History Literature / TheMistbornAdventures

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->''"When I found my way out to the Roughs, when I started bringing in the warranted, I started to... Well, I thought I'd found a place where I was needed. I thought I'd found a way to do something that nobody else would do. And yet, it appears that all along, the place I left behind might have needed me even more. I'd never noticed."''
-->--'''Waxillium "Wax" Ladrian'''

''The Mistborn Adventures'' is a SequelSeries to [[Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy the first]] of the ''Franchise/{{Mistborn}}'' trilogies by Creator/BrandonSanderson, set roughly 300 years after the events of ''Hero of Ages''. It features Waxillium Ladrian, a noble that became a lawman in the WildWest-esque Roughs returning to his home in the city of Elendel to try and settle down. His attempts at the quiet life are quickly foiled, however, by the return of his old friend Wayne, his own internal desire to do the right thing, and the appearance of a mysterious group of thieves called "The Vanishers". Now, Wax, Wayne and newcomer Marasi Colms must team up to solve crimes and save the city. However, the Vanishers are only just the beginning of a much deeper conspiracy...

Originally conceived while Sanderson was taking a break from working on the last volumes of ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' as a writing exercise, the story quickly grew beyond its planned scope, and was deemed suitable for publishing as a fully-fledged novel. Brandon Sanderson plans to write four books in this series before the release of the second ''Mistborn'' trilogy (planned to be set in a modern day universe with an Allomantic SWAT Team). There are currently 3 officially named books:

# ''The Alloy of Law'' (2011)
# ''Shadows of Self'' (October 2015)
# '' Bands of Mourning'' (January 2016)
# ''The Lost Metal'' (Tentative title)

See also ''Literature/{{Elantris}}'', ''Literature/{{Warbreaker}}'' and ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'' for more books by Creator/BrandonSanderson taking place in TheVerse known as LIterature/TheCosmere.

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!!This series provides examples of the following tropes:

* AccidentalAimingSkills: Wax jokes that he once hit a criminal in the eye with a throwing knife while aiming for his balls. Wax later confessed was [[SubvertedTrope just trying to hit the man]], since his aim with knives isn't very good.
* AerithAndBob: Marasi, Waxillium and ''Wayne''.
%%* AGodAmI: Miles
* AlternateSelf: Mile's other ability besides healing is to burn gold, allowing him to see his past self and who he could have become. His KnightTemplar Lawman alternate self [[OtherMeAnnoysMe hates him]], but the process lets him take on some of those mental qualities.
* AntiMagic: Aluminum (and some alloys thereof) is allomantically inert, and can't be Pushed or Pulled allomantically like other metals. In addition, wearing an [[TinfoilHat aluminum foil hat]] (or just one lined with aluminum) protects against emotional Allomancy.
* AxeCrazy: Bloody Tan, the villain of the prologue, is a serial killer. Also, several other criminals from Wax and Wayne's {{Backstory}}, some of them quite nasty, are mentioned in passing.
%%* {{Badass}}: Wax, Wayne, and Miles.
%%* BadassBookworm: [[spoiler: Marasi]].
* BadassLongcoat: Half [[BadassCape mist-cloak]], half duster, all {{Badass}}.
* BattleCouple: Wax and Lessie [[spoiler:until Lessie dies in the prologue.]]
%%* BatmanGambit: Wax successfully pulls one off to defeat [[BigBad Miles]] at the end.
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Everybody lives, but the ManBehindTheMan gets away, and Wax rejects Marasi. Also, the first four hostages (and possibly Wax's sister) are still missing.]]
* {{BFG}}: Several guns in the book qualify.
* BlastingItOutOfTheirHands: Done by Wax to [[spoiler:Miles]] repeatedly. The reason he is able to do this multiple times is because [[spoiler:Miles has a HealingFactor that lets him regenerate his hand each time Wax ruins it.]]
%%* BuildingSwing: Wax, sorta.
* TheCameo: Hoid, Sanderson's LegacyCharacter who appears in every other book in the overarching multiverse of his setting, briefly appears at the wedding party, though not directly referenced by name, instead being mentioned as a shabby-looking fellow in black who might have been a beggar. The wedding in question is of two Seventeenth Shard (conspiracy) worldhoppers, according to Sanderson.
* CattlePunk[=/=]WeirdWest: Given Creator/BrandonSanderson and his extensive use of MagicAIsMagicA, this series straddles the line between both. It's in a WildWest setting with use of magic, but said magic is highly tied into the development of new technologies such as DepletedPhlebotinumShells. Weapons reach to the advancement of dynamite, revolvers and bolt-action rifles, and transportation technology has advanced to the point of making TraintopBattle scenarios feasible, but one such battle includes someone grabbing dynamite and [[GoodThingYouCanHeal blowing it up in his own hand]].
%%* ChekhovsGun: When Marasi and Wax are trying to looking for a motive, Wax mentions the extensive genealogical resources in his uncle's library.
* ChekhovsGunman:
** Ranette the gunsmith is mentioned early in the book; it's no surprise when she shows up nearer the end.
** As part of a bit of world-building, [[spoiler:Marsh aka Ironeyes, showing up right at the end.]]
* ChekhovsSkill: Marasi is convinced her Allomantic power is useless. [[spoiler:Being able to slow down time by a significant factor for a large area allows Wax and Marasi to stall for time as Wayne goes to fetch the military to apprehend the indestructible Miles.]]
%%* TheChessmaster: [[spoiler:Mister Suit.]]
* ContinuityNod:
** Wax's last name, Ladrian, ties him directly to Breeze (Ladrian was [[OnlyKnownByHisNickname Breeze's real name]]). So, presumably he's a distant descendant of Breeze and Allriane.
** The following map features are named after characters from the original series: Elendel, Rashekin, Doxonar, Vindiel, Alendel, Sea of Yomend, Hammondar Bay, Demoux Promenade.
** Certain characters from the original trilogy are referenced as quasi-religious figures:
*** The Ascendant Warrior -- Vin
*** The Survivor -- Kelsier
*** Harmony -- Sazed
*** The Lord Mistborn -- Spook
*** Counsellor of Gods -- Breeze
*** Ironeyes -- Marsh
*** The Last Emperor -- Elend
*** The Sliver -- The Lord Ruler (a reference to his self-appointed title, the "Sliver of Infinity")
** Marewill flowers are named after Kelsier's wife.
** Spook's near-unintelligible street slang is now regarded in much the same way as Latin. It's referred to as High Imperial.
** The "Faceless Immortals" are actually kandra. According to Creator/BrandonSanderson, [[spoiler: the woman on the train who gave Wax his earring]] and [[spoiler: the Constable-general Brettin seen at the end of the book]] are both kandra, with the latter being one from the first series.
** Ranette calls her anti-Allomancer bullets "Haze Killers," after the term for soliders in the Final Empire who were specially trained to fight Allomancers.
** A more meta example, referencing [[TheVerse the Cosmere]] itself, comes toward the end when [[spoiler: Miles is being executed]]: his FamousLastWords sound almost exactly like one of the pre-death quotes being recorded in ''[[Literature/TheStormlightArchive The Way Of Kings]].''
* CurbstompBattle: [[spoiler:Miles]] gives one to [[spoiler: Wax]] near the end. [[spoiler: Of course Wax was just trying to buy time as part of a BatmanGambit...]]
* DeadpanSnarker: Wayne, though Wax gets a few good jabs in too.
* DepletedPhlebotinumShells: Ranette, the gunsmith who makes all sorts of specialized ammo, specifically made some for killing various types of Allomancers.
* TheDeterminator: [[spoiler: Wax, with some possibly divine help.]]
* DeusExMachina: Played with. [[spoiler: It certainly looks like a literal version of this when Harmony actually starts helping Wax out in the finale...then the epilogue confirms that Harmony is Sazed, and definitely more of an active agent than he appears.]]
* DifficultButAwesome: The Pulser power (burning Chromium), which slows time for everything in a pretty wide area...including yourself. For the user, everything outside that area just seems to radically speed up. At first blush it seems useless. [[spoiler: In fact, it's an ideal means of keeping people in place and is crucial to capturing Miles.]]
* DragonWithAnAgenda: [[spoiler:Miles]]
* EliteMooks: The Vanishers with aluminum guns.
* ExactWords:
** Wayne says that Wax was lying about not bringing a gun. Wax replies that he didn't bring ''a'' gun and draws a second one.
** After Steris asks that people stop talking about shooting people and hitting them with bricks, Marasi brings up throwing knives at them.
* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler:Miles]], though his time as a Face was before the book started.
%%* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler:Wax's uncle.]]
* FunctionalMagic: Same magic system from [[Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy the original trilogy]], though Feruchemy has been broken up into one-power per person, and Twinborn are people with one Allomantic and one Feruchemic power. Notable in that Twinborn are repeatedly said to be extremely rare, while Wax and Wayne are both Twinborn...
* GameBreaker: [[invoked]] [[spoiler: Miles]] is a double-gold Twinborn, letting him get more health than he started with out of a metalmind. Although he still ages, he's functionally immortal. All the Compounders (Twinborn with matching metals) are overpowered, but a double-gold is a particularly dangerous variety.
* GenreSavvy: One of the many reasons [[spoiler: Miles]] is dangerous.
* GrimReaper: [[spoiler:Former Steel Inquisitor Marsh]] (now called "Ironeyes") is believed to be this by most people.
* GoodThingYouCanHeal: Wayne takes a lot more punishment than Wax does. [[spoiler: Miles]] takes more than both combined. Wayne actually lampshades this at one point, and mentions that people tend to shoot Wayne when they're mad at him, since they know he can heal.
-->'''Wayne:''' It was like saying it was fine to steal a man's beer because he can always order a new one.
** Of course, considering that in a world of firearms Wayne's favorite tactic is to use his time-speeding ability to turn the battlefield into a series of one on one duels, cane vs guns... it's not surprising that he'd cop a clobbering.
%%* GuileHero: Wax. Wayne and Marasi are no slouches either. Sanderson really loves this trope.
* HealingFactor:
** Wayne is able to rapidly heal from injuries as long as he has "health" stored in his gold metalminds (metal used for storing Feruchemy). Since the exchange is one-to-one, the net effect is still equivalent to normal healing -- each "unit" of health stored that can be tapped to speed up healing required him to worsen his health by an equivalent amount at some point in the past. Attempting to store up health and then using it to heal up while injured just means that the periods of lowered health will cancel out the periods of heightened health. Granted, as seen in the previous series the "lowered health" generally amounts to a while with a bad cold, while the "heightened health" can mean near-instant healing of heavy injuries, so it's still very useful.
** [[spoiler:Miles]] is a twinborn whose Allomantic and Feruchemic metals are the same -- gold. This allows his powers to interact in a fashion called Compounding, where the energy stored in a metalmind can be accessed by Allomancy, and which releases considerably more Feruchemical energy when burned, allowing the Compounder to bypass the sum-zero limitation of normal Feruchemy, as long as there is a supply of the metal available for burning. In this case, it allows the regeneration of all but the most fatal wounds in seconds and renders the user functionally immortal.
* HenpeckedHusband: At first it looks like Wax is doomed to become one of these; his fiancee Steris at first appears to be a joyless, humorless matron who hands him a fifty-page prenuptial agreement. Averted, however, in that it later becomes apparent [[spoiler: that Steris is just socially awkward and a meticulous planner, who fully intends to respect Wax's privacy and personal freedom. He agrees to marry her after all, probably in part so she can manage his business empire while he chases down criminals.]]
* HoldYourHippogriffs: As with the original ''Mistborn'' trilogy, there are a lot of metal-based figures of speech in the language.
* LivingDollCollector: Bloody Tam, the serial killer at the beginning, makes carefully composed scenes using corpses.
* ICallItVera: Rannette named her special [[MageKiller "hazekiller" revolver]] "Vindication", after Vin herself.
%%* InsaneTrollLogic: PlayedForLaughs: "Logic doesn't work on Wayne."
%%-->"I bought a ward against [logic] off a traveling fortune-teller," Wayne explained. "It lets me add two 'n' two and get a pickle."
* KickTheDog: [[spoiler: The Vanishers should NOT have shot the old constable offering himself as a hostage in exchange for Marasi and Steris.]]
* LegendaryInTheSequel: Most of the major characters from the original trilogy are now legendary figures in this series. Vin is known as the Ascendent Warrior, Elend as the Last Emperor, Breeze as the Councillor of Gods, Spook as the Lord Mistborn, [[spoiler:Marsh as Ironeyes]], and [[spoiler:Sazed as Harmony]].
* LegendFadesToMyth:
** The events of the original trilogy have taken on mythological and religious significance to the later generations. The most humorous of these changes is the ancient [[SacredLanguage High Speech]]; when an example of it is given, it's quickly recognizable to readers as the silly-sounding thieves' cant used by a few characters in the original trilogy.
** There are no more full Mistborn, and Wax considers them at least half-mythical. Hemalurgy, the art of transferring Allomantic powers to other people by killing the donor with a metal spike and embedding it in the body of the recipient, is also forgotten according to the appendix.
* LighterAndSofter: ''The Alloy of Law'' is much less serious then the original trilogy and the setting is much less grim.
* MagicPants: [[spoiler:[[NighInvulnerable Miles]] sets off dynamite in his hand to escape a net. His shirt is destroyed, but his pants survive.]]
* MadScientist: Although Ranette is more a Mad Engineer, she does live like a hermit, and has an obsession of building better guns and ammunition.
%%* MasterOfDisguise: Wayne.
* MedievalStasis: The whole point of the Mistborn franchise is to avert this trope. With each subsequent series being set in a later time period than the last.
* NamedWeapon: Vindication, sufficiently awesome to deserve its namesake.
* NobilityMarriesMoney: The protagonist Wax who is the current Lord of an old but currently broke house, arranges a marriage contract with a woman from a young and well off house.
* NouveauRiche: Steris' family, and the reason for her betrothal to Waxilium. One has the money, but not the name. The other is old, respected and penniless.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: [[spoiler:Wax's uncle, to a degree that makes him an instant [[TheChessmaster Chessmaster]]. Incompetent noblemen gambling and carousing their houses into financial ruin is a plot point that shows up often enough that even most readers wouldn't bother to question it.]]
* OutGambitted: [[spoiler: Miles]] is eventually OutGambitted by [[spoiler: Wax]] after several rounds of going back and forth with the gambits.
* PowerTrio: Wax, Wayne, and [[spoiler: Marasi]] by the books end seem to be something like this.
* PunnyName: In combination, anyway. "[[http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/wax+and+wane Wax and Wayne]]"?
* RealWomenNeverWearDresses: Marasi angsts about this a little, what with [[ActionGirl Vin]] now being a role model for women, but being a Creator/BrandonSanderson novel it's never played straight and doesn't stop her from kicking ass on occasion.
* RescueRomance: Discussed. [[spoiler:Steris points out that she and Wax can accelerate the timeline for their wedding and avoid the normal scandal in high society specifically because everyone will assume this trope is in effect]].
* ReplacementLoveInterest: [[spoiler:Both subverted and defied. Marasi is extremely similar to Lessie to the point where Wayne tries to play matchmaker with her and Wax, but her similarity to Lessie is the ''reason'' why Wax rejects her: He's no longer the same person he was at the beginning of the book.]]
* SequelHook: The epilogue is pretty much one giant SequelHook.
* ShadowArchetype: [[spoiler: Miles]] to Wax, as well as to [[Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy Kelsier]].
* ShoutOut
** At one point Wayne is reading [[Literature/WatershipDown a book about talking bunnies]].
** The newly married couple Joshin and M''chelle is a ShoutOut to fans Josh and M'chelle who are admins on Brandon's biggest fansite.
* ShownTheirWork: Marasi shows a fair knowledge of criminology and sociology, and makes mention of the real-world "broken windows" theory. Also, aluminum, despite its ubiquity, really was more valuable than gold in the late 1800s before its refining process was perfected.
* SpiritAdvisor: [[spoiler: Harmony/Sazed, talks to Wax at a couple points.]]
* [[spoiler:StealTheSurroundings:]] How the heists are performed. [[spoiler:Miles used a crane to steal loaded train cars right off the tracks and replace them with empties.]]
* StickyFingers: Wayne is a [[LovableRogue (somewhat)]] reformed kleptomaniac. Or, at least, he's using his powers for good now. Mostly. In another world, he might well be suspected of having some [[{{Dragonlance}} Kender]] blood in him.
* SuperStrength: Pewterarms again, especially anyone who is a Pewter Savant. Anybody with koloss blood as well. [[OhCrap One of the bad guys is a koloss-blooded Pewter Savant]].
* SwissArmyGun: Vindication, designed to use various kinds of [[MageKiller hazekiller]] rounds depending on the situation.
* TakeMeInstead: Enraged at the Vanishers taking two young women as hostages, a retired constable vehemently demands to be taken instead. [[spoiler: He gets shot]]
* TalkingIsAFreeAction: {{Justified}} by Wayne's time-bubbles, which speed up time in a small bubble. When the duo need a moment to plan during a big fight, they duck inside a bubble and hold long conversations.
%%* TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler:Tillaume]] attempts this after trying two other methods of assassination.
* TheCavalry: [[spoiler:Wayne arrives at the head of a small army of constables to take down Miles in the finale, having been sent to fetch them at the start of the final confrontation, before Marasi started slowing down time.]]
%%* ThemeNaming: The heroes are Wax and Wayne.
* TitleDrop: Done obliquely near the end.
* TooAwesomeToUse: When Wax has a store of rounds designed for use against specific types of Allomancers, he finds he's reluctant to use them except for their intended purpose, even when it means shooting a lot less often than he should be.
** Earlier on, part of the reason why Wax and Wayne are able to kill so many of the Vanishers when Steris is kidnapped is that the Vanishers didn't already have their aluminium bullets ready as they were ordered, being reluctant to waste the expensive metal on normal targets.
%%* UltimateBlacksmith: Ranette.
* UnspokenPlanGuarantee: Played with: Wax has two plans to deal with Miles. We aren't told much of either in advance, but [[spoiler: Plan A fails while plan B works]].
* UnusualEuphemism: Rust and Ruin! Might also be considered a form of OhMyGods, since Ruin actually ''is'' a (mostly dead) god in-universe (rust isn't divine at all, but makes sense as a curse considering the importance of metal).
%% Trying to obfuscate some of the spoilers by lengthening them. Clumsy, but some of these could be guessed. %%
%%* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler: Miles]] thinks of himself as one.
* WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway:
** Marasi's Allomantic power is, at first glance, nothing special, and she fails to see the point of it. [[spoiler:However, being able to significantly slow local time in a large area lets her and Wax buy the time needed for Wayne to fetch reinforcements to apprehend the indestructible Miles.]]
** Aluminium and duralumin Mistings are referred to as "Aluminum/Duralumin Gnats" due to their powers having no practical uses at all. Both their metals have no effect except on other metals that the user is burning; aluminum instantly depletes a Mistborn's reserves of all metals, and duralumin works as a "super-flare" for any other metals being burned at the time. Since there are no Mistborn anymore, these powers do nothing. However, according to Creator/BrandonSanderson, these powers don't do exactly what they're believed to do and [[ScienceMarchesOn Allomancy Marches On]]. It's possible that an application will be revealed at a later date.
%%* XanatosGambit: Turns out that Mr. Suit was running a masterful one throughout the whole book.
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* SuperStrength: Pewterarms again, and anybody with koloss blood. [[OhCrap One of the bad guys is a koloss-blooded Pewterarm]].

* TheCameo: Hoid, Sanderson's LegacyCharacter who appears in every other book in the overarching multiverse of his setting, briefly appears at the wedding party, though not directly referenced by name, instead being mentioned as a shabby-looking fellow in black who might have been a beggar. The wedding in question is of two 17thShard (a fan site) worldhoppers, according to Sanderson.

** The "Faceless Immortals" are actually kandra. According to WordOfGod, [[spoiler: the woman on the train who gave Wax his earring]] and [[spoiler: the Constable-general Brettin seen at the end of the book]] are both kandra.

** Aluminium and duralumin Mistings are referred to as "Aluminum/Duralumin Gnats" due to their powers having no practical uses at all. Both their metals have no effect except on other metals that the user is burning; aluminum instantly depletes a Mistborn's reserves of all metals, and duralumin works as a "super-flare" for any other metals being burned at the time. Since there are no Mistborn anymore, these powers do nothing. However, WordOfGod is that these powers don't do exactly what they're believed to do and that [[ScienceMarchesOn Allomancy Marches On]]. It's possible that an application will be revealed at a later date.

* CattlePunk[=/=]WeirdWest: Given Creator/BrandonSanderon and his extensive use of MagicAIsMagicA, this series straddles the line between both. It's in a WildWest setting with use of magic, but said magic is highly tied into the development of new technologies such as DepletedPhlebotinumShells. Weapons reach to the advancement of dynamite, revolvers and bolt-action rifles, and transportation technology has advanced to the point of making TraintopBattle scenarios feasible, but one such battle includes someone grabbing dynamite and [[GoodThingYouCanHeal blowing it up in his own hand]].

%%* XanatosGambit: Turns out that Mr. Suit was running a masterful one throughout the whole book...

* HumanDollCollector: Bloody Tam, the serial killer at the beginning, makes carefully composed scenes using corpses.

* AlternateSelf: Mile's other besides healing is to burn gold, seeing his past self and who he could become. His KnightTemplar Lawman alternate self [[OtherMeAnnoysMe hates him]], but the process lets him take on some of those mental qualities.