Diving back into Elendel with Wax and Wayne was a fun experience. The direct ties between this story and the events of the original Mistborn trilogy were nice callbacks that made me even more of a Sanderson fanboy than I already am. It’s the way that history is never forgotten that always impresses me. Everything matters and this story expands upon the world with its explication of past events.

Wax is on the hunt for a new threat, Bleeder. Her motivations unknown and her actions sinister, make for an exciting manhunt. It leads Wax and company to some interesting places that provide details on Wax’s backstory which gave me a new perspective on him. Wayne is the everpresent sleuth in his ability to blend into any situation. His poking and prodding of Wax (and really anyone else around him) is a great balance to Wax’s serious demeanor. Marasi also returns as her modest, quirky self. The three work with the constables, and other surprise assistance, to stop Bleeder before she can hurt anyone else. It’s a story that’s fairly straightforward and the characters don’t really develop in new ways, until the very end. Sure there are some new tidbits of information about them, but they’re relatively unchanged throughout the story. It’s surprising and it makes the book feel more like setup for the rest of the series. Though I enjoyed it, and I can pick out a couple moments, there really isn’t much here. Maybe it was just the reintegration of older Mistborn concepts that kept me going or the faith that there would be some true character development, but I can’t really say. 

This version of Elendel was supposed to be the perfect world after the events of the first trilogy, but it has similar problems to the old world. It’s frustrating given the sacrifices made for the world to return to similar ground, however it’s indicative of life in general. Change is hard to effect because the world and society is resistant to it. This is what makes the human spirit; the tenacity to not give up in the face of adversity and overwhelming odds. Maybe that’s the theme of this novel.

I know there’s not a lot going on overall for this entry in the series, but it’s still transportive. Every time I crack open a Sanderson novel, I know that I’m about to be sucked into a world that I don’t want to leave. The characters are all so likable as they are that the lack of change didn’t bother me overall. It feels like a ramp up book for the rest of the series, though I’m not sure where it’s going next. Still, consider me along for the ride.