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A review by dingakaa
The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I'd say Sanderson successfully landed the plane with this one. Because my first exposure to Sanderson was the Wheel of Time, I was ready for a plot-only trilogy, but he did a great job with the characters in this one. They're far deeper than I imagined, and he developed them in "only" three books. Typically, it takes fantasy authors multiple trilogies to get the same depth.
This is my first Sanderson-only work. A few things I was struck by:
-How mechanistic he is; he goes to great lengths to make his magic system understandable. Even if you don't fully understand physics, his laws of allomancy make intuitive sense. He also takes the time to weave in political theory and statistics in a way I haven't seen other authors do. It makes it all very tangible which is such a departure from other magic systems I've read.
-His use of deus ex machina is very selective, and completely made up for by how masterfully he hides well crafted plot points throughout the entire trilogy. He also utilizes a fair bit of diabolus ex machina as a way to balance what you're hoping will be a happy ending.
-He does a reasonable job addressing sexism, racism, sexual abuse, and imperialism which I think will age more or less okay.
Overall, I'd say you should read this book if you consider yourself a fan of fantasy books.
This is my first Sanderson-only work. A few things I was struck by:
-How mechanistic he is; he goes to great lengths to make his magic system understandable. Even if you don't fully understand physics, his laws of allomancy make intuitive sense. He also takes the time to weave in political theory and statistics in a way I haven't seen other authors do. It makes it all very tangible which is such a departure from other magic systems I've read.
-His use of deus ex machina is very selective, and completely made up for by how masterfully he hides well crafted plot points throughout the entire trilogy. He also utilizes a fair bit of diabolus ex machina as a way to balance what you're hoping will be a happy ending.
-He does a reasonable job addressing sexism, racism, sexual abuse, and imperialism which I think will age more or less okay.
Overall, I'd say you should read this book if you consider yourself a fan of fantasy books.