While The Stormlight Archive may be fantasy author Brandon Sanderson's self-proclaimed magnum opus, there remains something special about Mistborn. The original trilogy was the series that first put Sanderson on the map, and it remains one of the strongest entry points into his Cosmere. But where Mistborn really excels is its scope; this is a series which spans generations, from medieval fantasy to steampunk to a forecasted space age saga down the line. Few series follow the progression of a fantasy world the way Mistborn does with the planet Scadrial.
As of this writing, Sanderson has published seven full-length Mistborn novels. Three of those comprise the original trilogy, while the following four make up the story for Mistborn Era 2, also known as Wax & Wayne. Sanderson is currently hard at work on the third era of Mistborn novels, titled Ghostbloods, which will take the saga forward into modernity.
Let's look back on the first two Mistborn series and rank the books from our least to most favorite, starting with...
7. The Alloy of Law (Wax & Wayne #1)
The Alloy of Law is the first book that introduced readers to the wild west steampunk era of the Mistborn world, as well as the titular lawman duo Wax and Wayne. This book functions almost like a standalone, with a self-contained criminal case which sees Wax and Wayne go up against the dangerous Twinborn (an Allomancer with two abilities) named Miles Hundredlives. It's a solid book with a good sense of humor, but it lands on the bottom of the list primarily because it has a lot of heavy lifting to do. Not only have the landscape and peoples of Scadrial changed a lot in the 300+ years since Era 1, but the magic systems have also evolved with the introduction of Twinborn and the phasing out of natural Mistborn who could use all the powers of Allomancy. There aren't any bad Mistborn books, but Sanderson had a much more solid footing for the following Wax & Wayne books after this one.
6. Shadows of Self (Wax & Wayne #2)
Back in 2015, when Mistborn fans were eagerly awaiting a follow-up to The Alloy of Law, Brandon Sanderson shocked us with his first "surprise, I wrote extra books while you weren't looking" moment when he announced that he had not one, but two sequels coming out in quick succession. Those were Shadows of Self in late 2015 and The Bands of Mourning in early 2016.
Shadows of Self is a solid book, and arguably darker in some ways than the rest of Wax & Wayne. The highlight is a serial killer plotline with a great twist that totally reframes Waxillium Ladrian's life. It remains one of my favorite parts of the entire Mistborn saga, but the rest of Shadows of Self suffers a little bit from having to build up to Bands of Mourning. It's good, but arguably the most forgettable book in the Mistborn series on the whole.
5. The Lost Metal (Wax & Wayne #4)
The Lost Metal is the most divisive book in the entire Mistborn saga. It's the final book of Wax and Wayne's story, as well as the book with the largest amount of connectivity to the broader Cosmere; only Wind and Truth, that fifth book in The Stormlight Archive, comes close on that front. Some fans love it for this; others wish it stayed more focused on Scadrial rather than bringing in Shards and magic systems from other worlds.
I find myself somewhere in the middle. I love me some broader Cosmere connections in a Brandon Sanderson book, and the characterization for both Wax and Wayne as older lawmen on their last job is excellent. But I'd be lying if I said I enjoyed this book more than, say, The Bands of Mourning, which is a thrilling read filled with significant developments for every major character. The Lost Metal is a solid book and a good endpoint for Wax & Wayne, but it never quite blasted off into the same jaw-dropping heights as the best books in the series.
4. The Well of Ascension (Mistborn #2)
The Well of Ascension is the Empire Strikes Back of Mistborn books. After a narrow victory in the first novel, former street urchin Vin has settled into her station as the most powerful Mistborn alive, while her husband King Elend tries to stave off a political crisis as he seeks to secure his position. All the while, they're pressed against the looming mystery of the slain Lord Ruler's true motives, and how they may not have been quite as nefarious as they'd first seemed.
The Well of Ascension is a fantastic book with some iconic scenes. The ultimate twist at the end is also an all-timer for the Cosmere which totally re-contextualizes the entire Mistborn trilogy. But the romance between Vin and Elend leaves a lot to be desired.
3. Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn #1)
The Final Empire is where it all began, and it's still one of the strongest Mistborn books in the entire series. A large part of that has to do with the focused design of the narrative; The Final Empire is an epic fantasy disguised as a heist novel, where Vin is inducted into a gang of misfits who plan to topple the immortal ruler of Scadrial. This is the only novel in the series to feature Vin's mentor Kelsier at the forefront of events, and the combination of their two personalities makes for an extremely memorable novel.
While I love the broader Cosmere aspects of many of the later Mistborn novels, there's something really compelling about the fact that the original novel had such a laser focus on Vin and Kelsier's heist, and the personal stakes for everyone involved. Or at least, that's what you think it's focused on; The Final Empire has some of the best re-read value of any book in the series, thanks to that late-game reveal about Ruin in The Well of Ascension. Brandon Sanderson wrote all three novels in the original Mistborn trilogy before the first book was released, and The Final Empire benefited greatly from that approach.
2. The Bands of Mourning (Wax & Wayne #3)
The Bands of Mourning is the penultimate novel in Mistborn Era 2, and in many ways it feels like a climax of sorts. This is the book where we see Wax and Wayne in their prime, putting their all into solving a dangerous case with all sorts of hidden secrets. If Shadows and Self was build-up with a great ending, The Bands of Mourning is just a banger all the way through. The climax of this book rearranges all the players on the board, closing off major plotlines through a blistering final confrontation that brings in elements not just from previous Wax & Wayne books, but from the original trilogy as well.
But action only means so much if you don't care about the characters, and The Bands of Mourning was definitely the peak of my investment in Wax, Wayne, Marasi, and especially Steris. Steris and Wax's relationship begins as a very awkward affair with a long slow-burn romance until it finally blossoms into something beautiful in The Bands of Mourning as these two very particular personalities find a way to compliment each other with their unique strengths and quirks. It's a great all-around book. And because Sanderson wrote it a decent ways into his career, it benefits from the leaps and bounds he'd made in his craft by that point. As much as I love the original trilogy, the character development and Sanderlanche — the series of wild events which cap off the novel — in The Bands of Mourning are easily among the best Mistborn has to offer.
1. The Hero of Ages (Mistborn #3)
When I started this list, I wasn't 100% sure if The Hero of Ages was going to land at the top...but here we are. This is the final novel in the original Mistborn trilogy, and it's still got one of the strongest endings of any Sanderson book or series.
The Hero of Ages is not a perfect book. It's a dark novel that contemplates the imminent end of the world, with lots of melodrama and bloody action to go around. Some of it is exceptional, like Vin and Elend's continuing struggle against Ruin. Other parts, like the lengthy sections devoted to their young friend Spook, don't quite land as well. And then there are the parts about Sazed's crisis of religion and the Kandra Tensoon's return home, both of which seem like diversions...until you get to the end, and realize they're the most important plotlines of the entire novel.
Part of the conceit for the original Mistborn trilogy was that Brandon Sanderson wanted to leave readers a calling card, showing them that he could pull off a series with a good ending before he launched into his more ambitious works like The Stormlight Archive, which would span decades of writing and demand a lot of reader trust. And my did he pull it off with The Hero of Ages. For any flaws this book has, its transcendent ending more than makes up for them, totally reshaping the face of Scadrial after a series of mind-blowing twists and turns that still makes me emotional to think about. Because of the sheer power of its ending, The Hero of Ages takes the top spot.
To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and Twitter account, sign up for our exclusive newsletter and check out our YouTube channel.