Just Finished Reading The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson

Brandon Sanderson is one of my favorite authors of fantasy fiction, and he is currently engaged in writing two different series that I am trying to keep up with: Mistborn and The Stormlight Archive. I have found it easier to go through a series when it's already been completed: then I can go straight from one book to the next without having to wait the required time...often lasting several years...for the next installment to come out.  Sanderson, unlike some other writers I know (like George R.R. Martin), however, has been disciplined and prompt with his writing...still, I suffer from memory drain between each book's publication.  The Bands of Mourning, which I just finished reading, is the third volume of the Wax and Wayne series, which itself is a subset of the Mistborn series.  I originally thought that it was going to be the final book in a trilogy, but no, there's still at least one more to go...

On the fantasy world of Scadrial, certain gifted humans have the ability to digest different metals and temporarily use them for specialized superhuman abilities, called "allomancy"...along with associated talents called "feruchemy" and "hemolurgy"...this is the premise for Sanderson's Mistborn series.  With The Bands of Mourning, western-style-lawman Waxillium Ladrian, actually a noble lord in his home capital city and an allomancer/feruchemist, continues to fight his uncle Eduarn, member of a subversive group of criminals and disgruntled nobles called "Set" and who has long held Wax's sister Telsin prisoner.  With Wax are his long-time sidekick Wayne, officer Marasi, and Wax's fiancée Steris...as well as MeLaan, a "kandra"...a creature that can change its form to look like others.  Their exploits, as well as their developing personal stories and revelations about the mysteries of their world, take them far away to find the Bands of Mourning, which will impart all the special gifts to anyone who possesses them: the Set seek them for their own nefarious ends...or is there something else on their mind?

Much more significant to me than the actual story in The Bands of Mourning were its characters and their relationships to each other.  Sanderson is a gifted writer who obviously believes in deep, interesting characters that the reader can identify with.  The progression of Steris from Wax's overly formal fiancée-by-contract to his genuine love interest as she reveals new aspects of her personality was one of the most compelling features of this story, which continues in the next book, titled The Lost Metal...set to come out sometime early next year. Hope I don't forget too much before then...