What’s this Book About? Vin and Elend now rule the Central Dominance as Emperor and Empress. And they’re slowly expanding their domain. Elend has now mastered his new mistborn abilities, as Vin is still a mountain of sorcery and power, greatly contrasted from her days as a simple thief. Contrasted too, are the days from being a major spy for a heist to steal the Lord Ruler’s Atium. Even smiting the Lord Ruler himself is child’s play compared to the events that befall The Hero of Ages.

My Review: This is a brilliant third installment for the Mistborn series. Elend is a confident leader who’s cast off some of his more ideological approaches, whereas Vin continues her journey as a Mistborn and discovers frighteningly new sorcery as her power grows. Their story is being recorded by someone who knows them well, but doesn’t quite know who the “hero of ages” will become. Elend? Vin? Whatever the case, their problems only swell as mist and ash increase, covering crops, creating disease, and signalling the end of the world. Despite the sheer apocalyptic nature of this book, what I also enjoyed about it were a few of the simpler scenes that hail from the days of balls and witty banter. We also get an emerging major development in Spook’s growth and evolution into manhood, even as major operative for the expansion of Elend’s empire. And all of this barely scratches the surface of what happens. Overall, this is a grand and fitting conclusion to the first age of the Mistborn series! ( )

My blog! Hi Books! It's me Jethplain

“For now, I only wish to make a simple acknowledgement of the woman who held the power just before me.
Of all of us who touched it, I feel she was the most worthy.” - Sazed

I will certainly miss the characters in this series. They've grown one me , I can't help it. I was there every step of the way Brandon Sanderson's writing made me feel like I was there , a part of Kelsier's crew in their failures and victories. We've surely lost a lot along the way, fallen crew members nd soldiers but their sacrifices have been worth it in the end. The world reborn, the sky blue, the grass green and flowers blooming. I'm sure Mare would've loved it. Kelsier's dream of making hers possible finally happened. Clubs and Dockson would snort and smile, thinking it was all damn worth the trouble and Vin and Elend would finally be at the peace after finding the balance between the versions of themselves, knowing that for all their doubts , the world and the people of the empire they cared so much about made it. Sazed, Breeze and Spook will take care of this new world their friends died for. This final book in the trilogy was definitely and information overload at times , as it answered the questions from the first two books. I was hoping that we'd get more from Ham aside from his philosophical questions and military support but I think the surge of information made up for it, and he was finally able to make a conclusion on one of his questions.

“Somehow, we'll find it. The balance between whom we wish to be and whom we need to be. But for now, we simply have to be satisfied with who we are.” - Elend

Check out this awesome Mistborn artwork from BotanicaXu
click on her name to get a better view

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My first impressions (Writing down my first impressions of the book. NOT an in-depth review. Reviews are based on personal enjoyment.)
RANK: Superb
What a way to end Era 1.

Without a doubt, that Mistborn (Era 1) is one of my favorite fantasy series I’ve read. The trilogy is well written, paced, and just a fantastic series.

The Hero of Ages sticks the landing. Things that were building up in the last 2 books, paid off in the 3rd book. Character arcs feel well deserved. The plot was well written. The world building is just amazing. Should you read the 3rd book? The answer is yes. Worth the hype and the time. Now to the Spoilers

My favorite part of this book is the mythology behind Ruin and Preservation. Their concept as a force works really well.

Ruin is a good antagonist. I wouldn’t call him a villain. Ruin is the Man vs Nature story arc.

Sazed is the character that I like the most. I related to him because I to struggle with faith and religion. The arc that he goes through is moving and emotional. I do agree that faith makes someone vulnerable but is that vulnerability that one gains trust and hope.

Vin fighting 13 Inquisitors near the end is an amazing fight scene.

Hemalurgy is interesting. The simple act of placing spikes into current parts of the body could lead to so many creatures and abilities to be born. It relates to Ruin. The fact it was able to influence Vin with just her earring is terrifying.

The way how Lord Ruler (Rashek) plan as much as he can, shows how powerful Ruin is. Even the Lord Ruler was afraid of it.

My boy Spook got his moment.

Overall, This series was worth the read. One of my many favorite series. Can’t wait to read Era 2 next year.

Серията за мъглородените е що-годе забавно фентъзи, но изобщо не мога да кажа, че отговаря на целия хайп който четох и ч�х за нея. Първата книга не е ло�а, но �ледващите �тават прогре�ивно по-елементарни и бедни на идеи. �ко бях тийнейджър вероятно ще�е да ми харе�а до�та повече. ( )

The conclusion to this first trilogy in the series was a fantastic read.

So many things were explained and wrapped up--hemalurgy (I guessed about some characters, but others things I completely missed), the mist spirit, the nature of the relationship between Ruin and Preservation, the kandra's First Contract, and more.

I realized after reading this book that the first one was more complex than I gave it credit for. Yes, it was a straight hero's journey story, but Sanderson clearly knew where it was going and what the secrets were. My respect ratcheted up when I realized how much pre-planning must have gone into that first story.

My favorite characters by far were Spook and Sazed. Spook struggled with an internal desire to be noticed and to be important, but realized just in time that there was something slightly off about it (but at the same time... "Survivor of the Flames"... heck yeah!). Sazed's quest to find the perfect sense-making religion mirrored my own feelings at some points in my life--his conclusion that essentially you just have to have faith was a little dissatisfying in some ways, but in others was also a good reminder that faith in something is a conscious decision. Nobody is going to find absolute proof that one religion is truer than another--you have to go with what makes sense to you, even if sometimes that means leaning into imperfect traditions.

The twist about the Hero was masterful. I did not see it coming at all. The resolution about why the mist was killing certain people and why some got sicker than others also blew me away, along with the climax involving where--and what--the atium truly was.

It was great to see the struggle in Marsh's character, too. Things did not go the way that I predicted with him either.

Probably the only reason I don't give this book five stars is that I found the stakes of the story and how long and how close the world came to destruction to be really emotionally intense for me in a negative way. This kind of thing used to be exciting for me to read, but now for some reason it just feels heavy. Sanderson softened the fates of some of the characters with the idea of an afterlife where they were happy, yet I still found their sacrifices to be a downer (although one that made perfect narrative sense), and I had trouble not dwelling on violent deaths. It was still a great book, and I recognize that this kind of thing doesn't bother everyone.

Despite my personal trouble with violence in fiction lately, I'm still not feeling ready to switch to a diet of chick lit any time soon. ( )