The Bands of Mourning: A Mistborn Novel

Published July 9, 2001 by GOLLANCZ.

ISBN:
978-1-4732-0825-4
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OCLC Number:
936188771

View on OpenLibrary

4 stars (141 reviews)

Three hundred years after the events of the Mistborn trilogy, Scadrial is now on the verge of modernity, with railroads to supplement the canals, electric lighting in the streets and the homes of the wealthy, and the first steel-framed skyscrapers racing for the clouds.

The Bands of Mourning are the mythical metal minds owned by the Lord Ruler, said to grant anyone who wears them the powers that the Lord Ruler had at his command. Hardly anyone thinks they really exist. A kandra researcher has returned to Elendel with images that seem to depict the Bands, as well as writings in a language that no one can read. Waxillium Ladrian is recruited to travel south to the city of New Seran to investigate. Along the way he discovers hints that point to the true goals of his uncle Edwarn and the shadowy organization known as The Set.

13 editions

Review of 'The Bands of Mourning' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Time to read: 7 hours 43 minutes

Rating: 8/10

Feeling a Strong 7 to a light 8 on this one. My favorite Wax and Wayne book so far. Though thinking back on Shadows of Self that book also has some great character work for Wax and Wayne and the final twist is so emotionally great. It's good that this book then builds off of that twist and develops a character arc for Wax that emotionally comes together beautifully in the finale, bookending the book quite nicely as it opens up with Wax's... basically childhood rummaging as a future lawman, as well as setting up the choice Wax has to make at the ending of the novel.

Minor thing: The villains are kind of weak. Looking back on it, Lord Ruler kind of hard to top as a villain and Sanderson has never quite been able to match his presence as …

I want a language medallion

5 stars

I love how this one starts to explore some of the more interesting ways the Scadrial magic systems can be utilized. Mistborn and the Cosmere at large work with hard rules that make the magic systems feel intuitive and understandable. It's opening the doors for some really interesting technology coming out of this world in the future.

Review of 'The Bands of Mourning' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

First, if you haven't read Sanderson before, this would be a very spoiler-y start to the Mistborn series. I enjoyed reading from the beginning, and I think you would too. At least go back to book 5 though.

Second, if you liked the original Mistborn series, I think you'll like this book. Previously shallow characters (or even just some of their traits) were filled out quite a bit. I found myself enjoying some of the characters even more than before, so that was good.

Finally, the book isn't as long as some of Sanderson's other writings. But the story didn't feel rushed and I feel like this is an excellent addition to the Mistborn series.

Review of 'The Bands of Mourning' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

This book was great, much better than some prior Sanderson novels I've read recently (namely, Calamity and Perfect State). Not that the others were bad, just that they didn't seem as well crafted as this one. While Sanderson writes good books, he is at his best when writing long, epic fantasies. The Bands of Mourning excels at presenting intriguing new aspects to the world of Scadrial and at developing already great characters. I look forward to seen how Scadrial continues to develop over time in Sanderson's planned future books.

For my full review, check out my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2016/04/book-review-bands-of-mourning-by.html

Review of 'The Bands of Mourning' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

If a sound could be made as I finished this book it would be:

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Holy cosmere batman, Sanderson's ability to slowly pull the threads together of this universe is growing tighter and tighter and I for one shiver in anticipation.

I'm glad Steris was given her due. She's bright, intelligent, and has come out of her shell in great glory and that made me smile.

Wayne, oh Wayne. I memorize some of your lines because they are so damn funny. I often think Wayne is the real center of the characters. It makes Wax seem like a child even more than he might really be. Lovable Wayne. Please don't die on me. ;) heheh.

Everyone else, has their pitch and timber reverberated well through the chorus of what is a very well done continuation of a series I really do adore. I hungrily look forward to the next Stormlight …

Review of 'The Bands of Mourning' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Very entertaining, although I was disappointed that it still wasn't the conclusion of the second era. More yet to come.

In terms of character development it was quite expected, following a default narrative. I had no problem with that, it makes for easily digestible reading. Just the way Marasi suddenly got over Wax was a bit too convenient and it felt like lazy writing.

But I will definitely follow the next Mistborn novels. And I am at last intrigued enough to care about the Cosmere.

Review of 'The Bands of Mourning' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I am having a hard time reviewing Sanderson's books. I am clearly prejudiced: I love his books, and have a hard time finding fault with his writing. Don't trust my opinion: just go read the book yourself :)

Just a few short notes on this one: I do not find the humor heavy-handed (read this in a comment somewhere). I love Wayne. He's my favorite character. His perspective is very unique and shows incredible attention to the details of his character. Wonderful. And Steris and her lists. "This one didn't even make the appendix." ... "it's on page seventeen of the list I gave you." She really comes into her own in this and just like Wax gets to know her better, so does the reader. I love the spontaneous wedding at the end just as much as the spoiled-by-Wayne waterlogged one at the beginning.

I really wasn't sure that …

Review of 'The Bands of Mourning' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Highly enjoyable.

BoM is a strong second installment in the Wax and Wayne trilogy (not counting the bridge book of Alloy of Law). As usual, brandsand manages to have a satisfying self contained story while also tying into the overriding arc of the trilogy. Moreover, the density of Cosmere ties has been steadily increasing and it will be very interesting to see how the Mistborn books evolve together with the Stormlight series and push forward the greater Cosmere narrative.

BoM was also a great display of some of the character cast, specifically Wayne and Sterris. Wayne has really come into his own as a funny and consistently likeable character. Similarly, it's nice to see Sterris develop as a character and get some screen time to herself. Sanderson's developing of her and Wax's relationship has been well handled and very mature.

Review of 'The Bands of Mourning' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

2022 Re-read:
Has it really been six and a half years since my last read? Not surprising as Bands of Mourning feels completely new and fresh to me. The 4 star rating still seems fair and I won't change it.

I hope I am not getting burnout on Mistborn but I felt the book to be a little slow. The wonders of Era 1 don't seem to be achieved here, and maybe that's because the limitation on Metallurgy the characters can access, or there is no "the world is ending" urgency, but it reads as a Wild West story with some Allomancy added in.

I do like the evolution of Era 2 and how we can see this world evolve and achieve new advancements with their metal properties. The Southern characters that appear at the end of the book are such a wonderful peek behind the Scadrial world.

Whatever …

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