Author: Brandon Sanderson
Genre: Epic Fantasy, Magic, Adult, Politics
Format: Hardback
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Synopsis
Our story continues as an evil spirit has been let loose across the Final Empire. Time has passed since the unforgettable incident at the Well of Ascension. Ashes have started to increasingly fall and agriculture has been dangerously impacted causing starvation. Vin and Elend seek storage caches throughout the empire while coming to terms with the fact that the end of life as they know it is near.
If you want to look up the meaning of ‘epic,’ look no further and read the finale of the trilogy.
The hero of ages embodied everything a fantasy genre should have including battle tactics, foreshadowing, beautiful character arcs and amazing fight scenes. Saving the world from ending is not an easy plight, yet Brandon Sanderson intricately captured the characters’ pain, frustration, and overwhelming pressure.
The common theme I found in this book is maintaining faith, not only in religion but within one’s self. I also loved the values imparted in this book. Through Sazed I learned the value of patience and believing in miracles. Through Vin and Elend, I learned the importance of trusting loved ones enough to leave them to their own devices and believing that they will come through. Through Spook, I learned that one should not hold themselves back from taking on responsibilities and power through the pain of not feeling depended upon.
The character development was brilliantly illustrated. Sazed’s battle with faith was shaken when he mourned the death of his beloved Tindwyl. He was forced to reconsider everything he lived by and question the religions he studied. Eventually his rise to deity form AKA the Hero of Ages made total sense as he was the only one who’s expansive knowledge of history’s religions helped him recreate the world as previously viewed by his ancestors among many other qualifiable reasons. Elend’s strive to come to terms with who he had to become from a pacifist into leading a battle as the Emperor of the Final Empire was understandable. His ending was bittersweet as he accepted his dual personality right before his imminent death. Vin’s transformation from a timid and naive thief into Kelsier’s Mistborn protege who countlessly saved the lives of the Final Empire’s citizens was breathtaking. I was impressed by her maturity as she watched Elend’s final moments in the battlefield and how she was fully aware that Elend was living on borrowed time as she made peace with it at the Well of Ascension. Her confrontational moments with Ruin were nerve wracking as I always felt that her life was in danger yet she eventually overthrew him with the help of Preservation which resulted in her imminent death.
Although some of my favourite characters had to die, the story wrapped up epically and it all made sense. Lives were at stake and sacrifices were inevitable as the world was on the brink of ending. I’m still heartbroken and in love with the current timeline of the Mistborn Universe but I will definitely pick up the next era’s trilogy in the near future.
BOUND BY WORDS 