Bands of Mourning is the 6th book in the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson. During this review I will be revealing some plot points from the first five books and yes, by that I mean spoilers. So, if you haven't yet started reading this series and intend to, I suggest you come back to this review once you've gotten this far. After all, this isn't just a book series, it is a real adventure.
In the previous book, Shadow of Self, Waxillium, Wayne and Marasi learn there's a kandra doing mischief. Masquerading as various people and doing the one thing kandras aren't allowed to do, killing people. Fortunately for the trio, there is another kandra sent by Sazed (now known as Harmony). This one comes in the guise of a lovely woman named Melaan at a party. Melaan lets them know that the kandra they are going up against is named Paalm, a kandra who has lost one of the spikes that gives the kandra their sentience. At the end of it all, when Wax finds that the kandra who had been causing all the problems was really Lessie, his dead wife. Waxillium had fallen in love with a being that was sent by Harmony to guide him to a goal. This is just a small bit of what went on.
To me, this was a masterstroke by Sanderson to bring the characters to a pivotal moment. The interplay and tension among these compatriots in nearly tangible in this installment. I have to tease right here and say that, one of the casualties of these two books is a hero. In the end it was a deed that needed to be done and there was another to take the place. There seems to be almost a theme between Shadow of Self and Bands of Mourning. An idea of the end of one being the beginning of another. As proof, we see the end to some notions we had about these characters washed away just to allow them into more complex and real people.
The story itself is what we have come to expect from Brandon Sanderson. It's rich in detail and there is sufficient action and revelation to keep the reader fully engaged. This one also has an even that I so wanted to happen but, was afraid would never come.
Being released so soon after Shadows of Self was a surprise and the book itself made it a very pleasant one. There is quite a bit of violence a and some occasional innuendo all of which inches this one into the PG13 area for me.
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