Reviews with content warning for Suicidal thoughts - The Hero of Ages

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.

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interrolipse's review

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adventurous medium-paced

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

4.5

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sassmistress's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense

5.0

Five stars, could not have asked for a grander finale. Can't recommend it to most acquaintances because of the violence and/or LDS-inspired content, but this is an absolutely fantastic story. Only got better and better; stayed up until 1am because the crescendo just don't stop 😁

The magic system just keeps getting better. So flawlessly executed that some twists are predictable because they follow the well-defined rules of the magic system, but there are still plenty of surprises and a number of reveals that *should* have been predictable, if the reader is paying close enough attention!

EXCELLENT tie-backs to the rest of the series, as well as new reveals. One or two complete shock-and-awe moments, and so many plot points interconnected. I love it when everything is this cohesive ❤️

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haskinsc's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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mj_86's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-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

3.0

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dkamada's review

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective

Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

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shamaramill's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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astralfaery's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

i will never recover from that ending. i’m writing this review through my tears, thank you brandon sanderson 😭 amazing writing, 5 stars all the way through, and i am so glad this was my first foray into brandon’s work.

sazed becoming God while having struggled with faith this entire trilogy is EVERYTHING to me. he was just as much a father to vin as kelsier was 😭!!! on that same note vin and elend dying has ruined me and i will NEVER recover, genuinely grieving i’m gonna miss those two so much

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