The Alloy of Law

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 :)

24 of 24 people found this review 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.

54 of 61 people found this review helpful

Awesome

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

25 of 29 people found this review 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.

43 of 51 people found this review 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

11 of 13 people found this review 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).

18 of 22 people found this review 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.)

22 of 28 people found this review 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.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Fair

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

No...Ultimately I was disappointed in this novel.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Brandon seems to pull his punches and holds back for some reason. This is likely my own bias but I want something more akin to Robert Jordan...when you fall things break, when shot you bleed and characters die (even the ones we care for) in the best of books. The best descriptions of conflict and confrontation have tangible stakes for those involved (the first of the book) and for much of this book this seems absent. He needs a dose of reality / grit in this book which is missing. The beginning had me hooked and I was prepared for an incredible story...it never arrived. I won't spoil the book and perhaps sequels will explain things in greater detail but the way this story begins and it's ending don't seem to match. There should be some connection and a strong one. The book started on I thought I was in for a ride with twists and turns. The plot plows down a predictable and straight decent into boredom with a few memorable moments.

Have you listened to any of Michael Kramer’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Kramer does a great job with what he has to work with in this novel. I loved his voice in The Way of Kings and it cheapens the experience to have him narrate this novel in comparison.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

On DvD...maybe.

Any additional comments?

My first encounter with Brandon was through the books he completed for Robert Jordan which are fantastic. The Way of Kings is perhaps one of the most incredible epic fantasy books I have ever read. The mistborn series was fair at best and this book in no exception. I keep reading / listening to his books with the expectation of something along the lines of TWoK or WoT books and I have been deeply disappointed so far. It is almost as though these are written by a more immature Sanderson or written without thought. He (Sanderson) seems to write these books walking on egg shells for a teen audience rather than adults. His attempts at romance are juvenile and unconvincing and he should just leave these parts out of this book (and others) altogether. The characters are fun but their actions make very little sense and the motivations are absent. This is particularly true for the villains in the story. The book rambles on and toward the end I was only listening to see how the confrontations would turn out.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Good, not great

Very intriguing premise. Unfortunately the story, especially the ending, was not up to the level of the original trilogy. Worth reading if you liked the first three.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful