Book Review: Was ‘The Hero of Ages’ the Hero of Mistborn, Era 1?

While I’ll say it’s a tie between The Final Empire and The Hero of Ages as my favorite, they both get all the stars. And they both made me cry. Brandon Sanderson absolutely RUINED my heart (IYKYK) with this one though. I practically inhaled this book—I couldn’t put it down. While Sanderson is a very efficient writer in a lot of ways, he delved deeper into more philosophical questions with this book, and I absolutely loved it.

Did I sob on the internet over fictional characters? Guilty. This is your warning or rather a #protip: have Kleenex ready for this read.

Things to Know: 

- High fantasy with high stakes

- Three magic systems

- Book three in a trilogy

- 100% guaranteed to rip your heart out, but in the best way possible.

My heart is completely shattered. What. A. Journey. This third installment in the Mistborn trilogy is fast paced, and multi-POV. We also get some new POVs including Spook’s, who, until now, has been mostly an endearing background character. Marsh and TenSoon’s chapters were some of my favorites in the beginning because they were finally revealing some answers. We’re taken all across the Dominances of the Final Empire, which was actually interesting to see beyond Luthadel. Oh, and the world is ending. So there’s that. Each reveal is more mind blowing than the last, and Sanderson definitely foreshadows and places hints, but unless you’re closely looking, it’s easy to miss them. I’m convinced these little nuggets will definitely make for incredible rereads of the series in the future.

There is always another secret. 

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more accurate tagline for a series. Secrets upon secrets. We’re also introduced to a third branch of the magic system that’s, frankly, pretty messed up. But so many things make sense with this revelation. We learn so much more about the Koloss, Kandra, and Inquisitors.

“Is it even possible?”

“Oh it is quite possible. My expertise—not the plausibility of the the task—is the item in question.”

Sanderson also manages to still sprinkle in bits of dry humor that had me actually laughing, and these were welcome moments when the rest of the subject matter was pretty grim. None of his characters are perfect, but their flaws make them so believable. They struggle with their abilities, their faith, their leadership and self confidence, and we get some great moments with each of them (trying to stay spoiler free here!).

“You are a barbarian.”

“A barbarian because I read books?"

It’s always amazing when an author is actually able to elicit a visceral reaction from a reader. When you truly feel something for these characters you’ve grown to love. I cannot recommend this trilogy enough, whether you’re looking for a great introduction to epic high fantasy with high stakes, or you’re a seasoned fantasy reader who, like me, had somehow not read it yet.  

“We create things to watch them grow…To take pleasure in seeing that which we love become more than it was before.”