Don’t you just love when you find a story that clicks with you on every level? And it’s not like it’s a perfect story, or even all that objectively amazing, but it’s the perfect story for you? That’s totally this series for me. I loved the Mistborn books, and I SUPER LOVE the Stormlight Archive books (still my favorite thing Sanderson has written, and I’ve now read nearly all of his massive and steadily growing output), but these Mistborn Alloy Era/Wax and Wayne books have been such a treat from beginning to end. Just endless adventures and zingers and romance and fun.
I’m not going to bother talking about the plot at all. If you’ve read one or both of the first two books, you’re not going to want to be spoiled, and if you haven’t, you won’t understand what I’m talking about anyway.
What I do want to talk about is the characters. Sanderson has always been good at characters, especially when he allows himself room for them to grow*, but it’s never been his main draw as an author. That honor has always gone to his insanely detailed and pleasurable world-building, which always contains thorough and exciting magic systems that put most magic systems to shame in almost every regard, and then to his plotting, which is nearly always focused on doing new and fun things with common fantasy archetypes and storytelling structures. But there’s something about this series that allowed him the mental freedom to create a set of characters who are exceptionally vivid and easy to love. Maybe it’s because this series just sort of jumped out of his brain accidentally and demanded to be told, or maybe it’s because it’s so much of a laid back series compared to the original Mistborn or the Stormlight books. Whatever the reason, the characters are the draw here. The stuff surrounding them is wonderful and provides the hook, but all that is not not the reason you stay.
*This is the main reason I love the Stormlight Archive books so much, aside from the beyond epic storytelling, because there is just so much of those books in terms of length, width and breadth, there is also a lot of accompanying room and time for character evolution.
All of the main characters have a satisfying and surprising arc (meaning, I didn’t see where it was going at all, which is rare for me!). Wax, Wayne, Marasi, MeLaan. And Steris. Ohhhh, Steris. I love her so much. The less said about why the better. I did actually call a plot twist later in the book, but it was followed by something so mind-numbingly cool that I didn’t see coming that I instantly forgave it.
Look, guys. Just read Mistborn. Read all the Brandon Sanderson. I don’t know how else to tell you, but if you’re not, you’re missing something awesome.
With that said, TWO YEARS UNTIL THE LAST BOOK NOOOOO.
So if I read these now, am I going to be desperately unhappy that I have to wait TWO years until I get the last one? I suspect I’ll not be able to withstand the temptation to read the books now, either way. Your reviews have really made me curious. I just really really hate to wait for endings.
Actually, no, I think you’ll be pleased with the way it ends. I mean, it does taunt you mercilessly on the last page, but it also leaves you in a really good place. I mean, you especially I think will like this.
(And most of your taunting feelings will then be resolved by reading the novella he just released, which directly addresses the cliffhanger, so you’re good to go!)
I both love and sort of hate how well you know me and my literary tastes for someone who’s never actually met me in real life. While work is doing its best to deprive me of any fun this week, I have next week off and will hopefully be able to finish the Red Rising trilogy over the weekend so I can devote myself to these. I find it interesting that as a rule, my reading is almost entirely made up of the works of female authors – February is turning into a decidedly and unusually male-dominated month.
Haha, the love I get, but why do you hate it?
It’s good to change it up every now and then and read some dudes! I wonder what my reading habits are, gender wise? That might be interesting to sit down and figure out. I think I read both pretty evenly, but I’m not sure . . .
I hate it (not really, way too strong an expression – feel annoyed about would be more accurate) because I don’t like being predictable or feeling like I’m being tempted away from things I was planning on reading by other things I wasn’t going to read right this minute. Because you (and several other Cannonballers) know exactly what sort of things are my literary catnip, I occasionally feel like all my well-laid plans are being foiled by reviews almost targeted to tempt me to the metaphorical dark side.
As well as using LibraryThing to keep track of my books and Goodreads and BookLikes for my reviews, I also use an old school (by now quite battered) notebook where I’ve written down everything I’ve read since 2007. Every book, number of pages, the dates I read the book – it helps me keep track when Goodreads super annoyingly won’t let register re-read dates. At the end of this year, this note book helps me do my end of year review, breaking down number of books read and re-read, number of pages etc. I also make tallies for the main genres. I suspect, without looking at it, that my gender division would be something like 75% female, 25% male – and that’s a generous estimate on the dude writers. Urban fantasy, romance and YA, my main genres, tends to be written by women.
Malin, it’s no wonder we are book twins. We are almost the exact same level of book related OCD weirdness.
Also, I don’t know if you are prepared for this right now, but there is totally a conspiracy amongst CBRers to ruin all your reading plans. But we may have to kill you now that you’ve caught on . . .
shhh… she still thinks she’s the only one we’re targeting.
:)
You’re gonna tip the other ones off!
It’s only paranoia if they’re not actually out to get you – I KNEW I was being sneakily manipulated. ;) I wish I could say that now that I’m on to you, I won’t read any of the same books any other CBR member has reviewed, but that wouldn’t be any fun at all.