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diazona's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The Hero of Ages might be one of the most intense endings to an epic fantasy that I've ever read. I mean, they're always about saving the world in some form or another, but this is the first one I've seen where a planet was literally on the verge of falling apart. It makes for a very powerful reading experience, but it also makes the story kind of bleak on the way there.
Most of the book is about the struggles that Vin and Elend and their friends undergo in order to protect the people of the Final Empire from the evil (ish) deity (ish) that got released (ish) at the end of the previous book, while also dealing with the continual onset of the daytime mists. Humanity struggling against what is essentially a force of nature is always going to be a bit unsettling to read, and that's part of a good story, but there needs to be some hope, a vision of a path toward making everything okay at the end, and I felt like that was missing here. Given the events of the book and everything we learn about the powers of the destructive force they're up against, I wound up feeling like they really don't have a chance, and the only reason the book doesn't end with (spoiler alert?) the whole planet destroyed and everyone dead is a series of cosmic coincidences. I think the main issue is that, as much as the magic system has been very well fleshed out in terms of how it interacts with humans and the other creatures of the world, it's not well established how it works it comes to otherworldly beings and these abstract forces, and so all the interactions with Ruin feel like they're being made up as needed to drive the plot along. Much of the last part of the book, where these interactions take center stage, felt like it came out of nowhere, and (as with The Well of Ascension) I would have liked it better if there was more groundwork laid for that stuff earlier in the book so it didn't seem as arbitrary.
Despite my complaints, this was still definitely an enjoyable book to read. (Maybe I complain only because I find it worthy of complaining about - it lives up to my high expectations in so many other respects.) Like, even though the world is falling apart throughout the story, there are successes. The main characters have some good insights about Allomancy and the other metallurgical arts (i.e. magic), and there's a good amount of solid detective work, diplomacy, and military strategy that lays the groundwork for the final world-saving series of coincidences. And to be fair, some of these things that happen at the end are very much not arbitrary at all, like what gets revealed about the mists, and the history of the kandra - that was really well set up throughout the whole trilogy. The characters are well-written people with understandable motivations and personalities (except that I really don't understand Ruin's propensity for gloating), which made it easy to care about them and get emotionally invested in their quest, and in the end that's what I'm really looking for.
Despite my complaints, this was still definitely an enjoyable book to read. (Maybe I complain only because I find it worthy of complaining about - it lives up to my high expectations in so many other respects.) Like, even though the world is falling apart throughout the story, there are successes. The main characters have some good insights about Allomancy and the other metallurgical arts (i.e. magic), and there's a good amount of solid detective work, diplomacy, and military strategy that lays the groundwork for the final world-saving series of coincidences. And to be fair, some of these things that happen at the end are very much not arbitrary at all, like what gets revealed about the mists, and the history of the kandra - that was really well set up throughout the whole trilogy. The characters are well-written people with understandable motivations and personalities (except that I really don't understand Ruin's propensity for gloating), which made it easy to care about them and get emotionally invested in their quest, and in the end that's what I'm really looking for.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
shlymiller's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Racism, Violence, Blood, and War
rhogosch's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Ist der Kerl eigentlich in der Lage eine schlechte Geschichte zu schreiben?
Ich mein was zum „Ruin“ hab ich hier gelesen. Wenn ich könnte ich würde mehr als 5 Sterne geben.
Das Buch führt die Tradition weiter. Es ist eine völlig neue Geschichte die erzählt wird. Dazu wird aber nicht absurd irgendwas Neues aus dem Ärmel geschüttelt, sondern er nimmt die Fäden die schon da sind und entwickelt sie konsequent zu Ende. Langsam werd ich müde das zu sagen, aber auch hier war nichts vorhersehbar oder auch nur im entferntesten langweilig. Um mich nicht ständig zu wiederholen geh ich mal direkt auf das Ende ein. Ein Plottwist jagt den nächsten und Sanderson führt mir mal wieder vor Augen wie berechenbar ich selber bin, das ich all die Anspielungen und Vorrausdeutungen der letzten zwei Bücher nicht gesehen habe und nun hier völlig sprachlos vor dieser Auflösung stehe.
Also sag mir bitte Sanderson wie soll ich jetzt mit dieser Leere in mir umgehen, da ich weiß das dieser Epos zu Ende ist.
Ich mein was zum „Ruin“ hab ich hier gelesen. Wenn ich könnte ich würde mehr als 5 Sterne geben.
Das Buch führt die Tradition weiter. Es ist eine völlig neue Geschichte die erzählt wird. Dazu wird aber nicht absurd irgendwas Neues aus dem Ärmel geschüttelt, sondern er nimmt die Fäden die schon da sind und entwickelt sie konsequent zu Ende. Langsam werd ich müde das zu sagen, aber auch hier war nichts vorhersehbar oder auch nur im entferntesten langweilig. Um mich nicht ständig zu wiederholen geh ich mal direkt auf das Ende ein. Ein Plottwist jagt den nächsten und Sanderson führt mir mal wieder vor Augen wie berechenbar ich selber bin, das ich all die Anspielungen und Vorrausdeutungen der letzten zwei Bücher nicht gesehen habe und nun hier völlig sprachlos vor dieser Auflösung stehe.
Also sag mir bitte Sanderson wie soll ich jetzt mit dieser Leere in mir umgehen, da ich weiß das dieser Epos zu Ende ist.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Racism, Torture, Violence, Murder, Abandonment, and War
noellelovesbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.5
Content Warnings: Gore, Body horror, Blood, Death, Murder, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Violence, War, Torture, and Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, Classism, Ableism, Animal death, Confinement, Child abuse, Racism, Slavery, Mental illness, Genocide, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Finally got the courage to read this book so I could say I read the entire Mistborn trilogy…and wow what a journey! From the start, of the series, I connected to and loved Vin and with this conclusion, I'm just in awe of the person she grew into. From a skittish street kid who thought trusting others was stupid...to a selfless and loving role model.
This trilogy only takes place over a few short years but the amount of character growth, from all the characters, is fantastic and had me cheering for them every step of the way.
Overall a fantastic and epic fantasy that I highly recommend giving a go, if you haven't already. 💜
Finally got the courage to read this book so I could say I read the entire Mistborn trilogy…and wow what a journey! From the start, of the series, I connected to and loved Vin and with this conclusion, I'm just in awe of the person she grew into. From a skittish street kid who thought trusting others was stupid...to a selfless and loving role model.
This trilogy only takes place over a few short years but the amount of character growth, from all the characters, is fantastic and had me cheering for them every step of the way.
Overall a fantastic and epic fantasy that I highly recommend giving a go, if you haven't already. 💜
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Genocide, Mental illness, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Classism
oldladysadie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A masterpiece, and a beautiful ending to the Era 1 Trilogy. I found myself constantly flitting between being swept up in the narrative, and pulling back to marvel at the whole tapestry of the series as more and more mysteries became clear. I’ll be rereading this series for years to come, I’m sure.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Mental illness, Torture, Kidnapping, Grief, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Racism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, and Religious bigotry
bookishflaneur's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
uh babes i'm going to need a good month to process this
but the magic system is so hecking cool and uhg im dying
but the magic system is so hecking cool and uhg im dying
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Racism, and Transphobia