Series Review: Wax & Wayne (Mistborn Era 2) by Brandon Sanderson

Series Summary

Three hundred years after the events of the Mistborn trilogy, Scadrial is now on the verge of modernity, with railroads to supplement the canals, electric lighting in the streets and the homes of the wealthy, and the first steel-framed skyscrapers racing for the clouds.

Kelsier, Vin, Elend, Sazed, Spook, and the rest are now part of history—or religion. Yet even as science and technology are reaching new heights, the old magics of Allomancy and Feruchemy continue to play a role in this reborn world. Out in the frontier lands known as the Roughs, they are crucial tools for the brave men and women attempting to 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, Wax has been forced by family tragedy to return to the metropolis of Elendel. Now he must reluctantly put away his guns and assume the duties and dignity incumbent upon the head of a noble house. Or so he thinks, until he learns the hard way that the mansions and elegant tree-lined streets of the city can be even more dangerous than the dusty plains of the Roughs.

My Thoughts

“Every man is a hero of his own story.”

The Alloy of Law, Brandon Sanderson

Being back into the Mistborn world is such a delight, but with this new generation, everything was both familiar and new at the same time. It was so refreshing to see the Scadrial now developing and continue transforming, because I always admire authors who do their fantasy worlds constantly evolving over time, so it wouldn’t go stagnant. I will always appreciate any fantasy world that is constantly moving forward and progressing, such as what Sanderson has planned for Scadrial in this series, and the future Mistborn books as well. The over-all atmosphere of this new series is both familiar and new. There were still hints of the things readers have gotten used to from the original trilogy, but fresh new concepts were added in the mix. For me, it just screamed Mistborn but with the steampunk and cowboy flair added– both things I truly enjoy.

I definitely felt my heart tear up when Vin, Elend, Sazed, Spook, and the rest of the crew and other notable names were mentioned so casually yet become very important figures in this world. Politics and religion have always been a huge backdrop for the original Mistborn trilogy, so to see it pushed up even further and be given the many intricacies that resulted from many years of advancement was a sight to behold. The lore surrounding the people and events from the original series became a huge founding background for all the things within this new world, so it was a nice take to see how the people in this current world are moving on about based from those events, and how it made a huge impact in their lives.

The magic system in this series has also been explored and expounded on – as what was promised from the original trilogy. The familiar concepts of the Metallic Arts was a great comfort because a reader or fan can immediately get back into it without any problems, but the addition of new metals just gave it an entirely different edge and the expanded the already amazing magic system further.

As usual, it has that Brandon Sanderson flair that I’ve come to love – from the heart-pounding storyline, well-realized characters, accessible prose, and the over-all twists and turns. However, it just lacked a little bit more in the spark that I always love looking for in his books. It just fell a little bit short on the high intensity stakes that I’ve been familiar with in his works. I do agree with other fans that Mistborn Era 2 did not have a consistent “big problem” like that in the original trilogy, but rather it was sprinkled all over across the books until they finally melded together. He obviously left a lot of clues in each book that would probably serve well in the future. Sanderlanche-wise, I didn’t see much of it here. Sure, there were some pretty killer action scenes scattered all throughout the book that I enjoyed, but I did miss that feeling of being taken off guard by whatever devious scheme Sanderson have thought to add in his other books. I was even able to predict a lot of the major twists here, but some were still a good surprise that I liked, but nothing as super crazy like in Mistborn Era 1 or the Stormlight Archives.

What I absolutely love in this new era is the character work. A million chef’s kisses to this with how well done he made all the characters, especially Wax, Wayne, Steris, and Marasi! I immediately fell in love with all of them from the moment they first started talking, and they made me laugh so hard and root for them from start to finish. There were also very familiar characters that made appearances and even bigger roles in a very unexpected way, and it was highly amusing to see more of them getting some page time. They were all just an odd bunch, but a very witty and adorable bunch that I loved spending time with. While this book was just an introduction to the new world, I feel like we would be getting to know more the characters deeply in the next books, and figure out their roles better in this story. I enjoyed how we got a reversal story here, wherein the characters are now the ones who is trying to stop a heist from happening and stopping a group from overthrowing the government and upper-class. I liked that tidbit, since it gave us a different point of view into the story.

Now the waiting period for the last book – The Lost Metal – in this series has finally started.

 

Over-all Series Rating

About The Author

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The only author to make the short list for the David Gemmell Legend Award six times in four years, Brandon won that award in 2011 for The Way of Kings. The Emperor’s Soul won the 2013 Hugo Award for Best Novella. He has appeared on the New York Times Best-Seller List multiple times, with five novels hitting the #1 spot.

Currently living in Utah with his wife and children, Brandon teaches creative writing at Brigham Young University.

Author Website