Straight off, I'll admit that I'm not a reader of fantasy novels. I'm not averse to them, but they never leap out at me and make me choose them over ..Show More »a good biography, historical naval adventure, or the occasional bit of sci fi. However, on this occasion I just saw it, and thought that I should give it a whirl for a bit of a change. I have no regrets with the decision.
Whilst this is quite a long book, the story moves at a good pace, never dragging and never racing too fast; it is well written, not prose bordering on the poetic, like Mr Rushdie, but pefect for the tale being told. Whilst not wanting to reveal story details, it is very reminiscent of Frank Herbert's Dune in the depth of world that has been created and the politcal grounding of the story (don't worry, the book is not a political statement - such books are not my cup of tea). Yes, I have to admit that some of the characters are thinly fleshed out; however, from vast experience of reading books which are praised for the depth and detail of all of the characters, I think that it is a good sacrefice for stary telling tempo.
After listening to this book, I would imagine that Mr Sanderson is well on his way to being considered as a master of his genre, should he not already be considered so, and I imagine that the film rights to this book have already been bought.
If you have found that yourselves feeling the need for a change of style, then I highly recommend this book as your metaphoric sorbet to cleanse your literary palate.

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I was really enjoying this story (on my iphone audible app) only to find it wouldn't play beyond part 2 chapter 6. I'm very frustrated especially beca..Show More »use my library doesn't have the book and I'm desperate to find out what happens next...

I hope the bug gets fixed really soon.

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The story itself is pretty good - a continuation of the trilogy, it's starting to wane a touch, but still entertaining. So far, at least. I've not yet..Show More » been able to finish the audiobook. I've got to chapter 2 of part 2, but no further.



This is primarily the fault of Audible or Orion, rather than Sanderson - I use the audible iphone app as it's useful for keeping track of what I'm listening to and where I've got to. But something in the chapter encoding is fully broken - I keep getting the error message "error reading audio file" whenever I finish one chapter and move onto the next. Deleting and redownloading the audiobook (or the app!) doesn't fix the problem, and audible helpdesk don't respond. Even using the app on a different device doesn't fix the problem - the file itself is what's bugged, not the download. I don't get this problem on any other audiobook in my library.



I'd love to finish the book, but until Audible sort it out, I'm not able to.

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I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I am a massive Sanderson fan - both Stormlight archive and Mistborn trilogy rank amongst my best ever fantasy reads. ..Show More »

The Alloy of Law is an add-on to the Mistborn trilogy, and I think it might be difficult to fully understand/appreciate if you've not first read the Mistborn series (the Mistborn characters are considered "legend" in this book - although "Iron Eyes" does crop up)

Warning, though - don't expect a book with the same depth or intensity as the epic trilogy. This book is SO much lighter, and a bit swash-buckling-wild-west in its feel (the Wax-Wayne relationship and dialogue is reminiscent of a good Mel Gibson - Danny Glover moment) . I had a good few laugh-out-louds (something that didn't happen in Mistborn) and as with all previous Sanderson stories, I couldn't put this down (or switch it off). It retains its fantasy & magic with the Allomancy and Ferochemy, and is still true to the Mistborn trilogy on this front.

Like other reviewers, my only criticism is its length - it's not long enough. It's no shorter than most regular novels out there, it's just that one wants more!!!! Sanderson usually provides an epic that runs through around 30hours of listening (at least) - well this is only about 10 hours.....so by contrast one feels a little short-changed.

This book finishes with loads of loose ends - thereby leaving the way open for another instalment??? (Ever hopeful!). Wax is a delicious lead character, and I can't help but think this story would translate well to the big screen - but who would play Wax?

Michael Kramer's narration is first rate -as always.

Highly recommended! Enjoy!




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............and the good news is, Book 3, Bands of Mourning, is marked as "Final Draft - 100%" on BS's website. (And, the release date is onl..Show More »y 3 months away, which is even better news!)

I must admit to finding the start of this second book in the series a little slow. I always re-listen to the books in a series, before listening to any new addition. I'd remembered enjoying the light-heartedness of the first book, and although Shadows of Self continued in this same tone, somehow this time I found Wayne's nonsense with his hats, and the banter between them just a little bit dull and repetitious....(maybe I was in a boring kind of mood myself). However, then it all got going - and it just took off! Proper nods to the Mistborn characters, and some real depth to these new characters too. And, just for good measure, a really good Sanderson plot twist to keep me hooked and waiting in anticipation for the next instalment! If you're a Mistborn fan, you'll need to add this one to your library too. Narration absolutely consistent with previous book, which is always a relief.

Thank you Brandon Sanderson, for never disappointing me!

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What a joy to pick up another of Mr Sanderson's books and be completely satisfied!

I love the characters in this story. Steris really comes ..Show More »into her own in this book, while Wayne continues to focus on his hats, and Wax still breaks things in spectacular fashion. I've always found these stories entertaining - there is a very gentle, but consistent thread of humour through it all, and I find myself wearing a little smile as I listen.

It's a satisfying ending to this trilogy, but the ground work has been set for yet more adventure. A word from Brandon Sanderson as an appendix confirms this, and he intends to get to work on it once he's finished the final instalment of the Stormlight series. Looking forward to it!

For Stormlight fans - watch out for Hoid who makes a very brief appearance.

Narration is spot on, as always!



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