Three hundred years after the events in the original Mistborn trilogy, Brandon Sanderson’s The Alloy of Law gives a glimpse of what the world of Scadrial has become. The magic is the same, though it has evolved a little, with the addition of a couple new metals. The thriving city of Elendel now has trains and growing skyscrapers. Overall, it has a Victorianesque steampunk-like setting.

Lord Waxillium Ladrian was a gun-slinging Misting lawman out in the frontier lands, until his uncle died in a carriage accident. Wax has to hang up his guns and take on the responsibilities of the Lord of House Ladrian.

After only a short period of going about the tiresome business of handling House Ladrian’s accounts and dealing with the aristocracy, a series of kidnappings and train robberies (not to mention a visit from a wisecracking colleague) is just the excuse to come out of retirement and bring his law-keeping talents to the big city…

The Alloy of Law has the same riveting action sequences of the original Mistborn trilogy, but with a fresh new twist. Between firearms and the existence of metal everywhere, combat is quite different. The lack of Mistborn (they’re now a legend of the past) and the rise of “Twinborn” Mistings with one Allomantic and one Feruchemical power also nerfs the magic side of things and makes gunfights less one-sided than they would be otherwise.

Overall, it’s a solid book that fits right in with the rest of the series, while adding a bit more humor to the equation. Sanderson has mentioned that his original plan for the Mistborn series was to have a trilogy with a medieval-type setting, one set in a time period like the present day, and one in the future. The Alloy of Law ended up being an impulsive side project that fits somewhere between the first two trilogies. I do hope he decides to write another book or two continuing this storyline, though. It turned out rather well.