Shadows of Self is the second book in the second era of the Mistborn series. It primarily follows Waxillium Ladrian (“Wax”) and his friend/deputy, Wayne, as they attempt to hunt down a figure seeking to topple the powers that be in the city of Elendel and, eventually, undermine the sovereignty of Harmony (the deity presiding over Elendel and the surrounding areas) himself.
Throughout the book, Wax, Wayne, and their colleagues learn that the figure attempting to cause a revolution in Elendel is a rogue kandra named Paalm. It turns out that Paalm has gone partially insane because she has removed one of her spikes, and kandra need 2 hemalurgic spikes to operate at full cognitive capacity. The removal of one of her spikes also means that Harmony can’t psychically control Paalm, though, which is why she did it.
Anyway, it turns out that Paalm is actually Lessie, Wax’s supposedly-dead wife whom he shot in the head during a skirmish out in the Roughs. Harmony sent Paalm, disguised as Lessie, to nudge Wax into doing the things that Harmony needed Wax to do (as part of Harmony’s grand plan). Wax doesn’t learn that Paalm is actually Lessie until he puts a 2nd spike back into her, though, which allows Harmony to psychically control her again. Probably needless to say, Wax is left distraught by the whole affair and not on good terms with Harmony.
Overall, the book is mostly good. It’s fast-paced, exciting, and well-written. Sanderson is very good at creating intricate fantasy worlds and magic systems, and the level of detail with which he defines Allomancy, Feruchemy, and Hemalurgy (the magic systems in the book) are second to none. The fact that the limits of each character’s powers are very clearly defined makes their adventures that much more exciting. The reader knows where the boundaries are, so it’s a joy to watch them come up with creative ways to use their powers inside these boundaries.
My biggest gripe with the book is that I don’t really like the twist at the end where we discover that Paalm was actually Lessie (or vice versa). Beyond feeling abrupt and unearned (there are a few hints at this throughout the book, but not many), I just didn’t find it necessary. Shadows of Self is a fun, engaging book. I don’t think it needed a big twist at the end. I get why Sanderson included it — the twist sets up a larger conflict between Wax and Harmony, which will presumably be explored in the later books in the series, as well as the theme of people as being moved around by gods, which permeates all of the Cosmere novels. But I still think it would have been a stronger book without the twist.
Another gripe I had is that, toward the end of the book, both Sanderson and the characters in the book know how they plan to defeat Paalm. Wax has his Hemalurgic earring — which allows him to communicate with Harmony — turned into a bullet, and his plan is to shoot Paalm with this bullet, which will allow Harmony to control Paalm. But this plan is hidden from the reader. We know that there is a plan, because Wax gets a special bullet from Ranette (his gunsmith friend) at some point, but we don’t know what the bullet is supposed to do, even though everyone else in the book does know. Essentially, we have a key detail withheld from us for the sake of a sudden reveal toward the end, which I find cheap. I think it’s the story is more compelling if we know he has this bullet (but only one!) and he needs to make a perfect shot for the plan to work.
All of that said, I really enjoyed reading the book, and I’m certainly willing to overlook these issues because the book was so much fun to read.