The Lost Metal

It's hard to make a plot feel organic, especially in a wider story as grand as what Sanderson is building, but usually he nails it. In this instance there were a few moments where it was too blatantly done for plot purposes, The entire rocket premise felt a little "lets keep things moving" but the worst example was the Bands of Mourning subplot, absurd chain of events that was only for the purpose of getting them to where they needed to be as quickly as possible not as a natural progression of the situation and the characters involved.

Sanderson is ultra talented so if he allowed a bit more space he could've managed it, but there are limits when you want to keep things as short and snappy as he does in this book. An understandable tradeoff even if I preferred the plot felt less forced.

Still a fun read with some really great character beats but left me with a niggling concern that tying in the wider Cosmere will detract from the quality of the individual stories going forward (AKA the MCU curse).

What can I say? Brandon Sanderson has a style and delivers over and over again. This conclusion to the Second Mistborn arc isn't quite as impressive as The Hero of Ages, but wraps up the threads introduced throughout the last three novels in a very satisfying way.

But hey - you're six novels in. All I need to do is confirm that the author hasn't lost his touch. Must-read.

From a theming perspective, I was annoyed that The Bands of Mourning introduced the Malwish but this novel mostly ignored those peoples. There were a lot of plots to deal with, including wrapping up the Set (introduced in Alloy of Law) and dealing with Trell (technically the antagonist of Shadows of Self), so I understand that we focused on those rather than the Malwish. It just felt wrong given how important their Ettmetal devices should be in terms of impacting the world.

Additionally, I'm not really a fan of Kelsier's return. The Ghostbloods were a lot. They introduced a number of new magic systems and really diverted away from the world I wanted to read about. Wax's OP twinborn power vs the Not-Wax hemalurgy-based power is what we needed to see, and I think the parts of the novel that was basically a Cosmere team-up were the weakest parts.

That said, this is whining. Wax and Wayne carried the book, Serris was an excellent C-Plot, and Marasi solved hers primarily without Ghostblood powers so I wish we didn't spend time introducing it. I loved the progression of Sazed and Marsh, as they were characters I had assumed were 'dead'.

Finally, as a random guess - I think Marsh is alloying atium with various metals to produce the effects everyone is wondering how he pulls off (including walking around basically invisible to others, as well as his long age given his lack of Compounding).

He wasn't wearing a hat, which meant he had to just be himself. The true him, the one that knew the pain.

The Lost Metal was an outstanding book and an excellent conclusion to Era 2. There were significant expectations this book had to live up to and it delivered.

But real pain, that comes when you realize what you are. What you done. Waking up each morning, knowing' you're worthless. That's pain.

The Lost Metal is an emotional onslaught.

The mood for the book was set right from the prologue. There was a different intent with this story and it carried throughout all chapters and characters. This wasn't a story of growth for Wax and Wayne but Marasi and Steris too. Each character has shown such wonderful growth and self awareness too. Understanding what makes you vulnerable, how to cope with insecurities and more importantly, what it means to be forgiven.

The short man pushed over a note. Handwritten, stained with something. "He wanted you to have this." It simply said, Sorry.

I am used to characters experiencing pain, suffering and trauma but Brandon Sanderson has typically kept that within the Stormlight Archive. Like all things Cosmere, connections are made, borders are blurred and now Mistborn gets a heavy hand of emotional damage from Sanderson.

That was...a lot to take in.

A typical Sanderson book has the "Sanderlanche" come at you hard and fast in the final leg of the book, but The Lost Metal felt like it was all gas with no brakes. When Harmony provides a straight answer at the start of Part 2 you realize the "Sanderlanche" starts now and it didn't relent.

Today, she didn't need to be armed so much as equipped.

The further Sanderson dives into the Cosmere the more significant the crossovers, references and implications are to the rest of the universe and The Lost Metal had these in abundance! I highlighted passages, words and character names as a reminder to follow up and dive into them further.

There were times I felt lost or uncertain what was being referenced and I wondered if I forgot something (possible) or things were left intentionally vague (also possible). I am looking forward to reading a fan Wiki to realize what I missed and be reminded of events off world.

She didn't need power like that, but duty wasn't about what you needed. It was about what was needed from you.

Era 2 has been a fantastic trilogy and the self awareness with the Cosmere will give it significant re-read value.

"Lies, you mean," Wax said. "You print lies."
"We prefer 'whimsical what-ifs'. Intriguing stories that would be fascinating if they were true."
"So..." Wax said, "lies."

The downside of having finished the latest Cosmere novel is that there would usually be a lengthy wait before the next book. Thankfully the four Secret Projects will be released in 2023 and then the hype train for Stormlight Archive can begin properly.

Thanks The Lost Metal, you were an enjoyable read and I imagine I'll be doing a re-read very soon.