The Hero of Ages written by Brandon Sanderson is the third and final book in the original Mistborn trilogy. It is the finale of quite an incredible story. It takes place after Vin releases the power at the well of ascension and unknowingly frees RUin from his prison. Ruin is the source of all destruction in this world. This book is the story of Vin’s fight to save the world from Ruin’s destruction.
I thought that this book was a satisfying conclusion to a great story. There were a few issues I had with this book. The pacing was very slow for the first three quarters. However, the last quarter of the book is undeniably good and makes up for the majority of gripes I recently had.
I could truly never get into either Elend or Vin’s storyline. They didn’t appeal to me as characters. A lot of information was revealed about Vin throughout this book and I still felt like I didn’t know her. I think that is meant to be part of her allure. She is mysterious in many ways, including her backstory. I wish that there was more to her. As for Elend, I appreciated him more in this novel because of his newfound allomantic powers. With that being said, Elend is taking part in the siege of Fadrex city for the majority of this book. It’s extremely hard to be interested in a character who is roaming around in the same spot for an entire novel. He does go on the occasional mini-adventure but they weren’t enough for me.
Justice was not served when writing Cett and Tensoon’s character arcs. Cett is just the devil on Elend’s shoulder the entire book. He is constantly complaining about how Elend’s leadership. Also, he can’t help but suggest that the army should be following his orders whenever he speaks. That is all that he amounts to throughout this book. Tensoon on the other hand started off firing on all cylinders. The parts at the beginning of the novel when Tensoon is locked away in the Kandra homeland are great. The escape sequence is great too. Everything after that fell flat. Eventually, his arc fizzles out. Both of their storylines were a disappointment
Breeze, Spook, and Sazed all have fantastic storylines. Their arcs in tandem with excerpts of Sazed’s writing in the future are fantastic. Spook and Breeze in Urteau are extremely entertaining. Their involvement always left me craving more. Sazed was similar, his mental and emotional struggles gripped me throughout the entirety of the novel. You don’t read a lot of fantasy books that chronicle depression affecting a beloved character. It was very refreshing.
Even though I had a few gripes with the pacing and character development in this book it is still a great conclusion. The ending along with the fight scenes make up for a lot of what was lost. The fight scenes are ridiculously well-written. Overall, this novel is a great read.
If you haven’t read The Final Empire, make sure to do so. If you’ve started the trilogy, this is an ending that you don’t want to miss.
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Go check out The Hero of Ages!
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