The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Hero of Ages is the conclusion to the first Mistborn trilogy, neatly wrapping up all the elements of the world introduced in the past two books and tying everything together with a neat and tidy bow. This is an example of Sanderson’s ability to take all the little world-building details of his work and tying everything together with almost obsessive consistency. There are no loose plot threads, everything comes together in the conclusion and elements introduced along the way that you didn’t even realize were mysteries are revealed. This attention to detail and care for consistency and conclusion make this novel stand out despite its other flaws.
*Spoilers Final Empire and Well of Ascension*
After the conclusion of the second book, Eland has been left in charge of the largest part of the remains of the misnamed Final Empire with Vin at his side and the world coming to an end around them as the manifestation of deific power called Ruin was released from its prison in the Well of Ascension. Can they unite humanity in the face of the dangers of the world and will Vin be able to fulfill the role of the Hero of Ages as foretold by the pre-Emipre religion?
The book reflects on what religious truth means and explores both the struggle between faith and logic and the way religious beliefs can quickly diverge from truth when shaped by individual perceptions. Sanderson presents religious fanaticism as an obstacle that keeps people who share the world with a deific being intent on destroying everything from working together to save the world. We are shown elements of radical Survivor-ism worshiping Kelsier and dragging the world to Ruin in one city and elements of what is left of the Lord Ruler’s organized church struggling to preserve the status quo which also poses a threat to the forces trying to fight Ruin directly to save the world. It is also interesting to see the take on the prophetically ordained savior, as the words of the past are filtered through falsehood by the passage of time and the twisting influence of Ruin. I am always wary of the prophecy trope but I think that it was applied with sufficient subtlety in this case.
I appreciated the way that the human antagonists were humanized. We are given glimpses into the mind of the Lord Ruler that almost redeem the way he oppressed the people and polluted the world. And Yoman is an excellent addition as a foil for Eland with his faith in the Lord Ruler motivating his resistance. However the conclusion is also hampered by the true villain being an elemental force of god-power whose sole goal is encapsulated in his name: Ruin is as stereotypical evil destructive force with no nuance and sympathy, which makes him an uninspiring antagonist.
The craft of writing is not Sanderson’s best here, the text is rendered in clear and usually invisible standard American english, but there are a few times that jarring use of modern colloquialism or word choice stood out for me as harmful to the tone of the setting. But overall I enjoy the clean and workmanlike translation of the world into simple standard language though the dialog is occasionally awkward and unrealistic, particularly when working with group scenes.
Overall the characterization has improved, you get a good sense of the different characters insecurities and their progression to dealing with changing circumstances. The characters each have their journeys. Eland has grown so much, and Vin has managed to transition out of her angsty teenage phase, but they still feel a little lackluster. Of particular positive note in this story are Sazed, Spook, and TenSoon’s character progressions, they all carry their parts of the story very well.
Ultimately this book does an excellent job of concluding all the threads in the series and providing an epic showdown of humanity in the face of apocalypse. But it still manages to not live up to the first book. All of the characters are shown with heavy doubts, which weigh them down as they face their all-powerful foe, but they lack the will and charisma that Kelsier had while he stared certain death in the face, laughed and carried on his a plan to survive anyway. It is understandable that Kelsier is worshipped in this world, but it is sad that his direct followers spend most of their time wallowing in self-doubt and following the plans of those that came before them to try to fix the world. They are interesting characters, and it is to their credit that they keep fighting even in the face of their doubts, but it just lacks the spark of will that Kelsier carried.
It was sad to say goodbye to this world on such a final note, but that sorrow is much alleviated by the existence of Alloy of Law and the continuation of the Mistborn world in the second era novels that follow after it which are excellent in their own right and benefit immensely from being grounded in the lore established in this trilogy.