Lost Metal Full Book Reactions (Mistborn Only Edition)

[EnderW420]

Almighty, this one hurt. I really hope Shai comes out of this one okay, can't wait to see more from her now that she's a player on the main stage. Excellent book!!

 

[+robardin]

I posted this as a thought on another thread looking forward to Era 3, now that TLM has "wrapped up" the Era 2 stories, but really it's a core criticism of Era 2 at heart:

...where were all the nicrosil Mistings? Huh? Are they super duper rare or non-existent for some unexplained reason? But they're named in the Ars Arcana as "Nicrobursts" so they must exist!

We have long been told that Era 3 would feature a kind of "SWAT Team" of Metalborn that included a Nicroburst - something I was disappointed (and a bit disbelieving) we didn't see in Era 2. Like, we see four new metals introduced to Scadrial that were "off the charts" and unknown to the people of TFE in cadmium, bendalloy, chromium, and nicrosil... But we only ever see people Pulsing, Sliding, and Leeching!

We see how awed Marasi, Wayne, and Wax are by not-Wax's freakishly powerful Steelpushes, reasoning that he must have acquired a spike for duralumin (harvested from a poor Misting "gnat" who would have taken some digging to even discover)... Why wouldn't they have seen tag-team mega-Pushes or Pulls before with a nicroburst Misting? Or used/seen an "allomantic grenade" with a nicroburst charge in it (the Set still had their own such "grenades")?

It's like nicrobursts didn't even exist in Era 2, because if they did, they should have been in VERY high demand, especially among the constabulary.

[Isilel]

19 minutes ago, robardin said:

It's like nicrobursts didn't even exist in Era 2, because if they did, they should have been in VERY high demand, especially among the constabulary.

Illogically, we have seen no Metalborn among the constabulary _or_ security forces in Era 2, apart from that one Seeker employed by Winsting, a couple of Coinshot messengers working on contract and a mention of a single Leecher who removes metals from the already (somehow) arrested. Metalborn criminals have free run of the place, unless Wax and Wayne and with later addition of Marasi get themselves involved! 

Which actually diminishes accomplishments of the protagonists, IMHO, but it seems that Sanderson wanted to reserve routine use of the Metalborn, among the police, etc. for Era 3. It feels very contrived, but what can you do? Ditto the non-use of the medallions even by the Ghostbloods(!) in TLM.

Edited November 16, 2022 by Isilel

[+robardin]

1 hour ago, Isilel said:

Illogically, there we have seen no Metalborn among the constabulary _or_ security forces in Era 2, apart from that one Seeker employed by Winsting, a couple of Coinshot messengers working on contract and a mention of a single Leecher who removes metals from the already (somehow) arrested. Metalborn criminals have free run of the place, unless Wax and Wayne and with later addition of Marasi get themselves involved! 

Which actually diminishes accomplishments of the protagonists, IMHO, but it seems that Sanderson wanted to reserve routine use of the Metalborn, among the police, etc. for Era 3. It feels very contrived, but what can you do? Ditto the non-use of the medallions even by the Ghostbloods(!) in TLM.

Well, at first I thought that made sense - Metalborn talents concentrate in those with lines of nobility, who probably don't care to become common officers or security workers, eh? But we see a lot of them in the political world.

But then you see ads looking for Coinshot messengers, Slider cooks, Steelrunner food delivery (!), etc., and it's like "yeah, the cops can't outbid these businesses for those talents, even as contract workers?"

But the complete lack of mention of even the existence of Nicroburst mistings in any Wax/Wayne story should have been addressed. The Leecher on the police force was mentioned in AoL, before we ever saw anybody actually Leech; why didn't we at least have mention of so-and-so the Nicroburst who's like one of five in existence and constantly under off-screen contract, or at least Marasi or Wayne being astounded at not-Wax's super-Push but without a Nicroburst partner?

EDIT: I have decided to mentally insert some headcanon scenes to earlier Era 2 works to fill in this glaring gap. Meet Nicky Nicro.

Edited November 16, 2022 by robardin

[StormingTexan]

Man what a ride! I just finished it and already feel like I need to re-read it. I absolutely loved and hated at the same time Wayne's arc. I guess in my head I was hoping he would somehow end up a Kandra and get to be with MeLaan. He has always been one of my favorite Cosmere characters so I guess I greedily just wanted more. I had a feeling though just with the pre-view chapters he was going to end up having a sacrificial ending in this. It was beautifully done by Brandon. 

I really liked pretty much everyone else's arc and conclusion as well. I was really glad to see more of Kelsier and Marsh as well. Poor Sazed things do not look good. Loved the character epilogues at the end they were really well done. 

To be fair I do have some criticisms.

It seemed like the Southern/Basin hostility was really built up in the beginning then kind of just died. Clearly it is still an issue and the whole BoM thing but this part of the book just fell flat for me especially since it was so central in the last book. I guess we will have to wait until Era3. 

I absolutely love all the Cosmere tidbits we got but I have to be honest this is the first book that I really felt like it interfered with the main story. Kind of hard to put in words exactly what bothered me about it but I think it just distracted me a bit form the main story. On the other hand it also got my hyped about SP1 so I guess I shouldn't complain. 

The book suffered a little bit on the pacing in my opinion until the later chapters. It seemed a little slower than usual for W&W books but the ending did make up for it. 

All in all it was a good conclusion to Era2 and has me super hyped for Era3. 

[Isilel]

3 hours ago, robardin said:

Well, at first I thought that made sense - Metalborn talents concentrate in those with lines of nobility,

No, there are plenty of commoner Metalborn in Era 2. They get frequently mentioned as a normal part of everyday life... but sre almost never actually seen on page, unless they are criminals for Our Heroes to fight. Which doesn't compute - Metallic Arts could be a life-changing advantage for a normal person, since it is specifically mentioned in SoS that allomancers of useful metals are well payed.

3 hours ago, robardin said:

But then you see ads looking for Coinshot messengers, Slider cooks, Steelrunner food delivery (!), etc., and it's like "yeah, the cops can't outbid these businesses for those talents, even as contract workers?"

Slider cooks and Steelrunner food delivery make zero sense. Sliders are among the more rare mistings, how likely is it that one would be a decent cook in the bargain? And they should be very expensive, since burning bendalloy extensively involves premature aging. And Steelrunner food delivery?! A bicycle would be much swifter, unless they have like, 2-hour shifts and store for the rest of the day. And again, it should cost a bundle.

Private security for the Houses, financial institutions, etc. should have payed quite well, given the threat of Metalborn criminals. For those who don't need such full-time or maybe need more specialized aid, there should have been professional Metalborn mercenaries/bounty hunters/private investigators to hire for specific cases, which constabulary could also occasionally resort to. I really dislike the comic superhero/queen bee mentality, where protagonists and villains are constantly the only powered ones on the scene and everybody else is hopelessly overmatched and useless.

 

3 hours ago, robardin said:

But the complete lack of mention of even the existence of Nicroburst mistings in any Wax/Wayne story should have been addressed. 

Yea, but in the absence of allomantic security/law enforcement/sports teams, there is little application for a Nicroburst. I guess they could team up with a Pulser to keep expensive delicacies fresh for a long time?

[MauroLB]

I just have to say regarding the end part.

Considering Wayne is a bloodmaker, considering he got full Mistborn, shouldn't he be able to compound gold and regenerate?

The same should go for Wax and Iron pulls now.

Spoiler

On the other hand, seeing how Ghost Bloods operate look so different than in Roshar. I mean, why would they antagonize with surgebinders of honor, like trying to kill jasnah in WoK and WoR when they need allies

 

Edited November 17, 2022 by MauroLB

[Knot]

So we saw Harmony had an odd shadow, and Kelsier later even remarks on it, when Telsin talks to Wax she said "Harmony nows that he is growing impotent, that Discord is near".

Could a Shard of two or more change what their aspesct may be by a large change of perspective?

[Green Hoodie Mistborn]

I'm not at all bothered by the lack of mention of metalborn security/law enforcement in any of these books myself.

These books are about a crew of metalborn law enforcement working together to combat stuff. It's all from their POV and they don't know any Nicrobursts... so they don't show up. There's enough going on without having to mention every little thing. Absence of something in the text doesn't equate to absence of it in the world itself. 

1 hour ago, MauroLB said:

I just have to say regarding the end part.

Considering Wayne is a bloodmaker, considering he got full Mistborn, shouldn't he be able to compound gold and regenerate?

The same should go for Wax and Iron pulls now.

  Hide contents

On the other hand, seeing how Ghost Bloods operate look so different than in Roshar. I mean, why would they antagonize with surgebinders of honor, like trying to kill jasnah in WoK and WoR when they need allies

 

Yes Wayne could compound gold... if he had empty goldminds to fill/use/burn and the time to do so. Which he didn't have. There is also the very real possibility that Wayne never thought of it, and Saze didn't want to keep him alive post action so purposefully didn't mention it to him while they were talking about the plan. 

Wax should be able to compound weight not iron pulls/steel pushes once he figures out he's mistborn, though that wlll def help in Steel/Iron push/pulls. 

I also thought the difference in Ghostblood demeanor was well covered in the book. Different people leading the "missions" with different students/outlooks. Also Scadrial's survival being the groups main mission and Scadrial being in danger leads to far more lenience and cooperation from them towards Marisai than on Roshar (which they're just trying  to resource/technology mine, not save). There is also the fact that Era 2 comes after SA 1-5 so their methods may have shifted slightly by then or new members may have joined. 

I loved the parallels between Shallan and Marasai re: the Ghostbloods. I wonder if they manner in which they were treated by the Ghostbloods plays into how they reacted to their offers to join as well. If Shallan had encountered the same team as Marasai, would she have been more wholehearted/on-board? Hmm... 

Edited November 17, 2022 by Green Hoodie Mistborn

[StanLemon]

7 hours ago, MauroLB said:

I just have to say regarding the end part.

Considering Wayne is a bloodmaker, considering he got full Mistborn, shouldn't he be able to compound gold and regenerate?

His Goldminds were pretty much drained, he likely wouldn't have had enough time or Gold to Compound enough to survive an explosion that immense

[Isilel]

13 hours ago, MauroLB said:

Considering Wayne is a bloodmaker, considering he got full Mistborn, shouldn't he be able to compound gold and regenerate?

In addition to the fact that he had no health stored to start the process and no time - all his bendalloy was barely enough to pull the bomb disruption off, compounding via allomancy may be a skill that needs to be learned and refined with experience. That Steel Inquisitor with feruchemical speed in HoA didn't yet figure out how to do it, even though we now have confirmation that he was theoretically capable of it.

[Edema Rue]

I know I’m late, slightly. 

I finished the book less than 5 minutes ago. 

I have never cried so hard in my life. (Of course, reading TLM all of last night and not getting any sleep probably didn’t help, but that’s irrelevant).

Wayne…YOU ANNOYING, HEROIC, BUFOON! 

I was also super excited to have Shai show up, I’m really glad we get to see more of her. I’m excited to see mistborn again too. Things are gonna get insane from this point on. I’m excited. 
And chouta has officially been introduced to Scadrial!

[+robardin]

On 11/17/2022 at 8:35 PM, StanLemon said:

His Goldminds were pretty much drained, he likely wouldn't have had enough time or Gold to Compound enough to survive an explosion that immense

Even if he had fully loaded goldminds, given the extremely powerful blast, I think everything on that ship was basically vaporized.

When Miles Hundredlives was seen to have blown himself up with a stick of dynamite to escape a net, it wasn’t nearly as powerful a blast - it just had to be powerful enough to break open a large enough hole in the netting for him to come out of it.

That, plus I believe there has to be one body part that’s >50% of the original body to form the “root” of the healing, even if you’re tapping gold continuously as the damage is inflicted… One can’t tap a goldmind that’s already just little gold specks intermixed with a non-existent body.

[Bragtown]

I loved the themes Sanderson presented here. As someone who is probably way too interested in politics, a lot of ideas rang true for me.

I loved the conflict between Harmony and Autonomy, which really reflects the internal conflict within Sazed of Ruin vs Preservation. Let me explain. In the Basin, progress is hindered because things are too comfortable and hindered by politics. We don't really see an explosion of progress until the Malwish show up and present a threat. You also see how Wax matures from someone who is comfortable and caught up in the past to someone who is willing to embrace progress, but also embraces the lessons he learned as a younger man in the Roughs.  I think the lesson to take away is that as a society we can't be stuck in the past, but we can't forsake it either. We need to look forward while learning the lessons of those who have gone on before us. We can't have a society that is too safe and easy, or else we will never progress and we won't be able to address our societies shortcomings, but we can't allow society to be come so dangerous that we forsake those who can't keep up. The trick is finding that balance I suppose. Or, in this case, finding Harmony.

Edited November 19, 2022 by Bragtown

[Tindwyl]

Who else cried?

I did. I cried a lot. 

[Tindwyl]

On 11/18/2022 at 4:09 PM, AesSedai318 said:

I know I’m late, slightly. 

I finished the book less than 5 minutes ago. 

I have never cried so hard in my life. (Of course, reading TLM all of last night and not getting any sleep probably didn’t help, but that’s irrelevant).

Wayne…YOU ANNOYING, HEROIC, BUFOON! 

I was also super excited to have Shai show up, I’m really glad we get to see more of her. I’m excited to see mistborn again too. Things are gonna get insane from this point on. I’m excited. 
And chouta has officially been introduced to Scadrial!

I noticed the chouta reference too!! Also loved seeing Shai!

[Andy92]

Wayne is one of my favorite Sanderson characters. His personality always jumps out on the page. Glad he got such a heroic ending, but also sad because he seemed like a perfect vessel for Whimsy. 

[Spren of Kindness]

I stayed up last night to finish, and yeah.  I think I'm happy.  It was about halfway through when I started wondering who wasn't going to make it through the book, and once I remembered Wax's kids, I think I knew.  But gosh, that whole sequence was beautiful.

So, am I right in thinking that what Wax did with trellium/bavadinium, trying to separate harmonium, was sort of like nuclear fission?  That's the vibes I was getting, but I'm not a scientist, so I'm not sure.

[Gak]

Spoiler

good book, anything I could have said has been said, R.I.P Wayne, I've always had a small hope Sazed would turn him into a mistwraith after he died, but that's all.

 

[+Wax]

I felt it was the best book of Era 2 or 1.

I didn’t feel emotional about Wayne. I loved all the Ghostblood characters.

Couldn’t get why Wax hadn’t turned full mistborn and healed himself in the epilogue. Maybe he hadn’t been told by Harmony? Feels like a red herring for Era 3.

[Covex Fox]

I loved this book, it was incredible, my favorite part was when TwinSoul created like a roseite golem around himself!