The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson – 5 Star Book Review

Who is the Hero of Ages?

I read The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson in April 2021 as part of the Cosmere Conquest book club, which has now become The Oasis, an SFF themed book server on Discord. Consider joining us!

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About the Book

The Hero of Ages
The Mistborn Saga Book Three
by Brandon Sanderson

Published 14 October 2008
Tor Books

Genre: Epic Fantasy
Page Count: 527
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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. Vin can’t even discuss it with Elend lest Ruin learn their plans!

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My Review

My Rating: 5 Stars
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Ruin has escaped and seeks to, well, ruin everything. Eland has become a mistborn. Rumours abound that The Survivor lives and has been seen. The new empire Eland envisioned has not yet come to pass. Vin thinks she’s destined to become the Hero of Ages. What a mess the world has fallen into!

TenSoon quickly becomes my favourite character in this book, the conclusion to the first era of Mistborn, followed by Sazed. I love everything we continue to learn about these characters, and everything these two in particular do to influence the others around them and push the plot forward.

While it doesn’t affect my rating on the book, I really wish Vin and Eland would TALK to each other because it would solve a lot of issues. It also feels like Eland’s near-instant mastery of his mistborn abilities is not earned. Vin spent all of book one learning to use them, and much of book two perfecting them, but Eland’s learning all seems to have been done off-page.

This book is fast-paced, emotional, and while it’s incredibly long I also didn’t want it to end. This truly is the end of a self-contained trilogy, and while the ending is explosive and utterly Sanderson, it is an ending, full stop. Most of these characters won’t be seen or heard from in Era 2. Many of the conflicts from this era will resolve, one way or another. I’m writing this review after having read all 6 Mistborn books that were written in time for the Cosmere Conquest book club plans in early 2021, and I can honestly say if the series had ended here I would have been perfectly happy with that.

Without giving spoilers, I will say fans of Spook throughout this series so far will absolutely love this book. Spook’s roll is vast, important, and in the spotlight. While Vin, Eland, Sazed, and TenSoon are off figuring out how to save the world, Spook is worried about saving the people. This absolutely feels like a leader’s coming of age story for Spook, and it left me hoping that the fourth book would be a direct continuation of his story.

Having read both Era 1 and Era 2, I know many people love either one era or the other but few love both. If you’ve been reading Mistborn in order and you’re loving it so far, cherish this one. Book 4 is very, very different. If you must read out of order, this is not the place to jump in. Either read The Final Empire (book 1) first or start in Era 2 with The Alloy of Law (book 4) and then come back to Era 1 in order. I do believe it’s possible to read the eras as self-contained stories in either order, but within the eras these books absolutely must be read in the order they were published.

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Want more? Check out my 5 star review of The Final Empire or my 4 star review of The Well of Ascension.