The Lord Ruler Legacy Remains Bound to Scadriel 

It’s been a few months since Wax and Wayne’s last wacky adventure which saw them take down a rogue Kandra, who also happened to be Wax’s former wife planted in his life by Harmony. On the outs with the god of Scadriel, the two lawmen have focused much of their efforts on the mysterious organisation known as the Set run by Wax’s uncle. 

Now, after months od dead ends and dead leads, an informant of Harmony brings forward news that the Set are looking for the fabled Bands of Mourning – the feruchemical bands worn by the Lord Ruler for the millennium of his rule – and are close on the trail of locating them. Though this is not what draws legendary lawman Waximillium Ladrian on to the chase. 

For the first time in years, since his return to Elendel, he has proof that his sister Tamsin is alive and being held hostage by his Uncle Erdwin as part of The Set’s mysterious plan to syphon off misting abilities to their followers. Now Wax and Wayne must journey to very edges of The Basin to uncover a plot that goes deeper than mere criminal conspiracy and to find out their world is far larger than they had ever thought it could be. 

Whilst this book acts as the penultimate novel to the Wax and Wayne saga, The Bands of Mourning might be the most expansive novel to look at the world of Scadriel. Whilst almost every other novel has been set in and around the area of the Central Basin, here Sanderson takes his characters out into the unknown. Though what they’ll find out in this greater part of the world is not just the secrets The Set have been hiding but secrets that only The Lord Ruler seemed to have been aware of. 

If I’ve said it before, or if I haven’t said it, then I’ll say it now – The Wax and Wayne books have always felt to me like the middle series spin-off written as more of a passion project than a necessary addition to the literature of The Cosmere. Wax and Wayne, along with Marasi and Staris, have never seemingly been as large players as Elend, Kelsier and Vin. The gang of the first era had to go face to faith with their planets version of Sauron and Morgoth, and whilst the legacy of the Survivors Crew is a new generation of heroes facing against a threat just as powerful as Ruin the stakes have never quite felt high enough. 

I would say The Bands of Mourning, on a scale of enjoyability, exists somewhere between the first and second novel. The problem Sanderson has is these books are meant to expand on the lore, yet he is compelled by the narrative he’s set to provide these characters with the satisfaction of a good story. Whereas he might have written this period in the manner Martin wrote Fire and Blood, the characters he’s given life to have wormed their way into my hearts.

And this I find most frustrating as I am aware, as plenty of Sanderson fans will be, that this is a middle series – a 1.5 that exists as a bridge over a small gap to his next series of Mistborn novels. And this forever remains at the heart of these novels, which makes it difficult to imagine the threats presented be that Autonomy or The Set could have a large enough impact to set back the world Kelsier and his crew worked so hard to save. 

This being said, it is perhaps a deserved breath of fresh air to see new elements of Scadriels world coming in to play and the period between this worlds Wild West and Industrialisation bridged and demonstrated in a fun and exciting way. These books might not be necessary additions, but they expand on how the world grows and evolves in a way that makes them feel like living organisms. 

Admittedly the big twist of this story is one that feels all too obvious, though that is ok as we’re not reading Wax and Wayne’s stories for big twist moments (though they can be appreciated when done well). Whereas Era One was filled with grim moments of horror and disolluisionment and decay, Era Two – whilst perhaps not entirely a peaceful period – gives Scadirel a breath of fresh air before it is surely caught up in a war between Shards once more. 

Whilst the Bands of Mourning further brdiges the past to the present, it also pulls together the far corners of Scadirel and opens up the planet to the prospect of larger interactions with the rest of the cosmere. The ending as well teases a return that many of us had hoped for but all of us will enjoy. 

A 7.5 out of 10.