New to Mistborn
Read the original Mistborn trilogy first when possible, then begin Wax and Wayne with The Alloy of Law.
Book Series · 4 Books
The Mistborn Saga: Wax & Wayne Books
In order from The Alloy of Law to The Lost Metal.
A completed four-book adult fantasy series that brings guns, trains, detectives, and political conspiracies to the industrializing world of Mistborn.
Reviewed by the Bookroo Editors Updated
Reading order
How to Read the Wax and Wayne Books
Read The Alloy of Law, Shadows of Self, The Bands of Mourning, and The Lost Metal in order. The mysteries build into one continuing conflict, and the final book resolves the Wax and Wayne era.
This story takes place about three hundred years after the original Mistborn trilogy and reveals the earlier books' outcome. A new reader can follow Wax's opening mystery, but reading Mistborn, The Well of Ascension, and The Hero of Ages first provides the intended history and avoids those spoilers.
Sources: Brandon Sanderson's official Wax and Wayne series page, Macmillan's official four-book Wax and Wayne set.
For parents
What Parents Should Know
The series includes frequent gunfights, murders, explosions, corpses, hostage situations, serious injuries, deaths, grief, trauma, and alcohol use. One book centers on a killer tied to a character's painful past, and the later story discusses suicide, religious doubt, and mass-casualty threats. Humor and detective banter lighten the tone, but these remain adult fantasy novels.
Where to start
Where Should a New Reader Start?
Where the story begins
First Book in the Series
Sale price
$1899
Book #1 · Chapter Book · 2011
The Alloy of Law
A nobleman returns to a city of danger, facing a gang of magical criminals.
352 pages
$19.99Save 5%
Paperback
Summary: Waxillium Ladrian, a Twinborn lawman, returns to Elendel after a family tragedy. As he navigates noble duties, a gang of Allomancers threatens the city with train heists and kidnappings. Can Wax bring justice to the elegant yet perilous streets, or will the city's hidden dangers prove too great? Discover a world where old magic meets modernity, and the line between order and chaos blurs.
In reading order
The Mistborn Saga: Wax & Wayne Series
4 books · Published 2011–2022
#1
Sale price
$1899
The Alloy of Law
Chapter Book · 2011
A nobleman returns to a city of danger, facing a gang of magical criminals.
#2
Sale price
$2089
Shadows of Self
Chapter Book · 2015
Magic and technology clash as twinborn detectives race to stop a conspiracy threatening their world.
#3
Sale price
$2089
The Bands of Mourning
Chapter Book · 2016
A mythical artifact's discovery leads to a race against a shadowy organization to prevent its power from falling into the wrong hands.
#4
Sale price
$2279
The Lost Metal
Chapter Book · 2022
A senator hunts a shadowy group threatening to unleash chaos on a world teetering on the brink of ruin.
Good to know
Common Questions
How many books are in the Mistborn Saga: Wax & Wayne series?
There are 4 books in the Mistborn Saga: Wax & Wayne series. It began with The Alloy of Law in 2011, and the newest book, The Lost Metal, was published in 2022.
What order should you read the Mistborn Saga: Wax & Wayne books in?
Start with The Alloy of Law and follow the series order — the books above are numbered #1 through #4.
The people
The Creative Behind the Books
The people who bring The Mistborn Saga: Wax & Wayne to life.
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