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The Alloy of Law (Mistborn #4)

by Brandon Sanderson (Goodreads Author)

4.17 of 5 stars 4.17 · rating details · 15,983 ratings · 1,704 reviews

Fresh from the success of The Way of Kings, Brandon Sanderson, best known for completing Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time®, takes a break to return to the world of the bestselling Mistborn series.

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...more

Hardcover, 336 pages

Published November 10th 2011 by Gollancz (first published November 8th 2011)

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Oct 28, 2011 Gunner McGrath rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own-in-arc, autographed, own-in-audio, own-in-hardcover, fantasy

Brandon Sanderson commented on this review via reddit! See below.

This review originally appeared on my book blog.

The original Mistborn trilogy was a masterwork of fantasy, artfully combining a cool magic system, detailed and lush worldbuilding, and a plot and characters that were incredibly enthralling, weaving them together so perfectly that every piece depended completely on every other piece.

Sanderson has spoken and written about his goal for the world he created: three trilogies, spanning m...more

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Jan 05, 2013 Carol rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: steampunk fans

Shelves: action, urban-fantasy, time-period-fantasy, male-lead, fantasy, steampunk

I'm probably one of the only reviewers that hasn't read the rest of the Mistborn series, but I hereby claim Alloy stands just fine on its own. It's a fun, fast read with engaging dialogue. I finished Alloy after coming off a shadowy* low, and what a relief. Sanderson can write with skill, and even a supposedly 'toss-off' book like this is enjoyable. Fabulous job of showing, not telling, as well as avoiding the notorious fantasy/sci-fi info-dump.

The setting is vaguely steampunk, although the tech...more I'm probably one of the only reviewers that hasn't read the rest of the Mistborn series, but I hereby claim Alloy stands just fine on its own. It's a fun, fast read with engaging dialogue. I finished Alloy after coming off a shadowy* low, and what a relief. Sanderson can write with skill, and even a supposedly 'toss-off' book like this is enjoyable. Fabulous job of showing, not telling, as well as avoiding the notorious fantasy/sci-fi info-dump.

The setting is vaguely steampunk, although the technology to date seems strictly Victorian with the onset of electric lamps and musings on the horseless carriage overtaking coaches. The magic systems of Allomancy and Feruchemy bring nice twists and allow for variations in technology. The story started off with a wild-west shootout and man-hunt, and the scene is quickly set for some major, character-debilitating guilt. I often have trouble warming to the guilt-ridden characters, but thankfully we are spared overmuch character self-flagellation.

The scene jumps to ~~London~~ (cough) Elendel, where our lead Waxillium is morosely resuming his obligations as head of an extensive household. I had a moment or two of reading hesitation when he escapes a formal society ball by doing Matrix-style flying through the skies. On reread, its clear that Sanderson uses this time to familiarize us with both the magic system and the city setting. Unfortunately, we stall again on a guilt-ridden scene as Wax witnesses a shootout and is unable to act.

Thankfully, Wax's one-time sidekick, Wayne (groan), appears and steals the show. Wayne has a talent for disguise, a penchant for thievery disguised as trading (since he is, after all, reformed ) and a delightfully irreverent approach to life. He promptly pretends to interrogate Wax on a series of vanished freight shipments, frustrating Wax: "Right now, my criminal genius mind is wondering if I can stuff your corpse anywhere that wouldn't be too obvious," then doing his best to interject himself into a betrothal meeting. Wayne had me close to spewing coffee with his compliment to Marasi, "You have a pretty accent too, and some nice bounce to you in the cloud area." "Dare I ask what that is?" "The white, puffy things that float high above the fruitful land where the seeds are planted." His "trades" are a source of smiles throughout the book--at one point, he leaves a silk shirt for a conner's (copper's) uniform. Listening to Wayne drop into an assumed character is fun as well, as he schools his thoughts into the assumed voice. "Brettin would outrank him, barely. Really unfortunate, Wayne thought. Here I am, twenty-five years as a constable, and still only a three-bar. He should have been promoted ages ago."

Perhaps one of the smallest missteps is incomplete secondary character development--Marasi is blushing nearly every other sentence, even after Wax and Wayne have a conversation with her about overusing it as a modesty device. I confess I'm vaguely interested to see where the faint romantic interest goes, as I'm hoping Sanderson will do something unexpected with it.

Still, overall it was fun, and I'll certainly look for the next in the series as well as going back to read the first three. A solid three and a half star read.

*reference to my unfortunate experience with Week's Shadow books.

Cross posted at http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2013/0...(less)

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Apr 22, 2013 Clouds - (¿head-in-the?) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, fantasy-series, read-in-2013, reviewed

Following the resounding success of my Locus Quest, I faced a dilemma: which reading list to follow it up with? Variety is the spice of life, so I’ve decided to diversify and pursue six different lists simultaneously. This book falls into my FINISHING THE SERIES! list.

I loves me a good series! But I'm terrible for starting a new series before finishing my last - so this reading list is all about trying to close out those series I've got on the go.

When I first heard that Sanderson had written th...more

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May 12, 2013 Jakedecock rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Sep 05, 2012 Jonathan rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Mistborn readers, those who want to get into Mistborn

Shelves: want, favourite-series, personal-favourites, fantasy, action-challenge, brandon-sanderson

I can now officially state that Brandon Sanderson is my favourite living fantasy author. There is something he adds to his work that causes me to love it. The fact that he creates great novels regularly, with that essence that I admire and with powerful storytelling is a gift.

I had bestowed upon his work a rare five star rating for all his novels before reading this one. And I was a little anxious and wary that perhaps this would only be a four star novel, or maybe even a three star (forbid that...more
I can now officially state that Brandon Sanderson is my favourite living fantasy author. There is something he adds to his work that causes me to love it. The fact that he creates great novels regularly, with that essence that I admire and with powerful storytelling is a gift.

I had bestowed upon his work a rare five star rating for all his novels before reading this one. And I was a little anxious and wary that perhaps this would only be a four star novel, or maybe even a three star (forbid that it should fall lower). However after the prologue I knew that my fears were allayed and after concluding this book satisfactorily I knew that I had read something incredible.

The real reason I feared for Alloy of Law was due to the very premise of the book. I had loved the previous Mistborn trilogy immensely and rank it among The Lord of the Rings, The Wheel of Time and The Chronicles of Narnia as one of my favourite series. However the thought of Sanderson returning to the world of Allomancers made me a little uneasy. I felt that the Mistborn trilogy had neatly concluded everything and felt that there could be no room for an additional book or books. I was thankfully proved wrong.

This book transported the world of Allomancers into the future, three hundred years after Vin, Elend, Sazed and Spook. The characters I had emotionally invested in were no longer a part of this world. Fortunately, however, Sanderson created two new characters that I could connect to: Wax and um…Wayne. Despite my literary penchant for puns even I had to groan a little at that one.

Wax and Wayne are Twinborn and living in a time remarkably similar to Victorian London. When I say Twinborn I mean to say that they are those rare few individuals gifted with Alomancer and Feruchemist abilities. (view spoiler)

I loved the change of time and place in this novel. I loved the new characters by the end and I am glad that I did given that it seems Sanderson will continue the storyline he begun in this novel. I particularly loved the idea of how guns and bullets are adapted to cope with Allomancers and I highly appreciated the new Allomancer and Feruchemist abilities put on display in this novel.

If you loved the original Mistborn trilogy and have not read this book yet then you likely will. Sanderson appears to have the knack of creating intriguing worlds and packing them with more things and characters than you realise until you suddenly reach the end of the book and find yourself reflecting on how much had just happened within three hundred odd pages.

The story begins with a bang and a shock. There really is nothing like a fast paced action scene to kick things off. In fact I think I appreciate that the most about this novel, the fact that there is no slow build up but that Sanderson kicks things straight into high gear with action and death. This of course allows for the author to slow things down with delving into the world details in the next few chapters. I personally think that is a brilliant storytelling technique.

Anyway if you want an action packed fantasy then this is the book to read and is even more highly recommended if you loved Mistborn as I did. You will find it at once similar with the religious ideas, political intrigue and action and also find it a completely different world to enter. And thus you will see that fantasy worlds do not have to be stagnant at all – they do change with time.
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Mar 15, 2012 Scribbler King rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I don't usually jump when I hear about books, even ones I've been looking forward to.

Completely out of the blue, I was hit over the head by the fact that BRANDON SANDERSON IS COMING OUT WITH A NEW MISTBORN BOOK!

As BRANDON SANDERSON is one of my favorite authors of all times, I think I have every right to make a bit of a fool of myself yelling about this.

I love the idea of a modernized world, and learning about more of the metals.

I. Can't. Wait.

!

*

AFTER READING

First of all, let me set you straight...more

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Oct 28, 2012 Felicia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, epic-fantasy

I mean...Sanderson is just amazing. He writes so well, his characters are SO well-drawn, you simply can't stop reading. There's a feeling of completeness in his plotting that makes you feel completely taken care of. The worldbuilding is stunning and vibrant and new...it's just, kind of ridiculous.

This is a followup in the world of Mistborn, but you DONT need to read the first three to understand what's going on (you should read them though, because it is icing on the cake as far as details.) Thi...more

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May 02, 2012 Traci added it · review of another edition

Shelves: steampunk, favorites

This isn't what I was expecting. It is very different from the Mistborn trilogy. Almost as though another author is writing in the same world. Where Mistborn is epic fantasy with large world changing events The Alloy of Law is a smaller urban fantasy or more accurately a steampunk book. A smaller cast of characters and events.
I enjoyed every moment I spent reading. It's not genre changing. It's not brilliant. It's even somewhat predictable. But it's fun. A quick action packed book that reads be...more

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Apr 20, 2013 Christopher rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Nov 12, 2011 April rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, fantasy, for-review

Brandon Sanderson is totally a fist pump author, meaning I can’t read one of his books without fist pumping a little, especially if allomancy is involved. I love when authors revisit universes they have created. The Alloy Of Law, Sanderson’s latest, returns to the world and magic system of allomancy imagined in the Mistborn trilogy, only it’s about 300 years later. The characters of Mistborn are now considered legends. Instead, we must content our selves with Waxillium Ladrian, law man and fully...more

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Nov 21, 2011 Kat Hooper rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

I loved Brandon Sanderson’s MISTBORN series, so I was excited to learn that he was publishing another novel set in the MISTBORN world. The Alloy of Law takes place a few hundred years after the events in the original trilogy. By this time, society is in the midst of an industrial revolution and is expanding into uncivilized frontier lands, making The Alloy of Law, I suppose, a Western Steampunk or Weird West tale.

A minority of citizens still inherit Alloma...more ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

I loved Brandon Sanderson’s MISTBORN series, so I was excited to learn that he was publishing another novel set in the MISTBORN world. The Alloy of Law takes place a few hundred years after the events in the original trilogy. By this time, society is in the midst of an industrial revolution and is expanding into uncivilized frontier lands, making The Alloy of Law, I suppose, a Western Steampunk or Weird West tale.

A minority of citizens still inherit Allomancy or Feruchemy or, in the case of Twinborn Waxillium Ladrian, both. Even though Wax is heir to a rich noble house, he uses his powers to fight outlaws in the frontier lands... until he’s called back to run his family estates after his uncle’s death. Wax isn’t interested in being a stuffy nobleman, but hundreds of people rely on his family for their livelihood and he can’t let them down. It’s not long before Wax realizes, for better or worse, that life in the civilized city is even more dangerous than life on the wild frontier.

I’ve read all of Brandon Sanderson’s novels for adults and what I like best about his work are his imaginative magic systems (he’s the best!), charming characters, and pleasant sense of humor. I am happy to report that all of this is present in The Alloy of Law. Those of us who’ve read MISTBORN are already familiar with the magic system, so no surprises there, but the Western industrial setting adds a new twist — steam power and firearms let allomancers and feruchemists do really cool things with bullet casings and railroad tracks. Sanderson gives a nod and a wink to his influences by freshening up some Western clichés. In one scene, a group of armed outlaws bursts in on a high society dinner and demands that the ladies hand over their jewelry. There are pistol fights, train robberies, and even a shoot-out on top of a moving train! But The Alloy of Law is not just a Western with magic — it feels like a beginning to further fascinating explorations in the MISTBORN world. At its heart, it’s still epic fantasy.

Even though I don’t like his name, Wax is a great character — tough but sensitive, gentle but forceful when necessary, duty-bound with a touch of restrained idealism. I was disappointed with one of his actions at the end of the book, but I think that Sanderson wanted me to be disappointed and, for this reason, I think we’ll be seeing more of Wax in the future — there’s still time for him to make things right.

During his adventures in The Alloy of Law, Wax is accompanied by a funny sidekick named Wayne and a young female student who studies criminal behavior and thinks of Wax and Wayne as heroes. [Ouch. I just re-read that sentence and noticed the pun in “Wax and Wayne.” Oh my, that’s a groaner!] The three of them make a great team and I certainly hope there will be more adventures for the trio.

I listened to MacMillan Audio’s version of The Alloy of Law which was narrated by Michael Kramer. He is a terrific reader, though I find his pace a little slow. I got in the habit of speeding him up a bit when I was listening to him read the WHEEL OF TIME novels, and I did the same for The Alloy of Law. With this little adjustment (about 1.2x normal speed), I greatly enjoyed the audio version and will read any sequels, if there are any, in audio format, too. I recommend this version.

Must you read the previous MISTBORN books before reading The Alloy of Law? No. But it would be good to familiarize yourself with allomancy and feruchemy, which you can do well enough by reading our reviews above. But, why would you not want to read MISTBORN first? This is one of the best fantasy series in recent years — great characters and one of the best magic systems ever. So, while you don’t need to read the original trilogy first, you should! (less)

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May 06, 2013 Adaram rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

High praise for Brandon Sanderson! I appreciate his work!

I think this is my first ever 5 Star rating. Words are insufficient when trying to describe how much I enjoyed almost every aspect of this book. The characters felt like old friends to me; the kind of friends you trust enough to just hang out with and and be yourself. Wayne is probably one of my all time favourite characters. Hilarious! The interplay between Wayne and Wax made me laugh many times throughout the read. Marasi is a sweetheart...more

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Aug 15, 2012 Linda I rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: brandon-sanderson, fantasy

Though I may be a total fangirl of Sanderson's novel, there is still no doubt this novel is awesome! While not "technically" a story within the Mistborn Trilogy, it is set three hundred years afterwards so the reader glimpses life after the destruction of the Final Empire.

When armed robbers begin stealing valuable commodities during train transport, and kidnapping women during heists at high-class social gatherings, the nobel's of Elendel become nervous. Unfortunately, the local constables are...more

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Jan 20, 2012 Mike (the Paladin) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy, fantasy

I feel like I should create another shelf for this..."Urban Fantasy, sort of".

This is I believe going to be an interesting book not only to read but to check reviews on and see "who likes which" best. I read the first of The Mistborn series a while back. I liked it well enough, and ended giving it 4 stars. That's a great rating from me. It was a good read and I thought that at some point I'd move on and complete the series. I didn't however run right out and snap them up.

This book I liked more....more I feel like I should create another shelf for this..."Urban Fantasy, sort of".

This is I believe going to be an interesting book not only to read but to check reviews on and see "who likes which" best. I read the first of The Mistborn series a while back. I liked it well enough, and ended giving it 4 stars. That's a great rating from me. It was a good read and I thought that at some point I'd move on and complete the series. I didn't however run right out and snap them up.

This book I liked more. I wonder if it says something about my tastes and how they may have changed. Here we have a fast moving adventure placed in the same Mistborn world with all it's powers and talents in tact. (In my review of Mistborn: The Final Empire I referred to "the magic system". That's a misnomer actually as the "powers" used here are better termed "talents" and/or abilities.) The Mistborn world has now moved on and we have a technology that is comparable to our late 19th and early 20th century. The "world" we deal with is still basically split between the city or Urban areas and the Roughs.

You're going to see different takes on this and different levels of enjoyment. This struck me as much like an Urban Fantasy story built around a legendary western lawman coming to an urban area (1910 Chicago possibly?). Railroads are in use and seem to be a primary means of shipping. We have firearms described as rifles (though we don't get details as to action, so they can't be placed historically) and "revolvers".

The book is blatantly the opening to another series...and in this case I'm happy about it. I like it, a lot. As I mentioned the story is action packed. The characters while a bit light in some ways (though the opening scene isn't light and it sets up part of our protagonist's baggage and a continuing device the writer uses throughout the book) are fully formed and what I've called before "get to knowable".. The book has it's share of "oh come on" moments and I don't really care for those a lot, but I can live with them (view spoiler). Wax is a good character but there were a few odd situations where you may wonder if this guy is the same guy you saw in the last scene. But it's not big and not egregious. The mystery winds through the book and largely seems to exist to give the characters an excuse to interact and be heroic (I want to leave this violent life but, I can't turn from my responsibilities. You know.) Wayne??? Wayne isn't (to my mind anyway) the best of characters and I hope he grows a bit in coming volumes. Marasi? Liked her, wonder where we're going with her.

Bottom line, the story breaks out of the gate at a lope moves to a full gallop and doesn't slow down. A good action adventure/urban fantasy. I recommend it. One of my few 5 star books.

And I'm picking the Mistborn books I haven't read up and moving them up my "to be read" list. So this book has inspired me to finish the first series. For the future, I look forward to the next installment of Wax, Wayne and Marasi's adventures. (less)

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Dec 22, 2011 Eric Allen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Alloy of Law
A Mistborn Novel

By Brandon Sanderson

A review by Eric Allen

I have to admit that after reading the overly long and generally pointless pile of crap that Patrick Rothfuss served us with Wise Man’s Fear and the literary abortion Terry Goodkind tried to pass off as The Omen Machine I was suffering from a near fatal case of lowered expectations coming around to the next book of the year that I was eagerly awaiting. My faith in the ability of writers to tell a good story, nay, in humani...more

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Apr 23, 2012 Kara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Kara by: Fantasy Aficionados Feb 2012 Groupread

Shelves: active-magic, action-adventure, audible-has-it, audiobook, excellent-narrators, fantasy, fantasy-aficionado-challange, group-read, i-own-it, urban-fantasy

The review below is taken right out of the Fantasy Aficionados Feb. 2012 Groupread thread on this book. I realized my thoughts in the thread at the end of reading the book, made as good a review as anything. So here's my lazy cut and paste review.

Solid 4 stars imo. Good action, fun characters, interesting enough story, with PLENTY left to discover come books (2, 3, 4,...? who knows?).

So having read the entire Mistborn tilogy (don't read the spoiler if you haven't), I have to admit I loved Sand...more

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Jan 21, 2012 Anila rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: clone-the-guy-i-want-one, favorite-2012-reads, fangirl-alert, reviewed, not-for-the-sensitive

Fair warning: I am a massive Sanderson fangirl. This is a fair approximation of my behavior whenever I read one of his books:

I babble at people who have no idea what I'm talking about, I trip over my own feet and nearly down the stairs, I fling my arms around as if they are not attached to my body and can actually be thrown; I am loud and exuberant and wholly consumed by excitement and while I'm sure the extremely out-of-character nature of this behavior terrifies some people around me no end, I...more

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Nov 23, 2011 Alicia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorite-authors, steampunk, own-kindle

Sanderson is one of my favorite authors--right up there with Patrick Rothfuss and Laini Taylor. The Alloy of Law is not my favorite of his books, but it did not disappoint.

Returning to the Mistborn world was like coming home again. You probably shouldn't read this book if you are not already familiar with that world. I recommend reading all three of the original Mistborn trilogy before picking up this one. Sanderson didn't waste any time giving readers a tutorial on his magic system. Instead, he...more Sanderson is one of my favorite authors--right up there with Patrick Rothfuss and Laini Taylor. The Alloy of Law is not my favorite of his books, but it did not disappoint.

Returning to the Mistborn world was like coming home again. You probably shouldn't read this book if you are not already familiar with that world. I recommend reading all three of the original Mistborn trilogy before picking up this one. Sanderson didn't waste any time giving readers a tutorial on his magic system. Instead, he dove right in, expanding on the foundation set by the prior Mistoborn books. While I was thrilled not to have to read an explanation of the magic system with which I am already familiar, I imagine the magic would have been difficult to follow without having read the other books. Also, the book makes numerous references to religious beliefs and religious figures that would be lost, and probably confusing, to those who haven't read all three of the original trilogy.

The magic used in The Alloy of Law includes primarily two types: Allomancy and Feruchemy. Both of these magics are based on the use of metals, where each of sixteen various metals provides a distinct power in each of the two magics. An Allomancer is capable of "burning" one type of metal inside his body, which provides the Allomancer with the power of that metal. A Feruchemist is capable of tapping the power of one type of metal, which he wears in contact with his skin.

In the original Mistborn trilogy, the most powerful of Allomancers were "Mistborn," each of whom were capable of burning every Allomantic metal. And Feruchemists were endowed with the ability to tap the power of Feruchemical metals. In The Alloy of Law, there are no Mistborn; each Allomancer gets only one metal. Likewise, each Feruchemist gets only one metal. "Twinborn" are those who are both Allomancers and Feruchemists, but they get only one metal for each magic.

Sanderson introduces new metals that were unknown at the time of the original trilogy. Combining the concept of Twinborn with new metals (and corresponding new powers) provided an exciting twist to the magic system that I already new.

At its root, the plot was your typical steampunk mystery. The main character investigates a serious of robberies and gets into loads of trouble along the way, running into a nearly immortal bad guy. There was a bit of romance thrown in, as a young woman taken hostage in one of the robberies develops a fondness for our hero. This was just an exciting book with numerous action sequences involving a creative and original magic system.

I gave this book four stars, instead of five, because there were a number of points in the book that I caught myself skimming. Throughout the book, there were sections in which the thoughts of the three main characters were described. Their thinking didn't change much throughout the book, and thus, this eventually got old. Yes, I know what Wax is thinking because it's the same thing he was thinking the last time you told me. Yes, I know what Wayne and Marasi are thinking too.

Another place I skimmed was . . . the climax, which is a particularly bad place to catch oneself skimming. The action sequence at the climax was really really long. Action is good, but I thought this bordered a bit on overkill. Someone else might think that all that action is truly fantastic, but I was ready to move on to something else well before it came to a conclusion.

I'm looking forward to the next book!(less)

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Apr 04, 2012 Joe Wack rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Mistborn novels are just unreasonably fun. I got a bit of a detective novel vibe from this one, which is a plus. It made me very much want to leap back over to the Dresden books, although in the end I just re-read the last third of Elantris once I finished with this.

As always, Sanderson's system of magic is unique, rules-based, and fascinating. And, personally, makes me wish I was one of those lucky enough to be Twinborn or a Mistling.

I think you could read this entry in the series first, an...more

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Jan 12, 2013 Tedric added it · review of another edition

Fresh from the success of The Way of Kings, Brandon Sanderson, best known for completing Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time®, takes a break to return to the world of the bestselling Mistborn series.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, an

...more

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May 17, 2013 Guy Lupo rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When i finished the mistborn series I had to take a day off to digest one of the most amazing book series I have ever read ! and at least a week off reading before starting another book.
with some hesitation I decided to jump straight into Alloy of Law.
Like the first set of mistborn books Sanderson's story telling is superb, and the story evolves and unfolds up to the last page when you still keep on finding new things and other angles which you haven't thought about or to quote Kelseir - "There...more

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May 13, 2013 Robin A. Burrows rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read2013

This book takes place after the Mistborn trilogy. It is set in the same world, but many years have passed. The world is much more industrialized now.

The book started off slow, but once the side-kick character shows up, it really takes off. The protagonist and his side-kick are quite a pair together and I found myself laughing out loud several times.

I felt like this book was a Sherlock Holmes type story in a Wild West setting with a little alomancy tossed in. But alomancy has declined in this se...more

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Apr 01, 2013 Gillian Adams rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviews

I've always wanted to write a book combining fantasy and the Old West. Brandon Sanderson beat me too it and did a magnificent job at that!

The Alloy of Law takes place three hundred years after the Mistborn trilogy, and the beloved cast of characters we once knew are now remembered only in legend. With industrialism on the rise, trains chugging across the country, and electric lights twinkling to life in the cities, the world itself has apparently progressed in leaps and bounds (or allomantically...more

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Mar 10, 2013 Jocelyn rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

300 years have passed in the land of Scadriel. Vin, Elend, Kelsier, Sazed and the others are little more than figures of myth or of faith, but their legacy remains. Peace and prosperity are the general order of things, and as time marches on so too does progress. In the capital, Elendel, the buildings continue to climb higher, new contraptions such as horseless carriages are appearing, electricity is being used more commonly, and the guns are ever more destructive.

There are no more Mistborn - th...more 300 years have passed in the land of Scadriel. Vin, Elend, Kelsier, Sazed and the others are little more than figures of myth or of faith, but their legacy remains. Peace and prosperity are the general order of things, and as time marches on so too does progress. In the capital, Elendel, the buildings continue to climb higher, new contraptions such as horseless carriages are appearing, electricity is being used more commonly, and the guns are ever more destructive.

There are no more Mistborn - those spoken of in legend who had mastery over all the known Allomantic metals. But some few are Twinborn: that is, they have an Allomantic ability as well as a Feruchemical one. Waxillian is one of these as well as one of the finest lawkeepers the Roughs have ever seen. On the outskirts of the cities, justice is upheld by hard men who must hold firmly in their minds the line that divides them from the criminals they hunt.

When Waxillian is called by family duty back to the city he determines to leave his lawkeeping past behind - but when a flamboyant criminal gang known as the Vanishers baffles the city's Constables with their robberies and kidnappings, Wax and his oldest friend Wayne are inexorably drawn back into the fight. Wild, Wild West(ern):

Sanderson is a fantastic writer. His worlds are some of the most solid I've ever come across in fantasy, which makes for a very satisfying read. I'm a huge fan of the magic systems of Allomancy and Feruchemy, which are familiar to those who've read the Mistborn trilogy but are kept fresh by how much of the developing society is now underlined by metal.

His characters are individuals who avoid fantasy cliché by way of their layered personalities. No one is entirely heroic or villainous - Sanderson strikes an accurately human balance by shading between such extremes. His plot lines are rich with detail and his action scenes are well thought out, with a great rhythm.

This novel is a wonderful twist on traditional fantasy, taking an established society forward with industrial advancement, and the story is a welcome addition to the Mistborn universe. I'm still recommending Brandon Sanderson's books at work to anyone looking for great fantasy, with great success, and I'll extend that recommendation to you: if fantasy's your thing, Brandon Sanderson's for you. Enjoy!

If you've read any Patrick Rothfuss - The Name of the Wind/The Wise Man's Fear - you'll love Sanderson's work also. And if you've read Sanderson but not Rothfuss, or in fact if you like fantasy at all and you haven'd come across Rothfuss, you're truly missing out on one of the finest fantasy writers of our time.(less)

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Feb 19, 2013 Peter Pimblett rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Let me set this out clearly:

I loved the first three books. Very much so.

So I was like: "Why should I read a filler book, just because I have a slight Allomacy addiction?!"

But, unlike 'Infernal Devices' (which caused me to fall out of love with the whole Mortal Engines world a bit) which is only set a few decades after the first books, 300 years (give or take) did nothing to take away from the world Sanderson is able to create.

New alloys, new religions, new technology, new characters (with enough...more

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Feb 15, 2013 Yumimi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ebook

7.5/10

Alloy of Law is an apt name for this novel - which was originally intended as a short story - not only because of the strong emotions between characters and the law, but also because of their personal laws (Wayne and his "trading" comes most vividly into my mind).

The character quirks are quite entertaining and very laughable at times, but where this novel excels less at is the plot. It is still rather interesting and enjoyable by anyone's standards; and yet it doesn't quite have the same s...more

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Feb 11, 2013 John Margaritsanakis rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

5/5 stars from me.

This book was a treat. It's not that the previous novels in the Mistborn series weren't pretty good because they really were, and Sanderson is one of my favorite authors these days. His world building is second to none and he has a very good grasp of plot and timing.

The idea I had gotten however before reading The Alloy of Law is that where the author's technique was excellent his characters left... something to be desired - a chemistry and flow in the dialogue that's hard to p...more

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Feb 05, 2013 Gareth Otton rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-read

I have to take my hat off to Brandon Sanderson for giving this novel a go. I applaud what he has tried to do by taking fantasy from being a world stuck in a single era of time and moving it on with the next series. I have to say though that this book fell a little short on what the Mistborn Trilogy began.

This book felt more like a wild west tale with a hint of fantasy intermingled with it rather than the next book in the world of Scadrial. After reading his note at the beginning of the book in...more

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Jan 13, 2013 Michael rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

While this book is certainly unique, and certainly accomplishes something that isn't necessarily so easy to do, I wasn't all that impressed with the quality of the story. I felt like it was sub-par and that there were a few problems with it.

The story is set in the same Mistborn universe, except a few hundred years in the future. They've evolved to basically some sort of industrial age time, around the turn of the century in comparison for us. Guns are now invented, we have cars, trains, and elec...more While this book is certainly unique, and certainly accomplishes something that isn't necessarily so easy to do, I wasn't all that impressed with the quality of the story. I felt like it was sub-par and that there were a few problems with it.

The story is set in the same Mistborn universe, except a few hundred years in the future. They've evolved to basically some sort of industrial age time, around the turn of the century in comparison for us. Guns are now invented, we have cars, trains, and electricity. This in itself is a huge part of the book, because it's rarely done. Most of the time, you've got Steampunk fitting this whole section, but it's not really that much of a Steampunk novel. And it's not so much urban fantasy, so it really makes it a unique book in that regard. I thought that portion of the novel was well done. Especially considering how his magic system works (pushing and pulling for example), it makes a really unique magic system. Not only do we have several different elements revolving around metal, which is now abundantly flying towards you thanks to guns, we have things like Feruchemy, which may let you heal faster, making bullet wounds not so bad. I'm not surprised this is where the magic system ended up, they'd have to deal with guns at some point, but it was very cool seeing it nonetheless.

Something I really liked other than that was the depth the system got to. Mistborns made the first novel not so impressive in terms of where things could go, since they were already doing everything. We got to see Feruchemists, Hemalurgists (which are basically Allomancers in this regard), and of course Allomancers, but we rarely got to see any sort of combination. In the future, you have some people that are capable of multiple things. Of course, it seems natural, Terris are now free and can mate with non-Terris, making the possibility of Feruchemists that know Allomancy. This becomes especially interesting, because instead of having 2 * (12+1) = 26 combinations of people (12 metals, a combination of all, and then another set for Feruchemists), we have 12C2 = 66 additional combinations. This certainly makes things interesting, because the possibilities seem quite endless here.

In terms of what the story is about, a bunch of robberies are taking place, and Waxillium Landrian and his buddy Wayne want to take matters into their own hands and stop the bad guys. I found it interesting that Sanderson kept on this "heist" sort of theme. We're not the ones doing it anymore, but I still found it interesting that a similar theme is the plot to the story. Of course, it makes a lot of sense given the time period, because the book makes me thing Wild West.

The characters were fine in the book. I think I rather enjoyed them, at least for the most part. Wayne is certainly an interesting character, and while it's very easy to pinpoint who Wax is, he's still a fine character. There are a few others that play roles, none of them are poor by any means.

Now, on to some things I didn't like. For one, I was upset with the length of the book and the story. It felt like it was rather short, as things escalated very quickly. I still feel like this story itself needed to be a little bit longer, as we really didn't get time to grasp the characters or the setting. That said, Sanderson hasn't left us high and dry, because he set up the plot to a point where he has to have a sequel.

That brings me to my second complaint. While some stuff resolves, some stuff does not, and he really does put it into a corner where he has to write a sequel. This, I am displeased with, because I don't like books being forced to do it if they don't have to, especially as spinoffs. I will concede that the way the story went, he would have had to make it twice as long, if not three times to finish the plot, but at the same time, I don't expect a sequel from this anytime soon. This book, as he points out in the tribute, is specifically a spinoff and not book 1 of the second Mistborn trilogy. Great I think, because Sanderson still has to write a lot of books, like Mistborn trilogy 2 book 1, The Way of Kings book 2, and whatever else he comes up with, because we undoubtedly know he will. Considering all things, it'd be at least a couple years before this book's sequel came out, and it would be pushing other things aside. And since he likes trilogies, I'd expect this to be one, and we'd be pushing things back even further. Forcing things to have sequels is something authors do when they're trying to get published, because on the chance you do, you have something to go to and prove yourself with again. He even made Elantris part of a trilogy, or at least capable of doing so, not that I suspect he will, he has far too much to write (nearly 20 books in total that he's promised). Sanderson isn't really looking to put his mark on the map, he's already the Eiffel Tower in terms of landmarks, writing a good trilogy, a great start to a series, and finishing one of the best fantasy series of all times.

Part of what upsets me is stalling on The Way of Kings. It came out a while ago, and he paused for a while to finish The Wheel of Time. I don't blame him at all for that, I respect him greatly for what he did there, but he also has to appease his fans with that series. It's going well, it's a great book (which I recommend if you haven't yet read), and he has to go and work on it. The further he gets there, the more we will want them. Maybe I'm just venting or something, because the time frame those will likely come out is what most people are taking, but then again, we know Sanderson could pump them out every year or two and they would be no worse for wear. I somewhat feel like an author owes it to his fans to work on sequels to books when he promises them, and he's stated that TWoK is going to be 10 books. With other authors like George R.R. Martin (author of A Game of Thrones, which I also recommend), at least we know they're doing something related to the series, and not writing several other books in between, which Sanderson has managed to do quite well (6 by my count, including all the novellas). I could maybe see a case where this story ends up being resolved in the next trilogy, but as him being an outliner, I suspect that he already has the story for that one in his mind, and seeing as this was a whim, I suspect it won't.

I also found the story itself to be a little lacking. It went really fast and we really didn't get a lot out of it. At the speed it went, I felt like he focused too heavily on resolving the story, and didn't take much time to flesh out the characters or the setting as much as he should have. He has done something very unique here, but he hasn't really tried to explore it other than what came up during the course of the story. He did make way of trying to flesh it out from something very unique (which I won't spoil), but I felt even that lacked a bit, and it could have been done a bit better, or more often.

I suppose at the end of the day, the story is just fine. It's a bit of a let down personally knowing Sanderson's work, which I absolutely love (he may very well be my favourite author), but it's still a fine story. I suppose one could really just ignore my rather lengthy argument about tangent stories, or say that I find it worse because, but I really don't find it worse because. Maybe a bit just because I'd have liked it to be self-contained, but it's still just a solid story. The thing is, Sanderson doesn't write solid stories, he write absolutely amazing ones that everyone should read, and this just doesn't seem to feel up to snuff to me.

At any rate, if you've read Mistborn, you'll enjoy this book, and it's worth reading. If you haven't read Mistborn, I'm not sure what you're doing, and you should probably go to your bookstore and buy it. And then, you'll be able to read this book, so I guess in the end, you're reading this book. Hopefully I haven't turned you off!(less)

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Jan 09, 2013 Regina rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a case of "don't judge a book by it's title". To be honest, I passed over this book because the title seemed a bit dumb.

I had read the previous Mistborn books, though, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

I actually enjoyed this book better than the first three!

It takes place in the same world- but 300 years in the future. Much has changed. There are technological advances, and the events of the past have become the stuff of legend and folklore (and religion).

The protagonist, Waximillian,...more

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About Brandon Sanderson

Brandon Sanderson is an American fantasy author. A Nebraska native, he currently resides in Provo, Utah. He earned his Master's degree in Creative Writing in 2005 from Brigham Young University. He has been nominated twice for the John W. Campbell Award.

Sanderson married on July 7, 2006 and is a member of the LDS church. Sanderson's writing is noteworthy for its epic fantasy tone, unique settings,...more

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Books by Brandon Sanderson

Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)

The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1)

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Quotes from The Alloy of Law

“The mark of a great man is one who knows when to set aside the important things in order to accomplish the vital ones.” — 51 people liked it

“Wayne: You wanna know why I really came to find you?

Waxilliam: Why?

Wayne: I thought of you happy in a comfy bed, resting and relaxing, spending the rest of your life sipping tea and reading papers while people bring you food and maids rub your toes and stuff.

Waxilliam: And?

Wayne: And I just couldn't leave you to a fate like that...I'm too good a friend to let a mate of mine die in such a terrible situation.

Waxilliam: Comfortable?

Wayne: No. Boring.” — 28 people liked it

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The Alloy of Law (Mistborn #4)

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