4.0 out of 5 stars
And all endless things.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 30, 2022
The Lost Metal has been a long time coming; something you can't say very often about Brandon's books. And with it, the conclusion of Era Two of the Mistborn Saga. There are more stories to tell on Scadrial, and always another secret, but for now, this is our goodbye to Wax and Wayne, and it was a memorable one.
At his recent annual Dragonsteel Convention, Brandon Sanderson gave the keynote speech, in which he talked about common boundaries in the writing industry. Your typical do's and dont's, and how he has always struggled to play by these rules. He entered the publishing industry at a time when big, interconnected universes were not as commonplace—or popular—as they are today (see the MCU). Yet, that's exactly the type of story he wanted to tell. And as we now know (again, see the MCU) there is a demand for this type of story in the fantasy genre; quite a large one. But even so, there are hurdles to overcome when building this type of universe. The largest of course is that you don't want your future readers to feel overwhelmed by what appears to be an enormous list of required reading just to experience your world "properly". I can absolutely understand that perspective, and also understand why Brandon was careful to relegate all his cosmere intricacies and easter eggs to the background for all these years. Things that were fun to know, but that you didn't need to know. So, back to his keynote address. He tells us all of this for one specific reason: things are about to change. Beginning with the The Lost Metal, the "gloves are off", so to speak. The connections and intertwined story beats are no longer something moving in the shadows, hiding in the background; it's coming to the very forefront of the events within. He's not hiding it anymore, nor is he trying to. The cosmere is a vast universe full of a diverse variety of planets, peoples, stories, and magics; and it is opening up like never before.
Now, I completely understand if that's off-putting to some, and I will just say that I absolutely do think you can still enjoy The Lost Metal in its own right, even if the only Sanderson books you've read are Mistborn books. But there's no doubt that the lid is being blown off this thing, and frankly, for many of us who have been reading these books for years, it's exactly what we've been waiting for. It's one revelation after another, deeper and deeper as the story continues, and a whole lot of "this could change everything" moments. This isn't the first cosmere work to explore these concepts (Secret History and Rhythm of War both did so to a relatively large extent, and others to smaller extents) but it is the first to do so this blatantly, in a way that affects the main story arcs directly. And man, was it fun.
Beyond all the cosmere nerdery (and believe me, I could go on) The Lost Metal proves a satisfying conclusion to the second era of Mistborn; though one that still evades the five-star rating. I think I was just never as in love with the industrial era setting as I was with the first era's high fantasy one. But even so, it was an impactful and enjoyable story, as Wax, Wayne, Marasi, Steris, and a whole host of characters new and old try to save their city from the impending threat of Trell.
The implications for the cosmere in this story, and what they mean going forward, seem massive. As compact as this story was, it leaves a lot on the table. A lot to play with for the future. And you better believe I'll be right here waiting.
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