A first-rate second installment for this sequelilogy! Branderson strikes (gold) again!
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| Sanderson, Brandon. Shadows of Self. Tor: 2015. |
Buy it here.
What is a sequelilogy, you ask? Simple: it’s a sequel
trilogy, of which this is the second volume. I’m getting a massive tsunami of déjà
vu writing this, so perhaps I’ve already coined a new term for this phenomenon,
but if so, I doubt it can hold a candle to the brilliance of sequelilogy, am I
right?
Anyway, the original Mistborn trilogy by Brandon “Branderson”
Sanderson was fantastic, so any sequel effort was bound to feel a little
underwhelming. Sure enough, Alloy of Law, the first in the new series,
evidently conceived as more of a one-off at first than the start of a new
trilogy, left me intrigued but somewhat unmoved. Wax and the others, especially
Wayne, were compelling enough as characters go, and Branderson’s interesting
mixing of near-modern technology with allomancy and other essentially magical
arts was spellbinding. But overall, something just felt a bit lacking. This led
to slightly reduced expectations on my part for Shadows of Self, which I knew
to be a continuation of the Wax storyline. Surely there was no way Branderson could
continue a story already palpably less awesome than Vin’s and somehow raise his
game?
My oh my, was I wrong! Like Empire Strikes Back (though
emphatically not SW 2, Clone Wars!) before it, the middle volume of the
sequelilogy delivers the emotional punch, and a more cosmic sense of crisis
(and mystery), than the initial installment. I would still rate Vin’s story as
superior, but Wax’s emotional journey in this volume is certainly nothing to
sneeze at, and the stakes are much higher than merely a tough-to-kill baddie
and a cabalistic business conspiracy (a la Alloy of Law). Heck, even the title ‘Shadows
of Self’ is oodles better than Alloy of Law.
All in all, Branderson has given us an excellent ride in
this volume, and raised expectations considerably for the concluding
installment in the sequelilogy, due out later this month. Here’s hoping you
deliver, Branderson!
The Math:
Objective assessment: 6/10
Bonuses: +1 for giving us the first hint of a foe truly
worthy, not only of Wax himself, but of his god, +1 for integrating the mythological
aspects of the world so seamlessly with the present-day ones, and +1 for
managing to package the emotional wallop of the story in always amusing
one-liners and situations (thanks mostly to Wayne)
Penalties: -1 for still failing to live up to the glory of
the Ascendant Warrior (or her life story)
Nerd coefficient: 8/10 “Pretty frickin’ awesome”
(fact is, I’d give it an 8.5 if such things were allowed! See here for more on our scoring system)
This review brought to you by Zhaoyun, would-be Allomancer
and actual NOAF reviewer since 2013.
