PISSED OFF and INSULTED

While the story is true to Brandon's style and creativity .... I am completley pissed off with what is CLEARY (at best), half a darn book. Either it was split for financial blood sucking purpose or, Brandon never completed it. And I refuse to beleive the later since TOR has proven repeatedly that they are fan blood sucking pros. I project that a "new" Mistborn novel, (the other half and already completed), other half of this novel will be released no later than early 2013. As for me ... the insult and feeling of pure "rip-off" this time is just to much. I know I am just one person and my purchase won't make or break TOR but I am done. Already painfully in for a pound & penny on WoT. WoT fans know what I mean. Read if you must but beware and clear on what you are stepping into. As for me ... I no longer have the time patience or energy for blood sucking games.

69 people found this helpful

Pleased, yet wanting more...

I too was not sure about the more "modern setting of this new series, but I ended up being surprised at how well it worked. I truly enjoyed the characters, the story, and the new world. Or would it be the older world? Depends on how you look at it I guess, but it is the same world as the original series, just 300 years after the end of the last book. I thought the bits and pieces of the original story were tied in cleverly and not overdone. There was also some good humor in the dialogue between two of the main characters, and of course, that dialogue was brilliantly performed yet again by Michael Kramer. Overall, I loved it and am looking forward to the next one. However... It was way too short. I know that any book you really get into can seem short simply because you don't want it to end, and while that is true for this book, this one really IS too short. I was so excited it was out I just bought it straight away, but when I went to download it I honestly though something had gone wrong and I was missing the other two parts! I can see why a big new release like this was only one credit, but even so I felt like I should have a bit more book for my buck. I hope this is a one time occurrence and the rest of the series will be back up to size. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed what was there, and will just keep fingers crossed for the next one.

61 people found this helpful

More Mistborn goodness.

I typically don't like books tacked on to a great series that are far in the future (or prequels in the past) but in this case I really enjoyed the book. I do agree with the many others who comment that this book isn't long enough, but I really can't say that I feel cheated. The main story is interesting and complete even if there is a bigger picture that can be further explored in future books. This actually makes me happy as it likely means there should be more Mistborn novels in the future. :)

Wax and Wayne are excellent characters and their interactions are very entertaining. Despite my initial scepticism about the more modern setting, it combines with Allomancy and Feruchemy just fine. Sanderson creates a world that is a plausible result of the events in the original trilogy and it all ties together nicely.

As usual Michael Kramer does an excellent job on the narration.

52 people found this helpful

Shorter, but very entertaining

Any additional comments?

He pulled that off really well. Transporting his action and 'magic' rich Mistborn material to a western-steampunk-SherlockHolmes future of the same world? I definitely didn't expect that but was very well entertained (and amused). Good listen! - On a side note: very interesting how Sanderson develops the storylines containing religious ideas of the characters. Like a little bonus: nice to have a fun philosophical idea to ponder when not listening to the book :)

43 people found this helpful

Short story or Teaser

Not a bad short story... not what I'm used to from Brandon Sanderson. The book is not bad... just too short. Character development is deep. You care about the characters and the narrator Michael Kramer brings all of them to life in his own inimitable way. All of the voices are original, consistent and enjoyable to listen to. Accustom to the epic offerings from the Mistborn trilogy, however, it was disappointing not having something to really dig your teeth into within this most recent contribution.

We have none of the original characters but the new ones are fascinating and inviting. The landscape is more modern and vividly portrayed though its precise time is ambiguous. The protagonists are very reminiscent of Holmes and Watson and probably deliberately so. Allomancy and Feruchemy are central to the antics of the characters and almost as easy to suspend belief as from within the earlier works. I don't remember there being as much humor in the trilogy. Alloy is fraught with great, clever and intelligent humor. Anytime a book causes me to smile or even laugh, for me, has a lot going for it.

But alas, while the time and environment is new, the characters totally different, their supernatural, comic book like portrayals are not so refreshingly new. If this is all Brandon Sanderson had to write and give us then so be it. Finish the book and the series. Again, I liked the book but mostly because of the way it was narrated. What I didn't care for was receiving something so much less wondrous and extended than what we received in the trilogy. This was not a deep or enthralling offering from a master. It's maybe something that would serve as an introduction to something more grand. But it's still the same old stuff continued from earlier works that were great.

Mr. Sanderson, frankly I feel a little cheated. And, had I not read the trilogy, I would have really been upset because I probably would not have understood a whole lot of what went on in the book. I bought this book based on the calibre of the trilogy and this most recent offering is not that. I think that most of us expect that when an author comes out with something new, it will be better than what went before, or it should. Perhaps you have shot your wad. Maybe you do not care. I hope not. There are so many great works of literature out there that I personally don't have time for light weight contributions.

Bottom line, the narrator made this a very enjoyable book. While it might have bordered on it, I don't think it was a waste of time. However, it was the narrator that kept me engaged and not the content of the book. I read 6 of the total Wheel of Time series and then quit. It just kept being the same thing over and over again. It got old and I quit. Mr. Sanderson, I'll give your next book a shot but if it's not a big improvement over this one, Mistborn will go the way of the Wheel of Time for me.

31 people found this helpful

Awesome

Great story! Can't wait to get the sequel!!! Love everything from Sanderson. Highly recommend this book.

27 people found this helpful

AoL Sequel: Wanted Dead or Alive

Yes there are quite a few loose ends (with even more added in the last moments) considering this isn't mentioned as a series. I'd guess its intended to be the prologue for the next Mistborn trilogy but who knows. Beyond that this is what I have to say of the story. This isn't a western, just think of it as Mistborn with a bounty hunter as the main character with guns and trains in the mix. The provided summary explains as much as can be.

There are only three protagonists in this book compared to the many major and minor of Final Empire (400 less pages will do that.) Wax, his sidekick and a girl who I'll avoid names to keep spoilers out. Wax reminds me of Elend (but less classy and twenty years older). He's interesting, your basic lawman with a past but like Elend spends too much time thinking to be an effective main character but he is. This causes the build up to be sluggish and passively sluggish at that but interesting to see how the world has changed.

His sidekick like Kelsier in the first series is more interesting and I enjoyed every scene he was in. He's also one of the new allomancers, with the ability to slow down time outside a bubble he makes and uses it in a very fun and unique way. If there is a sequel I hope to see more of him.

Lastly there's the girl. She's educated, good with a rifle and around when it counts but like some other female protagonists of sanderson's, sort of just falls into line and most attempts to be remarkable are foiled. What doesn't make sense is that Sanderson does good female characters (in my knowledge and opinion) and there are at least two in this book that are interesting and entertaining. They just aren't first choice as the main heroine sometimes but he is improving in character building.

The magic however is better than ever. As I believe Sanderson said, its not what you can do with magic that's interesting, its what you can't. With no actual mistborn in this novel, there is no one to be the living disaster known as VIn . No devastating force on one side or another (but Wax comes close in top shape). It matters much more here how you use your powers than just how much of them or fuel you have.

The narration is what I expected being a mistborn and wheel of time listener, enjoyable and clear. So as long as there's a another book coming at some point (though I'm tiring of in the air endings) I can easily give this book a four out of five.

(PS- Kill all hopes of having any Kandra or Koloss in this book. The Koloss are mentioned but never explained and the Kandra are never hinted at.)

25 people found this helpful

Excellent Book :)

I finished the Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson yesterday. Obviously it's set in the Mistborn universe, but it was kinda like a combination of Sherlock Holmes and Gunslinger. It's an exceptional book book and much better than the last two Mistborn books he released (I haven't decided if it's better than the Final Empire yet). I really hope he does a few follow-up books and Soon (tm).

20 people found this helpful

Felt like something was missing.

Any additional comments?

I haven't listened to other books by Brandon Sanderson, but I've read most, including the Mistborn trilogy. I felt that this book really lacked something, it wasn't as gripping as the trilogy. I wouldn't say it was bad, but it felt somehow slower. I did enjoy some of the references towards characters and events in the earlier books, and I felt towards the end they left room for future development. The narration by Michael Kramer was enjoyable, and I think he helped bring some life to it. All in all, if you haven't read the original Mistborn trilogy, you'll want to dive into those first before taking this one on.

13 people found this helpful

Fantastic if short... until the end....

This was a great book. I was worried about the transition of time but the story felt fresh, the alchemy was fantastic. The characters were all excellent, pure Sanderson, and I loved the little hints at the only characters from the original trilogy.

Until the end... it came way to fast. I've read that this isn't the start of Sanderson's next Mistborn trilogy, and this was supposed to be just a side story... so how could he possibly end it like he did? So little was fully concluded, so much left up in the air... it felt unfofilled.

Can't recommend this higher, but be warned about the aburpt ending

12 people found this helpful