Even though I love this complex world and all these dynamic characters and the intricate magic system, and I wanted to read this book so badly, I struggled to pick it up. I kept procrastinating reading it for some reason, and I could focus only for a short amount of time before I had to put the book down and come back to it later.
I think this is partially my own fault and partially the book’s fault. If I had read The Bands of Mourning two years ago when I finished Shadows of Self, I think I would have been much more engaged in the story. (I did have to do about two hours of research into the world, the characters, and the three magic systems, including rereading the last three chapters of Shadows of Self, before starting this book so I would remember what was going on.) I cannot tell you why I waited two years to read this book, only that it happened and I wish it didn’t. Alas, here we are and that’s how it is.
Why I think the book is partially at fault is because of the general story. Being a western on top of an epic fantasy, I struggled with the book for that reason because I do not really care for westerns (this series excluded), and I’m still fairly new to epic fantasy. Plus, this book had about five separate main plot lines going on at the same time, not to mention the many minor plot lines happening in the background, and I think I was just very skeptical that everything would go well by the end.
Obviously, everything did end well and I had no reason to be worried. This is Brandon Sanderson we’re talking about, and he can do no wrong. I wish I didn’t struggle with the beginning of the book, but it did not lessen my enjoyment of the whole story (as you can see, I still gave this book five well-deserved stars).
I cannot stop thinking about the six pages when the crew gets to the hotel in New Seran because it is the absolute funniest and most entertaining part of the entire book. I read it twice and I could not stop laughing like a maniac at this scene because it was just that good.
Wayne is hilarious as usual, and it’s no surprise he’s the most interesting character in this series. Even though I think I like Wax more as a technicality, Wayne has the better personality. His chapters are always so entertaining, and his personality is so specific that I never know what to expect with him except that he’ll always come up with something clever to say.
I really like Marasi. I love that she makes use of her Allomantic ability in this book after feeling mostly useless in that regard. She’s really the brains of the group, and that might be why I’ve always liked her the best. However, that might be changing now. . . .
Steris really steps up her game in this book. Her character development blew me away, and I didn’t know I could like her this much. I love how she is always prepared for even the worst situations, and I think she’s become a great asset to the team. She’s funny in subtle ways. I love her banter with Wax, and I think they’re actually becoming close despite their arranged situation, which makes me very happy.
Wax is great in this book, as usual. His fight scenes are highly entertaining and I kept wondering how he was going to pull himself out of each next fight. I liked that we got to see some of his internal struggles as he tried to decide what pathway to pursue since there were about five things happening that each could have easily become their own plot line in their own book.
I don’t remember if MeLaan was a significant character in the previous books, but she was definitely pertinent to this one. She was just as funny as Wayne, which surprised me, and always lightened the situation with some Kandra humor. She’s a new favorite for sure.
I’m glad this book didn’t become convoluted with too much happening because after all the possibilities for main plot lines were established (around the 30% mark), I was worried that they were trying to do too much in too short a book and the ending would either be rushed or not everything would be resolved. Luckily, the book stuck to the one main storyline with a few side plot lines, which actually answered a lot of questions surrounding the other possible plot lines, so that worked out nicely. Leave it to Sanderson to accomplish something like that; no other author could introduce so many problems and ideas and quests and tie them up in the end so satisfactorily without leaving out important details.
The Bands of Mourning is the only Mistborn book I’ve reviewed so far (as I got into reviewing books after I had already read the rest of the series), but I do plan to go back and reread the first five books and review each of them at some point, although probably not for a few years. This is one of my favorite series of all time, and each of its books deserves a glowing review.
What I love most about this series is how unique and dynamic it is. There are not one, not two, but three magic systems in this world, each of which is unique to this series alone. I love the concept behind metal magic, and seeing all the ways Sanderson plays with that system is phenomenal. It is deep and advanced, and there are endless possibilities for what to do with Allomancy, Feruchemy, and Hemalurgy, especially when you start to mix them together.
Another reason I’m so in love with this series is how it blends genres so well. The first era of three books is no doubt an epic fantasy in a typical historical-type setting, but it’s not dense or difficult to understand at all. It’s a very approachable world with enjoyable characters. Then the second era is a western fantasy. I never thought I would read a western, but here we are, and I love this era (not as much as the original trilogy but it’s still quite good). It is so cool to see the world that we came to love now a few centuries into the future with new characters and new ways to use the same old magic systems to fit with modern technology. I love that the first era is like the origin story that is usually only told as background to the main story, but here it is the main story and then we get to see how it influences the future of the world. And era three, coming way in the future, will be a 1980s spy-thriller setting (according to Sanderson himself on his website). I love so much that he has taken this world and its magic systems and is placing them in vastly different time periods with different technologies, and then experimenting with it to see what it would be like to use Allomancy or Feruchemy in these differing settings.
This series has cemented Sanderson as one of my favorite authors of all time. I need to read everything else he wrote, and I am genuinely so excited to immerse myself in more of his insanely cool and intricate worlds. I also think I like him even more than I do other authors because I got to meet him and take the writing class he taught at my college. It’s crazy to see the behind-the-scenes of how an author’s mind works to create their stories. I’m so glad I discovered him and his books because they have made such a difference in my reading tastes and are some I know I’ll read again and again for the rest of my life.
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