Book Review: The Hero Of Ages (Mistborn #3), by Brandon Sanderson

Genre: Epic fantasy
Date Published: October 2008
Publisher: Tor
# Of Pages/Listening Time: 760 pages/27 hours 26 minutes

Goodreads | Audible

Synopsis: Killing the Lord Ruler to end the Final Empire was obviously the right thing to do, wasn't it? With the return of the lethal form of the ubiquitous mists, increasingly heavy ashfalls, and ever more powerful earthquakes, Vin and Elend are no longer so sure. Long ago, Ruin--one of the primal beings who created the world--was promised the eventual right to destroy all things. Now that Vin has been tricked into releasing him from the Well of Ascension, Ruin apparently intends to collect.

The conclusion of the Mistborn trilogy fulfills all the promise of the first two books. Revelations abound, connections rooted in early chapters of the series click into place, and surprises, as satisfying as they are stunning, blossom like fireworks to dazzle and delight. It all leads up to a finale unmatched for originality and audacity that will leave you rubbing your eyes in wonder, as if awaking from an amazing dream.

My Rating:

 ★★★★★

.....For making me cry at the end

My Thoughts:

Well done, Sanderson. Well done indeed!

I frequently judge a book based on how well it tugs on my emotions. And in this case, the ending made me cry, so good job!

Clearly, if a book can make you cry, then there is some excellent character development in the story. I thought Sanderson did a wonderful job creating people you can relate to and love. You want them to succeed and have a happy ending (whether or not they do is another thing entirely).

The plot, of course, had so much going on. Admittedly, it took me a while with the audiobook, but when I switched to a printed edition, the pace sped up considerably, and I finished the last 100 pages in barely a few hours.

Beyond the character development and plot, however, I think the part that made this book so excellent was the underlying themes. Sanderson chose excellent themes to work with for this story: "faith and believing in oneself" was one such theme, and "love overcomes all obstacles" was definitely another. Then, of course, was one of the biggest themes: "knowledge is the true power". Sanderson also gave us the biggest question of this story: who is the true Hero of Ages? Sure, it may look like it was one specific person, but was it really just one person, or multiple people? In order to find out, might I suggest you read this book and find out? Actually, better yet, read the whole trilogy from start to finish; this is a fantasy world you want to read about.

Enjoy!