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A review by cosmicllama
The Hero of Ages, Part 1 by Brandon Sanderson
3.0
I have a lot of feelings surrounding this book, and while I think I ultimately enjoyed it, I don't think it's a particularly good book, especially when compared to the 2 previous books in the series.
First of the beginning of the book has a distinct lack of direction. It makes sense given the ending of Well of Ascension, but it doesn't feel deliberate. Characters are just grinding on in the hopes that what they are doing is correct and "good", without really stopping to ask why. When quiet moments do happen, characters spend them wallowing about the past instead of talking about the present situation, making a lot of scenes feel repetitive, especially after just finishing Well. There is a feeling that the final book should be meditative and thoughtful, questioning the nature of the work the characters have done, but instead is spilling over with repetitive and tedious conversations about the nature of religion and the purpose of leadership. Sanderson tries to balance this out with fast paced action sequences, but often they don't accomplish anything other than to break the monotony.
The opening paragraphs of each chapter, previously used to highlight sections of the Lord Ruler's diary and past, now just straight up explain missing elements of the story, and detail the magic system more thoroughly. It feels like I'm reading from the future and it doesn't really work for the story. I'm being told what is happening instead of gradually discovering the world. This also feeds into the repetitive nature of the final book, going over everything that Sanderson expertly and subtly alluded to in the previous novels.
There is a lot of dissonance within this book, and I don't know how much of it is meant to be intentional. Especially since a lot of the conflict is not exactly resolved with violence, but instead washed over with it. The hard magic system is on full display throughout the book, running parallel to the discussions on the importance of faith and acceptance. However, these two lines of thought never quite met for me. It would have been a huge win had the ideas of faith and actual physical work to achieve that faith been intertwined, but while I internally already know it, I did not feel it within the book itself.
Most of the book feels like Sanderson is tying up loose ends that could not have been easily inserted into the first two books without disrupting their flow, or spoiling the reveals. Not to mention some of the questionable themes interspersed through the narrative mixed in with some genuinely good ideas. The real meat of the book happen in the last 10%, 15% if I'm being generous, where all is revealed. But again, while the reveal is cool and genuinely has some interesting moments that make me want to continue with the series, I couldn't help but ask myself "why do I care?". The characters don't feel worthy anymore. Power levels become the name of the game instead of some internal struggle. The theme of sacrifice is muddied, and there were just huge sections of the book that did not make sense.
Overall, again, I think I enjoyed the experience, but I don't think I liked it. I have too many questions, and they're not about the world. If you liked the exciting, fast paced action sequences of the first two books, Hero of Ages has plenty in store for you. If you are looking for more of the world, and the reason it is the way it is, Sanderson has that in DROVES. But if you wanted something more than just a lore avalanche, this book will somewhat of a let down.
First of the beginning of the book has a distinct lack of direction. It makes sense given the ending of Well of Ascension, but it doesn't feel deliberate. Characters are just grinding on in the hopes that what they are doing is correct and "good", without really stopping to ask why. When quiet moments do happen, characters spend them wallowing about the past instead of talking about the present situation, making a lot of scenes feel repetitive, especially after just finishing Well. There is a feeling that the final book should be meditative and thoughtful, questioning the nature of the work the characters have done, but instead is spilling over with repetitive and tedious conversations about the nature of religion and the purpose of leadership. Sanderson tries to balance this out with fast paced action sequences, but often they don't accomplish anything other than to break the monotony.
The opening paragraphs of each chapter, previously used to highlight sections of the Lord Ruler's diary and past, now just straight up explain missing elements of the story, and detail the magic system more thoroughly. It feels like I'm reading from the future and it doesn't really work for the story. I'm being told what is happening instead of gradually discovering the world. This also feeds into the repetitive nature of the final book, going over everything that Sanderson expertly and subtly alluded to in the previous novels.
There is a lot of dissonance within this book, and I don't know how much of it is meant to be intentional. Especially since a lot of the conflict is not exactly resolved with violence, but instead washed over with it. The hard magic system is on full display throughout the book, running parallel to the discussions on the importance of faith and acceptance. However, these two lines of thought never quite met for me. It would have been a huge win had the ideas of faith and actual physical work to achieve that faith been intertwined, but while I internally already know it, I did not feel it within the book itself.
Most of the book feels like Sanderson is tying up loose ends that could not have been easily inserted into the first two books without disrupting their flow, or spoiling the reveals. Not to mention some of the questionable themes interspersed through the narrative mixed in with some genuinely good ideas. The real meat of the book happen in the last 10%, 15% if I'm being generous, where all is revealed. But again, while the reveal is cool and genuinely has some interesting moments that make me want to continue with the series, I couldn't help but ask myself "why do I care?". The characters don't feel worthy anymore. Power levels become the name of the game instead of some internal struggle. The theme of sacrifice is muddied, and there were just huge sections of the book that did not make sense.
Overall, again, I think I enjoyed the experience, but I don't think I liked it. I have too many questions, and they're not about the world. If you liked the exciting, fast paced action sequences of the first two books, Hero of Ages has plenty in store for you. If you are looking for more of the world, and the reason it is the way it is, Sanderson has that in DROVES. But if you wanted something more than just a lore avalanche, this book will somewhat of a let down.