Brandon Sanderson’s The Alloy of Law is the fourth book in the Mistborn series. The world has changed in the three hundred years since the events of The Hero of Ages. No longer do powerful mistborn rebel against immortal kings or fight against the gods themselves. No longer do individuals face impossible odds as they attempt to rebuild a new parliamentary government from the dregs of a tyrannical monarchy. In the three hundred years since, an oligarchical government has been established, electricity has become commonplace lighting up the streets of populated cities, and skyscrapers have become testaments to human innovation and ingenuity while powerful trains have created interconnected empire. With the introduction of guns and explosives, it seems everything has changed; however, Allomancy still plays an important role in the development of the world. Accompany a new cast of characters as they explore the new world of Mistborn.
This series stars the central protagonist Waxillium Ladrian. Waxillium grew up in a noble house in the capital city of Elendel, but once he reached adulthood, he left the bright city lights behind in order to lead a life of adventure on the frontier (aka the Roughs). There, he and a small group of allies gained notoriety as they attempted to established justice in a land without it, taking down as many criminals as possible. After twenty years of working as a lawkeeper, a family tragedy forces him back to Elendel where he must take up the duties of a head of a noble household. Although he tries his best to put his past behind him, mysterious kidnappings and thefts force him to, once again, pick up his guns and hunt down the perpetrators of these devious crimes. Throughout the story, Waxillium (Wax) lacks a lot of character growth. While he is physically forced to the extremes, he never has to make any decisions that challenge his worldview or his character. This is understandable as the book puts much of its emphasis on establishing new characters and a new tone for the series. Hopefully, later installments in the series will build on the character strengths and flaws in this new cast and create more dynamic character arcs.
The Alloy of Law is another great addition to the Mistborn series. The pacing is top notch, balancing slower scenes of exposition and character dynamics with fast paced exciting scenes. From page one, Sanderson sends readers on a high octane adventure that only builds in excitement and action before culminating in a satisfying conclusion.
This book also does an amazing job establishing a new world built on the foundations of the original Mistborn trilogy. Much of the book takes place in the city of Elendel, a technological metropolis full of skyscrapers, electricity, and railcars. Yet, despite the Victorian Era theme of The Alloy of Law, small homages to the original trilogy still remain. The Church of the Survivor is still a very active religion and many of the cities are obvious homages or references to characters who are the legends and historical figures of the current time period. As usual, a fantastic amount of detail has been put into developing this world and making it more than what it was in previous installments.
Along with the shift in time comes a complete shift in both the tone and the power system. In previous books, the protagonists were attempting to change the world. They were toppling dictatorships, recreating governments, and trying to prevent the apocalypse. As a result, it was necessary to have extremely powerful mistborns to confront each challenge. However, The Alloy of Law takes place during a time of relative peace. There are no radicals trying to completely upend the government nor is the current cast concerned with saving the world. Instead, we have a fun, comparatively light-hearted, detective story taking place in a metropolis. As a result, the characters and the power dynamic have completely shifted.
The characters are slightly more relaxed and fun. They are witty, hopeful and fit into rather archetypical roles. With two male leads involved in most of the fighting and one inexperienced female lead, often sidelined during fights, the main cast seems perfect for a typical Victorian detective novel. Although each character is well written and more than just their archetypes, they don’t reach the legendary status achieved by characters of the original trilogy.
The power dynamic has also shifted from a few powerful mistborns and a handful of Allomancers, to a several Twinborns and even more Allomancers. The new world of mistborn was founded by several Allomancers and Terris people. As a result, Allomancy became very common in the noble population as well as Feruchemy, a trait once isolated to the Terris people. While there are no known individuals with access to the full spectrum of Allomantic or Feruchemical metals, a select few individuals have access to one Allomantic and one Feruchemical metal, Twinborns. The existence of Twinborns introduces 256 possible combinations of different powers and requires individual characters to be more creative in how they will use their abilities in combat.
These creative fights and interesting displays of ability coupled with the ready accessibility of guns makes for some very interesting and exciting action scenes that are rarely predictable, especially since ones surroundings can have a great impact on the success of a fight.
I give this 325 page book 4 stars.
Mistborn Series
300 years after the events of the Hero of Ages, the world has rapidly changed, quickly industrializing to create guns, electricity and trains. Instead of talented mistborns, unique Twinborns take the spotlight as they are gifted with one allomantic and feruchemical ability. Watch as a new cast of characters explores the new modern world of Mistborn.