Book this Week: Alloy of Law

Steampunk met Detective story met Fantasy and then came Sanderson's latest installment from the Mistborn world.

Awesome Stuff About this Book:

For any fan of the trilogy proceeding this, there are many snicker-worthy moments.  Your main characters from the 1st three books have become religious and mythical figures.  Are they still around?  After three hundred years?  In some form?  The book does seem to court these questions, and other than a hint of a scene at the end, it leaves us still asking.  Which, of course, means that I will wait eagerly for the second book.

Legacy of our original heroes:

The decisions at the end of the third book have dramatically altered not only the world, but how the magic works.  And we as the reader get to see the world created out of the dreams and decisions of our earlier heroes.  

I <3 the genealogy element.  Grew up around family members that had traced various branches of the family back to Europe, and I love the idea of characters being descended of other characters.  Though I also like how obscure he also made these lines, allowing for people to kind of muddle it even when they think they have records and a scientific understanding of exactly how this whole thing happens.

Lead Lady's random statistics:  I loved this tendency of hers. It gave us hints of how the world was constructed, her personality, gave greater insight into Wax (our main character) based on how he responded to her, and was just plain charming.

If your new:

The world, magic and everything is so dramatically different that you really don't need to read the first three to greatly enjoy this one.  But I suggest if you read this first, then go to Vin's stories, reread Alloy after.  

I am seriously thinking of rereading the Mistborn trilogy, and then following it again with Alloy--just so I don't miss a reference. More for fan-girl enjoyment than anything, mind.

Guns n' Magic:  

This is not a combo we usually see outside urban fantasy, but it works and works well here. The fight scenes get downright crazy, with the magic and guns working off each other.  I can't wait to see this sort of thing on a screen--it's definitely movie/show worthy.  

But first, there will be a video game :)