The Hero of Ages
Mistborn – Book 3
Publisher: Tor Books (2008)
Author: Brandon
Sanderson
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 748
Price: $7.99
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.
The first thing I want to say about this book really pertains to the
trilogy as a whole. I'm always happy to read a story that so
obviously had a clear plan in the way it was going to be told.
Brandon Sanderson doesn't drag this story out over several more
books, as it seems so many authors are tempted to do. Instead the
reader is treated to a well structured story, told in it's originally
conceived way, without a lot of fluff and side stories to
artificially create more content. It is refreshing to read something
with such a clear-cut design behind it.
The Hero of
Ages rejoins the story of Vin
and Elend approximately a year after the events of The Well
of Ascension. Although they are
winning military victories in their attempts to bring more of the
population under the umbrella of their protection, they are unable to
do anything about the fact that the very land seems to be turning
against them. The mists stay longer into the day, and the ash that
previously had fallen at manageable rates is now overwhelming them,
threatening crops and therefore lives. Their only hope lies in
storage caches that the Lord Ruler had left behind, to be used in the
event of his demise, and the secrets that those caches contain.
I
will try to keep this as spoiler free as possible, the reveals and
twists in this book should really be experienced without
adulteration. Let me just say that I really enjoy the idea that the
Lord Ruler wasn't quite the horrible tyrant that the reader was first
led to believe he was by Kelsier and the rest of his crew. The more
the reader learns about him, the more you can sympathize with the
position he was in; allowing the character to transcend being the
villain, he becomes much more three-dimensional, and much more human.
Much
of the story revolves around Ruin, and his manipulations of various
people in the story. Once it's revealed that Ruin is capable of
interfering in a direct way with some people's thoughts and actions I
thought I had several aspects of the story figured out. Some of the
manipulations are so blatant that it's impossible not to think to
oneself, “Oh, that guy is definitely Ruin's puppet now!” What
Sanderson does so well is distract the reader with those instances
that lack subtlety. He wants you to be focused on those things, so
that the moment when he reveals Ruin's true design is all the more
surprising because of it.
The
misdirection doesn't stop there. The heroes the reader has come to
accept throughout the course of the story aren't the only ones
present. The climax featured a huge surprise that had me grinning
while I read it, that doesn't happen very often for me. I did feel
that the ending wrapped things up a little too nicely. That's not to
be a complaint about so many different clues and threads being
connected by the end, but rather that things end almost too well.
Mr. Sanderson did make one concession to the idea that there had to
be some kind of consequences for the actions taken by all the
characters, but overall the majority of the world's ills are set
right by the end, just a little too neatly for my tastes. It's not
much of a complaint, but it's one of the thoughts that ran through my
mind upon finishing the book.
Conclusion:
The Hero of Ages
is an amazingly satisfying ending to a wonderful story. The
references to minor details in the previous books make the narrative
feel well executed and expertly planned out, and the misdirection
keeps the reader from guessing what is going to happen before it's
time for the big reveal. This was a great way to wrap up the
trilogy.
Rating:
8.75/10
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