I will start this review out by emphatically stating that Branden Sanderson is easily my favorite author and anything he puts out is an automatic must read for me. Of all his works, I must say that the original Mistborn trilogy stands as a touchstone series for me, standing as one series that drew me into fantasy novels in the first place. The second set of Mistborn novels, take place almost three hundred years after the events in the first trilogy and they do something that most fantasy novels never even touch on, i.e allowing your society to progress out of the middle ages eventually into industrialization and examining how magic would fit in with a technologically advanced society. Likewise, whereas I thoroughly enjoyed the first two books of the new trilogy, I must say that the latest story in the trilogy, the Bands of Mourning while enjoyable, stands as a slight misstep for me, and unfortunately stands as my least favorite Sanderson work thus far for reasons I’ll quickly discuss below.For those new to the series, I’ll say that to get the most bang for your buck reading Bands of Mourning, you must have at least read the previous two works in the new trilogy, Alloy of Law and Shadows of Self. Likewise, whereas Alloy of Law could be read as a standalone, I would highly recommend that you read through the first Mistborn trilogy before jumping into either Shadows of Self or Bands of Mourning. For one, those original works are masterpieces, and second of all the latest two books in this series heavily reference the events of the first trilogy to the point that one will be lost if they haven’t read the first trilogy.Anyhow, Bands of Mourning takes place roughly six months after the tragic events of Shadows of Self, Wax our main protagonist is about to get married to his fiancé, the cold yet endearing Steris Harms, a union which throughout the series has been built more on political and financial necessity rather than love. Moments before his wedding, Wax, still getting over the events of the last novel is approached by two emissaries from Harmony, the god of Scadrial, with news that the legendary bands of Mourning, the metal minds worn by the Lord Ruler from the previous Mistborn Trilogy, have been found. These legendary items have always been more myth than reality, rumored to grant anyone who wore them all of the power that the Lord Ruler had at his command, and the two kandra emissaries have evidence that these items do indeed exist. Wax still ticked at Harmony from the events in Shadows of Self, declines the quest until he receives evidence that his Uncle, the leader of the criminal organization known as the Set is involved and is actively seeking the items as well. Sensing an opportunity to rescue his sister from his Uncle as well keep the bands out of criminal hands, Wax agrees and our heroes are off in a race to find the mythical bands of mourning.In typical Sanderson fashion, Bands of Mourning features crisp dialogue, dynamic action scenes and amazing world building. In Shadows of Self and now Bands of Mourning, Sanderson in my opinion does a great job referencing his previous trilogy while also allowing his new characters to operate in a new world with new challenges while not suffocating them with a been there done that storyline. The parallels between these trilogies are of course there, whereas in the previous trilogy Vin, Kelsier and Co where the revolutionaries fighting for freedom and the disruption of the status quo, in the latest trilogy Sanderson has flipped the script on its head, with our heroes serving as the forces of stability and the villains the source of change. It is implied in these new works that while society may not be as overly oppressive as the world under the Lord Ruler, the advent of progress, capitalism and a rigid class system are oppressing the common man as much as Lord Ruler and his minions in subtle and different ways. Our heroes in this trilogy are fighting for the reformed status quo whereas Vin, Elend and company where fighting to tear it all down, in a manner similar to Wax’s uncle in the new trilogy.Bands of Mourning was a good book and a worthy addition to the Mistborn saga. However, it fell down for me in a couple areas. Most notably I felt that a few of the action sequences, normally a strong suit of Sanderson’s, rang hollow and artificial in the book, devoid of tension, only serving as gee whiz ideas of Sanderson’s, almost as if he had in his mind certain ‘cool’ scenes and worked hard to include them in the novel. Without spoiling them, the scenes were all well written but they all dragged for me as nothing seemed really at stake in any of them. While most of the action scenes where amazing, I almost skipped the few that didn’t work as I already surmised there would be no real consequences from any of those scenes.Likewise, whereas I was literally laughing out loud at certain points in the previous Wax and Wayne novels, the humor in this new novel at times felt forced, a little too self-aware and dare I say it tiresome. In short, I would argue that the humor at times felt as if it were written more for the reader rather than the characters in the story. Wayne, arguably my favorite character from the first two novels, had his humor fall flat or feel forced throughout most of the novel which was disappointing. Maybe I am tired of the character so that is more a reflection of me rather than the author, I dunno. Likewise, there were certain parts of the novel, where it felt like Sanderson was playing too hard with the fourth wall, entire sections that were supposed to come across as jokes or comical where to ham fisted and in the context of the story for me just didn’t work. Without spoiling it, there was scene in a hotel lobby, that while painfully self-aware and funny in the context of the story didn’t do much for the plot or advance the story all that much. I realize I’m being picky, but that scene in particular almost took me out of the story which is something I’m not sure you want while reading a novel.Another gripe I had with the story centered on characterization. For those who have trudged through my reviews in the past, you know that I place a huge premium on characterization, and while the characterization for the majority of the characters was strong, it was also very weak with others. Steris for instance, has had one of the best arcs throughout the entire series. The reader has seen her grow from a cold, detached, very shallow individual to a very rich character that simply hides her insecurities and fear with routine and organization. Sanderson gives her some of the best scenes in the novel and he found a fantastic way to mold her quirks into adorable attributes. Like many of the other characters in the book, she also longs for adventure and excitement, but she hides it behind the curtain of decency and the expectations of the noble class. It’s been building over the last two books, but Steris really comes into her own in this last work, developing into a full three dimensional character and not simply a plot point. Whereas I commented on the forced humor in the work with some of the other characters, with Steris the humor feels genuine as they are all true to her character and who she is as a person. Well done.Marasi on the other hand for reasons, I am still trying to grasp felt flat for me throughout the entire novel. She was a great character in previous novels but I found her borderline boring in this novel which is a shame. She is now more accepted by Wax and Wayne as an able and competent partner, with Wax even going so far as to not second guess every suggestion she makes. Likewise she has a powerful scene near the end of the novel where she realizes how her hero worship of Wax has stunted her growth as a person, and that while she can never be Wax, she still can be as good if not better than him if she only accepts her strengths as opposed to trying to match the competencies with her hero. However, for some reason she didn’t ring for me in this novel and I am having a hard time figuring it out. She is still extremely smart and capable, and possesses a sharp mind and a strong will to do what is right. Sanderson gives her the opportunity to shine with some key scenes and gives her some key insights, however, these insights are almost always undercut by Wax who either has already figured out what Marasai just learned, or has a better understanding of the information that she was given. That being said, whereas before Marasi was only grudgingly accepted by Wax and those in the Constable service, she is now basically accepted by both, which takes away some of the inner and outer conflict present with the character. In many scenes she almost functions as simply another Wax stand in, losing a lot of her personality and character that endeared me to her in the first place.All in all, Bands of Mourning despite the small gripes I had with it is a good book. A constant theme throughout the book and the series as a whole is motion. The world is moving forward and many of the characters are changing with the times in accordance with this underlying theme. The novel does a great job of expanding the larger world of Scadrial, introducing new cities, locations, characters, technology and even continents. Also, it ends on one hell of a cliff hanger. Despite my nitpicks, I would still highly recommend Bands of Mourning, it’s a worthy addition to the Mistborn Saga.