Name: The Lost Metal
ISBN: 9781473215269

Brandon Sanderson

The Lost Metal

Kireth Sandhu

People are elastic, Wax thought. We can keep reshaping ourselves. And if we’re not quite the same as before, well, that’s good. It means we can grow.

He wasn’t wearing a hat, which meant he had to just be himself. The true him, the one that knew this pain. They’d ridden together on many a dusty path. This pain had been his invisible friend since childhood. The pain of knowing what he really was. The pain of being worthless.

This was a funny reminder of covid for me

“Wait!” Steris said, then dug in her handbag. “Masks.” She distributed the cloth masks to everyone, even Allik, since a wooden one wouldn’t filter the air for him. They took the masks absently, or maybe even with a bit of an eye roll. All except Wax, who smiled at her as he put his on.

“Your impermanence is outlived by the beautiful internal shells you create—like sand medallions from the ocean, so are the bones of the human being. A lasting testimony of your presence on Scadrial.

“Has it ever struck you,” Moonlight said, “how art is so destructive?” “Art?” Marasi said, frowning. “Destructive?” “Each new movement consumes the one that came before,” Moonlight said, starting them forward as the traffic began to creep into motion again. “Chops it up and feeds on the corpse. Takes the bones, but drapes new skin on them. Each new piece of art is in some way a parody of what has come before.”

“Seems unfair to grouse at a man for getting discombobulated by definitive proof of an afterlife. Dark gods. Death himself dyin’. Rusting ghosts. Guess we gotta keep goin’, but after this, I don’t wanna see anyone complainin’ when I’ve traded for someone’s favorite shoes or whatnot. Hear me?”

But that had been a false impression of control, hadn’t it? Acknowledging that made him uncomfortable. It wasn’t that the world was growing more complicated. It was that he was letting himself see it had always been complicated.

The mists felt like a friend from his youth that he still knew but rarely talked to.

But maybe your ma was right about the bad guy being a mesa. Being the land itself. Maybe that’s what she was saying, Wayne: It’s the world that we have to worry about. Individual men, yes, they can be evil. But we should worry more about the world itself making them so.”

The two sat in silence for a time. They did that more and more, during their infrequent meetings. Perhaps because both knew it was better than arguing.

Return to #1 New York Times bestseller Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn world of Scadrial as its second era, which began with 'The Alloy of Law', comes to its earth-shattering conclusion in 'The Lost Metal'.

For years, frontier lawman turned big-city senator Waxillium Ladrian has hunted the shadowy organization the Set—with his late uncle and his sister among their leaders—since they started kidnapping people with the power of Allomancy in their bloodlines. When Detective Marasi Colms and her partner Wayne find stockpiled weapons bound for the Outer City of Bilming, this opens a new lead. Conflict between Elendel and the Outer Cities only favors the Set, and their tendrils now reach to the Elendel Senate—whose corruption Wax and Steris have sought to expose—and Bilming is even more entangled.

After Wax discovers a new type of explosive that can unleash unprecedented destruction and realizes that the Set must already have it, an immortal kandra serving Scadrial’s god, Harmony, reveals that Bilming has fallen under the influence of another god: Trell, worshipped by the Set. And Trell isn’t the only factor at play from the larger Cosmere—Marasi is recruited by offworlders with strange abilities who claim their goal is to protect Scadrial...at any cost.

Wax must choose whether to set aside his rocky relationship with God and once again become the Sword that Harmony has groomed him to be. If no one steps forward to be the hero Scadrial needs, the planet and its millions of people will come to a sudden and calamitous ruin.

The Mistborn Saga (Volume 7)

There's not much of a point to writing a review for the 4th book in a series by now. If you've kept reading from Alloy of Law to the Bands of Mourning, you'll read this. If you have been liking those, you'll probably like this one too. A review at this point would be most useful for readers of the initial Mistborn trilogy that have yet to begin the Wax and Wayne books. Sadly it has been far too long since I began these and I'm not the best person to build that case.

I can say that, having absolutely loved the initial trilogy (among my favourite reads), I think the tetralogy was worth my time while being clearly less well developed. The beginning was slow to entice me, both the characters and the superficial plot. As it gets deeper and stories continue, I actually got to like a few of the characters and the mystery did become interesting. My ratings were always 4 starts (what does that even mean?) but in truth I'd say the first two books are clearly below par. In The Bands of Mourning I already cared about people and in The Lost Metal I cared about everything, because no one dare threaten my beloved Scadrial. By the end, the fates of Wax and Wayne, Steris and Marasi, MeLaan, Harmony himself mattered to me as a reader. The thrillers in the tetralogy are never as good as the Final Empire (can Sanderson ever beat that in my eyes? I doubt it), but that's fine because I still cared about its conclusion, particularly in The Lost Metal.

If you are a reader that values or gets excited about the depths of the magic system or the connections to the wider Cosmere, you'll definitely like The Lost Metal, both are taken to unprecedented heights. Depths? Both. If you are annoyed at the emergence of unknown characters or forces, you may be frustrated here. I'm perfectly fine with unexplained things, as long as they make sense, and not having read any of The StormLight Archive (have read Elantris, The Emperor's Soul, White Sand) I didn't feel lost at all.

The characters have some development throughout, but it's in the last book that that happens with considerable impact. I never expected to be rooting for Steris and Wayne as much. On the other hand, Sanderson needs to stop trying to teach the reader what the characters are feeling and going through. The scenes are enough, the constant explaining and detailing of what the character used to think of herself and how it is changing right now and why is too much. I'd rather the author trust his own writing and my own understanding. I'm lukewarm on some of what's described of Harmony and the "Sovereign", but I guess if it was enough for me to keep interested I can wait for the future consequences. Speaking of the future, some plot threads are planted and left unsolved so that the readers can theorize what will be happening in the years between The Lost Metal and last trilogy or some stakes for the last plot itself.

Taking all into account, if you loved the world of Mistborn in the first era and especially if you are reading other Cosmere books, the second era is worth a read, even if with lower expectations. Here's to hoping the third era takes us back to the thrill and wonder of The Final Empire (the book, not the empire itself, the real world is doing enough of that).

André Nóbrega

There's not much of a point to writing a review for the 4th book in a series by now. If you've kept reading from Alloy of Law to the Bands of Mourning, you'll read this. If you have been liking those, you'll probably like this one too. A review at this point would be most useful for readers of the initial Mistborn trilogy that have yet to begin the Wax and Wayne books. Sadly it has been far too long since I began these and I'm not the best person to build that case.
I can say that, having absolutely loved the initial trilogy (among my favourite reads), I think the tetralogy was worth my time while being clearly less well developed. The beginning was slow to entice me, both the characters and the superficial plot. As it gets deeper and stories continue, I actually got to like a few of the characters and the mystery did become interesting. My ratings were always 4 starts (what does that even mean?) but in truth I'd say the first two books are clearly below par. In The Bands of Mourning I already cared about people and in The Lost Metal I cared about everything, because no one dare threaten my beloved Scadrial. By the end, the fates of Wax and Wayne, Steris and Marasi, MeLaan, Harmony himself mattered to me as a reader. The thrillers in the tetralogy are never as good as the Final Empire (can Sanderson ever beat that in my eyes? I doubt it), but that's fine because I still cared about its conclusion, particularly in The Lost Metal.
If you are a reader that values or gets excited about the depths of the magic system or the connections to the wider Cosmere, you'll definitely like The Lost Metal, both are taken to unprecedented heights. Depths? Both. If you are annoyed at the emergence of unknown characters or forces, you may be frustrated here. I'm perfectly fine with unexplained things, as long as they make sense, and not having read any of The StormLight Archive (have read Elantris, The Emperor's Soul, White Sand) I didn't feel lost at all.
The characters have some development throughout, but it's in the last book that that happens with considerable impact. I never expected to be rooting for Steris and Wayne as much. On the other hand, Sanderson needs to stop trying to teach the reader what the characters are feeling and going through. The scenes are enough, the constant explaining and detailing of what the character used to think of herself and how it is changing right now and why is too much. I'd rather the author trust his own writing and my own understanding. I'm lukewarm on some of what's described of Harmony and the "Sovereign", but I guess if it was enough for me to keep interested I can wait for the future consequences. Speaking of the future, some plot threads are planted and left unsolved so that the readers can theorize what will be happening in the years between The Lost Metal and last trilogy or some stakes for the last plot itself.

Taking all into account, if you loved the world of Mistborn in the first era and especially if you are reading other Cosmere books, the second era is worth a read, even if with lower expectations. Here's to hoping the third era takes us back to the thrill and wonder of The Final Empire (the book, not the empire itself, the real world is doing enough of that).

Good grief, you all had me scared half to death with your reviews of this thing. The way people were talking about the ending, I was expecting the worst possible outcomes for every single character. Every time I read, I was just like, "Okay, well, gotta enjoy these last few breaths of Wax, Wayne, Marasi, and Steris because they're all going to be brutally murdered with some tragic emotional context."

Well, on that note, let's just get this out of the way: Wayne's death. I had an inkling it was coming from the very beginning (a genuine inkling, not a fatalistic "everyone's going to die" inkling), but even so, it was so sad! But also so sweet! Such a nice character arc. I think that 

 it would have behooved the story to have a little bit more of Wayne's inner turmoil like we see in this one—then again, maybe I just didn't pay attention to it in the first three books. But there's just, like...a lot of pain here. More than it felt like had ever been alluded to. But like I said, maybe that's just me being clueless.

Speaking of being clueless, I absolutely love all the references to other Cosmere books, but there are just so many concepts that completely fly over my head. It's quite amusing.

Kelsier! My guy! My favorite character to ever be created! He's back! And he's boring. Well, not boring. He's different. I'll be honest, I was a bit disappointed. Ten years of hoping that maybe, just maybe, he'd come back to life, and then there he was! Alive! And he was just...there. I don't know what I was expecting—actually, yes, I do. I was expecting my hopeful, optimistic, stuck-up leader, and I got...some of those qualities. The optimism was absent, which was disappointing. That being said, I haven't read 

 yet (it's on the list to be read soon, though), so...maybe I need that in order to fully appreciate this.

Yet, with all that being said...yeah, I definitely cried at the end when he was just...there. Alive. Chatting with Sazed. My Kelsier. It healed something within me...though I'll admit I'm a little afraid of what he's going to be doing from here on out... If he starts going way too psycho, I'll just pretend that the Kelsier who died in book one is the only true Kelsier and that this new one is some weird copycat. It's fine to be delusional over fictional characters, right?

Well, while we're talking about characters I love, let me just say that I am SO RELIEVED that Waxillium Ladrian survived this book. Like...holy crap, I am SO relieved. I could not be happier with how things ended for him. I was honestly expecting him to die, especially since there were several moments throughout this book that made me go, "That felt like very ominous foreshadowing," but hooray! He lived! Happily, with his wife and kids! Goodness me. I love that guy. I just—gah, I love him. He's really been through the wringer with this series, and I'm just so glad that he caught a break with that ending.

Yay for Steris! I just love it so much that she isn't your typical heroic character, but she's never changed to be more typically heroic. She has vital value in the qualities she already has. It's so beautiful, and I just love her and relate to her so deeply. The fact that she and Wax really are in love and happy and all that makes my heart so happy.

Oh my goodness, I love Marasi so much in this one. I mean, I already loved her, but she just rocks. Everything she does is just great, and I'm not exaggerating on that. I loved her moment confronting the Rioted feeling of shame—that was so lovely and poignant.

Overall...I actually think this might be my least favorite of the second era. Maybe. Not a hundred percent sure yet. I definitely liked it less than 

 (which is still perfect, no notes) and less than 

 but I can't decide if I liked it more or less than 

 I mean, I still very, very, very much enjoyed it, and honestly, I think I'd enjoy it even more on a reread, since I wouldn't have the dread of "All right, what horrible end is everyone going to meet within the next few pages?" hanging over my head. Really cool story, and some fun scenes.

Well...honestly, the distress I think I normally would have felt over Wayne's death is mostly covered by the fact that I'm just so happy this wasn't as devastating of an ending as 

—I was fully expecting to be doubled-over from sobs, but it didn't happen, which I consider a good thing! This was the necessary ending, just as it was.

Dessa

Good grief, you all had me scared half to death with your reviews of this thing. The way people were talking about the ending, I was expecting the worst possible outcomes for every single character. Every time I read, I was just like, "Okay, well, gotta enjoy these last few breaths of Wax, Wayne, Marasi, and Steris because they're all going to be brutally murdered with some tragic emotional context."
Well, on that note, let's just get this out of the way: Wayne's death. I had an inkling it was coming from the very beginning (a genuine inkling, not a fatalistic "everyone's going to die" inkling), but even so, it was so sad! But also so sweet! Such a nice character arc. I think that maybe it would have behooved the story to have a little bit more of Wayne's inner turmoil like we see in this one—then again, maybe I just didn't pay attention to it in the first three books. But there's just, like...a lot of pain here. More than it felt like had ever been alluded to. But like I said, maybe that's just me being clueless.
Speaking of being clueless, I absolutely love all the references to other Cosmere books, but there are just so many concepts that completely fly over my head. It's quite amusing.
Kelsier! My guy! My favorite character to ever be created! He's back! And he's boring. Well, not boring. He's different. I'll be honest, I was a bit disappointed. Ten years of hoping that maybe, just maybe, he'd come back to life, and then there he was! Alive! And he was just...there. I don't know what I was expecting—actually, yes, I do. I was expecting my hopeful, optimistic, stuck-up leader, and I got...some of those qualities. The optimism was absent, which was disappointing. That being said, I haven't read Mistborn: Secret History yet (it's on the list to be read soon, though), so...maybe I need that in order to fully appreciate this.
Yet, with all that being said...yeah, I definitely cried at the end when he was just...there. Alive. Chatting with Sazed. My Kelsier. It healed something within me...though I'll admit I'm a little afraid of what he's going to be doing from here on out... If he starts going way too psycho, I'll just pretend that the Kelsier who died in book one is the only true Kelsier and that this new one is some weird copycat. It's fine to be delusional over fictional characters, right?
Well, while we're talking about characters I love, let me just say that I am SO RELIEVED that Waxillium Ladrian survived this book. Like...holy crap, I am SO relieved. I could not be happier with how things ended for him. I was honestly expecting him to die, especially since there were several moments throughout this book that made me go, "That felt like very ominous foreshadowing," but hooray! He lived! Happily, with his wife and kids! Goodness me. I love that guy. I just—gah, I love him. He's really been through the wringer with this series, and I'm just so glad that he caught a break with that ending.
Yay for Steris! I just love it so much that she isn't your typical heroic character, but she's never changed to be more typically heroic. She has vital value in the qualities she already has. It's so beautiful, and I just love her and relate to her so deeply. The fact that she and Wax really are in love and happy and all that makes my heart so happy.
Oh my goodness, I love Marasi so much in this one. I mean, I already loved her, but she just rocks. Everything she does is just great, and I'm not exaggerating on that. I loved her moment confronting the Rioted feeling of shame—that was so lovely and poignant.
Overall...I actually think this might be my least favorite of the second era. Maybe. Not a hundred percent sure yet. I definitely liked it less than Bands of Mourning (which is still perfect, no notes) and less than Shadows of Self, but I can't decide if I liked it more or less than Alloy of Law. I mean, I still very, very, very much enjoyed it, and honestly, I think I'd enjoy it even more on a reread, since I wouldn't have the dread of "All right, what horrible end is everyone going to meet within the next few pages?" hanging over my head. Really cool story, and some fun scenes.
Well...honestly, the distress I think I normally would have felt over Wayne's death is mostly covered by the fact that I'm just so happy this wasn't as devastating of an ending as Hero of Ages—I was fully expecting to be doubled-over from sobs, but it didn't happen, which I consider a good thing! This was the necessary ending, just as it was.

I have never thought I would be disappointed by an ending written by Brandon Sanderson. Really who would've thought. 

I personnaly didn't like how Era 2 was handled, especially this last installment. It was messy, boring (some chapters didn't need to be there), the way era 2 wrapped up was so 

I feel like Mr Sanderson neglected the course of the storyline to write more about the Cosmere in this book. As a reader, I really didn't like it. I am here to consume stories and I didn't appreciate that details were neglected for the benefice of a universe as a whole. I think it could've been done in another way ? Because random info dumping is not it for me. I don't know. 

It's clearly not the author's best and knowing he can do much better makes the execution of it more infuriating lol

Amira BEN

I have never thought I would be disappointed by an ending written by Brandon Sanderson. Really who would've thought. 

I personnaly didn't like how Era 2 was handled, especially this last installment. It was messy, boring (some chapters didn't need to be there), the way era 2 wrapped up was so dissatisfying. I feel like Mr Sanderson neglected the course of the storyline to write more about the Cosmere in this book. As a reader, I really didn't like it. I am here to consume stories and I didn't appreciate that details were neglected for the benefice of a universe as a whole. I think it could've been done in another way ? Because random info dumping is not it for me. I don't know. 

It's clearly not the author's best and knowing he can do much better makes the execution of it more infuriating lol



Nick Perronteau

** spoiler alert **
           Strong 4/5
-
While the structure reflects similar plot points from that of Era One, Era Two remains unique enough to stand on its own. ‘The Lost Metal’ as well ends its own way in the new world of Scadrial, even with old faces being revealed. Bravo on another great series, Mr. Sanderson. Like that of Desmond’s Charles Dickens in ‘LOST,’ you are my author. I will read “every beautiful world”

Nate Niederkorn

Cody Degen

Rachel Kanyid

Ok wow. Way to make me have all the feels and stuff.

My favorite Mistborn book to date I think. (I prefer Era 2 over Era 1 in general. An unpopular opinion, I know.) Admittedly I found this book largely predictable and a tad too cheesy at times, but, other than being fun, it has widened the doors to the cosmere so much and I’m excited to see what Sanderson has in store!

Brianna

Emily newton

andrea

the lost metal has made an effort in solving, improving and even redeeming many of the criticisms i had about the previous mistborn era 2 books, and i'm so glad i'm able to write these words.

- the plot, pacing and overall writing.
in my humble opinion, this is the most well-planned and well-executed book in era 2. since the beginning there is a purpose, it is not merely a fun story anymore. there is more to it and the build up has finally paid off.

from page 1 the pace is great, the action starts right away and there is not a point in which it falters. the stakes, the tension is built, exponentially but little by little. the pieces of information and clues to solve the great problem presented in this book are given to the reader in a way that i could not put the book away, because i felt a necessity to find out what was going to happen next, what the characters were going to do to save the day. 
one of the characteristics i enjoy the most of the cosmere is how, from a considerable amount of fragments, you end up assembling a picture or puzzle that in the end makes sense according to the given information. in this case, i was not disappointed. it was great.

one extremely significant and noticeable aspect of sanderson's writing when it comes to era 2 is the lighter, sometimes even silly, tone of the events and narration. now personally and to me as a reader, this was something that i never fully enjoyed. certain parts and conversations can be questionable, to say the least. but this time there was a nicer balance between the tension, the seriousness some delicate events required and this element that equally contributes into making era 2 unique within the cosmere universe. in this ocassion, this essential and core element contributed to make me feel better about certain scenarios and, why should i not say it, about the fact that this is the last book of a beloved series that has brought me much entertainment and joy. i certainly did not want era 2 to turn into a tragedy, and this time i was glad for the optimism and some extremely bad jokes that, on occasions, really did bring a smile to my face.

i'm satisfied with this final book. it did the characters justice and, following this line:

- the character-work
the first thing i want to highlight is how glad i am to see that two of my main criticisms concerning the series were improved in this final installment: the protagonism of the main female characters and the friendships of the main cast.

both steris and marasi had a great, incredibly important role in the story. i was specially happy about steris getting her own pov chapters and storyline, as she is by far my favourite character, and how she did not have to rely in anyone else. the bands of mourning already established steris as a fully-fleshed character and the lost metal was her moment to shine.
in fact, i think the entire main cast shines in this book. wax, wayne, marasi and steris have succeeded in making me believe that each and every single one of them is essential to the plot.
a new level of character development and emotional complexity was achieved.

another aspect that was considerably improved are the platonic relations. wax and wayne's friendship has been strong since book 1, and they have basically become brothers. steris and marasi, who are actual sisters, were not given much space in previous books to explore their bond, so it was nice to be able to witness how they genuinely appreciate and love each other.
it cannot be denied that one significant addition, at least for me, is the friendship between marasi and wayne. they even got a few tears out of me. i was glad to see m/f characters, who have never had romantic feelings for each other, truly becoming friends who joke, respect, insult and trust each other and see themselves as equals.

to end this point, i want to dedicate a few lines to a character i particularly liked, but i consider it to be a spoiler even if i will not reveal any key event, so: (view spoiler)[the shard autonomy is one of my favourite cosmere antagonists to date. i had my suspicions about her identity before the book came out, and to see them be confirmed... wow. i truly, truly liked how autonomy influenced the entire plot, how her presence was felt in every page and every tense moment. how at first it might not be obvious that her intention could degenerate into something downright dangerous and threating... i will be waiting to see more of autonomy in the future. (hide spoiler)]

and now... cosmere connections? does mistborn era 2 still stand as merely a sequel to the original trilogy, or is it part of a much more extensive series now?
the lost metal has been advertised as the most cosmere-aware book to date, and this is completely true. this time, i do consider necessary to read other works of the cosmere, or at least the most relevant ones. the best experience comes from being able to pick up on the little references and winks to other works. i still remember the gasp i let out when i discovered one character's true identity by a single word they use in a conversation. 
that feeling is incredibly rewarding and exciting. the enjoyment is enhanced if you have this knowledge but, again, it is not unreadable nor impossible to understand if you simply want to read mistborn and nothing else. but the connections have never been as prominent as in the lost metal and i do not think they can be so easily dismissed anymore.
every reader should take this into consideration for the following releases.

as a conclusion... this was really good. it met some of my expectations and exceeded others. this was solid and incredibly enjoyable, it was a true mistborn story. it was worth the wait, and while i'm because it is over but happy because i have read and completed another good series.

Wow. Coming into this I was worried. How on earth would Sanderson top Hero of Ages? By having some of the best characters do memorable things. I wouldn’t say that it’s better than HoA, but it is on par. I loved reading this book and it took me just a week. It was truly delightful and a good ending to a great era. 

Noah Cross

When you wait 6 years for a book, you can’t help but have high expectations. And when that book is the final of a series by your favorite author, those expectations can shoot through the roof. That’s the boat I found myself in with 

. What boggles my mind is this: even those exceedingly lofty expectations were obliterated. Blown completely out of the water, if you will. I am in such awe of Sanderson as a storyteller, and have been since I first began reading his work. But the ways in which he’s grown in his craft, when I already considered him one of if not the very best in the business, simply blows me away. In 

, Sanderson really showcases not only how much he’s grown as a writer, but his near matchless capacity to tie together even the tiniest of subplots in tight, weighty, seemingly effortless ways. 

Every page of this book managed to be equal parts entertaining and informative, with nothing that felt like filler. Anything, from the most profound conversations to the most off-hand and vulgar little quips, could come back again and again in meaningful ways. All of our central characters, especially the four we first met in The Alloy of Law, are beautifully developed by this point. Wax and Wayne, Marasi and Steris are all four some of the best characters in the world of fantasy, in my opinion. The growth of all four from the beginning of the series to this finale was been impeccable. 

However, I do have to confess that I have favorites, and those are Steris and Wayne. I loved Wayne from the very beginning, and he grew profoundly in this final installment. He’s one of the most unique and wonderfully funny characters to ever sprout from Sanderson’s head, which is really saying something, as I adore his characterization. But for me, Wayne takes the cake. And then there’s Steris. Steris, who began the series so stern and stilted and misunderstood. Steris who, but The Bands of Mourning, had stolen my heart right along with Wax’s. She’s subtly funny and far more clever than she believes. She’s the most observant and caring member of the cast, just in ways that others don’t grasp until they get to know her. Her preparedness for any and all situations is a delight, and I just adore her with every fiber of my being.

Sanderson stated that the gloves were coming off with this book, regarding the interconnectivity of the Cosmere. And man, did he deliver on that. I was internally screaming through the majority of this book, just because I was so excited but all of the tie-ins to other worlds, both those I had already visited through his work and some that were completely new to me. I loved all of the little Easter eggs he left for fans who have read pretty much everything he’s written, and yet how accessible he made the story for those who have only read the Mistborn books. Obviously the fourth book in a series, and a follow-up series at that, isn’t a good place to start with any author’s work. But I’m always amazed at how easy and inclusive Sanderson can present even the most complex stories. I’m aware that the above sounds oxymoronic, but I stand by it. Sanderson’s balance when it comes to fulfilling life-long fans while also enticing the new astounds me.

I’m not going to get into any specifics, as this is the finale of a series. I will say, however, that there was a major loss toward the end of this book that was handled remarkably well. I’ve never been devastated and amused in such equal measures simultaneously, and it was a truly odd, but oddly wonderful, experience. Again, Sanderson’s balance as a writer came into play. I’ve never read another author who can so flawlessly balance emotional responses in such a seemingly effortless way. That’s what I love so much about his work. That balance of humor and emotion, tension and profundity, pacing and plotting, all contained within prose that is both lovely and cannily easy to read.

I don’t have a single negative thing to say about 

 are both absolutely fabulous books that have propelled the entirety of 

 into the shortlist of my favorite completed series. Reading this, and all of the Cosmere connections that it contained, made me that much more excited for the fifth Stormlight book, as well as the more nebulous future of the Cosmere. Heck, I’m excited for any and everything Sanderson puts out, Cosmere-related or not. I’ve considered him one of my top 3 favorite authors for years, but this book decided it for me. He’s my very favorite. Hands down. He wins. And if he writes something, I’m absolutely going to read it as soon as I can get my hands on it. That is my true takeaway from this book. I adored it, and Sanderson is the king of my readerly heart.

Celeste Richardson

When you wait 6 years for a book, you can’t help but have high expectations. And when that book is the final of a series by your favorite author, those expectations can shoot through the roof. That’s the boat I found myself in with The Lost Metal. What boggles my mind is this: even those exceedingly lofty expectations were obliterated. Blown completely out of the water, if you will. I am in such awe of Sanderson as a storyteller, and have been since I first began reading his work. But the ways in which he’s grown in his craft, when I already considered him one of if not the very best in the business, simply blows me away. In The Lost Metal, Sanderson really showcases not only how much he’s grown as a writer, but his near matchless capacity to tie together even the tiniest of subplots in tight, weighty, seemingly effortless ways. 

Every page of this book managed to be equal parts entertaining and informative, with nothing that felt like filler. Anything, from the most profound conversations to the most off-hand and vulgar little quips, could come back again and again in meaningful ways. All of our central characters, especially the four we first met in The Alloy of Law, are beautifully developed by this point. Wax and Wayne, Marasi and Steris are all four some of the best characters in the world of fantasy, in my opinion. The growth of all four from the beginning of the series to this finale was been impeccable. 

However, I do have to confess that I have favorites, and those are Steris and Wayne. I loved Wayne from the very beginning, and he grew profoundly in this final installment. He’s one of the most unique and wonderfully funny characters to ever sprout from Sanderson’s head, which is really saying something, as I adore his characterization. But for me, Wayne takes the cake. And then there’s Steris. Steris, who began the series so stern and stilted and misunderstood. Steris who, but The Bands of Mourning, had stolen my heart right along with Wax’s. She’s subtly funny and far more clever than she believes. She’s the most observant and caring member of the cast, just in ways that others don’t grasp until they get to know her. Her preparedness for any and all situations is a delight, and I just adore her with every fiber of my being.

Sanderson stated that the gloves were coming off with this book, regarding the interconnectivity of the Cosmere. And man, did he deliver on that. I was internally screaming through the majority of this book, just because I was so excited but all of the tie-ins to other worlds, both those I had already visited through his work and some that were completely new to me. I loved all of the little Easter eggs he left for fans who have read pretty much everything he’s written, and yet how accessible he made the story for those who have only read the Mistborn books. Obviously the fourth book in a series, and a follow-up series at that, isn’t a good place to start with any author’s work. But I’m always amazed at how easy and inclusive Sanderson can present even the most complex stories. I’m aware that the above sounds oxymoronic, but I stand by it. Sanderson’s balance when it comes to fulfilling life-long fans while also enticing the new astounds me.

I’m not going to get into any specifics, as this is the finale of a series. I will say, however, that there was a major loss toward the end of this book that was handled remarkably well. I’ve never been devastated and amused in such equal measures simultaneously, and it was a truly odd, but oddly wonderful, experience. Again, Sanderson’s balance as a writer came into play. I’ve never read another author who can so flawlessly balance emotional responses in such a seemingly effortless way. That’s what I love so much about his work. That balance of humor and emotion, tension and profundity, pacing and plotting, all contained within prose that is both lovely and cannily easy to read.

I don’t have a single negative thing to say about The Lost Metal. It and The Bands of Mourning are both absolutely fabulous books that have propelled the entirety of Mistborn: Era 2 into the shortlist of my favorite completed series. Reading this, and all of the Cosmere connections that it contained, made me that much more excited for the fifth Stormlight book, as well as the more nebulous future of the Cosmere. Heck, I’m excited for any and everything Sanderson puts out, Cosmere-related or not. I’ve considered him one of my top 3 favorite authors for years, but this book decided it for me. He’s my very favorite. Hands down. He wins. And if he writes something, I’m absolutely going to read it as soon as I can get my hands on it. That is my true takeaway from this book. I adored it, and Sanderson is the king of my readerly heart.