The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson

 Title: The Alloy of Law

Author: Brandon Sanderson

Format: Audiobook

Narrator: Michael Kramer

Genre: YA Fantasy, NA Fantasy, High Fantasy

 I purchased this book and chose to do an honest and unbiased review.  The author neither requested nor is associated with this review.

 Goodreads Description:

Fresh from the success of The Way of Kings, Brandon Sanderson, best known for completing Robert Jordans Wheel of Time, takes a break to return to the world of the bestselling Mistborn series. 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. Kelsier, Vin, Elend, Sazed, Spook, and the rest are now part of historyor religion. Yet even as science and technology are reaching new heights, the old magics of Allomancy and Feruchemy continue to play a role in this reborn world. Out in the frontier lands known as the Roughs, they are crucial tools for the brave men and women attempting to establish order and justice. One such is Waxillium Ladrian, a rare Twinborn, who can Push on metals with his Allomancy and use Feruchemy to become lighter or heavier at will. After twenty years in the Roughs, Wax has been forced by family tragedy to return to the metropolis of Elendel. Now he must reluctantly put away his guns and assume the duties and dignity incumbent upon the head of a noble house. Or so he thinks, until he learns the hard way that the mansions and elegant tree-lined streets of the city can be even more dangerous than the dusty plains of the Roughs. 

Here's What I Thought: 

This was actually a re-read for me. The first time, I read my physical copy. The second time, I listened to the audiobook narrated by Michael Kramer. Both times, I loved this book! I do want to make sure to mention that if you have not read Mistborn Era 1, you really should start there. Not only is it a great entry point into the Cosmere, Sanderson's multiverse the majority of his books take place in, but The Alloy of Law is the beginning of Era 2, set 300 years later, and will contain spoilers for the first trilogy. The first book, Mistborn (or The Final Empire depending on edition) also works great as a standalone. Then you don't have to feel committed to a huge series before you know if Sanderson is for you. 

Era 1 Mistborn is like most high fantasy. It takes place in an other-worldly, dictatorship type empire with limited technology. Most of the tech that is featured is dependent on the magic system. Era 2 Mistborn, on the other hand, is able to bring modern technology (at least more modern) to high fantasy without coming across as low or urban fantasy in itself. If you are interested in learning more about about the different types of fantasy and magic systems, check out this post. 

Before I get too much into the book itself, here is a quick rundown of the magic systems: Allomancy, Feruchemy, and Hemalurgy. Like all of Sanderson's magic systems, they're considered a hard magic systems. That means that there are hard and fast rules for it, as well as limitations. It is predictable and consistent. 

A person with Allomantic abilities, essentially ingests different types of metals to gain different abilities by "burning" the metal. A person was Mistborn if they could burn all of the metals. In Era 1, most people with Allomantic abilities were nobility and could only burn one metal. Feruchemy is the ability to store an attribute in a metal, referred to as a metalmind. In Era 1, Feruchemists were only found amongst the Terris people and could use all the different types of metalminds. Hemalurgy uses metal spikes to steal Allomantic and Feruchemical abilities and give them to another. Below is a reference chart which shows how each type of metal may be used. 

I have to say, I was skeptical when I first picked it up the first time. I was kind of indifferent to it in the beginning to the idea of parts of the book taking place in essentially the Wild West. I'm not one for Westerns, but I ended up really liking it as it was a nice change from typical fantasy. I loved seeing how people used Allomancy and Feruchemy in combination with things like guns and bullets. It was also interesting to find in Era 2, that there are no longer full Mistborns or Feruchemists. Instead, there are regular Allomancers, Feruchemists that can use a single Feruchemical ability, and Twinborn--someone with one Allomantic and one Feruchemical ability. Seeing how Wax and Wayne--both twinborns--use their abilities together in strategic ways was really cool, as the effects were not always what you would expect. 

Another reason I was skeptical of this series is I have a tendency to get very attached to characters. How am I supposed to love another story set in Scadrial, but without Vin, Elend, Breeze, Spook, Ham, Sazed, and Marsh? I was, thankfully, completely and absolutely wrong. I loved Marasi from the start. Wax and Wayne's banter is phenomenal. Steris, however, I felt bad for. Despite some of her more comical comments (and all of her contracts), her heart to heart with Wax at the end broke my heart. Upon my reread, I still felt this way, but I knew how much she would grow as a character, which made me incredibly happy. Steris is just so genuine, and Wayne's comments about her make me want to slap him. 

This book has something for everyone. Train robberies, love and loss, betrayal, familial duty, political maneuvering, explosions, and gun fights. As an added bonus, there are even excerpts from the broadsheets spread throughout the book that have fun Easter eggs for the book itself and even some broader overall Cosmere references. Michael Kramer, as always, delivers a top-notch performance, although the first audiobook was missing the broadsheet excerpts. It doesn't impact the story, but it takes away a bit of the fun. 

I initially wanted to give this book 5 stars. In so many ways, it is just plain wonderful. But there are many parts of this book that do not hold up to the same level of complexity that I have come to expect from Sanderson. Not in the sense of prose. Sanderson always has very simple prose, which I actually enjoy. More from the world building and character development aspects. Maybe it's because he felt that he already built Scadrial, that he doesn't need to be more elaborate? I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's just not the same level as the Era 1 books. It is fun and quirky with enough Era 1 references (I love how they portray Spook in Era 2 😂) and even a couple of cameos, however, to earn a solid 4 stars. 

Any Thoughts?

Sanderson is one of those authors that everyone seems to love or... They don't. His critics and fans alike often cite his simple prose as one of the reasons for their respective opinions. Some critics don't like him on principle due to things like race, gender, and religion. (I touched on my thoughts about him in my previous post here). Did you love it or hate it? Why? Drop a comment below and we can discuss.

About The Author:

Brandon’s major books for the second half of 2016 are The Dark Talent, the final volume in Alcatraz Smedry’s autobiographical account of his battle against the Evil Librarians who secretly rule our world, and Arcanum Unbounded, the collection of short fiction in the Cosmere universe that includes the Mistborn series and the Stormlight Archive, among others. This collection features The Emperor’s Soul, Mistborn: Secret History, and a brand-new Stormlight Archive novella, Edgedancer.

Earlier this year he released Calamity, the finale of the #1 New York Times bestselling Reckoners trilogy that began with Steelheart .

Brandon Sanderson was born in 1975 in Lincoln, Nebraska. As a child Brandon enjoyed reading, but he lost interest in the types of titles often suggested to him, and by junior high he never cracked a book if he could help it. This changed when an eighth grade teacher gave him Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly.

Brandon was working on his thirteenth novel when Moshe Feder at Tor Books bought the sixth he had written. Tor has published Elantris, the Mistborn trilogy and its followup The Alloy of Law, Warbreaker, and The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance, the first two in the planned ten-volume series The Stormlight Archive. He was chosen to complete Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series; 2009’s The Gathering Storm and 2010’s Towers of Midnight were followed by the final book in the series, A Memory of Light, in January 2013. Four books in his middle-grade Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians series have been released in new editions by Starscape, and his novella Infinity Blade Awakening was an ebook bestseller for Epic Games accompanying their acclaimed Infinity Blade iOS video game series. Two more novellas, Legion and The Emperor’s Soul, were released by Subterranean Press and Tachyon Publications in 2012, and 2013 brought two young adult novels, The Rithmatist from Tor and Steelheart from Delacorte.

The only author to make the short list for the David Gemmell Legend Award six times in four years, Brandon won that award in 2011 for The Way of Kings. The Emperor’s Soul won the 2013 Hugo Award for Best Novella. He has appeared on the New York Times Best-Seller List multiple times, with five novels hitting the #1 spot.

Currently living in Utah with his wife and children, Brandon teaches creative writing at Brigham Young University.

What Do You Mean There Are Different Types of Fantasy?

If you are new to the fantasy genre or have only read the occasional book or series within the genre because of Booktok, then it may surprise you that, yes, there are many subgenres within fantasy itself. You may be surprised to learn this even if you are an avid fantasy reader, but just pick up books that look good. Did you know there are a couple different types of magic systems as well? Today, I am going to do a bit of a deep-dive into what defines fantasy, itself, as well as what makes each subgenre unique. Going in, just know that it is not uncommon for subgenres to overlap. A book can be high fantasy and grimdark fantasy as well as another can be low fantasy and cozy fantasy or vice versa. These are essentially description tags the book community uses to further distinguish types of books so readers might have a better sense of what they are picking up. 

Fantasy

What is fantasy? This seems pretty self-explanatory, but let's talk about it just in case someone doesn't know. Fantasy is an all-encompassing term to describe books that contain magical elements. It differs from science fiction as the elements will often defy the rules of our physical world in a way that cannot be attributed to advancing science and technology. The vast majority of the books discussed on my blog and all of the books listed below will fall into this category. For my purposes, I tend to think of this genre as a tree that branches out into many subgenres. Fantasy is the trunk. Hold on to this metaphor--I'll be coming back to it!

High Fantasy

High fantasy describes any book that is not set in real world history. The terms "high fantasy" and "epic fantasy" tend to get used interchangeably, but there are subtle differences. In my tree metaphor, I would consider high fantasy to be a main limb of the tree, as it's broader and more encompassing, whereas epic fantasy is a smaller branch off of that limb. Basically, if a book is set in a fictional world with a fictional history, it's considered high.

Examples: The Hobbit, Warbreaker, and Priory of the Orange Tree

Low Fantasy

Next on the list is low fantasy. No, it does not mean "lesser." Far from it actually! Fantasy books that are set around real-world places or events are considered low fantasy. These are the books that tend to have magic hidden in the real world. I would consider this to be another main limb of my fantasy tree, as there are many other subgenres that are similar, but again, this one is more general and less specific.

Examples: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Outlander, and Twilight

Epic Fantasy

Now that the "foundation" of fantasy is established, let's start digging into the more specific genres starting with EPIC FANTASY. Epic fantasy are books that have a very large, grand scale story revolving around an equally large cast of characters facing an ultimate big bad with the potential for world-ending stakes. The classic good vs. evil, if you will. These books are typically a part of a large series as there is often way too much to put into just one book. More often than not, epic fantasy books tend to be a branch off of the high fantasy limb in my fantasy tree, but that is definitely not always the case. 

Examples: Wheel of Time, Lord of the Rings, and Storrmlight Archive

Urban Fantasy

Likewise, I would consider urban fantasy to be a branch of the low fantasy limb for obvious reasons. It takes place in the real world, more specifically, the modern real world. (Anyone else start singing "Real World" by Matchbox 20? No? Just me? Ok, moving on...)

Examples: Dresden Files, Shadowhunter Chronicles, and American Gods

Historical Fantasy

Like urban fantasy, this is often set in the real world, making it a branch off of low fantasy. Historical fantasy typically is a re-imagining of an actual historical event with magical elements inserted. There is usually a balance between realism and fantasy elements. 

Examples: Outlander, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, and What the Wind Knows 

Sword and Sorcery

Honestly, I didn't even know this was a subgenre until I started looking into how many different types of fantasy there was. It's defined as a competent hero that fights their way to victory, often with exciting but violent battles. I feel like this is kind of summed up within the definition of other subgenres, but people like it as it's own thing, so who am I to argue? I could see this being a branch off of either high or low fantasy and even being an offshoot of a more specific subgenre as well. 

Examples: Conan, Game of Thrones, and The Name of the Wind

Dark Fantasy

This type of fantasy doesn't necessarily stem from high or low fantasy. What characterizes dark fantasy is the focus on a creepy atmosphere, rather than violence.

Examples: Coraline, The Graveyard Book, and Fairy Tale

Grimdark Fantasy

Again, grimdark fantasy doesn't require any specific setting as far as real-world or fictional. What makes grimdark grimdark is the overall tone. The setting is usually very grim (hence the term grimdark), the characters consist of anti-heroes, and there is often more violence. 

Examples: Lies of Locke Lamora, The Blade Itself, and The Poppy War

Steampunk Fantasy

Unlike all of the other subgenres, this one doesn't usually have a lot of magic or other fantasy elements in it. Steampunk fantasy is usually an alternative Victorian Era, or sometimes Wild West, setting. There is usually a heavy focus on technology, usually that is steam powered. Based on that, I would consider it a branch off of the low fantasy limb.

Examples: Infernal Devices, Boneshaker, and The Falconer

Science Fantasy

Science fantasy blends the elements of science fiction and fantasy. It tends to have heavy elements of technology, but will often have elements that are not explained by advancing technology and science. I would branch this subgenre off of low fantasy, as well.

Examples: Cinder, The Fifth Season, and This Is How You Lose a Time War

Portal Fantasy

Portal fantasy is kind of like a bridge between high and low fantasy. It is defined by characters traveling from the real world to a fantasy world through, you guessed it, a portal!

Examples: Chronicles of Narnia, Peter Pan, and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Paranormal Romance

Paranormal romance would be a branch off of low fantasy as they are set in the real world with paranormal characters such as vampires, werewolves, and ghosts. As the name suggests, romance is also a key plot element.

Examples: Twilight, Vampire Academy, and Beautiful Creatures

Fantasy Romance

Fantasy romance is the romance subgenre that branches off of high fantasy. These books take place in entirely fictional worlds and also have a heavy emphasis on romance. 

Examples: A Court of Thorns and Roses, Shadow and Bone, and From Blood and Ash

Medieval Fantasy/Arthurian Fantasy

Books in this subgenre usually are more high fantasy type books, but they can be set in the real world as well. They are inspired by the Medieval time period and often center around myths and legends.

Examples: The Once and Future King, The Mists of Avalon, and The Farseer Trilogy

Cozy Fantasy

Cozy fantasy is just what it sounds like. Cozy. These books are lighthearted, low stakes, and low violence. The are the perfect palate cleanser after completing an epic fantasy. They are also perfect for if you just aren't into the intense high stakes the other subgenres have but still like to read about magic. This is another subgenre that can branch off of either high or low fantasy.

Examples: House in the Cerulean Sea, Legends and Lattes, and The Goblin Emporer

Fantasy Retellings

Another self-naming subgenre, fantasy retellings are fairy tales and myths reimagined. There is a huge trend right now of doing spicy retellings. 

Examples:  The Song of Achilles, Alice, and A Touch of Darkness

Magic Systems

Whew! That was a lot to get through. Honestly, there are many more subgenres than what I covered here, but I tried to hit the main ones that people like to talk about. Now on to magic systems. Thankfully, this section will be much shorter, as there are essentially two types: hard magic systems and soft magic systems. 

Hard Magic Systems

Hard magic systems have set rules and limitations. The magic is consistent and predictable. It's almost as if there is a scientific formula to how the magic works. By writers choosing to use a hard magic system, the characters will often have problem-solve within their set limitations to overcome obstacles. The reader will also get a deep understanding of the magic system. A strength of this magic system, in my opinion, is that characters cannot just magic themselves out of a situation and magic can't be used to move the plot forward (usually). I like the law and order of hard magic systems.

Examples: Allomancy in Mistborn, Surgebinding in Stormlight Archives, and Coporalki, Etherealki, Materialki in Grishaverse

Soft Magic System

Soft magic systems are the opposite. They typically have few rules, if any, and are used more to inspire awe and wonder. With soft magic systems, there is more sense of mystery than with hard magic. It's also easier to adapt to an ever changing story. Although I can definitely see the pros to soft magic, for me the cons tend to be deal breakers: Soft magic systems often lead to magic being used as a plot device. "Oh no! The character is trapped, but he got out because magic!" This leads to convenient endings, which frustrates me. Another drawback to soft magic systems is inconsistencies. Due to being able to adapt to the story, there are often inconsistencies that just get explained away with a wave of the wand. Personally, I like rules.

Examples: Gandalf's magic in The Lord of the Rings, and Naming in The Kingkiller Chronicles

Hybrid Magic System

I know... I know! I said there were only two sections here. But, there are actually three. The last one is a hybrid magic system. This is when the magic system has rules of what magic can and cannot do, but they are easily and frequently bent, if not flat out broken, to fit the needs of the plot. Then, when the rules of magic change, it's usually explained that suddenly it works because "reasons."

Example: the magic in Harry Potter

Conclusion

Although the definitions of everything above is accurate, some of it (primarily with my tree metophor) is my interpretation. Also, it should be noted that classifying many books as one thing or another is subjective, so if you don't agree with where I classified something, that is totally fine. Some of these subgenres are not ones that I would normally read, so I was at the mercy of Google for giving me recommendations for them. This was meant to be a "brief" rundown of different types of fantasy and different types of magic systems to help you make sense of what people like me are talking about. 

Let me know what you think of posts like this. Love it? Hate it? Want me to do more deep dives into elements of fantasy literature? Let me know in the comments below!

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

 Title: Throne of Glass

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Format: Audiobook

Narrator: Elizabeth Evans

Genre: YA Fantasy, NA Fantasy, High Fantasy

 I purchased this book and chose to do an honest and unbiased review.  The author neither requested nor is associated with this review.

 Goodreads Description:

After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.

Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for four years and then be granted her freedom. Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilarating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her ... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead ... quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

Here's What I Thought: 

Someday I am going to be consistent with my blogging. Since my last post, I not only continued with A Court of Mist and Fury, I have finished the entire ACOTAR series and I highly recommend it! Maybe I should go back and do posts on books I've read and not blogged about... That's a thought for another day. 

Well, I am officially an SJM fan. I tried to write her off as an author with one pretty good series, but one book into the Throne of Glass Series and I can already tell that that is not going to happen. Now, it has been a several weeks since I finished it and I have already finished several other books in the meantime (including others in the series), so after a nice little recap courtesy of the Recaptains so I don't jump ahead and spoil anything, bear with me. I will do my best to review this book with my true feelings at the time, and not hindsight 20/20. 

Note: I am doing the "romantic" reading order, which places Assassin's Blade after Heir of Fire.  

For the first book of a series and Maas's first book overall, it was good, but definitely not great. The premise of the story was good. There is a well-established big bad. There is a mysterious protagonist with a shadowy past. And let's not forget that love triangle! Although I could definitely have done without the love triangle, I'm kind of leaning towards #TeamChaol. Dorian is a prince and as sweet as he is, I feel like the prince always gets the girl. Anyways... This story seems to have it all. 

But...

It's weak. I wanted to absolutely love it, but I just couldn't. As fabulous as Celaena is, she is very one dimensional. She is the best assassin with the best aim, best agility, most expensive taste, and all the beautiful dresses. The love triangle between the best friends is cliche, at best. Seriously? Why do we always need a love triangle. Then, the good guy/bad guy (or girl) fake out was just plain predictable. Finally, from what I remember of the dialogue, it was "eh..." 

Despite all of this, I did enjoy the book. I even said so in the beginning of my review. I never expect the first book in a fairly large series, or any series for that matter, to be over the top spectacular. First books in a series tend to need a lot of world building and character introduction, as well as some sort of a plot, that it can be hard for authors to hit the mark in all of these things at once. Later on, once the world is established and characters have a chance to flesh out and the author finds their rhythm so to speak, that is when the great books come. That's why I rarely judge a series solely on the first book. Plus, I went into the series well aware that her writing starts out fairly immature, but she really grows throughout the series. 

I am (was 😜) excited to start the second book as I definitely see the potential for a great series. Also, how is SJM planning on tying everything together in the now confirmed multiverse?

 

Any Thoughts?

With any super hyped author comes polarizing opinions. I am actually surprised I enjoyed it as much as I did, as I generally don't love books that get blown up on all of the socials. Did you love it or hate it? Why? Drop a comment below and we can discuss.

About The Author:

Sarah J. Maas is the #1 New York Times and internationally bestselling author of the Crescent City, A Court of Thorns and Roses, and the Throne of Glass series. Her books have sold more than twelve million copies and are published in thirty-seven languages. A New York native, Sarah lives in Philadelphia with her husband, son, and dog. To find out more, visit sarahjmaas.com or follow @therealsjmaas on Instagram.