This book was good. I was pleasantly surprised how everything has been building up until this point. There was character development from the whole cast. This book more than any of the previous felt different. It felt like an Indiana Jones adventure.

The whole focal point for the most part is Wax trying to find his sister Telsin, who was presumed dead. The whole adventure leads the cast outside of Elendel where for the most part, these books have been taking place in. New technology, bigger obstacles, betrayals, and romance; all have a part to play in this book and it was a great listen. I will split this review into certain elements and give you things I liked and didn’t like.

• Romance

Since the beginning, Wax has been in a contract with Marasi’s half sister Steris. In the first book she was portrayed to be this very calculated woman, who spent her days coldly calculating everything from house finances to wedding proposals. Wax at first, was alright with the idea of marriage to Streris because of the financial benefits they would both receive from the said transaction. Needless to say that she was by far the underdog when it came to romance with Wax, but little by little her development has shown a different side to her. Yes she is calculating but she isn’t so cold as she comes off, she is unsure of herself and keeps herself preoccupied with things she can control. Her cold persona seems to shine in this book especially because she has decided to turn head on into Wax’s whole adventures. Her keen mind and calculated efforts make her a necessary and important part of the story. Not only that, she also somehow becomes a worthy match for Wax’s affections and the wedding that contractually mitigated is no longer bound by paper only but by the Love that blossoms between them. It’s so cool to see all the inner works of Sanderson’s mind click in an instant and to look back and see how all these things were coming together; and that’s just one element!

• Characters

By far Steris seems to get the most development in this book but that is also not to diminish the growth Marasi did as well. The two sisters seem to be different at the end of this book. Marasi struggles with thinking she’s always under the shadow of Wax. This is exceedingly poignant when she is given a task in the beginning of the book and is made to feel like it was only given to her because Wax didn’t want to do it. She wants to prove herself. This all comes to a head when, after all that struggling and fighting with her inner demons, she is finally given the opportunity to do something that would far surpass anything Wax had ever done, only to realize she doesn’t want that. She doesn’t want to be like Wax because Wax is who he is; she wants to be her own person. She finally realizes her own value.

Wayne is the same as always for the most part. He’s just as thought provoking as he is irritating. The Kandra, TenSoon, seems to also not have changed much besides being utilized a lot more because of her shapeshifting abilities. I understand that some characters are put on the back burner for the development of others so I didn’t mind.

• Story

The story was good. The “Sanderlanche” is a term I have heard used by many book tubers that describes the last maybe 100-200 pages of non-stop action followed by the resolution. This adequately describes the last two hours of listening to this book. It was so interesting I could not stop listening to it. The ending was gripping, the story had finally reached it climax and there was so much happening, so much information to hold on to. The quest for the bands of mourning which was an all powerful item supposedly used by the Lord Ruler from the first generation books made for an interesting treasure hunt. I, now knowing there’s gonna be a fourth book to come out next year, am very excited to say the least.

• magic systems and technology

The one other thing I thought was notable to talk about was the increased use of the magic system. There was a new ability that came from a technology which I thought was cleverly used and opened up new doors to the powers our main protagonists have. I only wish they could’ve introduced it sooner but there is another book coming out so we will see how it develops. that and also an introduction to another society of people who seem to come from a new land, which makes me think of the Cosmere. For those unfamiliar, the Cosmere is the interconnection of all the books Brandon Sanderson has written. I’m sure the reference of these people have something to do with the cosmere and references another book that he has written. His big epic series called the Stormlight Archive seems to highlight the Cosmere the most and is kind of like the Avengers coming together. There’s a heap of references in that book from other books.

• Conclusion

I thought this book was wider in scope, it had great action set pieces, the stakes were higher, and the overall story was really good. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested. With that I will end this blog

God bless!