Scan barcode
noleme's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
shandyt's review against another edition
4.0
4.33 stars.
An improvement on the previous books, and a satisfying capstone to Mistborn Era 2.
However.
On the Cosmere
We've ceased to be circumspect about the Cosmere's intrusions into the series. On the plus side, this approach is far less annoying than the coy easter eggs and wink-wink cameos from previous Cosmere books. We finally had an overt "Hello, we're visitors from another world; here's what we're all about, and here's what you need to know" introduction. Honestly, it's taken long enough. Even if it threatens to be tiresome to have similar conversations in every Cosmere series, I think it's necessary. I mean, if this MCU crossover schtick is really what we're going with. Sigh. Why couldn't we just have a version of Hoid in every world, being smug and mysterious? That would be plenty enough crossover for me.
Seeing the various Ghostbloods in action was pretty cool, at least. Kelsier continues to be inscrutable and of sadly questionable morals, but the Scadrian Ghostbloods are much friendlier than the Rosharan ones. I'm still relieved Marasi chose not to join them. Good for her.
Wayne
Wayne was done so dirty by this whole series. For 2.9 books he was purely comic relief, but I've never thought comedy was one of Branderson's particular strengths. I mean, if you're going to write in a guy who's there to bounce jokes off Wax, at least make sure the jokes are good. They did get better over time, but man were those first two books painful. Plus, Wayne displays a meanspirited attitude that sours the humor even further in the beginning of the series. He has to be told not to be an asshole to Steris, told that Ranette really doesn't find his come-ons amusing, and told that Allriandre does not want to see him. I'm sure some of those conversations were Branderson himself reacting to feedback that some of Wayne's behavior was reprehensible. But I feel like, had he even once written Wayne reflecting on the way he behaves during the development of first two books, it would have clued Branderson in that maybe he needed to soften Wayne's character, without needing to shoehorn brick-subtle regurgitations of Wayne-critical Reddit posts into later books.
The thing was, Wayne was never given a chance to rest in those 2.9 books. He never got to introspect. There were no serious moments that weren't immediately ruined by a fart, poop, or dick joke. It happened every. Single. Time. I wanted balance! I wanted nuance! To my recollection, Wayne only once or twice in the whole series winked after an outrageous joke to let Wax (or whoever) know he wasn't really the insane troll he seemed to be; every other time, he'd double down by saying something even more outrageous. Eventually, you kind of have to start taking him at his word that he truly is that way. If you read between the lines, sure, it was easy to see that Wayne was a sad and deeply troubled man even from his introduction. But rarely did we see that come through in his actions. And when we did, it was so colored by that filter of childlike gormlessness that made it... just so weird to read. Like he wasn't a real person. Branderson ignored off-ramp after off-ramp of potential serious moments for Wayne, and his determination to cling to silliness calcified Wayne's character to the point that it would seem to be impossible to course correct. Which is why Wayne's arc in The Lost Metal does not work. Not for me, anyway. After three books of wacky-funtimes Wayne, the kind of reversal of character Branderson asked me to believe in came too little, too late. Not to mention, Wayne's newfound introspection came through the almost hallucinatory filter of his mother's story, which was bizarre even for him. I was truly right there with Wax when he wondered what the eff his partner was talking about. It was so unsubtle, so childish, so ham-fisted that I almost couldn't believe what I was hearing. Couldn't believe that that was the character development vehicle Branderson had chosen to go with. Insane Troll Logic indeed.
And Wayne's death. It was painfully telegraphed, so I was bracing the whole book for it to come. Like, in case I missed it when he symbolically arranged all his affairs in the first 25% of the book, I got 36,785 mentions of him being "worthless" to really drive home that this was going to end with a heroic sacrifice. Needless to say, I had high expectations. But what we actually got felt... perfunctory? I tend to find that Branderson doesn't write death scenes with the level of poesy I want. I would have preferred something like, "As the final dregs of his bendalloy burned away and his crystalline time bubble wavered, he turned his face toward the warmth and heat of the oncoming blossom of fire, and tipped his hat to destiny." I dunno, something more beautiful than "And then his speed bubble shattered and all was red and fire." (Not a direct quote.)
All that said, I really do think Era 2 is a match for The Final Empire, and far better than books 2 and 3 of Era 1. Pulpy, pacy, and with great characters, particularly the side characters. I recommend it for sure.
An improvement on the previous books, and a satisfying capstone to Mistborn Era 2.
However.
Spoiler
On the Cosmere
We've ceased to be circumspect about the Cosmere's intrusions into the series. On the plus side, this approach is far less annoying than the coy easter eggs and wink-wink cameos from previous Cosmere books. We finally had an overt "Hello, we're visitors from another world; here's what we're all about, and here's what you need to know" introduction. Honestly, it's taken long enough. Even if it threatens to be tiresome to have similar conversations in every Cosmere series, I think it's necessary. I mean, if this MCU crossover schtick is really what we're going with. Sigh. Why couldn't we just have a version of Hoid in every world, being smug and mysterious? That would be plenty enough crossover for me.
Seeing the various Ghostbloods in action was pretty cool, at least. Kelsier continues to be inscrutable and of sadly questionable morals, but the Scadrian Ghostbloods are much friendlier than the Rosharan ones. I'm still relieved Marasi chose not to join them. Good for her.
Wayne
Wayne was done so dirty by this whole series. For 2.9 books he was purely comic relief, but I've never thought comedy was one of Branderson's particular strengths. I mean, if you're going to write in a guy who's there to bounce jokes off Wax, at least make sure the jokes are good. They did get better over time, but man were those first two books painful. Plus, Wayne displays a meanspirited attitude that sours the humor even further in the beginning of the series. He has to be told not to be an asshole to Steris, told that Ranette really doesn't find his come-ons amusing, and told that Allriandre does not want to see him. I'm sure some of those conversations were Branderson himself reacting to feedback that some of Wayne's behavior was reprehensible. But I feel like, had he even once written Wayne reflecting on the way he behaves during the development of first two books, it would have clued Branderson in that maybe he needed to soften Wayne's character, without needing to shoehorn brick-subtle regurgitations of Wayne-critical Reddit posts into later books.
The thing was, Wayne was never given a chance to rest in those 2.9 books. He never got to introspect. There were no serious moments that weren't immediately ruined by a fart, poop, or dick joke. It happened every. Single. Time. I wanted balance! I wanted nuance! To my recollection, Wayne only once or twice in the whole series winked after an outrageous joke to let Wax (or whoever) know he wasn't really the insane troll he seemed to be; every other time, he'd double down by saying something even more outrageous. Eventually, you kind of have to start taking him at his word that he truly is that way. If you read between the lines, sure, it was easy to see that Wayne was a sad and deeply troubled man even from his introduction. But rarely did we see that come through in his actions. And when we did, it was so colored by that filter of childlike gormlessness that made it... just so weird to read. Like he wasn't a real person. Branderson ignored off-ramp after off-ramp of potential serious moments for Wayne, and his determination to cling to silliness calcified Wayne's character to the point that it would seem to be impossible to course correct. Which is why Wayne's arc in The Lost Metal does not work. Not for me, anyway. After three books of wacky-funtimes Wayne, the kind of reversal of character Branderson asked me to believe in came too little, too late. Not to mention, Wayne's newfound introspection came through the almost hallucinatory filter of his mother's story, which was bizarre even for him. I was truly right there with Wax when he wondered what the eff his partner was talking about. It was so unsubtle, so childish, so ham-fisted that I almost couldn't believe what I was hearing. Couldn't believe that that was the character development vehicle Branderson had chosen to go with. Insane Troll Logic indeed.
And Wayne's death. It was painfully telegraphed, so I was bracing the whole book for it to come. Like, in case I missed it when he symbolically arranged all his affairs in the first 25% of the book, I got 36,785 mentions of him being "worthless" to really drive home that this was going to end with a heroic sacrifice. Needless to say, I had high expectations. But what we actually got felt... perfunctory? I tend to find that Branderson doesn't write death scenes with the level of poesy I want. I would have preferred something like, "As the final dregs of his bendalloy burned away and his crystalline time bubble wavered, he turned his face toward the warmth and heat of the oncoming blossom of fire, and tipped his hat to destiny." I dunno, something more beautiful than "And then his speed bubble shattered and all was red and fire." (Not a direct quote.)
All that said, I really do think Era 2 is a match for The Final Empire, and far better than books 2 and 3 of Era 1. Pulpy, pacy, and with great characters, particularly the side characters. I recommend it for sure.
hannahdiane's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
bennow's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
trinityb2021's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I was hesitant to start this book after how upset I was with the turn the romance took in the last book. However, I slowly warmed up to it. I won’t say I liked it, but I tolerated it better.
This beautifully wraps up a lot of the loose ends while leaving enough to ponder. I can’t help but wish this book was less cosmere focused? It almost feels like an MCU movie where they are setting up all these other characters and worlds and realms but a fair few of them are insignificant to this story.
Overall this was a lot more fun and returned to what I liked about the first two books.
carlylangford's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
bananabreanna's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
I'm gutted, elated, satisfied, and left wondering all at the same time, so...pretty typical mood after finishing a Sanderson arc. I loved the tie-ins to everything else going on in the Cosmere and Stormlight Archive. I'm, of course, saddened by certain events that I won't name, but I love the way it gave a beautiful sense of purpose to the character. As always, I'm in awe and can't wait for the next secret.
lisamchuk's review against another edition
5.0
Again the timing of this is after Stormlight 4, so I certainly missed a few connections by reading this right after era 1. This was action packed, and a satisfying ending, though some parts I wasn’t totally onboard with. The heart and humour was thankfully still present throughout and I’m bumping this up to the 5th star mostly because of Wayne. The main characters were what kept me going, and were always the best part of this series - I’m definitely interested in reading about the new team that are supposed to be the focus of era 3.
lordquednau's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
laurenemmabirchh's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
5.0