#vin is the main character of mistborn and i just feel like she isn't getting enough credit in this time period

[tbookblurbs]

The Bands of Mourning - Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn Era 2, #3)

4/5 - the women really steal the show, broadens the in-world horizons

Spoilers below!

I really appreciated this book's dedication to giving Steris and Marasi real characters arcs (or at least the beginnings of one). They are by far the highlights of this novel, and pull me in much more than the other two do. This may be due in part to me feeling much more aligned with Marasi's ideals and endeared by Steris as a person, but I do also feel that their paths are just more interesting.

Revealing the cultures and people who live elsewhere on Scadrial was a nice touch. I'd found myself wondering when they were going to get to sailing, since the sea is right there, and the introduction of airships powered on Allomancy is a fun idea that breathes a bit of life into the later half of the book.

I do feel like this book didn't entirely know where it was going at times. It got lost in the weeds more than once, but I have to applaud Sanderson for reining in his pacing problems! This was the first time I read one of his books and didn't feel like I was about undergo 15gs. And leave it to Kelsier to continue showing up in books as a god. That man just will not stay dead.

That said, my irritations with Wax & Wayne remain. It isn't so much that I don't like them - it's just that I like everyone else more. Wax is, easily, at his most tolerable in his scenes with Steris.

I also found myself growing sad with the way they treated MeLaan. Not caring if she had broken bones because she could eventually fuse them back together, allowing her to be used as a human (kandra) shield ... it all feels very reminiscent of how Vin would treat OreSeur/TenSoon before she came to recognize his interiority. It just doesn't seem like they have the same fear or concern for her that they do the other members of the group.

#also this did just occur to me but why is this whole place named elendel #vin is the main character of mistborn and i just feel like she isn't getting enough credit in this time period #also x2 WHERE are the gay people. more characters here should be queer #particularly wayne since he's got some crazy gender fuckery going on there #the bands of mourning #brandon sanderson #book review #fantasy #high fantasy #cosmere #mistborn #mistborn era 2