The Hero of Ages
Fantasy, High Fantasy
Brandon Sanderson
Mistborn, The Cosmere, Book # 3
Gollancz (Orion)
March 30th 2010
Paperback
748
English
March 3, 2020 March 12, 2020
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 himself, Emperor Elend Venture hopes to find clues left behind by the Lord Ruler that will allow him to save the world. Vin is consumed with guilt at having been tricked into releasing the mystic force known as Ruin from the Well. Ruin wants to end the world, and its near omniscience and ability to warp reality make stopping it seem impossible. She can't even discuss it with Elend lest Ruin learn their plans!
About the book
And here we are at the end of Mistborn, “the first era”. We have reached the end of the saga, the world is dying, it’s continually shaken by earthquakes and the mists that usually appear only at night, begin to remain even during the day and together with the ash that falls from the sky, they obscure the sun that no longer grows crops. Emperors Vin and Elend are trying to follow the clues that the Lord Ruler left in the food storage to save humanity. But the emperor must also deal with kings who don’t recognise him as emperor and therefore must conquer their cities.
We also have Sazed’s mystical crisis and Spook’s improvised heroism.
What I think
I must say that I liked the first book the most. I found it smoother and more engaging than this. Maybe because now I know this world, instead in the first book I read it for the first time and therefore I was fascinated by it. But don’t get me wrong! It is still a good book! Finally all doubts are resolved even if one is left, so we are forced to read the second era (but also not really, because honestly I don’t feel that need to find an answer to that question).
I really liked the ending and it is the first time that the protagonists have what happens to them and I like it (usually the opposite happens). However, the saga deserves to be read, above all the first two books, but also the third, I must say that I have only found it a bit slower than the others. Which I don’t understand because the various reviews say that the second is the slower.
Style
I like the style, each chapter is dedicated more or less to a character or rather a character is the narrator of what is happening to a group of characters. Unless we are in different places, but at the same time, in that case, time is the constant and not the character. In any case, having different points of view is my strong point, so for this reason both the book and the saga are wonderful.
Characters
The main characters of the saga are three Vin, Elend and Sazed. Then there are secondary characters or who becomes a main character in one of the books. For example Kelsier in the first, Zane for a certain period in the second and Spook in the third.
Vin is the undisputed protagonist of the saga, she is a Mistborn and is Elend’s wife. she is said to be the Hero of the Ages, that is, the one who will save humanity. She is of humble origins, didn’t know her mother and she is saved by her brother Reem, when her mother kills her sister. I loved her strength from the start, and even her weaknesses.
Elend is her husband, the emperor, of noble origin. Until the second book he was neither a Misting nor a Mistborn, but something happens in the second book to make him a Mistborn and not a simple one, but a powerful one. He tries to do everything possible for his people and like all young sovereigns he has doubts about his work. I loved all the interactions Vin and Elend have in all three books, both now and at the beginning when they were practically “enemies” even though Elend didn’t know until the end.
Sazed is in a mystical crisis and I must say that all the religions nonsense has fed me up a bit (perhaps this the reason I didn’t like this book as the first one). He is a Terrisian but no longer wants to use his stocks, his metals after the events of the last book. And I must say that his crisis is feasible, it’s right that he feels that way, only boring.
Spook in the second book (I honestly don’t remember if he was present in the first, but I think so) was a bit on the sidelines, here instead he has a fundamental role and I must say that I liked all his arc.
All the characters are described beautifully and one cannot fail to love one or all of them.
Conclusion no spoilers
Yes, if you have read the first two books, you must certainly read the last, if you are like me, however, expect some slow moments. Despite this, the conclusion is well written and I am happy to have read this saga.
The magic system is wonderful, explained in details so much that when you finish the saga, you know everything and know how it works. And it’s magical.
Discussion
As always, from here on read only if you have read the book.
It was obvious that Vin was not the hero of the ages, although for some reason I never managed to understand who was the narrator of the first piece, at the top of each chapter. That is, I thought it was him but he always said something that made me think otherwise.
I felt very sorry for Vin and Elend but I liked the end very much. The purpose of that fact, the fact that they were happy anyway. I don’t know , it’s the first time that an author has done what he has done to the protagonists and I like it. Bravo Sanderson because he was able to made the pill less bitter.
The scene, then, in which Vin as fog takes Elend by the shoulders and it’s like she’s giving him energy to continue, is described so beautifully that I managed to imagine their last moments together.
Yes, just a magnificent series.
2 coffees on “The Hero of Ages”