Disclaimer: This is more of a rant than a review
Rating: 8.4/10
Shadows of Self is a fantasy novel written by Brandon Sanderson. It’s the fifth book in the Mistborn Saga (the second book in the Wax and Wayne series). The summary of this book can be boiled down to a murder investigation. A high-ranking nobleman has just been murdered and it’s Wax’s job to find out who has done it.
After reading The Allow of Law I thought ‘could this be better than Era 1?’ Well, I can’t give you a definitive answer just yet but I will tell you that after reading Shadows of Self my love for Mistborn Era 2 has only grown.
Sanderson does an incredible job of connecting his characters to the audience in this novel. I feel a fondness for each of the protagonists that we follow in this story.
It’s sort of a bummer that the Wax and Wayne series has to be a part of the Mistborn Saga. There is so much lure and hype around the original trilogy that Era 2 gets thrown to the side. I’m tired of it! This series deserves more love!
Going back to the characters, what’s not to love? You have three main protagonists who are extremely, funny, interesting, and smart. Best of all Sanderson has kept (most of) all the good characters from the original trilogy. Sazed and Tensoon made Era 1 for me (among others) and I loved their involvement in this novel!
The atmosphere is so exciting in Shadows of Self. There is so much fun to be had. It feels like a roller coaster ride of adventure. Sanderson took the gloves off for this installment. His style now is so upbeat, free, and uplifting. There is a sense of eagerness to lead the audience to yet another killer ending.
While reading Shadows of Self I never felt uninterested. With each installment that I read Sanderson continues to increase the pace of the story. I never felt as if I was sitting around waiting for something to happen (like in the original trilogy). There are always new details being revealed that lead the audience to the next plot point.
The only place where I feel that Shadows of Self is lacking (compared to Era 1) is in scope/magnitude. It’s impossible to have events of similar scope to the original trilogy. The world was collapsing, you can’t compete with that. In Shadows of Self, the magnitude lay heavily in Wax’s fate. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s a major contributing factor as to why the story reads upbeat and adventurous (which I prefer).
Shadows of Self has been another great installation in the Mistborn Saga. I truly have loved Era 2 so far! The Bands of Mourning is up next! I can’t wait to get started!
Go check out the Wax and Wayne series!
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