After reading The Final Empire 6(!!!) years ago, I finally finished the original Mistborn trilogy. I had read a little bit of it a while ago, but I restarted with the audiobook. Of course I want to share my thoughts with you all, so let’s jump in!
Who is the Hero of Ages?
To end the Final Empire and restore freedom, Vin killed the Lord Ruler. But as a result, the Deepness—the lethal form of the ubiquitous mists—is back, along with increasingly heavy ashfalls and ever more powerful earthquakes. Humanity appears to be doomed.
Having escaped death at the climax of The Well of Ascension only by becoming a Mistborn himself, Emperor Elend Venture hopes to find clues left behind by the Lord Ruler that will allow him to save the world. Vin is consumed with guilt at having been tricked into releasing the mystic force known as Ruin from the Well. Ruin wants to end the world, and its near omniscience and ability to warp reality make stopping it seem impossible. She can't even discuss it with Elend lest Ruin learn their plans!
The Hero of Ages (Mistborn, #3) by Brandon Sanderson
on 14/10/2008
Pages: 760
Goodreads
I’ll admit, I had to dig deep in trying to remember what happened in the second book. And I can still only remember like one major thing haha, the rest is forgotten. It had to be enough though and I did understand this last book so I guess it was fine.
This is a pretty chunky book with around 700 pages depending on the edition you get. I really enjoyed the beginning, but did think it was a bit of a struggle to get through the middle part. For me it was good to be listening to the audiobook, that way I’ll keep going a lot easier than if I had to physically read it. More towards the end the book hit its strides again and I flew through it!
“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.”
I really enjoyed the themes in this book. What makes someone a good ruler, are you actions actually for the good of the people and what if the opposition thinks they are doing everything for the good of their people? It was really interesting to think about the different perspectives and have the characters understand the decisions the Lord Ruler made more as well.
Another theme I loved was the religion part. There are a lot of religions and religious plotlines in the book. You see characters struggling with religion and you see both the good and the bad in my opinion. The following quote was one that stuck with me for sure!
“It sounds to me, young one,” Haddek said, “that you are searching for something that cannot be found.”
“The truth?” Sazed said.
“No,” Haddek replied. “A religion that requires no faith of its believers.”
I was expecting the book to end the way it did, but I think it was the perfect ending to the trilogy and I definitely cried haha. It was wonderful to see it all come together and realise what was going on. I couldn’t stop listening, but at the same time I wanted to slow down haha. This was a great trilogy and I understand why so many readers recommend it.
Before diving into the next era in the Mistborn series I decided to start reading The Way of Kings as I believe that’s the recommended reading order according to Brandon Sanderson himself. However, if anyone has a good argument as to way I should follow a different reading order, I’m happy to comply ;).
