Shadows of Self shows Mistborn’s society evolving as technology and magic mix, the economy grows, democracy contends with corruption, and religion becomes a growing cultural force, with four faiths competing for converts. They are “twinborn,” meaning they are able to use both Allomantic and Feruchemical magic. There he worked with his eccentric but effective buddy, Wayne. They are succeeded by wonderful new characters, chief among them Waxillium Ladrian, known as Wax, hereditary Lord of House Ladrian but also, until recently, a lawman in the ungoverned frontier region known as the Roughs. The trilogy’s heroes are now figures of myth and legend, even objects of religious veneration. With The Alloy of Law, Brandon Sanderson surprised readers with a New York Times bestselling spinoff of his Mistborn books, set after the action of the trilogy, in a period corresponding to late 19th-century America. Or so he thinks, until he learns the hard way that the mansions and elegant tree-lined streets of the city can be even more dangerous than the dusty plains of the Roughs. Now he must reluctantly put away his guns and assume the duties and dignity incumbent upon the head of a noble house. After twenty years in the Roughs, Wax has been forced by family tragedy to return to the metropolis of Elendel. One such is Waxillium Ladrian, a rare Twinborn who can Push on metals with his Allomancy and use Feruchemy to become lighter or heavier at will. Out in the frontier lands known as the Roughs, they are crucial tools for the brave men and women attempting to establish order and justice. Yet even as science and technology are reaching new heights, the old magics of Allomancy and Feruchemy continue to play a role in this reborn world. Kelsier, Vin, Elend, Sazed, Spook, and the rest are now part of history or religion.

Three hundred years after the events of the Mistborn trilogy, Scadrial is on the verge of modernity, with railroads to supplement the canals, electric lighting in the streets and the homes of the wealthy, and the first steel-framed skyscrapers racing for the clouds.

The alloy of law