The Bands of Mourning Review (Spoiler-free)

A little over a year ago, Brandon made the surprising announcement that he had not only written the sequel to The Alloy of Law, Shadows of Self, but the sequel to that as well. The Bands of Mourning, as the sixth Mistborn book, has a lot to live up to. Not only with these characters, but with the world itself, there's a lot of history to contend with. Luckily, Bands soared above the hopes I had for it. It's quickly become my favorite Wax and Wayne era novel, and, for me at least, it's neck and neck with some of the Era 1 trilogy.

Bands picks up about six months after Shadows of Self concludes, the aftereffects of which are still being felt. Wax has had his worldview shaken and is still reeling from the emotional blow of Shadows' climax. So when a kandra arrives, seeking his help to find the Bands of Mourning, the fabled metalminds of the Lord Ruler--rumored to give any who possess them his powers--Wax is disinclined to agree. That is, of course, until a more personal motivation comes to light. The Set, and Wax's uncle Edwarn, are back and there's no telling what they are up to now...

Part of what sets Bands apart from Alloy and Shadows is the setting. We leave Elendel behind, and while Bands still has the distinctive thriller pacing of its predecessors, you can definitely see hints of a more epic scope as we explore more of the wider world. Turns out there is a lot more going on than the people of Elendel would like to admit.

Bands is also a distinctly different kind of story. Alloy was very much a Western, it may not have been set in the Roughs proper, but it was steeped in the feel of it. Shadows, on the other hand, was more of a true thriller, a cat-and-mouse mystery. At its core it's a personal story. Bands though... Bands is like an Indiana Jones story set on Scadrial. There's a certain extravagance of plot and of situations beyond mere mortal men (and women).

The characters have also come a long way. Wax, Wayne, and Marasi are not the same people that we met back in Alloy, they have grown and changed, and in some cases made some pretty tough choices. Bands continues that. The book is full of moments of character growth and realizations about themselves and their companions. These are some of the most powerful moments in the book. It goes to show that while Brandon is known as the "worldbuilding guy," he's a master of character as well.

The stand out character is Steris, by far. This is definitely the book where she comes into her own; she's not just a side character any more. I feel she helps bring a certain amount of levity to the book in a way that is distinct from Wayne's humor. You cannot help but smile at her sincerity and earnestness in the face of the almost larger than life world of Wax, Wayne, and Marasi. She may not have powers, but she's far from useless. Over the past few months I've seen more and more people show an appreciation for her, but if you are still on the fence, I think she might win you over in Bands. I'll even wager that she'll become a fan favorite going forward.

If I had to describe The Bands of Mourning in one (two?) word(s) it would be "mind-blowing". Looking back at it now I still cannot believe that Brandon was able to pull off everything that he did. Especially that he was able to do it without the book feeling rushed. Don't get me wrong, Bands still has the Brandon Avalanche that we all know and have grown to love, but the build-up to it is much more subtle. I was already well into the avalanche by the time I realized it had even begun. It is hard, even, to pinpoint the beginning of the avalanche, as the pacing is handled so smoothly.

There are moments where you have to stop and go "Wait a minute, is that... It is! Oh my Harmony, I can't believe it!" Then at other times you think you know exactly what is going on only to have things take a hard right into sheer, unbridled insanity, but it's incredible nevertheless, in a way you would never have dreamed possible. And it's like this over and over again. It's a wild ride, and at times it will leave you breathless, but in the end you'll be hanging on every word, right until the very last.

To be honest it's hard to think of my least favorite part of the book. I do have a few minor complaints but they are tiny, nit-picky things, such as a scene near the beginning that drags on rather longer than was really necessary, but in the long run they did not detract from my enjoyment of the book. Really the worst thing about Bands is that it spoiled us! We only had to wait three months for its release (after Shadows) and unfortunately it's going to be significantly longer than that before we can get our hands on the next book. During last month's State of the Sanderson, Brandon put the current estimate for the release of The Lost Metal-- the final Wax and Wayne novel--at late 2018. Luckily that's not as long as the wait between Alloy and Shadows, but it is not an insignificant amount of time. I have hard time holding that against the book, as even though the wait won't be as short, or as easy, as we might wish for, there is still plenty to keep us busy in the meantime. And I don't know if I'm quite ready to move on from these characters, especially after the experience that is this book, so perhaps the wait is a blessing in disguise. It will undoubtedly give us time to sort through everything (and believe me when I say there is plenty to work through).

This is one adventure you do not want to miss.

Early copy provided by Dragonsteel Entertainment. Posted with their permission.

The Bands of Mourning comes out on January 26th, 2016.