Kevin Guertin reviewed Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
Review of 'Hero of Ages' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Absolutely amazing series!
Hardcover, 760 pages
Spanish language
Published Jan. 31, 2017 by Nova.
This book is not only the third book in a trilogy, but it’s Act Three of the the three-act structure for the Mistborn Trilogy—it’s the part of the story where the heroes have discovered that what they thought was the problem all along was not the true danger, and now they’re fighting for not only their own survival but that of the world they live in. The mists are killing people and staying out much longer than they should. The Ashmounts are spewing more and more choking ash into the sky, burying the crops that everyone needs to eat to live. And Ruin, the creature Vin was tricked into freeing from its prison of a millennium, is loose to wreak havoc upon the land. Life under the Lord Ruler is starting to look like paradise in comparison.
While the first book in the trilogy turned the standard fantasy story on …
This book is not only the third book in a trilogy, but it’s Act Three of the the three-act structure for the Mistborn Trilogy—it’s the part of the story where the heroes have discovered that what they thought was the problem all along was not the true danger, and now they’re fighting for not only their own survival but that of the world they live in. The mists are killing people and staying out much longer than they should. The Ashmounts are spewing more and more choking ash into the sky, burying the crops that everyone needs to eat to live. And Ruin, the creature Vin was tricked into freeing from its prison of a millennium, is loose to wreak havoc upon the land. Life under the Lord Ruler is starting to look like paradise in comparison.
While the first book in the trilogy turned the standard fantasy story on its head, this volume (perhaps inevitably?) returns in a way to the tropes the first volume was a reaction against. Yet in this case the enemy is not a human or humanlike Dark Lord, but something more like a force of nature—entropy itself given a will and a guiding personality in the form of Ruin.
Ultimately, the book is about how the characters we have grown to love from the previous volumes—Vin, Elend, Sazed, TenSoon, Spook, Marsh, and others—find the courage and faith to fight on in the face of overwhelming odds, just as Kelsier taught them when he plotted the downfall of the Final Empire.
Absolutely amazing series!
Well, call me flabbergasted, but this final Mistborn book makes up for all shortcomings of the previous one, and catapults the series from 'good fantasy with interesting new magic system' to 'whopping epic fantasy' status. Brandon Sanderson painted a broad picture, with two books that are all entertaining prep-work to an amazing conclusion. Throughout, I was vaguely reminded of Melanie Rawn's Sunrunner books.
The Hero of Ages has none of the shortcomings I felt Well of Ascension had. From the beginning it was paced just right. The pre-chapter flavor texts by the then unknown Hero of Ages tossing us snippets of background info just want to keep you reading on and on.
I also appreciated that this book brought some growth to characters that had been there since the first book but never got much attention, like Spook. I think maybe I liked his story in Urteaux the best from …
Well, call me flabbergasted, but this final Mistborn book makes up for all shortcomings of the previous one, and catapults the series from 'good fantasy with interesting new magic system' to 'whopping epic fantasy' status. Brandon Sanderson painted a broad picture, with two books that are all entertaining prep-work to an amazing conclusion. Throughout, I was vaguely reminded of Melanie Rawn's Sunrunner books.
The Hero of Ages has none of the shortcomings I felt Well of Ascension had. From the beginning it was paced just right. The pre-chapter flavor texts by the then unknown Hero of Ages tossing us snippets of background info just want to keep you reading on and on.
I also appreciated that this book brought some growth to characters that had been there since the first book but never got much attention, like Spook. I think maybe I liked his story in Urteaux the best from all the various sub-plots.
I still think Vin and Elend are just a bit too powerful and not always that likeable as heroes. In the end, the book's conclusion moved me greatly. While I was reading on a sunny beach in Italy, I was mocked by my travel companions for being moved to tears at the end of it.
The 5 stars ultimately are for the series as a whole.