What's Elizabeth Reading? ...Brandon Sanderson (again!)

I've stayed away from writing second reviews about authors up until now mostly by not reading the same author again. But after reading ... I can't even remember what I was reading. Either way, I needed a mental break. And, standing in the library wondering what to do, I realized that when I want a break, I read fantasy. Reading fantasy is, for me, the literary equivalent of coming home. It's what I grew up reading.

I decided to try another Brandon Sanderson because I didn't want to take a chance on an author again (just yet, anyway). Other authors I considered were Robin Hobb and Raymond E. Feist. I'm not sure why I settled on Sanderson, but I ended up checking out The Alloy of Law.

This is the part in this post where I tell you Sanderson didn't live up to expectations.

This book was not as good as Mistborn or Elantris (which was also not as good as Mistborn). The Alloy of Law is (I assume) the first book in a companion series or trilogy to Mistborn. It is set in the same world, a few centuries later. It was fun to see some of the same characters show up, whether it was in their being talked about or with them actually showing up. These Mistborn characters did not factor majorly into the plot, however; The Alloy of Law is its own story.

It is also a western. Okay, not totally, but imagine a western that is also a fantasy and that's what this book is. Sanderson's characters were lawkeepers out in the world's equivalent of the Wild West, and now they have moved into the city and are trying to catch the Wild West-style villains (lawkeeper turned bad; rich guy who is funding things). There is fighting on trains, there are plenty of gun fights, and we even have a sidekick who wants his hat back (Indiana Jones, anyone?). All this is fine and dandy. I'm not against westerns; I just figured I would give you a heads up because Sanderson has somehow fooled the world into thinking this is merely steampunk.

As always, he has a magic system that is innovative--new, with its own new boundaries. He is using the Mistborn magic system, but he's tweaked it (with a suitable explanation for how the changes came about).

The book also made me laugh. He has some wonderful, witty characters in this story.

The thing that made this book clumsy is that it is so blatant. For instance, the characters enter a ballroom and the main character immediately starts musing about how one could use that space in a defensive battle. Then guess what? Battle happens in the ballroom. It was a promise, but it was painfully obvious and that ruined it for me. That sort of thing happens all over the place in the book.

Sanderson also did not take the time he normally would have taken to make this book flow. For instance, I was in the climax when I suddenly realized that this was supposed to be the climax. I was never in a position to forget I was reading a book.

The big question: Was this my reaction to the book because I've been listening to Writing Excuses, or is he really that blatant and clumsy with the narrative? I'd love a second opinion on that.