Analyzing the Alloys

I’m having a hard time deciding my perspective on Brandon Sanderson’s “Alloy of Law.”  I don’t have any strong feelings about it, other than: it wasn’t what I expected (pace-wise).  At this point, I’ve read a lot of Brandon Sanderson books, and overall, I’m a fan.  This book follows a different plot structure though, which threw me off.

I was expecting a long exploration of the magic and setting, but Sanderson expects you to have read the Mistborn series and jumps right in.  Sure, 300 years have passed by, the world is geographically changed, and technology has advanced to wild-west/steam-punk.

Also, the plot involves a kidnapping, which means every hour is crucial versus the methodical planning and elongated heist to overcome a god.  Still, I kept expecting lots of little climaxes and more subplot fights, like his other books.  There are other subplots, but they all arch together, making one super fat plot line.

From what I’ve heard, this book’s just a middle stage – like a 383 page introduction to the next trilogy of Mistborn, starting with “Shadows of Self.”  It was kind of like watching just the first two episodes of “the Legend of Korra” after “the Last Airbender” series.  Though it doesn’t have a lot plot-wise, Sanderson showed how the Mistborn history and magic system can develop with time.

After pondering this for some time, I’m ending with a ***3.5*** stars.  I liked it, I may even read it again because the characters are interesting and I liked the 19th century detective feel.  It’s humorous (I mean, seriously, their names are Wax and Wayne, like the moon crescent), 😛 and it reads like any other intriguing Brandon Sanderson novel – except the plot structure.