Book Review/Discussion: The Hero of Ages (Mistborn, Book 3) by Brandon Sanderson


Rating: 5 (thousand) stars


Published: October 14th, 2008 by Tor Books

Synopsis: Tricked into releasing the evil spirit Ruin while attempting to close the Well of Ascension, new emperor Elend Venture and his wife, the assassin Vin, are now hard-pressed to save the world.This adventure brings the Mistborn epic fantasy trilogy to a dramatic and surprising climax as Sanderson's saga offers complex characters and a compelling plot, asking hard questions about loyalty, faith and responsibility.

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The other books: The Final Empire (Book 1), The Well of Ascension (Book 2)



"The life of a person is more than the chaos of its passing."

Honestly, it's pretty difficult for me to write a coherent review of The Hero of Ages. I first started reading the Mistborn trilogy in February and was instantly hooked to the complex characters and unique world. Like any great series, the more I read, the more attached I became. As a whole, finishing the final book was a bittersweet end to a beautiful journey.

The character development was definitely my favorite part of The Hero of Ages. Sanderson's rich, intricate fantasy world is entertaining to read, but his dimensional characters add a sense of heart to the already incredible story. With a lot of fantasy trilogies, the main protagonist(s) are stong-willed, confident, and know exactly what they want and need to do. In this one, however, almost every character has their own struggle of grief, fear, self doubt, belonging, and everything else that comes with the human experience, which was very refreshing.

If you haven't started reading the Mistborn trilogy, you're definitely missing out! You'll love it if you enjoy high fantasy novels with a lot of detail. Since The Hero of Ages is the last book in the trilogy, the rest of the review will contain spoilers. If you haven't read it or are in the process of reading it, thanks for reading up to this point, but continue at your own risk!



Like I said earlier, one of my favorite parts of this book is the character development; many of the characters came to terms with their shortcomings and became stronger as a result. Sazed's journey stood out the most to me; considering he started out as a depressed skeptic mourning the loss of the woman he loved and went on to take the power of an actual god-like figure, I think he deserves an award for Most Developed.

Spook is the runner up in the Most Developed category, as he went from being a timid, awkward wallflower to a leader of the crew and the people of Urteau. I honestly didn't give it a second thought when he was wounded in his initial fight, so when he realized that the bit of sword in his wound (along with Vin's earring) was what was actually a hemalurgic spike, I was completely caught off guard, but it made so much sense.

On the other hand, Vin and Elend developed pretty gradually, but I didn't have a problem with it. As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, the Hero of Ages put a much deserved spotlight on some of the supporting characters, and it's not like they could become any more awesome than they already were, right?

I also found the link between the koloss, kandra and Inquisitors to be absolutely insane in the best way possible. The whole concept of hemalurgy was so complex that I couldn't even attempt to see what was coming in this regard. I think (one of) the main reason(s) I would want a Mistborn movie/TV show is to see the kandra and their homeland come to life. Honestly, I mostly imagined the kandra as a bunch of translucent Groots and I need to see how inaccurate my depiction actually is...



While all of this discussion is fun and good, there is definitely an elephant in the room; an elephant that trampled me and left me to suffer in a puddle of my own misery.

Let's take a moment to talk about Vin and Elend's death.



Elend probably had the most tragic death of all; it was so sudden that I had to read it several times to make sure I knew what was going on. However, Vin's reaction to it is what triggered the tears for me. She was truly grateful for the time she had with Elend, but she was so heartbroken to see him die in such a brutal way that she killed Ruin, subsequently killing herself.

Speaking of which...Vin essentially took the place of Preservation. That is a thing that happened. 
She was chosen by Preservation since birth to be Mistborn, take its place, and defeat Ruin. As cheesy as it sounds, when the time came for her to make her transformation, my mind was blown. I don't really have anything to say other than that.














Of course, I can't finish this review without discussing the beauty that is the epilogue.

 Hands down, this was the most bittersweet moment in the entire trilogy:
At the center of the flowers, he (Spook) found two people. Vin lay wearing her customary mistcloak, shirt, and trousers. Elend was in a brilliant white uniform, complete with cape. They were holding hands as they lay amid the flowers. And they were both dead.
But then, when Spook reads Sazed's (aka THE HERO OF AGES') text...
I tried to bring them back, but apparently fixing the bodies doesn't return the souls. I will get better at this with time, I expect. However, be assured that I have spoken with our friends, and they are quite happy where they are. They deserve a rest, I think.













YES. I THINK THEY DO, TOO.



There's so much more I could discuss, but I honestly feel a bit overwhelmed at how fantastic this story was. Reading the Mistborn trilogy was an experience I won't soon forget.





Thanks for reading,

Annie
Indoor Sojourner
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Monthly Musical Musings #1: The Mistborn Trilogy!

I love mixing books and music together. If read a book and I can't get it off my mind, I'll usually make a playlist about it to let my inner fangirl roam free. I've made several of these on my 8tracks, so I decided to share them in a monthly feature I'm calling Monthly Musical Musings!

Say that three times fast, I dare you. XD


This month's featured playlist is titled "There's Always Another Secret" and is inspired by The Mistborn Trilogy. It features fierce alternative tracks that pack a punch along with a few mellow ballads with a dark edge. 


mistborn playlist
Tracklist
  1. Breath of Life · Florence + the Machine
  2. Kill of the Night · Gin Wigmore
  3. I'm So Sorry · Imagine Dragons
  4. The Devil Within · Digital Daggers
  5. Ready Aim Fire · Imagine Dragons
  6. Jungle · X Ambassadors
  7. Arsonist's Lullaby · Hozier
  8. Everybody Wants to Rule the World · Lorde
  9. Ordinary Human · OneRepublic
  10. Us · Regina Spektor
  11. Bloodstream · Ed Sheeran
  12. Glory and Gore · Lorde
  13. Dust to Dust · The Civil Wars
  14. Come Away to the Water · Maroon 5 (ft. Rozzi Crane)
  15. After the Storm · Mumford and Suns
  16. Haunt (Demo) · Bastille
  17. Disarm · The Civil Wars
I hope you enjoy the songs whether or not you've read the trilogy, but if you haven't gotten around to reading it yet, what are you waiting for?

Thanks for reading,

Annie
Indoor Sojourner
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How to Power Through a Blogging Slump

Recently, I got into a bit of a slump.

While trying to balance college, a new internship, writing for two blogs, and everything else in between, coming up with fresh content simply became too much for me. As I started these new opportunities, Indoor Sojourner started to fall by the wayside. Because I didn't want to become overloaded, so I went on a two week hiatus (which unofficially lasted for about a month) to get back on track.

Indoor Sojourner is one of the few projects in my life that I have some measure of control over, so naturally it was the first thing I needed to cut out in order to get more organized. If I hadn't caught myself slipping and taken a break, I probably would have pushed myself too hard to write more posts and the result would not have been pretty. I'm sure there are a lot of jugglers out there who can handle dozens of projects at once, but as for me, my brain starts to react like this if I get overwhelmed:



But enough about me; here are a few tips that will help you if you're

Take a Break

Similar to my post on reading slumps, sometimes getting away from the computer and finding inspiration elsewhere is for the best. You don't have to go on total posting hiatus like I did, but if you're doing it as a hobby, don't be afraid to break your schedule and take a break from the blogging world a day or two. However, if you blog for a company and have a strict schedule to keep, you might want to continue researching and looking for inspiration until you get past your slump.

Browse Other Blogs for Inspiration

If you're taking a break from your own blog, that doesn't mean that you should avoid looking at other people's posts too. Browsing other blogs can give you a boost of creativity and help you notice what you need to improve on your blog; just be sure you aren't blatantly copying another blogger's posts or designs.

Remember Your Roots

If you're a book blogger, focus on reading; If you're a beauty blogger, browse around your favorite cosmetics store for new products. Sometimes bloggers get so focused on putting new content out that we forget what we love about it in the first place.

Talk to Other Bloggers

Communities like Twitter and Bloglovin' are great places to discover new bloggers and cultivate relationships with them. If you're struggling to find ideas for posts, talking to someone with a different perspective can give you some insight on what's keeping you behind and how you can get past it.

Don't Pressure Yourself

This is the most important step in getting back on track. It's great to find inspiration through other bloggers, but sometimes it can be a little overwhelming then they're making post after post every day while you're struggling to come up with enough content for just one. If you feel like posting once a week or every other week works best for you, then go for it. Going with the "quantity over quality" approach will only stress you out and suck the fun out of blogging.


I hope these tips helped you in your blogging journey. If you need any additional help, you can always contact me via email or social media!

Thanks for reading,

Annie
Indoor Sojourner