“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.”
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After a few long months, I’m finally finished Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy, and it’s finale brought on a rush of emotions. Initially, I was a little cold to Sanderson’s work, in fact I remember being very critical of The Final Empire, the first novel in this trilogy, but somewhere along the journey I feel in love with Sanderson’s characters and his ability to craft a solid and well-developed fantasy world.
The Hero of Ages picks up a few years after the second novel, The Well of Ascension. Our heroes, Vin and Elend are working to stabilize the remnants of the Final Empire under one leadership (Elend’s) while searching for the various caches created by the Lord Ruler (the antagonist from the first novel, who had ruled over the Final Empire with his God-like powers). The world around them is slowly falling apart; ash falls continuously, the ever-present mists have begun killing people, and the Final Empire has devolved into various chaotically run city-states. For most of the book, our heroes concentrate on uniting the final cities under Elend’s banner, thinking their salvation rests in the resources hidden away in the secretive caches, until they realize that the destruction of the world is being caused by something far more sinister and other-worldly - an eternal struggle between Ruin and Preservation, the deities of sorts of their world.
That is a very basic overview of the story, of course it’s layered with conflict and revelations that go well beyond that description to deepen the mythos of Sanderson’s creation, but I’ll let you read the series for yourself. I mentioned above that this novel gave me a strong rush of emotions at the end, and I’d be lying if I didn’t say some tears managed to slip out of my eyes. And for me, that’s telling of how much I enjoyed the series, and enjoyed it’s finale. I couldn’t think of a better ending for this series. It was intricate, delicate, and absolutely perfect, like it had been leading to that specific ending from the very first novel. Throughout the three novels, we slowly become more and more comfortable with the notion that Vin, the main character, is the fabled “Hero of Ages”, a mythological character said to bring about stability and peace to the world. But in the final pages of this book, Sanderson reveals that we were wrong to come to that conclusion, and that the true “Hero of Ages” was someone who fit the bill so much more accurately. Sanderson ties everything up with a neat little bow and, while he leaves some questions and speculation lingering out there, he really brings this specific fantasy world to a tidy close.
And that really is a testament to his world-building skill. As I’ve mentioned in the previous reviews for the Mistborn books, world-building is where Sanderson excels. He’s created a very distinct, unique world with an interesting and individual magic system that seems better laid out and crafted that some of his characterization. Sanderson is a master crafter when it comes to his world. He’s carefully planned things out, and you can tell from his writing that he’s put a lot of careful thought into how he wants his world portrayed, and how his magic systems work - something that not all fantasy authors can pull off. His one downside, unfortunately, is his characterization and dialogue.
As I’ve read more and more Sanderson, I’ve realized that he’s not the strongest when it comes to dialogue… in fact, he’s not even good… he’s mediocre at best. And that aspect of his writing makes it a little difficult for me enjoy, I think because, in my own writing, I heavily favour dialogue and character development and have been told I do it quite well. But I’ve found that most authors seem to favour one over the other. Some authors, like Sanderson and Robin Hobb and J.R.R. Tolkien can create incredible worlds that feel so culturally rich and detailed, while others show that same prowess and careful crafting with their characters and dialogue. Rarely have I found an author that brings a level of equality to both aspects. In The Hero of Ages Sanderson’s writing has improved, however, when compared to the first two novels in this trilogy, but that’s also bound to happen when writing. The more you do it, the better you become at it.
Will I read more Sanderson in the future? Absolutely. In fact my boyfriend has now informed me that I have to read the rest of Sanderson’s ever-expanding cosmere. But I think these characters, and this story, will forever be my favourite of Sanderson’s work. He’ll have a difficult time topping Mistborn.
