Reviews with content warning for Suicide - The Hero of Ages

Brandon Sanderson ended this one with a bang! Literally. I am bawling my eyes out because of how good it was but also the tragedy of it! I don’t want to say too much cause I don’t want to spoil it. I’ll only say one thing DON’T FLIP THROUGH PAGES YOU WILL SPOIL AND DIE! It’s just a fact.

Onto critiques; I’ve never liked how much Sanderson used the word awesome and this one is no different. It also started out pretty slow, but it picks up and goes so hard.

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seanml's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I did it. I finished Mistborn. And in the end, it's a mixed bag that highlights the best and worst parts of the series. The last one-hundred pages are cool, but before that? I found it a real slog - 600 pages of it. Things just take a long time to pick up because we spend a LOT of time with the main characters (What if I told you that one of them is imprisoned for 2/3rds of the book and we're waiting for them to break out the whole time?). And that wouldn't at all be a problem, except that there are just bits of tonal shifts in each new book. During each entry in the series, it seems like Sanderson thought 'I feel like putting a lot of narrative focus on this character' even though we didn't get much of them before. In particular I had a problem with the two main characters, one smart and one strong: one of them gets a sort of 'powerup', to the point where now they're both strong, somewhat casting away the dynamic of them looking at situations differently. So a lot of little instances of those sudden character shifts make the book feel disjointed and unplanned. And yet, the series definitely has many through lines; but I think perhaps that Sanderson started out with a big outline, and decided where he wanted to start and end. So oftentimes there are character arcs that appear or shift radically to help us get from point A to B. However, if you've been enjoying the series for the first two books, I can guarantee that the resolution will leave you fully satisfied. 7/10.

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lilifane's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

PERFECTION! This is the definition of perfection. At least for me.
I know this book or series is probably not for everyone, but it is perfect for me.
And the sole reason for this is how well plotted this story is, from the very first sentence of book one to the very last sentence of book 3. I have a lot of respect for Brandon Sanderson now.
And as much as I loved the characters, the story (especially this third book) is mostly plot driven. Therefore, I think people who prefer character driven stories won't love it as much as I do.
For example: I didn't cry when characters died. But I cried rivers of tears when all the tiny little puzzle pieces fit together perfectly at the end. This is my favorite thing in books and I finally found one... well three... that do it masterfully.
There are also some really cool themes discussed in the series. One of them is religion/faith/belief, and this is another aspect that might put some readers off. I personally loved the way this topic was explored, and I also really liked the conclusion in the end. But I guess some might find it too preachy.
I really want to read more from Sanderson, and I definitely will work my way through his whole bibliography. But he writes SO many books, and they are all SO big. I think need a little break from epic fantasy first.

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iono's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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ailsaod's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

OK, this book was an experience! I really enjoyed most of the book but the ending had me asking what the point of it all was. I think part of this was not the book's fault though - the series up until now has had high stakes but the consequences of failure were of a level of 'if we loose the baddies will take over and everyone will be sad!' which is how things usually are in fantasy. I didn't quite manage to make the tonal shift in this book from regular fantasy stakes to the world is literally ending in fire and darkness stakes so the ending took me by surprise. Since reading this book I have read another book where there was an unexpected shift to a the world is ending plot and it appears I just don't handle this kind of thing well when it isn't made explicitly clear from the beginning.

I think this book was quite similar in some ways to 'Assassin's Quest' in that the majority of the lore only is revealed right at the end in a big lump. I am beginning to learn that if the book has only twenty or so pages left and there is no clear end in sight to be worried! I did think the worldbuilding revealed in this book was very cool though! Many aspects of the world before seemed very discrete and while there are still things Sanderson has kept unexplained in this book everything was linked together. Another thing that I enjoyed was how cinematic parts of the book felt. For a setting full of volcanoes and falling ash most of the trilogy has been so focused on the plot that the 'visual' aspect of the setting has kind of been glossed over but certain scenes in this book were something I can definitely imagine seeing in a film and I love volcanoes so this was great!

Before things kicked off a major portion of the book was focused on the character's final developments. Vin and Elend actually get less of the focus than the previous books and instead we spend a lot of time with Sazed and Spook. I wasn't a massive fan of the Spook sections but I think their inclusion was warranted because of one of the later twists. I really really enjoyed the parts about Ten Soon and the Kandra and I am sad that

they will not be present in future books.

While I was quite upset by the ending I plan to continue with the mistborn books - it does help that 'the alloy of law' is itty bitty in comparison to the first trilogy!

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