The Bands of Mourning – Review

“Wayne held back a smile, tucking it into his pocket for later use.”

When I first read Bands of Mourning, I found it to be the best of the three books in era two. Upon my reread, I found that to still be the case, but for more reasons than I expected.

You can find my previous review of Shadows of Self here or start at the beginning with my review for Alloy of Law.

Strength to Strength

Book three continues the trend of steering era two closer and closer to being a sequel in the more traditional sense. Whilst the previous books contained numerous call-backs, cameos and references, this book feels more reliant on its being set after Mistborn. The story couldn’t happen if it had been set elsewhere, whilst the first two books maybe could have.

The advantage of this is clear, it makes for a more engaging story. Much of what we loved in era one comes back in play and the stakes become bigger. Whilst I enjoy a small scale story, it’s clear that Sanderson’s strength lies with stories the change the world they’re set on.

“You’ve given up? Is that how the Ascendant Warrior was? Huh?”
“No, in fact,” Marasi said. “She walked up to the man she wanted, slapped the book out of his hand, and kissed him.”

Another notable strength of the book lies in the set up of the greater mystery. The true joy of any reread is picking up on all the foreshadowing and lines written to be misinterpreted. This is another area Sanderson excels. Indeed, my favourite example is how the very first line of the original Mistborn hints at its eventual ending. Era 2 is no different.

From brief mentions in Alloy of Law to the revelations on Bands of Mourning, there were a lot of throwaway lines that meant so much when their meaning was already known. This along with the consistent quality in writing and action packed scenes made for a read I enjoyed even more the second time around.

“There’s always another secret”*

A Breakout Star

Character has always been a strength of this series and this book heightens that with the addition of Steris to the characters we hold dear. Whilst we saw glimpses of her personality and warmth in Shadows of Self, she truly comes alive when she joins the gang on this adventure. Her unique perspective and penchant for being prepared is a joy to read and adds an extra dimension of comedy to the scenes she’s in. There’s one particular scene when the group check into a hotel that for me is the peak of Sanderson’s comedy and one of my all time favourite scenes. Even on the reread, it made me chuckle mopre than it should have.

The greatness of Steris also lies in her relationship with Wax. In too much fiction, romance is wild, passionate and not really thought through. Not here. This relationship, built on a business deal, slowly develops as we see these characters open up and find themselves more and more suited for each other. The slow build and deep compatibility makes this one of the more realistic relationships I’ve read.

“Well, love is a strong emotion, one that requires careful deliberation to—”“Steris.” “Yes.” She looked down at her notebook. “It’s foolish, isn’t it?”

Issues

With each book in the series, I find it harder and harder to find flaws. The writing is strong, the plot engaging and the issues from the previous books get fixed. The main issue I have is the same as with Shadows of Self.

Alloy of Law sets up a small mystery story in a world that happens to follow on from the original Mistborn, but the series grows out of that. By book three, we’re deep in the actions of the characters changing the world and the revelations of gods and their intents.

Whilst I greatly enjoy both, I cannot deny that this is somewhat of a broken promise. Someone who only loves the small stories would get disappointed as that scale is abandoned, whilst someone of the reverse tastes has to put up with the first few book and a half before getting here.

It feels cheap to say, but the weakness of this book is the books leading up to it. I however, love books of both styles so whilst I relate, it doesn’t bother me. In addition, I feel like the bigger story is the better option and so as I read, the books get better.

“Go,” Marasi said. “Do what you do best, Waxillium Ladrian.”
“Which is what? Break things?”
“Break things,” Marasi said, “with style.”

Overall, I loved this book. Sanderson is spinning a deep and intriguing plot to further the world of Scadriel and I for one cannot wait for the final book of Era 2 to be released. You can expect my review for it next week, after I’ve devoured it much as a Kandra devours a finely aged corpse!

If you need more Mistborn conversation RIGHT NOW, then don’t mourn, your not band from the Mistborn Unofficial Discord yet!

*This quote was just too perfect to put here. It’s written in the epilogue so technically it’s still a quote from this book.