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Sunday, September 9, 2018

Shadows of Self (Mistborn 5) by Brandon Sanderson

Shadows of Self (Mistborn, #5)Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Previous comments here.

This book is different than other Sanderson books for some reason. He stays true to the magic system and world he built, and I still love the references back to the first Mistborn trilogy, but it feels like this is where it gets a little far afield. I think I recognize the problem: he has to create an antagonist for the overarching protagonist (Sazed). Wax and Wayne do their thing, and their story line is fine, but to make this series' story arc work, the conflict can't be just about them. So in this book we learn about Trell. I think the issue might be that Trell was not really a legitimate character/force in the first trilogy, but rather just mentioned in passing. So this feels very "bolted-on." Where Sanderson's stories usually give you these huge "ah-ha!" moments when you look at the story through the rear view mirror (the Lessie revelation for example), for me the Trell thing is more of an "uh-huh?" moment.

That aside, I once again loved the book and can't wait to pick up the next one. Of course I have 3 other books in the works I need to finish as well, but I'm pushing on all fronts since we are staring down that last quarter of the year and I'm behind on my goal again...

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