Some of you may have gathered that I’m kinda into Steampunk right now. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find many Steampunk novels that I can really enjoy. I’m not positive what it is, but the whole corsets and goggles thing doesn’t really tranlate well onto paper in my book. So other than Scott Westerfeld, I’ve been pretty much limiting my Steampunk adventures to my clothing…and the Robert Downey, Jr. Sherlock Holmes movie.
Some of you may have heard of Brandon Sanderson. He is considered (by the people I know, anyway) to be one of the best fantasy writers of our curent day. He was even selected to finish the Wheel of Time series after Robert Jordan kicked the bucket. Well, Mr. Sanderson has written a new novel in his Mistborn universe. Although I appreciate the Mistborn triglogy for its intractate story telling, its wide range of character development, and its really complicated magical system, I didn’t enjoy it enough to read more than the first book. So I wasn’t that excited when Brandon’s new book, The Alloy of Law, came out. But Sean was, and he read it, and then he told me I had to read it.
And boy, am I glad that he did. The Alloy of Law is a wonderful combination of magic and Steampunk with a great plot driven by really interesting characters.
For those of you who have actually read the Mistborn trilogy, this book is set three hundred years into the future. Trains are common modes of transportation, and most wealthy people have electricity installed in their homes. The city of Elendel is full of modern commodities while the Roughs is still similar to our Wild, Wild West. And don’t forget that Allomancers still exist–though they are rarer than in the past. Allomancers are able to “burn” metals to preform certain feats, like push against metals, create timespeed bubbles, and even to manipulate people’s emotions.
Enter Waxilliam Ladrial, a “sheriff” out in the Roughs and newly inherited Lord of the Ladriel house. He’s vowed to put his law-keeping days behind him. But a series of mysterious train robberies and kidnappings practically beg to be solved. Join Wax and his deputy, Wayne, as they battle some old foes and meet some new allies–one very fetching and intelligent ally in particular.
I would reccomend this novel to anywho who enjoys:
- Low fantasy
- Steampunk
- Gun fights
- Witty banter
- Pretty much everyone