Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson
A Recommended Book of the Month
Several hundred years have past since the rebirth of Scadrialand, its peoples emerging from the long dark earth and stepping into the light of a new world, a world of balance, where perseveration and ruin can coexist in harmony.
The time of Allomantic and Feruchemical powers is waning, as steel and technology take its grip on a newborn land. However, not all is as Harmony wished it to be.
Lord Waxillium 'Wax' Ladrain, self-styled Guardian and Lawman of Elendel and his trusted companion Wayne, rare Twinborns who can use both Allomantic and Feruchemical powers return once more, working against the clock to halt civil unrest and solve the mystery of who is masterminding the instability gripping the city.
Shadows of Self is the second in Brandon Sanderson’s “Wax and Wayne” series, but you could be forgiven in feeling it is a first. While there is a history and depth of knowledge already in place its delivery comes across as a fresh beginning, of a story building itself anew.
In reality, if you are reading Shadows of Self, you may have already read Alloy of Law and/or the Mistborn series. As they say, once you go Sanderson you don’t go back. Shadows of Self takes the ethos and the quality of the Mistborn trilogy and offers it back to the reader from a new perspective, giving you the best of the old, with the adventure of the new.
However, if you have not read any of the Mistborn series (where have you been - a cave in the ground awaiting the world to spin itself to harmony?) then you are going to struggle. A rewarding struggle but a struggle none the less. Whilst it is not strictly necessary to read the original series you really should read Alloy of Law to ground yourself in the story’s modern history. On the other hand, if you can't wait that long to jump into Shadows of Self, Sanderson does provide a little of the backstory as the narrative progresses.
Wax and Wayne once again take up the role of independent Lawmen for the city of Elendel. They are a pair of fast-talking, long thinking and quick acting agents of law and order. Wayne’s internal monologue and turn of phrase provides the humour, while Wax supplies the moral compass and drive, with his desire for justice forged during his years in the raw and wild of the Roughs.
Wax and Wayne feel like they have been given more room to breathe, to stretch their proverbial legs and let the reader get a firmer grasp of who they are and what makes them tick. Because of this we are given a plot which builds layer by layer with familiar and unfamiliar themes. Carry over characters from Alloy of Law and the Mistborn books, such as Tensoon, the Kandra and Sazed, add a welcome continuity.
With SoS I quite enjoyed the Sazed perspective, particularly as he deals with the realities of divinity. Sazed struggles to walk the line of action and inaction and knows that even when humans have it good, they still get it wrong, make mistakes and only slowly evolve and understand once they have picked themselves up from their missteps. It’s these varying elements of gradual progression and narrative insight which keeps the book in your hand and impossible to put down.
Wax and Wayne are not alone this time, along for the journey is Marasi, who in comparison to her presence in Alloy of Law is cast in a more prominent role. While not the most dynamic of characters, at times being undistinguished in her contributions to the greater story, her perspective and interaction with Wax does add a greater complexity and humanity to his, at times, rigid personality.
For all its positives, nothing is as perfect as each individual reader inevitability wants it to be. We always want a little more of this or a little more of that. For my own personal tastes I would have enjoyed seeing a greater overt use of Wax and Wayne’s powers from the outset. It’s not until the last quarter that you get a rolling and continued feeling of the old Mistborn sorcery. Throw in a little more detail on modern history, material on what occurred after the Emergence until the current day Elendel and I would have been a happy camper.
By no means is the Shadows of Self story a convoluted and Machiavellian mystery. At times it felt a little too easy for team Wax as they didn’t have to tax themselves too much to solve the next clue or puzzle. The flip side to this is you are swept along smoothly and easily with the plot and transported to that world and characters built long by a skilled story teller who is planting a seed of new promise and giving the reader a root’n toot’n adventure as well.
In Shadows of Self you can feel the world, it's mists and people. You can smell the horse leather and the coal in the air and you just want more.
This Shadows of Self book review was written by Fergus McCartan
All reviews for: Mistborn
The Final Empire
Mistborn: Book 1
For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear while the Lord Ruler reigned with absolute power ...
The Well of Ascension
Mistborn: Book 2
The impossible has happened. The Lord Ruler is dead has been vanquished. But so too is Kelsier the man who masterminded the triumph. The awesome task of rebuilding the worl...
The Hero of Ages
Mistborn: Book 3
Tricked into releasing the evil spirit Ruin while attempting to close the Well of Ascension, new emperor Elend Venture and his wife, the assassin Vin, are now hard-pressed ...
Shadows of Self
Mistborn: Book 5
Waxillium Ladrian has returned to the capital city of Elendel from the far flung roughs. Elendel is crisscrossed by canals and railways and towers reach for the sky but thi...
The Bands of Mourning
Mistborn: Book 6
The Bands of Mourning are the mythical metalminds owned by the Lord Ruler, said to grant anyone who wears them the powers that the Lord Ruler had at his command. Hardly any...
Have you read Shadows of Self?
We've found that while readers like to know what we think of a book they find additional reader reviews a massive help in deciding if it is the right book for them. So if you have a spare moment, please tell us your thoughts by writing a reader's review. Thank you.
Shadows of Self reader reviews
9/10 from 1 reviews
There are currently no reader reviews for this book. Why not be the first?
Write a reader review
Thank you for taking the time to write a review on this book, it really makes a difference and helps readers to find their perfect book.
More recommended reading in this genre
Half a King
Joe Abercrombie
Prince Yarvi has vowed to regain a throne he never wanted. But first he must survive cruelty, chains and the bitter waters of the Shattered Sea itself. And he must do it al...
The Faithful and The Fallen
John Gwynne
Young Corban watches enviously as boys become warriors, learning the art of war. He yearns to wield his sword and spear to protect his king’s realm. But that day will...
The Farseer Trilogy
Robin Hobb
In a faraway land where members of the royal family are named for the virtues they embody, one young boy will become a walking enigma. Born on the wrong side of the sheets,...
Tymon's Flight
Mary Victoria
The World Tree rises up out of the seething clouds like a green mountain, lifting its children up to the light. All creation nestles in its gigantic branches: all take shel...
Hope and Red
Jon Skovron
In a fracturing empire spread across savage seas, two people find a common cause. Hope, the lone survivor of a village massacred by the emperor's forces, is secretly tr...
Ruin
John Gwynne
The Banished Lands are engulfed in war and chaos. The cunning Queen Rhin has conquered the west and High King Nathair has the cauldron, most powerful of the seven treasures...
Twelve Kings
Bradley Beaulieu
In the cramped west end of Sharakhai, the Amber Jewel of the Desert, Çeda fights in the pits to scrape a living. She, like so many in the city, pray for the downfall...
The Black God's War
Moses Siregar III
Against the backdrop of epic warfare and the powers of ten mysterious gods, Lucia struggles to understand The Black One. Her father-king wants war. Her messianic brother wa...
Wall of Night
Helen Lowe
The violence of an age-old war casts a long shadow. It falls on a world where mercy is weakness and conflict is a way of life. Young Malian is being trained to rule. Her pe...
The Belgariad
David Eddings
Long ago, the evil God Torak fought a war to obtain an object of immense power - the Orb of Aldur. But Torak was defeated and the Orb reclaimed by Belgarath, the sorcerer. ...
Hunt for Valamon
DK Mok
When Crown Prince Valamon is impossibly taken from the heart of Algaris Castle, the only clue as to motive or culprit is the use of unknown sorcery. Reclusive cleric Seris ...
Godslayer
James Clemens
Four millennia have passed since the gods came to Myrillia, creating the nine lands of peace as a haven from the nightmarish, accursed Hinterlands. In all this time nothing...
A Trial of Blood and Steel
Joel Shepherd
Spurning her royal heritage to be raised by the great warrior, Kessligh, her exquisite swordplay astonishes all who witness it. But Sasha is still young, untested in battle...
Falling Kingdoms
Morgan Rhodes
In a land where magic has been forgotten and peace has reigned for centuries, unrest is simmering. Three kingdoms battle for power… A princess must journey into enem...
Shadows of the Apt
Adrian Tchaikovsky
Seventeen years ago Stenwold witnessed the Wasp Empire storming the city of Myna in a brutal war of conquest. Since then he has preached vainly against this threat in his h...
Looking for more suggestions? Try these pages:
- Recommended high fantasy books/series
- Recommended books/series featuring royalty, monarchy and empire
- Recommended epic fantasy books/series
Best of 2016
Hope and Red
Jon Skovron
In a fracturing empire spread across savage seas, two people find a common cause. Hope, the lone survivor of a village massacred by the emperor's forces, is secretly train...
The Star Touched Queen
Roshani Chokshi
Maya is cursed. With a horoscope that promises a marriage of Death and Destruction, she has earned only the scorn and fear of her father's kingdom. Content to follow more ...
The Pagan Night
Tim Akers
Ruling with an iron hand, the Church has eliminated the ancient pagan ways. Yet demonic gheists terrorize the land, hunted by the Inquisition, while age-old hatreds rage betwe...
Books of the Month
A selection of books - old and new alike - that were a joy to read.
Ceda, now a Blade Maiden in service to the kings of Sharakhai, trains as one of their elite warriors, gleaning secrets even as they send her on covert missions to further their rule. She knows the dark history of the asirim--that hundreds of years ago they were enslaved to the kings against their will--but when she bonds with them as a Maiden, c...
Dead Men Naked
Dario Cannizzaro
After the sudden death of his best friend Neil, involving a 6-foot giant crow and quite some Tequila, Lou’s life takes an unexpected turn towards the impossible. As L...
Age of Assassins
RJ Barker
Girton Club-Foot, apprentice to the land's best assassin, still has much to learn about the art of taking lives. But their latest mission tasks him and his master with ...
A Conjuring of Light
VE Schwab
The precarious equilibrium among the four Londons has reached its breaking point. Once brimming with the red vivacity of magic, darkness casts a shadow over the Maresh Empi...
Tyrant's Throne
Sebastien de Castell
Falcio val Mond, First Cantor of the Greatcoats, is on the brink of fulfilling his dead King's dream: Aline is about to take the throne and restore the rule of law once...
The Boy with the Cuckoo-Clock Heart
Mathias Malzieu
Edinburgh, 1874. On the coldest night the world has ever seen, Little Jack is born with a frozen heart and immediately undergoes a life-saving operation. But Dr Madeleine i...
Blackwing
Ed McDonald
The republic faces annihilation, despite the vigilance of Galharrow's Blackwings. When a raven tattoo rips itself from his arm to deliver a desperate message, Galharrow...
