Shadows of Self
Ratings707
Average rating4.2
3.5 stars.
I liked this one more than the previous thanks to the larger presence of Harmony and TenSoon. This helped me out to connect to the first era trilogy that I loved so much. I also like Wayne for his craziness and fun. However, I cannot really connect to the other main characters and I am not a fan of western atmosphere, making my reading experience not as involving as I wanted to.
So like, Sanderson is definitely one of those authors I can read. But the more I read him, the more I'm frustrated by certain obvious beliefs he holds. And this book read distressingly like copaganda, which after 2020 is a little hard to stomach. Sure this is in a fantasy world, but it's hard not to take the message at face value: that the law and law enforcers are on the people's side and not the rich.
Now this was more like it. After the fun but self-contained Alloy of Law, Shadows of Self becomes a city-based crime thriller with the stakes of Elendel hanging in the balance. There are definite personal threads running through this story as well, this time Sanderson rotates naturally between the trio of Wax, Wayne and Marasi as they hunt a murder causing chaos amongst various class factions. This also greatly increases the depth of worldbuilding this time around, as we see these various groups and their thoughts, concerns and personalities (although over a short time span). Loved the return of the broadsheets and the sense of constant building tension throughout the first two-thirds of the book, which led to an almost inversion of the Final Empire's events (which I thought was very smart). Unfortunately, the conclusion and all its reveals were amazing but felt a bit convenient for me, although undoubtedly setting up the next entry in the series. There was a lot more religious pondering in here, a few more references to the original trilogy and honestly Wax was like a superhero in The Dark Knight with how much political thrilling and chaos was being caused by Bleeder. Very cool and very fun.
This book was even better than the first. I really enjoyed this addition to the Mistborn universe.
This story follows Wayne, Wax, and Marasi as they try to find out who is causing all of the disruption in their city. We get so many callbacks to the previous era that make this story that much more interesting. The whole time, I was trying to search for Easter eggs. Some of my favorite characters from the first era make an appearance here.
The whodunit plot twist was a little predictable, but the ending for Wax was NOT predictable. I was so emotional by the end and wanted to give Wax a hug. I'm instantly starting the next one because I have to know how this conflict resolves.
Sanderson does it again with his superb characters, making you feel for this trio and their surrounding friends/colleagues. The addition of Milan to the group for part of the book is so fun, and she quickly became one of my favorite characters. The banter between this group is hilarious and makes me want to go get a beer with them.
Overall, I think this book was successful and interesting to read. I recommend to Sanderson fans that might have reservations about era 2 like I did. No need to be hesitant. These are great!
If you read Sanderson's books you can be sure to expect the unexpected. I thought I had a pretty decent idea of what was going on in the first era of Mistborn, but I was so wrong. Sanderson challenged my beliefs and blew my mind with this new era. I don't have any choice but keep reading the next book.
THAT ENDING!!
how is Sanderson still surprising me?? lmao. in retrospect i should've had a hunch that Bleeder was Lessie!
there's less “screen time” with Wax, Wayne and Marasi this time around, but i still liked getting to know MeLaan (who was very funny), Marasi's colleagues, and also Steris. it's refreshing that Steris hasn't been cast aside in some kind of Wax-Marasi-Steris love triangle; instead, Wax and Marasi are actually being proper, responsible adults and staying out of anything romantic.
i liked the cameo from TenSoon as well! it felt rewarding to have read the entire first trilogy haha.
the ending was so bittersweet. i love the picture of Steris doing her best to comfort her betrothed. poor Wax. :(
WHAT HAPPENS IN THE NEXT (and final) BOOK?!
I had forgotten a bit how amazing Sanderson's writing is. I really had missed it. The plot got away from me in the middle a bit but int he last couple of chapters Sanderson delivered. The ending always feels like some cathartic and damn this twist.
I also loved all the characters that came back even is only mentioned briefly. Absolutely loved it and I am going on to the next book as fast as is humanly possible.
This isnt just because its a Sanderson book. His endings are something else is all I can say.
Definitely picked up speed from Alloy of law and has a really interesting ending, I can't wait for the next book.
I think this was better than the first book. We get a more in depth look at the three main protagonists, a greater story arc is taking shape, and it's even started to expand on the greater lore of the Mistborn series. Very much looking forward to the next book and the conclusion of the Wax and Wayne trilogy!
Shadows of Self is an exceptionally good entry in the Mistborn series. I was so impressed with how Sanderson leveraged the original Mistborn trilogy to tell this fresh and exciting story. Even if you weren't completely sold on Wax and Wayne after The Alloy of Law, I highly recommend sticking with them long enough to get to this one.
I want to give this book five stars, I really do. It did everything right but the first three books of the series does steal the thunder from this one..
So many high points in this book. Especially the mention of...
(Oops, I won't say more, don't wanna spoil anything)
Brandon Sanderson has such an organic style of writing, you know the end product is going to be great but you know the reading process will be different and difficult even.
Thank you, Mr. Brandon, I truly do have a favourite author now.
Pros: complex mystery, great characters, more mythology
Cons: didn't touch on one of the unresolved plot points from the first book
The past year has brought economic trouble to the city of Elendil. When a creature from mythology starts a series of terrorist attacks, targeting the governor, whom Marasi believes to be corrupt, Waxillium and Marasi become more and more convinced that these problems are related.
Wax and Wayne make for a fun team. Wax is driven, with a strong moral compass while Wayne has a crude sense of humour and loose beliefs with regards to ownership. Their different abilities complement each other, making them powerful. Wayne's ease with accents, dialects, and costumes gets a good workout.
I found myself liking Steris more in this book, and wishing she had more page time. While her relationship with Wax isn't a love match, I do think they're a couple that could work, given how things progress.
I also like how Marasi is developing as a character. She faces different kinds of challenges in this book and acquits herself well.
While you don't technically have to read Alloy of Law to understand and enjoy the events of this book, it does help. Certain events have more weight if you know what's happened, and you'll have a sense of missing information during a few conversations (I ended up skimming the first book half way through this one to remind myself of what's happened). There's also a lot more mythology in this book, making me want to read the original Mistborn trilogy.
I love how Allomancy and Feruchemy work and the skills the powers allow the characters to use. This book also uses a third type of metal magic, which was cool to learn about.
I was somewhat surprised that one of the major unresolved plot points from the first book wasn't really touched on or dealt with in this one. I'm assuming it will come back in the third book.
This is a fun book and while the ending isn't a cliffhanger, it is designed to have you reaching for the next book, The Bands of Mourning, which luckily comes out in January.
B. Sand.... my boo... we're so close I have a nickname for him... I love all of his books. Shadows of Self is no exception. There is the action/lore of the original Mistborn books, but this one has a lot of underlying political/religious unrest. At times I got a little bogged down because I didn't remember a lot of the religious aspects from the original series. But the ending of this one is amazing!!! I love Wax and his emotional but strong demeanor. He's my hero.
Guess it's time to spend some quality time with a little re-read of the OGs.
Brandon manages to achieve continuity without it being too taxing in the reader to follow. Alloy of law works even now and I am now more convinced than ever that this is probably the best magic system going around. A must read
With this being the 5th book in the Mistborn universe, and 2nd in the Wax and Wayne series, I wasn't expecting too much. Alloy of Law didn't hook me in anywhere near as much as Sandersons other works. Although it set the stage in a new time, it didn't evolve the world as much as I'd hoped. Shadows of Self, on the other hand, conjured some new ideas into the world and brought more light to the condra who I always was interested in hearing more from.
With this being the 5th book in the Mistborn universe, and 2nd in the Wax and Wayne series, I wasn't expecting too much. Alloy of Law didn't hook me in anywhere near as much as Sandersons other works. Although it set the stage in a new time, it didn't evolve the world as much as I'd hoped. Shadows of Self, on the other hand, conjured some new ideas into the world and brought more light to the condra who I always was interested in hearing more from.
There's no such thing as a bad entry to the Mistborn series. This one has some fantastic action. The development of Wax, Wayne, and Marasi were all well done. I especially like Wayne. Nice little mystery included in the epilogue, which I'm sure will be at least partly explained in Bands of Mourning or The Lost Metal.
Shadows of Self is the sequel to The Alloy of Law, and continues the story of Waxillium Ladrian and his sidekick Wayne. Wax comes from a wealthy family, but spent quite a few years as a vigilante lawman in The Roughs. He has returned to the city life of Elendel, but he is having a hard time fitting into a world with politics, police, and ever-changing technology. As with the first novel about Wax and Wayne, you get a fun detective story mixed in with some awesome magic and cool fight scenes. However, this novel also has much more development of the changes to politics, religion, and technology since the original Mistborn trilogy. We get to find out what happened to a lot of the cool creatures that were major plot points in the original books as well. This novel also has a fair bit of character development as well, and shows a much more introspective side to a group of characters that could have come across as excessively comedic in the first novel. Shadows of Self doesn't have quite as much action as The Alloy of Law, but I actually appreciate the change of pace, especially because it allows for more world building. Anyone who has read the original Mistborn series is going to love how the events of those novels have influences the religion and politics of the newer stories in such a logical way. There are also quite a few Cosmere nuggets sprinkled into this text, so all of the obsessive Sanderson fans should be quite pleased with that as well. I don't think knowledge of the Cosmere, or even reading the other Mistborn novels, is necessary to enjoy the story, but I do think being able to geek out over the key sentences scattered throughout the book did substantially increase my enjoyment of it. Aside from the Cosmere geekery, I also have to applaud the ending of this book. Sanderson always delivers a great ending, but I believe the only appropriate way to describe this one is that it gives you “all the feels.” I'm trying to avoid spoilers as much as possible, but I will say that if you think the middle of the book gets slightly too focused on the politics and plotting, don't worry - there will be too much emotion to handle by the end. And if you are worried that you won't be able to deal with the emotional ending, don't worry - the third installment of Wax and Wayne trilogy, The Bands of Mourning, will hit stores January 26, 2016. I don't know if this is the fastest publication sequence for two novels in a series like this, but fantasy fans are used to waiting at least a year (or two, or three, or six...) between books, so this quick release sequence is actually really exciting. Although this book had a satisfying ending, I'm really excited for the conclusion to the Wax and Wayne trilogy, so I'm very excited for the end of January. Overall I think this was a great addition to Sanderson's Mistborn series. I think it could be enjoyed by anyone, even without having read the other books in the series, however, this story is one that I think readers will enjoy more if they have at least read The Alloy of Law or the original Mistborn trilogy. It was a great read, with nerd-tastic world building details and enough emotional punches to last me the winter. Highly recommended.