The Hero of Ages (Mistborn #3) – Brandon Sanderson

Title: The Hero of Ages (Mistborn #3) by Brandon Sanderson
Publishing Info: October 14, 2008 by Macmillan
Source: Amazon, Audible
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Find it on the web: Buy from Amazon // GoodreadsDate Completed: October 16, 2014
Related Posts: Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn #1), The Well of Ascension (Mistborn #2), The Alloy of Law (Mistborn #4), Legion (Legion #1) & Legion: Skin Deep (Legion #2), , The Emperor's Soul, The Eleventh Metal (Mistborn #0.5), , Firstborn, Shadows of Self (Mistborn #5), The Bands of Mourning (Mistborn #6), Calamity (The Reckoners #3), , Perfect State, Mistborn: Secret History (Mistborn #3.5), Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell, Elantris, The Rithmatist (Rithmatist #1), Warbreaker (Warbreaker #1), The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive #1), Snapshot, Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive #2), Edgedancer (The Stormlight Archive #2.5), Oathbringer (The Stormlight Archive #3)

    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 at the climax of The Well of Ascension 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. Vin is consumed with guilt at having been tricked into releasing the mystic force known as Ruin from the Well. Ruin wants to end the world, and its near omniscience and ability to warp reality make stopping it seem impossible. She can’t even discuss it with Elend lest Ruin learn their plans!
    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 readers rubbing their eyes in wonder, as if awaking from an amazing dream.

** No spoilers for THE HERO OF AGES but there are DEFINITE spoilers if you haven’t read MISTBORN or THE WELL OF ASCENSION yet so readers beware! ** 

If there was one piece of important advice from Nikki while reading this series (and really, all of her advice was important and very true), it was that don’t think you know what’s going on in this series because Brandon Sanderson will flip everything upside down. This sounds devastating and I’m not gonna lie… at times it was. But it was also SO incredibly amazing to see what happened with this series. Try as I might, I never could have guessed the turns this book or series would take and how it would end and I’M SO GLAD because any time I hear that something astounding is coming, I always wonder and try to think what it could possibly be so I always say KUDOS to an author when they come up with something that never even entered my brain as a possibility.

Okay, that being said, let’s get into the nitty gritty. I actually immediately started THE HERO OF AGES after I finished THE WELL OF ASCENSION because I could not put this series down. I’ve only recently been getting into adult fantasy and if you’re a fantasy fan in general, I urge you to read this series! The characters are wonderful, the plot is thrilling, and the story is just utterly addicting. My mind was totally blown at the end of THE WELL OF ASCENSION and I was instantly fist-pumping upon beginning THE HERO OF AGES. Okay, so putting my feelings for this book into words isn’t the most eloquent review I’ve ever written because all I can think of to say is: Everything is so awesome. Feelings for the characters multiplied, answers to series-long questions are revealed, characters in mortal peril, the finale of the trilogy approaching — whew. It’s enough to induce panic and joy all at the same time.

I think the most exciting thing about this book was not only all of the answers to some HUGE questions (Who is the Hero of Ages? What happened at the Well of Ascension? What’s up with the atium? HOW WILL THE SERIES END?) but also all the answers I DIDN’T know I needed. I absolutely love when things pop up from the very beginning of the first book and turn out to be SUPER IMPORTANT and you just didn’t even realize the significance.

Honestly, the plotting and world building are just amazing. I’m constantly impressed by the magic system (well systemS!) and how each one continues to reveal some secrets as the series progresses as well as different takes on similar magic systems (how Allomancy, Feruchemy, and Hemalurgy all tie into each other and yet are all very different). THE WORLD BUILDING, THOUGH. Honestly, the readers learn SO much more about literal world building and how everything ended up the way it is (the mists, the ashmounts, the Well of Ascension… everything) and the answers just killed me in the best way.

The characters continued to grow on me and I wish I could have followed them through endless books and series. There IS a sort of spin-off series that takes place 300 years after the events of this trilogy and I honestly hunted for mentions of this time frame and these characters like a hawk trying to hold on to pieces of them. I just fell in love with absolutely everything.

So my final apologies for complete incoherence (and constant updates) about the Mistborn trilogy, but really, this is a series I will recommend for life. I’m already wondering when I’ll start re-reads but that’s also quite the re-read! I am SO happy that I read these books and that I had a fan-base to flail and laugh and cry with as I read.

“The View from Goodreads” is a new featured section in my reviews that I decided to incorporate! I tend to update my Goodreads status a LOT when I read — reactions, feelings, notes — so I thought it would be fun to share the sort of “reading process”! All status updates are spoiler-free (no specific plot points will be revealed) but will contain reactions to certain pages and/or characters!

Spook // Character Obsessions: Tin, Allomantic powers, spying, Vin & Elend, being important,
God, I love Spook. Pretty much up until this book, he’s always been in the background and the poor guy… Really feels left out and unimportant. In THE HERO OF AGES, he plays a very prominent role and actually shapes a lot of the end of the book. I absolutely love what we come to learn about him, how we see him grown, and what he contributes to the series.
Sazed // Character Obsessions: Tindwyl, answers, facts.
I also really felt for Sazed. He went through some hard times at the end of THE WELL OF ASCENSION and sort of like Spook, felt a bit lost. He felt like he lost his purpose in life so he dedicated all of his time searching for the one true religion and what he finds out in the end is so amazing. I love how much he grounds the characters and the wonderful feelings of warmth he adds to this series. Definitely one of my favorite characters.

Kept Me Hooked On: Adult fantasy. I was just starting to get really into YA fantasy and thanks to books like The Lies of Locke Lamora and A Game of Thrones, I’m starting to find books that totally hit the sweet spot of fantasy and adult, with a little bit of younger characters mixed in to satisfy that YA craving as well. (They’re mostly adult but they do have crossover appeal to readers of YA, I think.) The Mistborn trilogy totally fits in here as well and it was just SO amazing on all accounts.
Left Me Wanting More: Of all of these characters. I didn’t want to say goodbye to these characters or this world. Yes, THE ALLOY OF LAW (which I’ve already read) continues in this same world BUT I did miss the original cast. I just loved this world so much and everything that happened in it! I could honesty have read this series for years.

Addiction Rating
BUY IT!

I am so in love with the MISTBORN trilogy. This is one I will forever recommend (and maybe push a little TOO hard)!

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(Click the cover to see my review!)