Article Content Warnings: minor spoilers for the Wax and Wayne Series

In the Mistborn trilogy, Brandon Sanderson introduces readers to the world of Scadrial, where ash falls from the sky and people called Allomancers can acquire extraordinary abilities from the metals around them. The protagonist, Vin, is a street urchin who learns she has the powers of a Mistborn (allowing her to use all the metals instead of just one) and joins a crew of thieves in their attempt to bring down a corrupt empire. Throughout the series, Vin struggles to trust those around her, but eventually overcomes her insecurities, becoming confident and capable. The trilogy is full of complex heroes, hateful (and at times sympathetic) villains, and is set in an intriguing world.

In 2011, three years after the conclusion of Mistborn, Sanderson began Wax and Wayne, a sequel series set in the industrial age. The reader follows Waxillium “Wax” Ladrian, as he is forced to leave behind his profession as a lawman in the Roughs (the Mistborn equivalent of the Wild West) after his wife’s death, and return to lead his noble house in the city of Elendel. After a criminal organization kidnaps his fiancée, Steris, Wax resumes the role of a lawman to rescue her. Along the way, he is assisted by his friend Wayne, and Steris’ sister, Marasi. 

As the series unravels, various elements of the original trilogy come into play. The fourth and last book, The Lost Metal (2022), not only features familiar faces from Mistborn, but also from the Cosmere, the fictional universe in which most of Sanderson’s works take place. Like Mistborn, Wax and Wayne is a highly enjoyable read, with engaging characters and a fascinating world. However, it lacks the complexity and nuance of the original trilogy, and some characters are simply not as well realized as they could be.

First, the positives. Three hundred years after the events of Mistborn, the protagonists from the first series have faded into myth, with cities, streets, and rivers being named after them. Scadrial has changed, with the ashfalls and vaguely medieval setting being replaced by a world in the process of industrialization, featuring skyscrapers, railroads, and guns. Coupled with the fact that Allomancy and Feruchemy (the ability to store certain attributes in metal bracelets) still exist, this makes for a captivating setting full of dynamic action sequences (several even being fought on top of trains!).

Interestingly, some of the books also have a different tone from one another, allowing them to feel distinctly separate from the rest of the series.

Interestingly, some of the books also have a different tone from one another, allowing them to feel distinctly separate from the rest of the series. For example, Shadows of Self, the second book in the tetralogy, where Wax chases a terrorist across the city, imitates the Gothic genre in how it depicts gruesome scenes of murder and political unrest. The Bands of Mourning, the third book, is at its core a treasure hunt, with Wax and the crew leaving Elendel to find a mythical artifact.

Whereas the setting of Wax and Wayne shines, the characters are a mixed bag. On one hand, Wax’s struggle to move on from his past life as a lawman is highly engaging, especially when he later learns that he was forced to leave by higher powers. His growth, from a lawman forced to play politics to a confidant senator determined to protect his city, is perhaps as well written as that of Vin in Mistborn.

Wax’s friend, Wayne, also develops in interesting ways. He serves as the comedic relief of the series, while at the same time living with the consequences of a crime he committed in his youth. Because of his past actions, Wayne cannot hold a gun without his hands shaking. This plot point is developed quite well; as the story progresses, Wayne learns to move on from his guilt, and eventually makes amends with the people he wronged in the past.

Arguably, the highlight of the series is Steris, Wax’s fiancée-turned-wife. She has little character development in the first book, leading readers to believe that she will continue to play a minor role. In the second and third installments, however, her relationship with Wax evolves and she becomes a great help to the protagonists. Steris’ attempts to deal with Asperger’s, manifested in her tendency to extensively plan for every potential disaster, allows her to save Elendel, and realize that she can use her disability to help those around her. 

Despite being a main point of view in the series, Marasi Colms is perhaps the least compelling protagonist in Wax and Wayne. At first, she struggles to stand apart from the large shadow cast by Wax, whose time in the Roughs has made him a legend. Over the course of the books however, she comes into her own as a constable, and gradually gains enough experience to save hundreds of lives. While Marasi’s desire to help people makes her sympathetic, it does not make her as interesting; her character faces inherently less conflict than either Wax or Steris. Instead, she is intriguing to follow because of her interactions with Scadrial’s lore, which lead to encounters with various supernatural elements from the previous books.

While one could argue that Sanderson had a different goal for this series – to write a fast-paced adventure rather than an ambitious epic – he could have still found ways to make the characters more nuanced in their beliefs and motivations.

Unlike the original series, where every character is complex, the minor characters in Wax and Wayne are left underdeveloped. While one could argue that Sanderson had a different goal for this series – to write a fast-paced adventure rather than an ambitious epic – he could have still found ways to make the characters more nuanced in their beliefs and motivations. For example, Ranette, who provides weapons for Wax, does not really face much conflict besides warding off the advances of Wayne, and later, giving him breakup advice. This provides a sharp contrast to characters in Mistborn, such as Goradel, a soldier working for the empire who switches sides to fight for what he believes is right. 

Most of the villains in Wax and Wayne are equally disappointing in their predictability: they aspire for power, a common trope throughout the fantasy genre. Leaning into such tropes is not necessarily bad—in fact, in the original trilogy, Straff Venture, who attempted to conquer the city of Luthadel, was arguably the most hateable character in the series. What makes Straff stand out from villains like Wax’s uncle, Edwarn, is that Sanderson provides the reader with sufficient detail about Straff’s moral repugnance—from his numerous attempts to kill his son, Elend, to his lack of concern for the thousands of civilians he attempts to rule. Such detail is never given in regard to Edwarn, or other members of his criminal organization, The Set. Because of these mostly two-dimensional antagonists, the stakes are dramatically reduced. 

An important exception to this is the aforementioned terrorist in Shadows of Self, Bleeder. Driven by madness, she seeks to destroy Wax’s city, while simultaneously compelling him to understand her motivations. Sanderson goes to great lengths to depict her insanity, as seen in her numerous interactions with Wax. This all culminates in a twist at the end of the book that leaves readers shocked.

While many fantasy series are memorable because of their enthralling beginnings, it is the way they are resolved that leaves a permanent impression in readers’ minds.

While many fantasy series are memorable because of their enthralling beginnings, it is the way they are resolved that leaves a permanent impression in readers’ minds. At the end of Mistborn, every thread that had been woven in since book one is concluded in a satisfying and surprising way; the ending is both heartfelt and bittersweet.

Although The Lost Metal attempts to achieve similar goals as its predecessor, the result is rather mixed. While the struggles of some of the protagonists—Wax, Marasi, and Steris—are resolved in a (mostly) satisfying way, the resolution to Wayne’s arc is highly predictable, as it is repeatedly hinted at in the book’s first pages. In addition to this unsatisfying conclusion, there are several elements, such as the appearance of the series’ main antagonist, the God Autonomy, that could have been better foreshadowed. Other plot threads, like the growing tensions between the people of the Basin and the Malwish (who live on another continent), are left intentionally unresolved—no doubt for Sanderson to return to during later books set in the Mistborn world. Because of the large number of questions left unanswered, however, the ending leaves a somewhat bitter aftertaste.

      At its heart, Wax and Wayne is a fun follow-up to Mistborn, but by no means does it match its quality. The heroes and villains are not as well drawn, resulting in a battle between good and evil that lacks the moral nuance of the original books, and is instead, all black and white.

—Michael Bazarov, Spring 2023 Staff

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BRANDON SANDERON grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska. He lives in Utah with his wife and children and teaches creative writing at Brigham Young University. His bestsellers have sold 30 million copies worldwide and include the Mistborn® saga; the Stormlight Archive novels; and other novels, including The Rithmatist, Steelheart, and Skyward. He won a Hugo Award for The Emperor’s Soul, a novella set in the world of his acclaimed first novel, Elantris. Additionally, he was chosen to complete Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time® sequence. Visit his website for behind-the-scenes information on all his books.

Wax and Wayne can be purchased here.