The Hero of Ages (The Mistborn Saga #3) by Brandon Sanderson – Epic conclusion of Mistborn trilogy

The Hero of Ages is epic conclusion of Mistborn trilogy. It is truly mind-blowing, unputdownable, filled with rich and complex world, and compelling characters. I buddy read this with Toni @readingtonic .

Previous Books In Series –

The Final Empire (Book 1)
The Well of Ascension (Book 2)

Synopsis

Who is the Hero of Ages?

To end the final empire and restore freedom, Vin killed the Lord Ruler. But as a result, the Deepness — the lethal form of the ubiquitous mists — is back, along with increasingly heavy ashfalls and ever more powerful earthquakes. Humanity appears to be doomed.

Having escaped death only by becoming a Mistborn himself, Emperor Elend Venture hopes to find clues left behind by the Lord Ruler that will allow him to save the world. Meanwhile, Vin is consumed with guilt at accidentally releasing the mystic force known as Ruin from the Well.

The conclusion of the Mistborn trilogy fulfils all the promise of the first two books, in a finale unmatched for originality and audacity.

Review

The Hero of Ages perfectly takes readers to the end of The Final Empire and literally. It started started a year after the end of The Well of Ascension, when Vin released Ruin, a destructive god-spirit determined to bring the world to its end.

Mist are killing people, Ruin uses Inquisitors as his minions who can control Koloss spreading more destruction in already dying world. Vin and Elend are unsure how to fight Ruin or stop the end of of the world so they focus on helping people survive by finding Lord Ruler’s storage caches filled with supplies and clues that tells more about Ruin and what to do in the situation they are now. However, Ruin is always one step ahead, and they must outwit it if they want to survive.

Told from multiple perspective of Vin, Sazed, Spook, Elend, Tensoon and Marsh, The Hero of Ages is is filled with twists and turns, complex characters, and deep world-building. There is extensive information about God Spirits- Ruin and Preservation, Hemalurgy, and the creation of inquisitors, Kandra, and Koloss. Amidst politics, bloodshed, and a race to defeat the god spirit, the characters have their own battles to fight.

What I love most in this is Characters’ development, especially of Vin. It was amazing to see how that timid 17 yr old I read about in first book turned to be brave strong and trusting. In last book she was afraid of losing Elend, afraid of him not needing her to protect him and after the well of ascension now that he has Allomancy stronger powerful than Vin, he doesn’t need her to be his knife and I loved how is okay with it.

I loved seeing how that experience of almost losing him changed her for better, making her even stronger and unafraid. Even with Elend having raw Allomacy power, Vin was still stronger because she didn’t fight with logic and followed her instinct that made reckless put her in danger more than once but also helped her figure out things that she couldn’t have otherwise.

Elend, too, evolves from a rich brat who fancied Skaa and books into a respected king and powerful Mistborn. His inner conflict with his kingly duties, survival instincts, and fear of becoming like the Lord Ruler adds depth to his character. I loved how his reasoning and thoughts changed, leading him to stand up and tip Ruin’s plan in their favor. I agree with Vin that he was the best man among all the characters in the series.

Unexpectedly I was frustrated with Sazed. I could understand his identity crisis that came with his question towards his belief after what he discovered at the end of The Well of Ascension and yet it never felt right to see him discard religions one by one. Like all other characters it hurt to see him depressed and feeling hard to move from his loss and turning into a cynical old man and yet all his going through the religions turned out into his favor in the end.

We also have narrative from Tensoon. I knew he didn’t break the contract but his reasoning turned out so different and surprising. His development from a Kandra who hated humans to one who wanted to preserve them was great. I enjoyed learning about Kandra life in caves. I wish he could meet Vin and Elend.

Breeze and Ham took a back seat, while Spook played a major role. His problem-solving in Urteau and fight against Ruin were pivotal in the climax. One surprising appreciation was for the Lord Ruler and his efforts for mankind. His caches and hints were crucial for survival and understanding what needed to be done. I never thought I would say this when I started the series but Lord Ruler wasn’t bad after all.

The Hero of Ages ties up many loose ends and answers many questions I had from previous books like – why the world is colorless, why there is ash and sun is red and why it happened when Lord ruler started ruling; what The Well of Ascension truly was; how Allomancers were created and where that power came from; how the inquisitors are made and so Koloss and Kandra; What was that spike in Zane’s body; and why Vin kept hearing Reen’s voice even though she came to terms with what he did to her.

I still have questions about why Vin was chosen by preservation, why she still was powerful even though Elend had raw power, what happened to Marsh in the end and also those Koloss that were in the cavern.

The ending was tragic and shocking, yet made sense and fulfilled the prophecy. As I mentioned in my reviews of previous books, it didn’t invoke the emotions. It should have been emotionally devastating but it left me feeling more shocked and surprised than deeply moved.

Overall, The Hero of Ages is epic conclusion of Mistborn trilogy. It is truly mind-blowing, unputdownable fantasy filled with rich and complex world, and compelling characters.

Favorite Quotes

“There has to be a balance, Vin,” Elend said. “Somehow, we’ll find it. The balance between whom we wish to be and whom we need to be.” He sighed. “But for now,” he said, nodding to the side, “we simply have to be satisfied with who we are.”

“But things can’t stay the same- and that’s well, for when nothing changes in your life, it’s as good as being dead.”

“Believers are often willing to attempt the seemingly impossible, then count on providence to see them through. That sort of behavior can be a weakness if the belief is misplaced.”

“I don’t have much time for stories,” Vin said. “Seems that fewer and fewer people do, these days.” A canopy kept off the ash, but he seemed unconcerned about the mists. “It makes me wonder what is so alluring about the real world that gives them all such a fetish for it. It’s not a very nice place these days.”

“A man is what he has passion about,” Breeze said. “I’ve found that if you give up what you want most for what you think you should want more, you’ll just end up miserable.”

“Power can be a terrible thing, Spook, I’m not pleased with what it’s done to my brother. Don’t wish so hard for it.”

“Faith means that it doesn’t matter what happens. You can trust that somebody is watching. Trust that somebody will make it all right.”

“That’s what trust is, Sazed thought. It’s about giving someone else power over you. Power to hurt you.”

“This isn’t about good or evil. Morality doesn’t even enter into it. Good men will kill as quickly for what they want as evil men—only the things they want are different.”

“It sounds to me, young one,” Haddek said, “that you are searching for something that cannot be found.”
“The truth?” Sazed said.
“No,” Haddek replied. “A religion that requires no faith of its believers.”

Book Links

Goodreads | Amazon.in | Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

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