The Alloy of Law

Strongly recommended. Era 2 is set 300 years after the trilogy and assumes readers know how Scadrial's world changed. Many Era 2 plot details reward readers who understand the original trilogy's history.

Three hundred years of development has transformed Scadrial into an industrial society with electricity, railroads, firearms, and a functioning democracy — a stark contrast to the ash-covered empire of Era 1.

A Twinborn is someone who has both Allomantic and Feruchemical abilities — one from each of the two Metallic Arts systems. Wax is a Coinshot (can Push on metals) and a Skimmer (can store weight), a combination that makes him uniquely suited for frontier work.

The Alloy of Law is notably lighter and faster-paced than Era 1. It has more humor, a western genre influence, and shorter length — closer to a thriller than an epic. Many readers use it as a palate cleanser between heavier Cosmere works.

It can be read as a near-standalone if you have read the original trilogy, but the four Era 2 books tell a continuous story and should ideally be read in order.

Reading the original trilogy first is highly recommended because this book assumes familiarity with the established magic systems and contains significant spoilers for the events of the previous era [1.2.2].

The author originally wrote this as a standalone side project between larger works, but he later decided to expand the story into a four-book sequence after enjoying the characters and setting.