Preamble: When wrapping up The Alloy of Law, I predicted the title of its sequel would alude to some type of
allomantic shadow, such as that from gold or electrum. Having finished the book, on this matter I can say two things:
1. I was wrong.
2. I still don't know what the title alludes to.
Perhaps it is in reference to Paalm, the kandra who, through the use of only one spike, is uncontrollable by Harmony, at
the cost of her sanity, rendering her a "shadow of herself". Perhaps it references the strange beasts that Paalm created
through a "new" type of hemalurgy: the monsters that were once humans, now but "shadows of themselves."
Maybe it's in reference to the many disguises of Wayne: the demand of twisting one's image from beggar to mathematician,
leaving one little freedom to express their own personalities, rendered but to a "shadow of one's self."
Just kidding. Anyways, I have no idea.
Miles vs Paalm: A Comparison of Villians
Miles Hundredlives was once not too different from Wax, if only in the sense he was a lawman. However, grave experience
would convince Miles of the fruitlessness of his efforts, and time would mold him into a vicious outlaw. Miles as a person
is not exceptional in character nor particularly interesting, though two features of him stood out to me: 1. Gold-Compounding.
This unique ability allows Miles to essentially amass infinite health, granting him near invincibility, which manifested in
fascinating ways in The Alloy of Law (such as instant healing from an explosion). 2. A more subtle, mysterious curiosity,
easily ignored in the story. His religion, centered around a mysterious entity named Trell. Who or what this entity may be, this
tale does not tell.
Paalm the Kandra is mysterious: both her motives and powers are unclear to Wax, the reader, and perhaps even most unsettling,
to Harmony himself. Paalm is brilliant: From orchestrating city-wide unrest, staying one step ahead of Wax, and outsmarting
her own kind, her threat as a villian is not limited to her formidable (and flexible) powers.
Paalm is chilling. Throughout the novel I was gripped tightly by her fearsome presence, which far outstretches her
physical form. Indeed, Paalm was everywhere: gnarled into the minds of not only every citizen of Elendell, but that of a literal god.
Though most did not know who she was, they felt her manifestation inside them in the form of anxiety, unrest, and fear.
Her connection to Waw gnawed at me: why is she fixated on him? Her machinations were much larger than the lawman, and yet
for some reason she was particularly interested in him. She knew him. Why?
The concept of a Kandra as an antagonistic force in Mistborn is not new (recall the imposter of Luthadell in The Well
of Ascension). However in the past the Kandra was more an antogonist's tool than one themself (hence antagonistic force).
This time, an insane Kandra is acting of her own accord (or so it seems...), and has all the powers and more of her kind to
boot. Through her engineering of the monsters in the homeland to her brief comment to... someone (Trell?), and her ability
to obtain metallic powers through hemalurgy (something thought to be impossible for Kandra), Paalm is a disturbing,
enthralling villian.
Taking the Time to Breath: Fleshing Out Characters and the World
Shadows of Self ran a consistently faster pace than Alloy of Law, and understandably so. The latter bore the
responsibility of exposition and world (and character)-building, almost to the degree of The Final Empire.
Despite ample action scenes, Shadows of Self does not consider the job of exposition or world-building complete.
On the contrary, each character is given time to show off who they are as individuals, and in some circumstances mature
in meaningful ways. Wayne is commonly depicted as a goofy (yet sharp) sidekick to Wax. The scene of his sneaking in to
the university to visit the daughter of the man he shot while a young teenager was both familiar (Wayne sneaking around)
and refreshing: his grave and sincere concern for a young woman who will never forgive him for his mistakes. Sanderson's
willingness to take the time for this chapter gives more significance to his decisions and emotions later on: for example
his complexity is illustrated later on with his attraction to Ranette, a gunsmith.
Another example of character-building in this novel is that of Steris Harms. When we are introduced to her in the previous
novel she is (for the most part) depicted as a no-nonsense, calculated woman of purpose.
In this novel we see her humor and quirks (sometimes intertwined, such as when she writes jokes down before a party), and
love of flying on metal lines with Wax. Wax does not love her, but I was happy with their politically-motivated courtship
all the same.
Finally (but not exhaustively), there is the character-development of Marisi. Marisi's role (and life-trajectory) change
drastically between the two novels, shifting from a future of law-interpretation to one of law-enforcement. Throughout
Shadows of Self, Marisi faces numerous challenges that arise not only from being new to constabulary, but that of
being a female officer. Throughout the novel, Marisi learns how to handle situations with authority and confidence, carving
a place for herself in the field. In the beginning of the book, Marisi struggles with interrogating young street urchins
without blushing. Towards the end, she tracks down and subdues the emotional allomancers responsible for igniting a riot
during Innate's speech to the city. A particularly satisfying pair of events began early on when she chastizes herself for not
bearing metal on her on account of assuming her power as a pulser is useless. Later in the novel we find Marisi has learned
from this mistake, drawing a cadmium bubble to deflect the bullet from a would-be assassin (probably named Chekov) of the Governer. It is a particularly satisfying
moment for the reader because we know Marisi has grown from a past mistake that we experienced with her, which justifies her
readiness to perform the ingenious trick at a moment's notice. At the end of the novel we find she has retained this lesson
when she casts instances of slowed time to isolate the rioter and soother in the carriage.
Shadows of Self was a riveting follow-up to its predecessor in more ways than one, rewarding its readers with fascinating
plots, mysteries, and character-development that are well-justified upon the foundation set by The Alloy of Law, as
well as the with the introduction of new characters and jaw-dropping twists. At the time of writing this the finale of Era 2
will not be released for another year and a half, so it is with a strange clash of sorrow and eagerness that I begin the
last available installment of Mistborn, Era 2.
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Seriously, who the fuck is Trell?!!