Bands of Mourning Full Book Reactions [Bands Spoilers]

[Argent]

Duralumin can store connection to a location? I think Hoid just found out a new way to try to become an Elantiran...

 

Well, should be able to store any Connection. Secret History explores what Connection is in a little more detail, but I could probably safely say that I think people can form a Connection with anything. Location seems kind of a default, maybe unless you move around a lot from day one.

[FidesFortuna]

I interpreted this a little differently than you. I think the Set might have captives that they are using to mass produce metalminds that aren't keyed to any specific identity and therefore can be used by members of the Set that have Feruchemy. So in Suit's case, strength. It would just take two spikes per person, although it would require a lot of Ferrings to pull off.

I hope I'm not missing something....but isn't he limited to three boons because more would subject him to harmonys influence??

[Windrunner]

He is limited, but I'm not quite sure what you're saying. If I'm right, other people are mass-producing unkeyed reserves for his metalminds so that Edwarn doesn't have to spend time storying it himself.

[Argent]

Perhaps, but he implied that he was limited to three. Could be because of his rank in the Set. Can anyone remember what powers Telsin has shown? Feruchemical gold, though it could be hers naturally - though I don't believe that, I think it would've come up if she were a Ferring. Allomantic steel, I think. What else? 

[Glaring at the Survivor]

Aluminum

[Windrunner]

Close, she was also a Leecher, not a Gnat.

[Glaring at the Survivor]

Yeah that's what I meant.

[Volratho]

In the broadsheets there was an ad asking for help testing new Allomantic metals. I could only see this as a way for the Set to get a supply of Allomantic spikes...

[ParadoxicalZen]

 HOHLEE MOTHER OF ODIUMCREM..............

 

I CANNOT...WHAT.....HUHH...WHY.....AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

 

too much.for.one.book.......

 

Steris, that hotel scene, that shootout at the base scene, how do i even respond to this book....my mind, too many questions, that cognitive walk,

 

 

Where's Marsh?

[kattattack22]

People are probably going to hate me for saying this but I'm a little disappointed Wax didn't stay dead. I think it would have been more interesting to see how Marasi and Wayne would have to step up to finish what Wax started. It also lessened the scene between Wax and Wayne as he died because I was pretty sure Wax wouldn't really die but it is Sanderson so there was some doubt.

Otherwise the book was great. I'm very excited for more airships and metallic art based technology.

[Blaze1616]

This is definitely my favorite Wax & Wayne book. As someone who has been in love with Steris since Alloy of Law, this book finally gave me what I've been wanting; tons of Steris in all her glory. I've never wanted a fictional character to be real more than her...she's perfect. Steris alone has made this my favorite of the three, not to mention everything else the book did right.

 

I'm really happy that Marasi chose to relinquish the power to Wax. I was getting tired of her complaining about being in Wax's shadow the whole time, because simply feeling that way is her actively putting herself in his shadow. She wasn't trying to be her own person, but was rather trying to be Female!Wax, so her realizing this and choosing to be her own person was a very satisfying end to her arc for the book.

 

That Wayne chapter in the beginning felt like a filler episode of an anime. I was very happy with the ending of the chapter, but the first 75% of it was a waste, showing us things we already know about Wayne. Yes, we know he is very proficient with accents. Yes, we know he likes to method act constantly. Yes, we know he likes to "trade" with people. Yes, we know he's smarter than he looks. You didn't need to shove it all in our face for an entire chapter.

 

I'm glad we've finally gotten Scadrial's name for the star cluster in the sky. Roshar calls it Taln's Scar, Scadrial calls it the Red Rip.

 

I saw both the Southern Scadrian and the Telsin twists coming from rather early on. The moment VenDell showed the picture of Telsin, I knew she was working for the Set, it was too perfect for ReLuur to just so happen to take a photo at just the right time to get her face, unless it was an intentional plant (whether Set planted the photo on ReLuur or Telsin planted herself in ReLuur's presence when snapping photos). As for the Southern Scadrians, we've been contemplating that they were using Allomantic tech, so the moment that there started being weird tech I assumed it was Southern influence.

 

I'm a bit upset by the highly likely Kelsier twist. I don't want him back. He was a good character, and bringing him back really undermines the feeling of loss when he dies. I don't want that ruined. Here's hoping it's Marsh, good ole' Iron Eyes.

 

I'm very interested in learning more about the Southern Scadrians, but I worry that Brandon's created too many things that need explaining for The Lost Metal. He has to flesh out the Set, explain their kandra-things, delve into Trell, somehow resolve all of that, and then add to it the mysteries of the Southern Scadrians, as well as the issue of the looming Basin Civil War. Any one of those could be an entire book unto itself, but he's set it up so it's all in one book (or he leaves us asking a ton of questions). Even at a "normal" length for his books (600-800 pages) that's a lot of content to cover, let alone the Wax & Wayne length (300-500).

 

I was a little sad with MeLaan's role feeling like a sidekick role, with it feeling like she didn't get much screen time, but her statement about Wayne at the end, along the lines of "The air tasted familiar. She'd tasted him before" or whatever, sent chills down my spine. Very good scene that conveyed a lot in very few lines.

 

Woo, good book. Looking forward to the next. I'm happy we aren't left with a major cliff hanger, as it makes the wait far easier.

 

Edit:

Oh yeah, and this was me when reading Wayne "killing" Telsin:

Edited January 28, 2016 by Blaze1616

[dadradahmember]

What? Wayne kills Telsin? Kelsier comes back? I'm just beginning the book but i like to read spoilers.  I can't wait to listen to the whole book if only I was off from work to finish it in a day 

[natc]

Technically as Secret History tells you and WoB (as well as the Words of Founding) has said for a while now, Kelsier never really left the story anyway. The loss sensation already lessened when certain things having transpired turn out to involve his dead self . . . being dead has benefits I guess. Or it's just because he's Kelsier and doing Kelsier things.

I mean, Ascension is an achievement right? He even has lines in HoA already!

[Blaze1616]

Yes but none of that is Kelsier explicitly returning. He's still dead. We've still lost him. But this would mean he actually came back. It's like Obi-Wan in ESB. Yes, he's not quite gone gone because he's a Force ghost, but he's still dead. His death still meant something important to Luke and the viewer. He didn't actually come back.

 

Also please don't say anything about Secret Histories. Obviously what you mentioned isn't actually a spoiler since we've known that, but you're still in the Bands thread, not the Histories thread. I'm sure I'm not the only one who hasn't had a chance to read it yet.

[FidesFortuna]

Perhaps, but he implied that he was limited to three. Could be because of his rank in the Set. Can anyone remember what powers Telsin has shown? Feruchemical gold, though it could be hers naturally - though I don't believe that, I think it would've come up if she were a Ferring. Allomantic steel, I think. What else? 

 

It has nothing to do with ranking within the set. Hemalurgic spikes allow Harmony to influence you. The more spikes you have the greater the influence. So having more than three spikes alloys Harmony to have too much ability to influence you. 

[The Invested Beard]

So finished Bands and am part of the way through Secret History and all I can say is WOW.

 

Even being the penultimate book in this era I feel this one will be tough to beat (but of course if anyone can do it Brandon can). I think it may be one of my all time favorites. Of course that may just be because of all the answers to long standing theories and questions. So from here it seems like every book will be my favorite.

 

And from what I've read so far of Secret History it just keeps getting better and better. ANSWEEERRRRSSSS

[Nethseäar]

People are probably going to hate me for saying this but I'm a little disappointed Wax didn't stay dead. I think it would have been more interesting to see how Marasi and Wayne would have to step up to finish what Wax started. It also lessened the scene between Wax and Wayne as he died because I was pretty sure Wax wouldn't really die but it is Sanderson so there was some doubt.

Otherwise the book was great. I'm very excited for more airships and metallic art based technology.

Spoiler'd for length.

I would have been okay with Wax dying, and even hoped it would be so. Since Era 2 is 'Wax & Wayne,' it would have been very bold and shocking to have the final book without Wax. It would be emotionally heavy in light of him and Steris, and would have mirrored the ending of Shadows. In all, I was invested in seeing how everyone would move on after Wax's death, and I think that would have made for an exceptionally powerful conclusion.

To do that, Brandon would have had to leave the Bands of Mourning undiscovered, which might betray the promise of the title of the book. Though it would be possible for the Bands not to be found, or even to have never existed, it would be significantly harder to pull off in a satisfying way.

Alternatively, to keep the promise of the title in a straightforward way, they could have been found too late to save Wax, which would make his death all the more painful.

But this is a Sanderson book, where exploration of magic is a key feature. He set up the Bands, so I knew we were going to see them used, and universally accessible Feruchemical Gold was a part of that. Therefore Wax's 'death' was inevitably a set-up for demonstrating the power of the Bands. It could have gone either way, with Sanderson, but somehow I knew it wouldn't. The power of the Bands was too great, and too heavily Chekhov'd.

Notably, Wax's survival reinforces some Cosmere principles from Words of Radiance:

Jasnah and Szeth could be brought back because they were not yet brain-dead. (Well, Jasnah's situation is a little weirder, but the same basic idea). Bands is a surprisingly Cosmere-aware book, and is definitely setting the stage for the Cosmere-centric books, as said here, I think the difficulty of killing people dead will be pretty extreme in the Cosmere-centric books, and we need to get used to the idea that traditional death just doesn't cut it anymore.

How does one even begin to digest this book? It's a wild ride from start to finish.

I positively loved it! Though, admittedly, I was feeling some whiplash toward the end. The realm of possibility expanded enormously, what with Southern Scadrians/airships, the Bands, unrest in border cities, and unkeyed Feruchemy. We were introduced to so much in so short a time, after having kept basically to Elendel. Most jarring for me was the influence of The Lord Ruler/Kelsier. It felt like it came out of nowhere, and was hard to reconcile with the existing world and plotlines.

And yet, it works. Of course there's unrest in the border cities, and of course the Set is fanning the flames. It's a natural escalation -- the Set has gone from kidnapping Allomancers for an army to destroy Elendel to inciting riots that would destroy Elendel to hunting (maybe atomic) bombs for destroying Elendel. Of course they're reverse-engineering Southern Scadrian tech, of course they're orchestrating distractions for Wax. It meshes together nicely in hindsight, although it feels disjointed along the way (as well it should, since it's orchestrated to appear unconnected).

While I was really having a hard time with The Lord Ruler, the Kelsier revelation made it possible to accept. I recall reading WoB about Kelsier possibly coming back, so although I was surprised about it being so soon, I wasn't really surprised to see him back. Of course Kelsier is meddling with things. How could he not? I will accept Kelsier's involvement, pending the inevitable explanation of how, per Vin's use of the Mists in The Final Empire. "Survive" was quite the chill-inducing last word.

What I loved most about this book was so much character! Steris most of all (STERIS!), but also everyone else.The hotel scene is a definite stand-out moment, a delight to read! The book works so well because of the strength of the cast and the passion of the characters. I will be sad if we don't see Wayne and MeLaan worldhopping together.

It's great that Era 2 is shaping up to mirror Era 1 in the slow reveal of a Shardic conflict. With Era 2 continuing/establishing the pattern, Mistborn books have consistent themes of overthrowing or maintaining governments in the midst of a war over the planet itself.

I also really appreciate the genre-changing scheme of Era 2. A little Sherlock Holmes and James Bond (Ranette supplying neat new gadgets) mixed with Western/reverse-heist, Thriller, and now Indiana Jones/action-adventure. So much fun!

I'm very interested to see how the Bands are handled down the line, especially if they can be recharged.

I do wonder how Bands will read for people who aren't Cosmere-aware and haven't read the original trilogy. The Survivor has had enough set-up per Survivorism, but if I felt whiplash having read every Cosmere book and having read a bunch of theories and Sanderson Q&As, I imagine Southern Scadrians will come as quite a shock.

[STINK]

I read it pretty quickly, so yeah, 'twas a good book.

 

The main thing though, was with Harmony being 'distant' and such, with (at least in the book, I don't know what you crazy people have done) no answers as to why, combined with the whole 'I always make time for this' about Wax chilling out in space (world record for highest that a Coinshot has ever been?). Made me wonder if maybe Harmony was having problems keeping Ruin and Preservation together/combined as well as before, and that maybe he is descending in Discord or something, I dunno. 

 

Do we know who the weird guy in the bush was? 

 

EDIT: How do you people write such long book reviews?

Edited January 28, 2016 by IrulelikeSTINK

[Landis963]

Made me wonder if maybe Harmony was having problems keeping Ruin and Preservation together/combined as well as before, and that maybe he is descending in Discord or something, I dunno.

Nah, he hasn't nearly had enough time as Harmony for the Intents to really get to work. He's just overworked by the prospect of another Shard muscling in on his turf.

Do we know who the weird guy in the bush was?

Yes. Yes we do. Search for his name (Hoid) on the coppermind, he's been around.

EDIT: How do you people write such long book reviews?

Practice.

[Nethseäar]

EDIT: How do you people write such long book reviews?

How do people write such short ones? =-P

I think I'm just wordy about how I say things, and enjoy saying things on top of that. I really do need to work on being more concise if I expect people to respond to what I say.

[The Invested Beard]

How do people write such short ones? =-P

I think I'm just wordy about how I say things, and enjoy saying things on top of that. I really do need to work on being more concise if I expect people to respond to what I say.

 

Can you perhaps expand on this?

[natc]

I vary with length. I either don't say much, or I try to say more and end up with long rambling that is far from concise. Happens with essays too sadly.

[GoddessIMHO]

I just had another thought about where the next book may go. Wax and Steris moving permanently to the penthouse. It feels like we may be jumping into something more like the 1920s Era in Scadrial. Wax makes a comment about it at the end. I wonder if Wayne will end up still living with them.

I also liked when Wax finally told Wayne "enough". It is time to stop dissing Steris.

[Kelek's Breath]

Once I started the book, couldn't put it down.

Most of what I felt and think about the book has been already said.

Chalk me up on Moogle's "Trell=Dominion" bandwagon. Just doesn't seem like a shard called

Autonomy would destroy/nuke an entire civilization on behalf of Odium or himself.

Edited January 29, 2016 by Kelek's Breath

[carlucill]

Everyone seems to have a different theory on who Trell/The Red Haze belongs to. My question is why can't it just be Odium? I can't think of any other cosmeric entity which is more closely associated with Red and RED EYES in particular. Ruin was all about black, and some form of corrupted Kel/Ruin hybrid would probobly continue with the same color scheme. It also doesn't seem like that autonomy or some other shard would have exactly the same color and motif as odium. Additionally the set-Kandra (or whatever we are calling them) seemed to have a philosophy very similar to a corrupted Vorinism and seemed more Cosmere aware than even Harmony, making sel originating character/force less likely.