Fiona Rowlands
Staff Writer
“The Lost Metal” by Brandon Sanderson is the fourth and final book of Mistborn Era 2. This will be a spoiler free review. Era 2, aka the Wax and Wayne cycle, is a genre blending series with equal parts fantasy, mystery, and western. “The Lost Metal” does not disappoint. It is fast paced and explores what the Set, a mysterious crime organization, has planned. It also is the first time Sanderson brings the Cosmere in to Mistborn beyond easter eggs.
There are two major positives of this book. One is this inclusion of the Cosmere, which is Sanderson’s shared universe. He has written many books set on different planets in the same universe or the Cosmere. Everything is interconnected, with easter eggs and hints of a larger story woven through all the Cosmere books. However, this is the first time we have a larger MCU style crossover. One of the upsides of the way Sanderson writes is that even with the crossover you can still understand the plot without having read all the other books. Of course having the extra bit of knowledge makes it even more enjoyable, but it isn’t necessary to understand the plot. You can even read era 2 before era 1, if you wanted, though I highly recommend you start with era 1.
The other improvement in the series is the character development of Wayne. Wayne has always been and continues to be comedic relief. However, in the earlier stories he was a fairly flat character who seemed to be there just for the laughs. In the second book we learn a little more about his backstory and he becomes a slightly more complex character but he still wasn’t fully fleshed out. The Lost Metal changes this. More chapters than ever before are from his POV and as a reader you can really start to empathize with him and understand his motivations.
If you enjoy fantasy, anything by Sanderson will be a treat, but especially the Mistborn books. Whether you are a hard core Cosmere fan or an occasional fantasy reader this book will delight.