Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson

23 reviews

jayinbee's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75


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bel017's review

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 I finished! The trilogy took me 36.4 hours.

The sexism was just so frustrating. Here's one non-spoilery example:

"The Allomancer following her obviously believed himself--or herself--invisible to Vin's senses. He moved with quick, easy bounds, following at a safe distance. He ... He ... He ... He ....". Vin acknowledges that the person following her may not be a man, then calls them He repeatedly. The characters call 'natural forces' He. Everyone with power is He. Humans are 'man', all the soldiers are men. The women and children must be protected by the men.

The argument that Vin is a Strong Female TM does not detract from the sexism of the book. She's not the character that the intended readership want to be, she's the one they want to be with. It's actually more gross. The only other named women are love interests.

It's such a shame, as I enjoyed the rest of the story. Such creative world building. And yes, the prose are simple, but that makes for speedy reading. The books are unnecessarily long so speedy reading was important!

I (accurately) guessed the 'twist' on the
third word of the first chapter epitaph
. The foreshadowing is heavy handed.

I've been told that Sanderson's more recent books are much less problematic. I really did enjoy the world building and the story so I might check out something more recent. 

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ctara2123's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5


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rachelh92's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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fin_pilot's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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strawberrytheauthor's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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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lakinglaze's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book was a wild ride and I was here for it! I loved the story and how dramatic and chaotic it was. I’ve really grown to love these characters and this ending was a roller coaster that really fit the tone of the series. I can’t wait to continue my Cosmere adventure! 

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giulianalb99's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

5⭐️ y ♾️

No puedo expresar con palabras lo que acabo de leer, estoy flipando. 
Desde que descubrí a Sanderson en noviembre del año pasado, me puse como objetivo leer todos sus libros y, cómo no, compré el primer tomo de la saga “El Imperio Final” que no sólo me encantó, sino que me marcó de una manera indescriptible. Después leí el segundo libro y también obviamente me encantó ¿pero este? Estoy sin palabras. Creo que es el libro más denso y complicado de los tres pero me ha atrapado y me lo he leído en cuatro días, cosa que nunca hago porque es un libro de casi 800 páginas y me suele llevar más tiempo. 
Los personajes siempre los voy a llevar en mi corazón. Sazed, Kelsier y Vin me han marcado de por vida y sólo puedo darle las gracias a este magnífico escritor por abrirme las puertas a su increíble universo llamado Cosmere y no puedo esperar más a seguir leyendo los otros libros. 
Sigo sin entender cómo una persona puede tener tan magnífica imaginación y plasmarlo en unos libros TAN buenos. Cada libro que leo suyo me gusta más y más y me declaro fan incondicional de Brandon Sanderson con todas las putas letras. 
Me duele mucho despedirme de estos personajes tan queridos pero siempre los llevaré conmigo. No voy a mentir: he llorado con el final, pero me he quedado completa, no sabría ni cómo lo explicarlo.
Y ¿qué más puedo decir? Esta saga de fantasía es increíble y se la recomiendo a todo el mundo, pero he de decir que es bastante densa así que no la escogería como la primera saga para leer si te estás introduciendo en la fantasía. 
Todo en este libro ha sido perfecto, no tengo ninguna pega. Menuda puta locura.

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destiny_jay's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful sad tense
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.75


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vereadsbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

 C/TW: Violence, death, gore, blood, murder, mental illness, classism, suicide thoughts, war themes, animal death, torture, grief, fire, confinement, genocide, religious bigotry, and hostage


Rating ★★★★★

“The nature of the world is that when we create something, we often destroy something else in the process.”

Sometimes I don’t know what else to say apart from:


“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.”

Reading the Mistborn trilogy was the best decision I ever made. When I started this trilogy, I had no idea how involved I would be in the story. I also didn't know how attached I would feel to these characters.


“If you give up what you want most for what you think you should want more, you'll end up miserable.”

I had one of those existential crises you have after finishing a long series or TV show. I feel like I have lost something. I already miss these characters and this world.



Sanderson is fantastic. He crafts a spectacular ending for this trilogy. Every word and every twist was thought out since book one. The book felt a little slow, but I have to admit that it was because I was passing a reading slump. This might have affected my perception of the pace.

“Lately, I feel like my life is a book written in a language I don't know how to read.”

The book is narrated from various perspectives (Vin, Elend, Sazed, Spook, Marsh, and TeaSoon) that enrich this marvelous world. The book touches on topics such as colonialism, politics, war, and religion. Hero of the ages is heavily centered in theology and myths.

“Faith means that it doesn't matter what happens. You can trust that somebody is watching. Trust that somebody will make it all right.”

It was interesting to follow Sazed on his journey. He was the one that always had hope and faith. In the book, we see him having a theological crisis and losing his essence. I loved his character arc.

“She remembered timidly standing atop the Luthadel city wall, afraid to use her Allomancy to jump off, despite Kelsier's coaxing. Now she could step off a cliff and muse thoughtfully to herself on the way down.”

Vin is extraordinary. She grew a lot during these three books. Over time she learned to trust the people around her, and knowing how difficult it was for her to get to this point is laudable. Seeing her open up and trust Elend so blindly is so beautiful.


“I'm an amalgamation of what I've needed to be. Part scholar, part rebel, part nobleman, part Mistborn, and part soldier. Sometimes I don't even know myself. I had a devil of a time getting all those pieces to work together. And, just when I'm starting to get it figured out, the world up and ends on me.”

Elend is the other character that has astounding development. Elend is still an idealist scholar. But also, he learned to balance his new identity as a Mistborn, a conqueror, a husband, and a warrior. He becomes an incredible leader without losing his essence.

“Sometimes, you have to destroy something in order to build something better.”

I also enjoy following TeaSoon and Marsh and learning about their people.

I was heartbroken not only because this was the end of this journey but because I had to save goodbye to these characters. I am sad because of what happened as well. I hate and love Brandon Sanderson for making me love this group of outcasts so much.



The Final Empire★★★★★
The Well of Ascension★★★★★
The Hero of Ages ★★★★★


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