The reader is introduced to a new cast of characters that are memorable and become more and more complex as the plot thickens.
The main character, Wax, is a former lawman who was forced to return to civilized society to take over his family’s House. Wax is caught between wanting to follow his passion of catching criminals and being responsible for thousands of people’s livelihood that are employed by his House. This creates an interesting dichotomy between responsibility and passion that Wax struggles with throughout the second era.
Wayne, Wax’s former partner, is a man who is always relaxed and capable in whatever situation he finds himself in. His habit of trading items to get away from actually stealing them creates many moments of comic relief and offers a keen insight into the character’s mind.
Marasi is an intelligent, levelheaded character that I was able to immediately identify with. She studied legal justice and behavioral statistics, so she’s constantly rattling off specific statistics for certain behaviors and how statistics will enlighten the future of Elendel.
The second era deals with the notion of god and freewill and god versus evil in the context of doing the right thing. Wax struggles greatly with these concepts as the story progresses as he learns about himself and the world around him.
What makes the Mistborn series so great and awesome is its ability to grow and expand as the world itself changes with the passage of time meaning the story isn’t confined to a single period of time. It can easily be manipulated in a natural progression while still remaining true to the original trilogy.
Sanderson’s writing is easily the reason I’ve been enjoying this series so much. His writing is accessible whilst the story deals with complex themes and plotting. I read Lord of the Rings for the first time a few weeks back and found myself getting lost in the prose and songs. I couldn’t enjoy the story or the characters because I was too focused on trying to pay attention and understand what I was reading. With Sanderson’s writing, none of that is an issue. I was able to imagine everything that was happening in precise detail without difficulty. This allowed me to focus more closely on the characters and their respective arcs.
Overall, the Mistborn era 2 is just as exciting and amazing as the first but in vastly different ways. Era 2 features a mystery crime thriller element amidst a purely fantasy setting. This allows Sanderson to continue writing within the same world without it feeling like a money grab or lack of ideas.
**The final novel of era 2, The Lost Metal, won’t be published until 2018! 😦
**Below I’ve included an image that explains the potential reading orders of the Cosmere. Personally, I’ll be reading Elantris before tackling The Way of Kings!
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