The Hero of Ages
Ratings1,489
Average rating4.6
Of the trilogy, this was my least favourite; however, it is still very good. Whilst the first two are very “story” driven, this one serves mainly to explain everything. It's a very “explain-y” kind of book, this one. It's cool and I was still enjoying it but I found it quite different from the first two.
I cried so hard at the end of this book.
It was masterfully written, crafted with precision and artistry. I don't know if I've ever loved a book as much as I've loved this one.
Following Spook and TenSoon in addition to the regular group really elevated this book for me.
The portrayal of Sazed's depression was so well written, and so hard to read.
Vin and Elend's relationship was beautifully realistic and well portrayed.
What an amazing end to the trilogy! A lot of unexpected twists and turns and how characters mature towards the end is amazing!
That was really something. The first time the end when all main heroes die feels like a really good end. It has harmony and hope.
With each new series Sanderson creates heroes that are so alive and easy to relate to. It's absolutely mind blowing.
I already started reading the next book, couldn't wait a minute. And this one I'm going to savour... If I can )))
A beautiful ending to a gripping story.
Couldn't have asked for more.
I don't have much specific qualifications to give; if you've reached this far in the story, you know what brought you here and whether it's worth to continue reading.
But I loved the story through and through, and I recommend you see it to its end.
One of the best trilogy I have ever read. These three books were amazing, well built and always surprised me in so many ways. It is difficult to build a world but it tends to be even more difficult to properly finish a story. I was not disappointed. I'll def read more of the cosmere.
First of all, I read the mistborn trilogy in a Dutch translation, as English is not my native language. I cannot judge whether this influenced my reading experience but it is what it is and I am not planning to re-read this trilogy in English trying to find out..
So this review is more or less about the whole trilogy and not so much about The Hero of Ages.
My rating for the separate books would be respectively 4, 3, 3.5 stars.
Although this is my first review on Goodreads, I am a member for quite some time now and I value the ratings on books very much. It plays a huge part in my reading decisions.
So when I decided to get into fantasy a bit more this trilogy was a safe choice. Ratings on par with books like LOTR is definetely a huge pro.
So I might have started this with the wrong expectations, which is in the end my own fault of course, you can hardly blame thousands of readers for rating a book higher then you would do ;)
Sanderson started of quite strongly, the premise is a good one. He has a great imagination, original. His writing style is fluently, it reads like a rolls royce. Smooth, slick. The man can write and the man can tell a story.
He builds up his world bit by bit and he uses snippets of italic text before each chapter to unveil info in an interesting way. At least in the first 2 books. In the last one he misuses this format for info dumping not to loose the reader...
He clearly thought about his world building and his magic system. It is something to admire.
So why not the highest praise and give 5 stars hands down?
Two things:
It was way too long, boring middle sections, especially in the second book.
Total pages, of the 3 books together, mounts to around 2500 (ebook version, dutch translation). He should have cut this in half. If he would have been able to keep this within 1500 pages he would have had a far more powerful story. At least, that is what I believe.
Second thing. This might be a personal thing...but I had the feeling I was reading a YA flick. And not a story for grown ups.
I entire blame this one on myself. I might not have been the targeting audience for this. If I would have read this 20 years ago (I know this is not possible) I might have had an entire different experience, but with quite some years of reading experience under my belt in different genres I was underwhelmed.
Did I enjoy this one, certainly. Was I blown away, absolutely not.
It is what it is;)
It felt like going on a long, arduous journey when I read this book. It was a slow book occasionally with big actions and unexpected twists. But all that leading up to the most unpredicted yet fitting ending. A bittersweet one.
It was such a wonderful read. The suffering each characters had to bear... thinking about it clenched my heart.
Fantastic ending of the trilogy. Really hits you in the “feels.” Hard.
This is one of my favorite fantasy series. Love the world building and magic system. The characters are fantastic. The villains are worthy. The prose is straight forward (some might find it a bit plain) and I loved that.
I finished reading this 2 days ago and I'm still emotionally raw. Still thinking about this trilogy and I don't think I'll ever forget it.
I freaking loved it. I suffered through this, it's not an easy ride, Brandon Sanderson made me love this characters so much that I cried and cried while reading some of the most emotional scenes EVER.
The Mistborn trilogy is fantastic. There are no words to describe how amazing this ending was. I was shocked through most of this book and I'm in awe with Brandon Sanderson. He's now definitely my favorite fantasy author.
The level of detail in this, the magic system, the world building, the characters, the journey, the emotional conflict, absolutely astonishing.
And now... my heart aches because I've read it and I wish I could read this three amazing books for the first time, again.
When it comes to the rating... this whole trilogy deserves so much more than 5 stars. It was THAT good.
If you like Fantasy stories, I highly recommend it: PLEASE read it.
I have no words.
This book wrapped up the whole series in the most surprising, unexpected, sad and satisfying way.
I cried, I laughed, I raged. And in the end I found peace.
The hero of ages, much like The Final Empire, and to a lesser extent The Well of Ascension, did a tremendous job of making the reader attempt to figure out the truth, the pieces falling onto place once the final clues are revealed. Hints and clues in the text let's you realize where this is going just before the characters does. The book doesn't have to spell it out, and you really feel like you're discovering the truth alongside the protagonists. It has given me a bond and kinship with these characters I've rarely felt before.
Still, the end was the best part. Even though that meant parting with these amazing characters I've grown to love.
I can't wait to reread the series and see what clues I've missed and get acquainted with my favourite characters again. Sanderson is without doubt a master planner, and an enormously skillful writer, to have been able to pull this off.
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
Beautiful. Complex and yet beautiful.
I still wish though for Elend and Vin to have had some more time or like have a family but I understand why the ending had to be the way it was.
Trying to write a review for this after just finishing it is impossible, as I have no words to describe how powerfully perfect this book was. I am happy and sad, but mostly just filled with a feeling of luck to be alive at a time when I could read this story. I loved every page, thank you for writing this Brandon.
Wow wow wow wow wow. I realised that Sanderson for fantasy novels is like Nolan for films in his passion, plotting, satisfying conclusions to setups and moderate theme exploration. I also understood a different reviewer's comment that he writes his characters like super heroes, albeit in this dying and destructive world. Man, this was epic from start to finish - I loved that we were introduced to every character with a small time jump, with Elend and Spook in particular being really well-represented. In these desperate times, the remaining members of the original crew are split between two cities with very different problems, and the story juggles these alongside the tales of kandra-on-trial Tensoon and puppet-victim-to-Ruin Marsh. Like previous entries, chapters open with intriguing epigraphs that smack you in the face with clarity towards the book's conclusion. And while some twists were obvious, the logic, planning and execution behind every single turn in this story just left me shaking my head in amazement. And then there was the emotionally powerful conclusion - this book was the closest thing to LOTR: Return of the King I've felt in a long time in its epic scope and powerful character-focused perspective. Hats off to Sanderson, I've been obsessing over the dude since and will be reading many more of his books in the near-future.
A satisfying end to an epic tale. I recommend the entire series.... I had issues with the second book but you can't get to the third book without it. :)
Let's just say that, even with all the hype, it didn't disappoint in the least!
I'll give Sanderson this: his ideas of “hard fantasy”, meaning magic has to have rules and limitations and be entirely consistent works for some very nice world building. But I've just never been big on epic fantasy. I think my feelings on the whole trilogy were summer up by Sanderson's introduction in which he reported that he was so proud of the epic story he was able to tell in “only” three 700+ page books that would have taken someone else 10. And I just thought of all of the amazing stories I've read that have been single novels or 300-500 page book trilogies and had richer worlds, characters and settings. Sanderson needs to edit. He needs to realize that not every single perspective needs air time and tighter stories are better stories. Also, a world in which every city ruled by a non-noble degenerates into a Communist Russia stereotype and “all religions have a martyr figure and a good/bad duality” was a little much. I'm not big on the Christian manifest destiny, and I couldn't ignore it.
I love that magic is taken seriously, and a presented in a way that makes sense. Great epic storyline.