Member Reviews
This was just a preview of the first few chapters, but based on that much, I will definitely finish this book! This series (Mistborn, specifically Era 2) has definitely gotten more interesting with each book. I felt like the writing was quick and fun and the plot was already beginning to form in these first few pages. The new regions/characters introduced in the previous book will clearly play a role in this one and it was interesting to me. Fast-paced, funny, intriguing. 4.5/5!
Loved this book, loved the world building, loved the characters and the storytelling.
That said I strongly recommend it.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine
I never realized how big of a Wayne fan I was until I read this book. The fourth and final Wax and Wayne book in the Mistborn 2.0 era nicely wraps things up while also expanding the world of Mistborn into the broader Sanderson Cosmere. If you're not a Wayne fan, then this book probably isn't for you.
I finally came back to goodreads to add my review.
The Lost Metal is probably my favorite book from Mistborn Era 2.
I loved how all of the plot points came together and I truly fell in love with the characters. Wayne and Steris were by far my favorites.
The reason I shied away from giving The Lost Metal five stars is because some areas of the book felt like Sanderson was laying the groundwork for Era 3. It did not feel complete like the end of Era 1.
I also lovedd that the Cosmere was mentioned straight out. I can't wait to re-read this once I have more Cosmere books under my belt.
Thank you to Brandon Sanderson, Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Tor Books, and Netgalley for an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of "The Lost Metal" (Mistborn #7) for an honest review.
How do I even begin to talk about Sanderson's work? He continues to be one of the very best Fantasy writers of our age, writing as well as he does prolifically. As a hazard warning, if you have not read the six books before this, it's not a good place to pop into the series and it will spoil several pieces you'd be best not knowing when you got to reading those earlier books.
In the stunning last volume of Mistborn Era 2, we return to the amazing adventures of Wax and Wayne as they navigate new dangers, while in the background, the world continues to constantly propel itself further and further into the industrial future (a thing I adore paying attention to the new pieces of popping up everywhere). There is so much in here, I was laughing out loud in my bed, smiling, worrying, and even getting all misty-eyed in places, as Sanderson took all my emotions on ride for this conclusion.
You will love, love, love this book. I cannot wait for buy copies for friends/family and put one on my shelf in my classroom.
Wax and Wayne are back together for another adventure. I liked how the beginning looked into Wayne's childhood. It was fun seeing them into new earned positions, brought together again to complete a job only they can do. Trademark banter, and Wayne's exuberant humor. Left me wanting to read the full novel..
If you haven't read the Cosmere series, don't start here, but if you have? Amazing!! Easily in his top 5 books!
I have been dying to read the conclusion to Mistborn era 2 and these first 10 chapters of it sound so promising. The opening chapters itself offer a deeper look into Wayne who is my favouritest character ever and I cannot wait to read the rest and find out how Sanderson takes his character forward.
The Lost Metal was a satisfying conclusion for one of my favorite series. I laughed, I smiled and even almost cried(and it's a rare thing for me). This book doesn't have the mindblowing plot of the first era of Mistborn, but the quality of character work is just exquisite. I love every one of them and Steris and Wayne are on my top list of all time.
I was a little bit worried about the amount of Cosmere references, but it played out well and the series is ok without reading other Cosmere. It's important for me.
I enjoyed almost every page of this book and can't wait to see what is next with the Mistborn series.
ARC From Netgalley. (This review written after reading the entire book, as this ARC was only the first 10 chapters.)
This book is still too new for me to feel comfortable saying as much as I would like to, so I'll be brief.
1) This is the best Wax & Wayne book written.
2) This is the most Cosmere aware book Sanderson has written.
3) After reading this, I will always recommend a reading of all of the Cosmere stuff to lessen the amount of confusion when reading.
4) If you haven't read "The Emperor's Soul", read it before reading this one.
and 5) If you remember that Mistborn Era 2 occurs AFTER Stormlight Book 5 in the Cosmere timeline, we should be VERY afraid of what is coming for Roshar....
If you like epic fantasy, read Brandon Sanderson. I can't make it more clear than that.
A Must read.
The Lost Metal brings to an end Brandon Sanderson’s MISTBORN ERA TWO series, and does so I’d say in semi-satisfying fashion, bringing some plots lines and character stories to a close and opening up the world of the Sanderson’s expanded universe (the Cosmere) more fully.
Waxillium returns here in his Senator role, along with his partner Wayne, Wayne’s new partner constable Marasi, and Wax’s wife Steris as they continue to battle against the secret society (The Set), which has amongst its high-ranking members Wax’s own sister, Telsin. As they try to trace a smuggling operation, Wax and cohorts discover that the Set are on the verge of employing a devastating new weapon and that there are darker, more powerful forces lying behind them whose interest may be as much in annihilating the planet’s population as in dominating it.
Book One, Alloy of Steel, remains my favorite of this series, and it’s not so much that the books went steadily downhill from there (though I did enjoy them less) so much as I’m not sure they added much more and some elements which worked fine in that first book eventually grew a bit less engaging or entertaining. Wayne is one such example, a character who I felt despite some elements of forced humor in the first book was still relatively enjoyable. I confess, however, that by the time we’ve arrived here at The Lost Metal, I was far less enamored, or even tolerant, of his schtick (honestly, I’d go so far as to say it mostly grated). He absolutely has his moments, some of which are moving, but for me they were greatly outweighed by the annoyances, though this is one element I’m sure holds to a Your Mileage May Vary response; it wouldn’t surprise me if some readers consider Wayne their favorite part. Just not my cup of tea.
Somewhat similarly, while I originally found the whole magic system (and there’s no way I’ll even attempt to detail it here — if you’re reading this fourth book in a second series, you’re well aware of it) fascinating, the more it gets into the nuts and bolts and details and variations and expansions the less fascinating it becomes to me. Again, YMMV. In a bit of the same vein, I’d say this book more than others, both because of the details within this world and the multiple references to other worlds, is more geared toward the sort of Sanderson fans who read everything (or close to it) by him. If you’ve just read this series only, you’ll be OK, but you’ll also have the sense you’re missing some things (because, well, you are). While I can appreciate the work Sanderson does in meshing all these worlds, as a reader, it’s starting the push the edge for me on pro-con pendulum.
The pace is brisk at the start then becomes pretty pell-mell toward the latter third. As is always the case with Sanderson, he speeds you along smoothly, though unusually for a Sanderson book I felt this one’s length despite the fast pace. As for the plot itself, it’s solid but not particularly stimulating, though I won’t go into spoilers, and a pair of villains felt a bit too cartoonish for me. It wraps up some things but leaves a number of questions unanswered (or answered vaguely), which makes sense as we haven’t seen the last of this world, let alone this Cosmere-verse. Finally, the prose, as I’ve often said of Sanderson, is serviceable but nothing you’ll linger over.
In the end, as noted, The Lost Metal brings this series to a solid if, for me, not wholly inspired close. It’s a fun series for sure, a neat setting, and I love how the time jumps show us a fantasy world actually progressing in terms of society, governance, and industry. I’m not sure I needed all the words of the series; part of me wonders if that first novel followed by a series of short stories might have been a stronger path, and as noted above, all the magic system details combined with all the Cosmere-meshing details can prove a bit wearying (at least to this reader). But it’s certainly kept my interest enough to pick up the next stage.
I don't know what possessed me to believe that Brandon Sanderson wasn't going to try to emotionally destroy me for once. My favorite book in Mistborn Era 2 is still definitely Bands of Mourning, but the ending of The Lost Metal hit harder than I was expecting it too. We got so many answers that somehow left me with even more questions and at this point I think I need to take the possibility of a board filled with various passages connected by red thread a bit more seriously if I ever want to keep up.
Intro only. Just as I got hooked the sample ended I have it on reserve at library. This is very good Sanderson,
I’ve absolutely loved this series from Sanderson and this book was no exception! While I was a little bit disappointed by how short the story was, I love the dynamics that are developing between the characters, especially Wax and Steris, who have one of my favourite relationships that Sanderson has written. I would absolutely recommend this series to anyone who loves fantasy, especially fantasy that deals with complex ethical issues, and cannot wait to see what happens next.
This is the book I've been waiting for from Sanderson! I absolutely ate up this preview and can't wait for the rest of the book!
This was such a satisfying conclusion to Mistborn Era 2! Sanderson continues to invent new and creative ways to mix and match the magical abilities within the Cosmere Universe to continually enchant and surprise his audience.
There was some much needed character depth added in some places, to Wayne in particular. And the plot moved along with the expected speed and excitement. There were some really cool cameos and I enjoyed the planning/scheming dynamic that was front and center during longer stretches of the book.
More so than other books, this one does require a good amount of background knowledge of Sanderson's larger world, but overall I feel it was well explained within the context of the story. For those who are following along with the meta story, there were some really nice discussions that put some aspects of the Cosmere story into clearer focus.
The return of a certain character was also well done and sets up so many interesting things to come. :-)
This 7th episode in Brandon Sanderson's epic Mistborn series concludes the Wax and Wayne series that began with Alloy of Law.
Though I did not get access to the whole book, this long excerpt was as powerful, action-packed and engrossing as the author's previous work and left me anxious to read the entirety.
(I didn't realize the NetGalley ARC was a sampler and not the full novel, so I held off posting my review until I could finish and review the full novel.)
We've been waiting six years for The Lost Metal, and I can safely say that the wait was well worth it. The Lost Metal is the best book in the second era of Mistborn books. I loved it.
This book starts six years after the end of The Bands of Mourning, and our characters are in new places in their lives. Wax is largely retired, marking Wayne as Marasi's crime-fighting companion. But then a new explosive discovery pulls Wax back into the swing of things, and our trusted trio, with the help of some new companions as well, must do whatever they can to save Elendel.
I love the character work in this book. My favorite was probably Steris and how she is finally being acknowledged and appreciated for her idiosyncrasies and emergency preparedness skills. Also Wayne was incredible. He delivers his usual quips and his banter with Wax is absolutely hilarious, but his overall growth and understanding of himself are so great to see.
There were a lot of action and fight scenes in this book, which usually I don't prefer to read, but Brandon writes those scenes so well that I didn't even mind reading them and I flew right through them.
The most impressive part of The Lost Metal, however, was the immense amount of cosmere crossover. Brandon did say that this would be the most cosmere-aware novel to date, and I can absolutely see that. I've read every cosmere book so far except for Rhythm of War, and The Lost Metal blows all of them out of the water with how many references to other worlds and other magic systems that it has. I was losing my mind as I was reading and picking up on all the subtle references sprinkled throughout the book. As far as I can tell, there are even references to unpublished cosmere worlds. It all makes me extremely excited to read the third era of Mistborn and the second arc of Stormlight because I’m sure the crossovers will be even more plentiful as the cosmere progresses further into the future.
Overall, The Lost Metal was an extremely satisfying conclusion to the Wax and Wayne era of Mistborn and has lots of setup for future Mistborn books to come. It was funny, fast-paced, and tied up some loose plot points set in motion from a few books earlier. Absolutely read this series.
This was such a Cosmere book that I don’t know how to review it properly. If we’re looking at Mistborn Era 2 characters, I thoroughly enjoyed the character arcs/conclusions for not only Wax and Wayne, but for Marasi and Steris too. This was mostly Wayne’s book though, so if you haven’t enjoyed him as a character you probably won’t enjoy this book. I do think that though the main conflict in this book was resolved, there are still many loose ends. Hopefully that means we’ll get Mistborn Era 3 sooner rather than later.
If you’re a Cosmere fan, this book is full of connections and Easter eggs. Stormlight is definitely mentioned, but I don’t feel like it’s vital to enjoy this series. I would recommend reading Mistborn Era 1 (obviously) and Emperor’s Soul before reading The Lost Metal.
CHARACTERS
🔲 mary-sue party
🔲 mostly 2D
🔲 great main cast, forgettable side characters
✅ well-written
🔲 complex and fascinating
🔲 hard to believe they are fictional
PLOT
🔲 you've already heard this exact story a thousand times
🔲 nothing memorable
✅ gripping
🔲 exceptional
🔲 mind=blown
WORLDBUILDING
🔲 takes place in our world
🔲 incoherent
🔲 OK
🔲 nicely detailed
🔲 meticulous
✅ even the last tree in the forest has its own story
ATMOSPHERE
🔲 nonexistent
🔲 fine
🔲 immersive
✅ you forget you are reading a book
PACING
🔲 dragging
🔲 inconsistent
✅ picks up with time
🔲 page-turner
🔲 impossible to put down
Era 2 wasn't my personal favourite, but this was a nice ending nonetheless.
Well, here we are, the end of Mistborn era 2. Not gonna lie, I have some mixed feelings both about this book and the series as a whole.
I don't think I'm alone with this, but era 2 wasn't my favourite subseries in the Cosmere. The overall tone of these books didn't really speak to me and while I can appreciate them for adding new layers to the history of Scadrial, they are not particularly close to my heart.
With that said, I think this was a great ending to this story arc. I really enjoyed how Sanderson managed to continue the character growth of the main cast, giving more page time to the women, and elaborating on the past of the men. Their interactions were super entertaining to read and seeing them form a little family was heartwarming.
Sadly I wasn't blown away by the plot, which is usually the strong point of Sanderson books imo. While it was exciting to see the story intertwine with other worlds in the Cosmere, the core conflict was more on the predictable side.
I'm happy I read this book but it's not a favourite for me. On the other hand, it was successful at making me super excited for the next Mistborn era as well as Stormlight 5 😍