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The Hero of Ages (Mistborn #3)

by Brandon Sanderson (Goodreads Author)

4.39 of 5 stars 4.39 · rating details · 40,258 ratings · 2,601 reviews

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 him...more

Hardcover, 576 pages

Published October 14th 2008 by Tor Books (first published October 1st 2008)

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Jul 05, 2009 Kat Hooper rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobook

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

I'm extremely impressed with Brandon Sanderson's first fantasy trilogy. The entire story was carefully thought out, well-plotted, and well-paced. What impresses me most is that in this last installment, The Hero of Ages, there are plenty of wonderful surprises left. But these surprises aren't little add-ons that Sanderson lately thought up and decided to throw in just to keep up the interest and excitement. These are major pieces of the puzzle that have pu...more ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

I'm extremely impressed with Brandon Sanderson's first fantasy trilogy. The entire story was carefully thought out, well-plotted, and well-paced. What impresses me most is that in this last installment, The Hero of Ages, there are plenty of wonderful surprises left. But these surprises aren't little add-ons that Sanderson lately thought up and decided to throw in just to keep up the interest and excitement. These are major pieces of the puzzle that have purposely been left for the characters (and therefore the readers) to discover. Back in The Final Empire, the first book of the Mistborn trilogy, I thought Brandon Sanderson had created a unique and really cool magic system. That was nothin' — it gets even better!

Finally, we understand the origin and purpose of the koloss, kandra, and inquisitors. Now we know what the Lord Ruler has been about for his 1000 year reign, what the mists are doing, and how people get allomantic powers. All of our questions are answered in fact, and you probably will have guessed some of the answers, but others will surprise you, I think. The end of The Hero of Ages is bittersweet, just as I like my fantasy. We are left with hope and light, not in despair, but there was a high cost to what was achieved.

One thing I particularly liked about this series is the way that the "bad guys" are not universally and one-dimensionally evil (except for one, who is an evil "force"). Some of them aren't really "bad guys" at all. In addition, most of the characters are logical, no matter which "side" they're on. The "enemies" are just as reasonable, intelligent, and well-spoken as our heroes. Vin, Elend, Spook, Sazed (etc.) don't blow anyone away with superior plans, arguments, or bravery — they find that their antagonists are just as well prepared.

As usual, the audio version of this novel is high quality. The narrator, Michael Kramer, is excellent, though he was inconsistent with Spook's voice. Mr. Sanderson has drastically cut back on the number of times a character "paused," so that was no longer an irritation.

I heartily recommend the Mistborn series for anyone looking for an original, well constructed epic which is satisfyingly finished in three volumes. If you listen to audiobooks, that's a great format for this series. If you have not read Mistborn, put it at the top of your list.

Read the rest of my Brandon Sanderson reviews.(less)

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Sep 30, 2011 Benjamin Duffy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: e-books, fantasy-sci-fi

As I finish this trilogy, I feel like addressing this book on two levels: first, on its own strengths and weaknesses as a novel; and second, as the capstone of the series and as an exposition of the Mistborn world and mythology. I’ll start with the latter of the two.

The overwhelming impression I get from the Mistborn books is that they have been written by someone who is a fantasy fan first, a fantasy author second. A pedantic geek, if you will. And I mean all of this as the highest praise – San...more

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May 31, 2012 Anila rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone, everyone, the whole damn world.

Shelves: bucket-books, fangirl-alert, favorite-2011-reads, reviewed, not-for-the-sensitive, teary-eyes

(Quick double heads-up: this is my 300th Goodreads book review! I think it's fantastic that such a milestone is on a book that I love as much as I love this one - which is scads and scads.
I would also like to give a quick shout-out here to all the wonderful people who have decided to follow my reviews. I've been meaning to say it for a while, but didn't get to it until now: you all are awesome and I really, really appreciate you. Thanks so much!)

I cannot actually write a review of this book with...more

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Oct 21, 2009 Jon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, fiction, read-in-my-40s, signed

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Strangely, this third and final book of the Mistborn trilogy was more depressing and tragic to me than the middle one, The Well of Ascension. It was also disturbing on a theological front for me.

It's been a year since Elend and Vin were married and they are still struggling to hold their new empire together. It's becoming increasingly apparent that nothing they are doing will stop the inevitable - the world is dying, ending, destroying itself. Sazed has lost all faith. Where he used to preach a...more Strangely, this third and final book of the Mistborn trilogy was more depressing and tragic to me than the middle one, The Well of Ascension. It was also disturbing on a theological front for me.

It's been a year since Elend and Vin were married and they are still struggling to hold their new empire together. It's becoming increasingly apparent that nothing they are doing will stop the inevitable - the world is dying, ending, destroying itself. Sazed has lost all faith. Where he used to preach and believe in all religions, he has spent the year studying and dismissing all the religions in his research as false.

Meanwhile, even in the face of Sazed's crisis of faith, we actually meet and get confirmation of two deities locked in a futile struggle. They are Ruin and Preservation. I long suspected, even back in the first book, that the voices in people's heads where not internal memories or insanity, but an external force pressuring them emotionally and psychologically into actions that met it's ends.

The one pleasant surprise was learning the true origins of the kandra.

It was a compelling story and I read it almost non-stop for three days. I was very saddened by the fates of the main characters - nearly all of whom don't make it to the end credits. Even though we lose so many, there is hope and a resurrection of sorts in the end.

Back to my theological concerns - I could see increasing influence of Mormonism throughout this book. It's subtle, but the Mormon worldview fits. I confirmed this with a bit Internet research:

Mormonism therefore teaches that certain basic realities have always existed and are indestructible even by God. In other words, God came from the universe; the universe did not come from God (although he did form this planet out of preexistent matter). For Mormonism, God, like man, is merely another creature in the universe. In the Mormon universe, God is not responsible for creating or sustaining matter, energy, natural laws, human personhood, moral principles, the process of salvation (or exaltation), or much of anything. In fact, instead of the universe being subject to Him (which is the biblical view), the Mormon God is subject to the universe. The Mormon God is far from omnipotent. He is not the God of the Bible.

(see http://www.4truth.net/site/c.hiKXLbPN... for more information).

In the end, Sazed was raised to godhood, but limited in his knowledge and by the laws of the universe. Even with his metalminds, he was not omniscient.

He was always one of my favorite characters and Feurchemy was the essence of Balance so he was the perfect mediator for the elemental forces of Ruin and Preservation.

Since there are still two Alomantic metals undiscovered and Spook has been left in charge with the blessing of Sazed, I imagine we will have more opportunities to visit the newly rejuvenated world of the Mistborn.
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Dec 13, 2011 Cathy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Well, I'm a little overwhelmed by having finished this in the time between Senator McCain conceding and President-Elect Obama beginning his speech, so my emotions are running high and my coherence may not be up to par. Nevertheless I can easily report that this was a great book. I was focused on every word, even action scenes where I often skim though. The end held many surprises for me, which frankly surprises me because it so seldom happens. The book was fully satisfying in every way. The char...more

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Dec 08, 2012 Hanne rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, shelf-a-ton-14

Consider me impressed.

I never thought Sanderson could bring this all together in a way that would make sense, without any big deus-ex-machina-style interventions. But he did and he really surprised me.
It's so much fun to work out hypotheses along the way, reading the clues, considering how they might impact everything else. There are so many details that Sanderson stresses along the way, that you know will be important, but how exactly? How do they fit? And how on earth is he going to bring thi...more

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Jan 20, 2009 Lori (Hellian) rated it 3 of 5 stars

I know this book gets solid 4 and 5s, and I'm not sure why I'm not one with the crowd here. I certainly liked Elantris and the first 2 Mistborn books tremendously, and am having trouble articulating why this one didn't send me, but it didn't. Not that 3 stars isn't a pretty affirmative rating from me, yet I didn't find myself rushing to read this (as opposed to being here on GR!) When I was reading I enjoyed it very much. I thought the ending was great, maybe everything leading up to it was a bi...more

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Oct 26, 2008 Sean rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

The last half of this book dragged terribly for me, and there were three or four false climaxes before the real climax happened, which I found annoying. The ending was extremely religious in a peculiarly Mormon way, which also irritated me. As it is, I am even more skeptical now of Sanderson's ability to credibly write the end of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time.

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Dec 22, 2011 Erica (daydreamer) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Everyone with a brain. Everyone who can read. Did I make myself clear? EVERYONE

Shelves: adult, lds-authors, i-own, 2011-reads, absolute-favorites, best-characters, best-endings, brilliant-authors, favorite-romance, i-recommend-it, incredible, love-with-all-my-heart, made-me-cry, love-love-it, novels-that-inspire-me, played-with-my-emotions, original-creative-premise, outstanding-worldbuilding, purely-brilliant, strong-heroines, treasured-keeps, heroes-i-respect-and-praise

This ‘review’ is not a review of the book, but more of my emotional journey through reading it and upon finishing. For those of you who have read the Mistborn trilogy, I think you can empathize with what I felt. For those of you who haven’t, I ask that you do yourself a favor, and feast upon these books. For they are truly the most amazing books I’ve ever read.

Before the end, I was going to write an absolutely glowing review full of caps lock and exclamations points and gifs and pictures and my...more

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Sep 17, 2012 Kristalia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own-physical-copy, all-time-favorites, unique-stories, reviewed, cut-my-heart-out, dark, 6-stars, best-couple-award, be-my-hero-plz, laughed-like-a-maniac, sob-fest-its-just-so-sad, review-which-needs-rewriting

Final rating: ★★★★★★/★★★★★

Omfg. omfg....what an end.....ok......certainly not what i expected.

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It just is perfect....

Brandon is amazing, i love how he connected all the dots through all three books! There were a lot of things i didn't expect, and i loved it whole. He is just that awesome, and he has the most unique ideas ever (just look at Warbreaker & Legion
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Anyway, it was in my opinion - amazing!!! I loved everything about it, but especially about koloss, kandra, and inquisitors. I always w...more

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Jan 09, 2009 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, read-in-2009

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. A satisfying conclusion to the Mistborn trilogy. The characters in this book become increasingly desperate as it becomes evident that their world is dying. The ashfall becomes heavier and heavier until travel becomes almost impossible. The mist comes out in the daytime, and kills a percentage of people who are out.

Meanwhile, Ruin is released in the world and is battling to gain the upper hand over Preservation. Ruin has the power to change any written or oral communication not engraved in metal;...more A satisfying conclusion to the Mistborn trilogy. The characters in this book become increasingly desperate as it becomes evident that their world is dying. The ashfall becomes heavier and heavier until travel becomes almost impossible. The mist comes out in the daytime, and kills a percentage of people who are out.

Meanwhile, Ruin is released in the world and is battling to gain the upper hand over Preservation. Ruin has the power to change any written or oral communication not engraved in metal; he also is able to influence through the practice of Hemalurgy.

Again, this book has blurbs at the beginning of each chapter. They are not as cryptic as in Mistborn, but they still are integral to the story. The history of Ruin and Preservation, the Lord Ruler's use of the power and Hemalurgy, and various other information is revealed. They are from the point of view of one who has survived and is looking back at the events being told; this is encouraging because it implies that there will be survivors.

The author carries the system of magic further along in this book with the explanation of Hemalurgy. The Inquisitors, the Koloss, and the Kandra are all fascinating if gruesome creations.

Sazed is going through a crises of faith in this book. The woman he loves has died, and although his world is in a truly apocalyptic state, he is barely able to muster any enthusiasm for anything. He spends most of his time looking through his collected religions, trying to find a true one he can believe in. He discards them all for contradictory or unbelievable elements. His search is intertwined with the fate of the world.

I thought that Sanderson did a good job with further developing the system of magic with regards to Hemalurgy and the new and creative ways Vin and Elend found to use Allomantic powers. But I felt that the powers and characters of Ruin and Preservation were a little bit overboard. The ending, while satisfying in a way, seemed very far-fetched. I feel kind of ridiculous saying that about a fantasy novel, but I felt like Sanderson spent all this time creating rules for how to use the magic, and then at the end, there was just this big pool of power and it was used to fix everything.

Still, I would highly recommend this book and this series to anyone who likes fantasy.
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Apr 21, 2013 Shashwat rated it 5 of 5 stars

I shall spend a lot of time looking for a way to give this book 6 stars.

This book has made me jump for joy, get tears in my eyes for no apparent reason, hyperventilate, and walk for hours, all to vent the amount of excitement I was feeling while reading it.
(view spoiler)...more

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Dec 08, 2011 Jane rated it 3 of 5 stars

Forgive me for my review as it was well after 2am when I finished this seventeen hundred page long trilogy...

(view spoiler)...more

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Mar 28, 2011 Katya rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, super-awesome, 2011

Last September, I saw "The Last Empire" featured as book of the Issue of one of my birth nation's few fantasy and sci-fi magazines. The author of the article presented Brandon Sanderson as the guy who is best known for having been chosen to finish Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series. Now, as these things go, there was serious doubt as to whether Sanderson had it in him to live up to the task, and die hard fans of the series were afraid that it would never be on the same level as it did while...more

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Dec 18, 2012 Nermin rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fantasy lovers

Shelves: fantasy, my-favorites, series

I just finished this book and all I can say is it was such a pleasure reading this series. It's fantasy at it's best! Mistborn series has everything to satisfy the reader. Sanderson is a very talented, imaginative, creative writer. This world he built in Mistbron was very original and well thought out. I loved the magic system. It was innovative, logical, very well organized. I loved the characters, those are the characters that you just can't forget about easily, they will definitely stay with...more

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Apr 22, 2013 Mimi rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-reads, fantasy, favorites

There's only so much you can say about this book without using the word OW.

(view spoiler)...more

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Mar 27, 2009 C.S. rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: epic-fantasy

This series slowly lost its luster for me. By this book I was just reading to see what happened to Vin. I think that Sanderson is a pretty good write but I really felt that the series was two long. It should have been two books.

I think it would have been tighter and more plausible. The main characters continued the trend of doing things that i felt were not very smart.

I am sure that some people will not agree. If you were a big fan of book 2, you are safe. If not you might want to skip to the la...more

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Aug 12, 2012 Mimisode rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favourites, amazing-writing, books-that-made-me-cry

I LOVE this book enough that I'm posting my first ever Goodreads review.

The writing is amazing and in my mind deserve to become a movie or I don't know -I feel like i need to relive this book on a big screen. Its that feeling you get when you question yourself after a chapter, when you wonder if things are truly black or white, perhaps grey given the choices life throws at us.-I loved learning as the characters learned and experiencing their fear and anger and frustration, as well as their hope...more

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Jun 15, 2012 Jonathan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own, fantasy-challenge, personal-favourites, favourite-series, fantasy, brandon-sanderson

When talking about fantasy I must admit I have the highest respect for J.R.R Tolkien. In fact when talking about novels I believe him to be one of the finest world creating writers ever. His use of language and words is astounding. In my mind the next best thing is the work that Brandon Sanderson has done in creating the worlds of Mistborn,Elantris and The Way of Kings.

I absolutely admire how with Tolkien's work you take the Hobbit which is a stand alone story and epic in itself which then flow...more

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Jul 04, 2011 Erin Reilly-Sanders rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult, fantasy, fiction

This has to be my favourite of the three Mistborn books, especially after the horrible ending of the second one, The Well of Ascension. While the times are troubled, there's a dark humour within the dialog that I really loved as well as a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. The ending is really beautifully done in this one- just gorgeous and the suspense of the ending was well maintained but yet distributed throughout the book so that the pacing felt wonderful. One of the things that I really...more

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Apr 16, 2010 Seth Dickson rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book was easily the most hopeless of the trilogy. From the very beginning you know the world is going to end and even though you can't help but hang on to some hope that they will manage to get their happy ending, things just keep getting worse and worse every chapter. Even the things they do succeed at, they accept as doing nothing but delaying the inevitable. And just when you think they are finally going to get their big break and turn it all around, the whole world falls apart around th...more

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Sep 22, 2012 Laura rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is definitely a series that I want to own and reread. I am already looking forward to rereading the three books now that I know the ending. I think I will enjoy seeing all the plot twists and turns now that I know where it was heading.

I was continually impressed with what a good job Sanderson did of incorporating small & seemingly inconsequential information into the grand scheme of his story. In fact, this ability to plot well from start to finish is one of the most important things I...more

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Oct 23, 2008 Erika rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fantasy fans!!

Arrrghh. I shouldn't have slept on this. Now everything I wanted to say is stuck in dreamland. But trust me, this one, was AWESOME.

When I first saw Elantris and read the jacket snippet, I was a little excited. I didn't know fantasy novels were allowed to be original. And to think that Brandon Sanderson could write two interesting magic systems in both his debut novel and his Mistborn trilogy speaks volumes of his ability as an innovative creative mind.

I don't think I was as impressed with the fi...more Arrrghh. I shouldn't have slept on this. Now everything I wanted to say is stuck in dreamland. But trust me, this one, was AWESOME.

When I first saw Elantris and read the jacket snippet, I was a little excited. I didn't know fantasy novels were allowed to be original. And to think that Brandon Sanderson could write two interesting magic systems in both his debut novel and his Mistborn trilogy speaks volumes of his ability as an innovative creative mind.

I don't think I was as impressed with the first Mistborn book as I have been with the last two. Especially book three. I mean, with an opening introducing an urchin named Sev in his starring messenger-boy role, what isn't there to like?

Like Elantris, his Mistborn series is incredibly thought-out without reading pre-planned. It's easy to see the amount of effort and thought put into crafting the mysteries of the plot. Sanderson is a great plot-builder and I absolutely love the addition of maps as reference material. I'm sure I'm not the only person eagerly flipping back to the front of the book to glance at the map and see if any of the novel's mysteries will reveal themselves in the terrain of ink and paper, like they did in Elantris.

Is it just me, or does Sanderson not only poke fun at religion in general, but Roman Catholicism specifically? I mean, come on. A man who "survives" his earthly trials and "returns" to bring hope to his faithful followers, some of who knew him when he was "just a man"?

I don't want to jump to conclusions, but speaking of religion and authors, Orson Scott Card and Stephenie Meyer also found ways to worm religion and religious issues into their novels. The similarity? All three are members of the Church of Latter Day Saints. You know, they're Mormon. I'm not Mormon, but from listening to the Mormon friends I have, religion is a pretty integral part of their lives. And, in most instances, isn't that was religion is supposed to do? But it's different than the other other religion I've had direct experience in: Roman Catholicism. For a while now, Catholics haven't been required to pay tithes and aren't required to attend church events other than a weekly Sunday mass. But the LDS religion is such a huge part of its member's lives, with so much time devoted directly to the church, that I'm really tickled and intrigued (although not surprised) that the religion even seeps into their writing. I think it's commendable. In some ways, the integration of religion into their novels is what I see as an exercise in faith--not the kind that tests your devotion and belief, but the kind of practical practice that reaffirms belief. It's just my opinion, but I think that's just really cool. I mean, in one sense, authors write what they know. And what better way to test your knowledge than to write about it metaphorically?

Anyway, I only mention this because the book is (and if you haven't read it, but plan to, you should stop reading now because I'm going to get all kinds of spoilery) about the creation of a god, or, if you read it directly God. I didn't see it coming at all. But it was awesome.

When I read the first book, I think I was so disappointed because I'd been comparing it, the introduction to a trilogy, to the completeness that was Elantris. I loved the mythology of Elantris and was so impressed with Sanderson's ability to create something with such an original, innovative feel to it. Now that I've finished the trilogy, I'm as impressed as I was after finishing Elantris. Sanderson really knows how to wrap up a series, answer all (well most) of the questions and throw out surprising revelations that completely make sense when you look back on the whole thing in hindsight. I mean, how did I miss Sazed?? I love Sazed!

I'm a little sad that Vin and Elend had to die (but now they are the "Adam and Eve" figures), but when Spook and Breeze walk out of their cavern and see all the other survivors (because now they are all survivors, like Kelsier) and the brand spanking new landscape (which I think mentions the word "earth" for the first time ever), it was amazing. It was so reminiscent of the essence of Tolkien--a new world for our characters, but the world we as readers are left with is in fact, in a way, very much our world.

I really wish I'd written this last night, at 3 when I finished the book because really it was so good. I'm a fangirl all over again! And boo on the people who looked at me like I was a weirdo when I tried to handsell them this. YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT, TRUST ME!

I'm just irritated I don't know what the last two metals are. I must know!!(less)

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Feb 16, 2012 Brad rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, fantasy, 2012, favorites

9/18/10 - 9/25/10
Wow, an epic conclusion to an epic trilogy. Sanderson has cemented his status as one of my favorite authors--great story, great characters, great twists and turns (the last one is a doozy!), wow. He's done an excellent job of tying little things together from the first two books, and I liked it a lot. A lot, a lot.

I definitely would recommend this series to fans of fantasy novels, and probably even to people who aren't.

Rating: A heavy PG-13 for action / fantasy violence.

2/5/12 -...more 9/18/10 - 9/25/10
Wow, an epic conclusion to an epic trilogy. Sanderson has cemented his status as one of my favorite authors--great story, great characters, great twists and turns (the last one is a doozy!), wow. He's done an excellent job of tying little things together from the first two books, and I liked it a lot. A lot, a lot.

I definitely would recommend this series to fans of fantasy novels, and probably even to people who aren't.

Rating: A heavy PG-13 for action / fantasy violence.

2/5/12 - 2/16/12
Yeah, I read it again, and the ending is tremendous. The start is a little slow, but didn't seem quite as slow as Well of Ascension. I was following along with Sanderson's annotations (available here) which added some neat insights into the story, Sanderson's thoughts and process while writing, and the overarching elements relating to the Cosmere.

"Cosmere, what's that?," you ask. So most of Sanderson's books are written in the same universe--pretty much everything but the Alcatraz books (and WoT, obviously) that he has out and published. There are elements that connect the events in each book to each other and to a bigger story that is slowly unfolding as we get more of his stuff.

Here's a brief rundown of the Cosmere, but watch out for spoilers for the Mistborn trilogy, and possibly for Way of Kings.

***SPOILERY THOUGHTS***
(view spoiler)(less)

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Feb 23, 2009 Ashley rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, 2009

I'm thinking back and trying to remember if I've ever invested so much time into an individual group of characters. I spent 12 books with Garion, Polgara, and Belgarath, but they were easier, faster reads and of a very standard pattern. I spent 6 books with Sparhawk and crew, but like the Garion books, David Eddings stories all look the same after a while. Naturally, I stuck with Frodo, Sam, Gandalf, Merry, Pippin, Aragorn, etc etc etc etc through The Lord of the Rings , but that's not really an...more I'm thinking back and trying to remember if I've ever invested so much time into an individual group of characters. I spent 12 books with Garion, Polgara, and Belgarath, but they were easier, faster reads and of a very standard pattern. I spent 6 books with Sparhawk and crew, but like the Garion books, David Eddings stories all look the same after a while. Naturally, I stuck with Frodo, Sam, Gandalf, Merry, Pippin, Aragorn, etc etc etc etc through The Lord of the Rings , but that's not really an investment in character so much as its an investment of non-existent genre exploration. Most other sci-fi/fantasy series I've either shied away from or lost interest (such as I never plan to finish Shadow Puppets).

I've been in Mistborn for over a year. The only gap I had was during the time when I'd finally finished Well of Ascension while in England and I was waiting for Hero of Ages to come out last October. It was always there, waiting for me to read a chapter or two, then go back to reading what I was supposed to be reading; it gave me time to savor it, and I don't know that I would've liked to have read it any other way. Then again, I'm fairly good at having 8 books started at once, so I can do that without losing information.

Character is of greatest importance to me. If by the end of a book I've lost a friend and I wander around lost for a few hours while I remember that they were make believe and stuck in a book, the author accomplished what makes a book a good read for me. Kelsier, Vin, Elend, Breeze, Sazed, Dockson, and so forth, those who survived and those who didn't, just pulled me in and made me completely believe the world they lived in, a world so completely different from our own that would seem almost impossible. They existed in a damaged world full of ash and mist, and yet I believed it, and it made sense.

This closes the trilogy with no loose ends, a complete satisfaction, and a perhaps a greater love for the world that we live in ourselves. Could I see how it was going to end? Did I know who the Hero of Ages was? For the most part, but did I see it all? Oh, heavens no. Isn't that what we want in a book?

So, to the fantasy reader, with the patience to read nearly the accumulation of 1700 pages, do I recommend this book and its predecessors? A resounding yes.(less)

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Feb 25, 2009 Andrea rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: any fantasy fan

Shelves: speculative-fiction

You know how there's some series where the end just isn't very satisfying? You go through this great process where you uncover all sorts of cool plot, and it seems like it's leading towards something awesome, but then the end is just not everything you hoped for. You know, like the Matrix, or Breaking Dawn, or Alias, or the latest Indiana Jones movie. Great fun, but the endings seem rushed or cheap or obscure.

Well, I'm happy to report that the concluding novel to Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn tri...more

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Oct 20, 2008 Amy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: dark, fantasy, own-it

Oh wow. Just wow.

Sanderson did an amazing job of tying in the hints and questions from the first two books and fixing all the problems. But it was definitely an emotional trip. Sanderson has always pulled on my emotions throughout all of his books, but this one...well, let's just say I gasped, cried out "No!" and several other such reactions came out of my lips. The last...oh, hundred pages or so were impossible for me to stop until it was all over and fixed.

I had thought that Robin Hobb was t...more

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Oct 13, 2012 EA rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: high-fantasy, favorites

Just now finished the Mistborn trilogy. I *highly* recommend it. It's my new second-favorite series (behind Harry Potter), and anything else would be a distant third. You may not love it the way I do (and, in fact, it's not a world I want to live in, like Harry Potter), but there are so many things to love about it: the intricate and clever world-building that continues right up to the final page; the equal appeal to both male and female readers; the many twists and reveals that are mostly surpr...more

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Mar 04, 2012 Jamie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

This book. What can I possibly say about THIS book? ALL THE EMOTIONS IN THE WORLD.

Before I start, I just want to say that I’d like to think of myself as a coherent, somewhat intelligent individual; but this review will probably prove otherwise.

Never before have I read a series so emotionally effective, captivating, and jaw-droppingly epic such as this. This third and final book alone is a masterpiece in itself. As soon as I read the last remaining words and numbly closed the book, my heart ache...more

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Oct 26, 2008 Trip rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Cera

(Third of the trilogy that started with The Final Empire (Mistborn) and The Well of Ascension (Mistborn).)

It's a Brandon Sanderson book, which means the protagonists save the world through discovery and deduction, not through purity of heart or vastness of magical powers (not that those aren't helpful). I think this series may in fact qualify as hard fantasy, and this book is a pretty good conclusion to the trilogy.

I hope Sanderson isn't distracted for too long by having to finish Robert Jor ...more

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Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Fantasy Book Club...: * Hero of the Ages Part V-Trust and Epilogue	10	78	Nov 22, 2012 04:22am
religion in a fantasy universe (big spoilers)	3	81	Aug 01, 2012 03:57pm
Fantasy Book Club...: Hero of the Ages-Prologue and Part I-Legacy of the Survivor	8	71	Jul 08, 2012 03:45pm
Fantasy Book Club...: Hero of Ages Part IV-Beautiful Destroyer	5	35	Jun 10, 2012 09:35am
Fantasy Book Club...: Hero of the Ages-Part III- The Broken Skies	5	31	May 28, 2012 05:57am
Fantasy Book Club...: Hero of Ages-through Part II-Cloth and Glass	1	26	May 20, 2012 05:40pm
Goodreads Librari...: ISBN-13: 9781429960304	3	35	Aug 21, 2011 08:54am

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About Brandon Sanderson

Brandon Sanderson is an American fantasy author. A Nebraska native, he currently resides in Provo, Utah. He earned his Master's degree in Creative Writing in 2005 from Brigham Young University. He has been nominated twice for the John W. Campbell Award.

Sanderson married on July 7, 2006 and is a member of the LDS church. Sanderson's writing is noteworthy for its epic fantasy tone, unique settings,...more

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Books by Brandon Sanderson

Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)

The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1)

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Quotes from The Hero of Ages

“Well Vin says that there's something behind all this, right? Some evil force of doom or whatever? Well, if I were said force of doom, then I certainly wouldn't have used my powers to turn the land black. It just lacks flair. Red. Now, that would be an interesting color. Think of the possibilities--if the ash were red, the rivers would run like blood. Black is so monotonous that you can forget about it, but red--you'd always be thinking, 'Why, look at that. That hill is red. That evil force of doom trying to destroy me certainly has style.” — 125 people liked it

“Elend smiled. "Oh, come on. You have to admit that you're unusual, Vin. You're like some strange mixture of a noblewoman, a street urchin, and a cat. Plus, you've mangaged - in our short three years together - to kill not only my god, but my father, my brother, and my fiancée. That's kind of like a homicidal hat trick.” — 104 people liked it

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The Hero of Ages (Mistborn #3)

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