The Lost Metal is the seventh book in Brandon Sanderson’s acclaimed Mistborn series and serves as the thrilling conclusion to the second era, often called the Wax and Wayne series. Published by Tor Books in November 2022, this fantasy novel brings the story arc that began with The Alloy of Law to an “earth-shattering conclusion”.
The story follows Waxillium Ladrian, who has transitioned from frontier lawman to big-city senator, as he continues his hunt for the shadowy organization known as the Set. When Detective Marasi Colms and her partner Wayne discover weapons stockpiled for the Outer City of Bilming, they uncover a much larger conspiracy. Wax soon learns that Bilming has fallen under the influence of Trell, an external god worshipped by the Set who is blocking the power of Scadrial’s own god, Harmony.
The stakes escalate dramatically when Wax discovers that a mysterious metal called trellium can cause massive explosions when combined with harmonium—knowledge that the Set already possesses . With Harmony’s vision of the future showing only blackness after a certain point, Wax must decide whether to embrace his role as Harmony’s Sword and save Scadrial from “sudden and calamitous ruin”.
The novel expands the Cosmere universe significantly, featuring offworlders with strange abilities who recruit Marasi and claim their goal is to protect Scadrial “at any cost”. The book maintains a steady pace through its first third before accelerating to “breakneck speed,” delivering an action-packed adventure filled with evil gods, underground bunkers, and hints about the future of the Mistborn saga
