REVIEW: THE LOST METAL (MISTBORN #7)

You're meant to be helping people...

I put my readthrough of MISTBORN's second era on hold so that I could catch up on THE STORMLIGHT ARCHIVE, which is generally the recommended path by fans, but as soon as I finished the fourth book in that series, I was very excited to jump back into this one. 

HOW I RATED IT 

4/5 Our heroes find themselves up against much higher stakes in this final entry into MISTBORN's Era 2 sequence. While this was a real page-turner in many respects, I found it a little wanting in others, though it was ultimately a fitting conclusion to what has been a very enjoyable series (or section of a series) for me. 

Please Note: While I will be aiming to avoid spoilers for THE LOST METAL, I will be mentioning characters, places, and events which can be considered spoilers for all past MISTBORN novels as well as the SECRET HISTORY novella. 

CHARACTERS

Wax, Wayne, Marasi, and Sterris all return for one final outing and frankly, this is the best that their characters have ever been. I wasn't really sure how much further they could feasibly develop at this point, but their personal arcs made for some of the strongest moments in the novel. This is, in part, thanks to a time skip where we see versions of these characters that are years older and in slightly different places from where we last left them. We see Wax finally at peace with his life in Elendel. He's had two children with Sterris, has largely left his mistcoat hung up, and is even a Senator now, fully representing his house with Sterris beside him. Marasi and Wayne are partners in the constabulary and I really enjoyed seeing their dynamics early on in the story as they work to unravel The Set's plans. Though each of them has done objectively well for themselves, they each still struggle with aspects of their identity and seeing them reach a resolution to those deeply personal points of conflict was such a satisfying journey to go on with each and every one of them. Telsin predictably returns as a primary antagonist, but it turns out she is tangled up in powers that are a bit more on the cosmic side of things. Her character was certainly interesting, but I don't think she's Sanderson's strongest villain. We also don't really get to see very much of the powerful being pulling strings behind the scenes. I suspect that character is being saved for future stories, but it would have been nice to have them explored a little more deeply. We are also formally introduced to characters from across The Cosmere a couple of whom end up playing a pivotal role in the story. I very much enjoyed what they brought to this narrative and I think they may also tease some things yet to come which I loved. On the less positive side for me was how the figures from the first era of this series factored (or rather didn't factor) into the events. Sazed has been all but neutralized as Harmony, though I thought he had some interesting moments toward the end. Marsh/Death/Ironeyes shows up to offer some aid, but we find out some shocking things about him that also explain his lack of assistance in preventing the end of the world. Lastly, there is Kelsier who we already knew was kind of, sort of, maybe alive. I was honestly hoping for more from him and thought it would have been really cool to see him interact with more of the heroes from this generation. As it stands, his brief interactions with one of them only really served to make him seem sort of dislikeable and I was very surprised by this after the trajectory that both the MISTBORN: SECRET HISTORY novella and the teaser at the end of THE BANDS OF MOURNING seemed to indicate he'd be on. It's clear he will have some level of involvement in future MISTBORN books, but I couldn't help the feeling that we were cheated out of what could have been with such an unprecedented character return. I was similarly disappointed with how Hoid is used as more of a plot convenience than a true player in the game. 

PLOT/TONE

Despite the much more cataclysmic threat that our heroes face this time, I was impressed to find that the overall tone and feeling of the story was very much in line with the previous three books. There's still this overarching air of mystery as the characters try to piece together clues in attempt to prevent what could be the end of their world. There's also a wry sense of humor and a degree of lightheartedness that remains present in the adventure as well. As hinted at in THE BANDS OF MOURNING, we do get quite a bit more information about specific aspects of the magic as well as the greater Cosmere. In fact, we get more information on the latter than even what THE STORMLIGHT ARCHIVE has provided at this point. Thankfully, those nuggets of information don't overpower the plot or detract from the urgency of what the characters are dealing with. Instead, it felt like anything new we learned contributed directly to solving the problems at hand and I loved this more seamless approach as the more heavy-handed delivery in the previous book felt a bit awkward. Thanks to the gripping narrative through line and even pacing, I found this to be about as much of a page turner as I could ever ask for. The incredibly short chapters helped me rip through this much faster than I would normally be able to finish a book and kept me rather hooked on the "one more chapter" sort of binge. It was so gripping from start to finish that I barely even noticed when the "Sanderlanche" started (there for sure is one, rest assured). There are so many interesting turns that this story takes and I liked that the antagonists all seemed to have different motivations and agendas. Things definitely ended on a climactic "bang," and I liked where things ended up, but I couldn't shake the feeling that there was more story left to tell here. I imagine much of it will spill over into the next era of this series, but I'm sad that many of these characters likely won't be a part of that. 

SETTING/WORLD

Unlike the previous book, the gang doesn't really travel around all that much. The first part of the story largely sticks to the familiar confines of Elendel, though the time skip has given the city a fresh coat of paint. Technological progress has really kicked into gear, with more methods of communication and  automobiles becoming the dominant mode of transportation. It was cool to see Sanderson really lean into the industrial revolution angle on things while mixing in some steampunk elements like the Malwish airships. There is even this fascinating concept that's played with around how technology may one day render allowance ineffectual. That's not something that's explored too much here, but I suspect it will be a theme in the series' inevitable third era. The second half of the story takes the heroes to the neighboring city of Bilming, where tensions with Elendel are high, as they are in other parts of The Basin. We also see that this particular place has developed in some alarming and rather alien ways. This part of the story is where we start to get a much deeper look into the inner workings of The Cosmere than we have ever had before. As part of that, we are given a much deeper look into the nature of different forms of magic, both from Scadriel and beyond. By this point though, I do think having read through other Cosmere books is almost mandatory. At a bare minimum, I think the worldbuilding done here would be incoherent without having read the MISTBORN: SECRET HISTORY NOVELLA. Ideally, being caught up on THE STORMLIGHT ARCHIVE and ELANTRIS would be good as well, though you could still feasibly follow along without them. I am a little bummed that we didn't get to see more of the southern part of Scadriel nor did we really get to learn more about the planet where the main threat to Scadriel comes from, but there's only so much one book can really contain. 

HARDCOVER

The quality and presentation of this is very much in line with all of it's predecessors. I think the broadsheets were the best we've ever gotten and I always appreciate the little flourishes that are put in like the use of the allomatic symbols. I also really like the cover for this one, but I did feel like it looked slightly more modern and stylized than the others while also having a bolder color choice. None of the covers really match perfectly in terms of spine alignment or cover art consistency, but I do feel like this one looks the most different from the others. That said, I still loved it and I like the way the whole Era 2 series looks together. The simple black and silver naked hardback for this one is also very sharp.

CONCLUSION

If you haven't been a huge fan of MISTBORN's second era, then I don't know if this will sway you, but I do still think it's worth reading for how it expands on Cosmere lore. If you're like me and have been loving the ride, then I think you'll find this to be a fitting conclusion, even if it doesn't fully capitalize on it's full potential in certain ways. 

(+) Our four main heroes all undergo incredible personal journeys.

(+) Tons of new information about how things work within The Cosmere.

(+) Top-notch action scenes.

(+) The stakes felt the highest that they have been since the original trilogy, but the familiar tone of Era 2 is masterfully retained

(+) A well paced adventure that kept me hooked throughout

(+) Another high quality hardcover

(-) Some missed opportunities, especially when it came to the characters from the original trilogy.

(-) The Villains were a little lacking in depth.