Show notes
The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson | Mistborn Era 2, Book 3 | Epic Fantasy First 15 minutes stay spoiler-free for anyone still deciding — after that, the whole book's on the table (which includes the rest of these notes).Give Steris prep time and she'll out-plan a Shard. The boys crown her the Adolin of Scadrial: she carries Wax through a wedding he hates, vomits on cue to buy a distraction, and clocks that all he really needs is someone to sit with him. Rich calls the arranged-marriage-into-love arc some of the best writing in the series, love as actual work, not fairy-tale luck.Then it gets loud. Ryan fights to drag Rich's Worldbuilding 8 down to a 7. They pick at the hand-wavy stuff: how do the airships even fly, what are the Bands actually doing, is the whole southern continent a retcon.......? Regardless, The Bands of Mourning is the Cosmere coming home.Worldbuilding/Lore: Rich 8 / Ryan 6Characters: 8Story: 8Overall: 7.7 out of 10Verdict: BuyEpisode Type: SpoilerTakeBook: The Bands of Mourning by Brandon SandersonSeries: Mistborn Era 2 (Wax and Wayne), Book 3 — part of the CosmereScore: Worldbuilding/Lore Rich 8 / Ryan 6 — Characters 8 — Story 8 — Overall 7.7 out of 10Verdict: Buy[00:24] — Cold open: the two "fights" this week, the 50/50 partnership, and Rich getting talked into a Cosmere-out marathon for Ryan the addict[~04:16] — Intro + framing: Bands of Mourning, Mistborn Era 2, Book 3 — short, fun, western/detective energy[04:52] — Spoiler-free vibe check (first 15 min): should you read it? The Cosmere is back[09:08] — 🚨 Spoiler warning — deep dive begins[09:34] — Scoring format recap (Worldbuilding, Characters, Story)[10:01] — Worldbuilding & Lore (Rich 8 / Ryan 6): the Malwish "retcon," hand-wavy Bands, airships, and allomantic grenades; the live score-change standoff[~28:33] — Characters (8): Steris the Adolin of Scadrial, Marasi's growth, Wax & Steris, Wayne + MeLaan, Wayne's goodbye[41:00] — Story (8): the Cosmere course-correct, the new city + political tension, the Telson switcheroo, the sister as the real mastermind[~51:50] — One-star reviews (the "racist against a race that doesn't exist" take + the reader "vindicated" that Kelsier faked his death)[58:36] — 🚨 Cosmere Corner warning (spoilers for Stormlight + Mistborn Era 1 + Warbreaker)[59:06] — Cosmere Corner: where Secret History slots in, Kelsier = Thaidakar / Ghost Bloods, Hoid's coin, "Brandon, write less," and Rich going Stormlight-thirsty[~1:12:57] — Wrap-upTikTok: @hottakebks Instagram: @hottakebooks