Book Review: The Hero of Ages

Wow. That was a lot.

Hey guys, it’s Jim Wilbourne, author of The Continua Chronicles, and today, I wanted to talk to you about The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson.

This review is a deeper dive into the story than a typical non-spoiler review, so if you haven’t read the novel yet, circle back around when you have. 

But if you’re ready to talk about this story more in-depth, let’s do this.

The Hero of Ages is the end of the first generation of Mistborn books. In The Final Empire, we met Vin, Elend, and a large cast of mistings who engaged in a heist so epic that they became the stuff of legend. 

So epic in fact that in The Well of Ascension, an entire religion has formed around them.

In this volume, our heroes must deal with the consequences of having visited The Well of Ascension. Elend has not only leaned into his role as emperor but he’s become a competent ruler. He and Vin now fight together to save their world which is now dying from famine and mist-induced illnesses. But there’s a strange and unnatural order to how the mists kill, and unraveling that mystery may be the key to restoring the world’s balance.

It’s my opinion that The Well of Ascension holds the belt for the best overall story in the trilogy. But the stand-out characters in The Hero of Ages are Spook and Sazed. I really enjoyed the journeys given to these two characters, and each represented a part of the story’s strongest theme: faith.

I’ll save Sazed for another video, but today, I’m going to focus on Spook as an example of some excellent story work that I think is worth a second look.

During The Hero of Ages, we dive deeper into Spook’s backstory and desires. He wants to be a bigger help to Vin and Elend, to change the world for the better, and to be an important part of the movement. He believes himself to be perhaps the least useful because his Allomantic abilities don’t always have the most benefit in a lot of situations. As a Tineye, he’s a great spy but feels like he hasn’t truly proved himself useful.

Spook has been wearing a blindfold because his abilities as a tineye give him heightened senses, and for a long time now, he’s been constantly flaring his metals, causing daylight to overwhelm his vision.

But after Spook gets stabbed, he finds he can now burn pewter. Pewter Allomancers have the ability to enhance their strength and stamina, basically granting the Allomancer incredible strength. With this power, he finally feels as though he can bring Urteau into Elend’s Empire. Not only that, he gains the ability to commune with Kelsier.

With his newfound powers, Spook stops wearing his blindfold. This is interesting because blindfolds can be a great metaphor in stories. They can symbolize faith which is a very prevalent theme throughout the novel. 

But they can also represent deception, which, in the case of The Hero of Ages, is also an element at play in Spook’s story. 

On one hand, Spook gains a renewed faith in Kelsier and a belief that he is with them, watching over them, and guiding them. On the other hand, as we find out later, he is being deceived—first by the lie that he has little value without a stronger Allomantic ability, then second by Ruin as it works to control Spook under the guise of Kelsier.

Ultimately, Spook gives up his ability with pewter to rid himself of Ruin and its deception. But he still acts heroically, sacrificing his safety to save the city and proving that he was enough.

This isn’t your typical “saved by the power of hope” story that can so easily become trite in its repetition. Sanderson approaches the theme of faith with intellectual rigor. Without stories like Spook’s, the book may have collapsed under the weight of its heavy plot, failing to elicit a true feeling of emotional catharsis that could be easily overshadowed by its many intellectual puzzles.

And that brings me to what I think is the ironic flaw of the trilogy’s ending. I’ll let you finish your drink so you don’t spit take on my carpet. Done? Good.

It had too much “awesome.” 

I know, I know. Hear me out, though. Because I think this is subtle. 

In the first two novels, we had a steady clip of incremental “awesome reveals,” but in The Hero of Ages, Sanderson was forced to show his incredibly well-thought-out hand. Because many of the story’s secrets needed to be saved for the last several hundred pages, I was overwhelmed with all the tarps he snatched away so we could see how everything fit together.

I realize that’s a strange element to take issue with, but what’s intended as a feature can become a flaw. While I can’t say for sure what would have smoothed over what Sanderson needed to accomplish, my first instinct would be to resolve it by giving the reader more reaction time. I know I needed more time to breathe, and the perfect way for me to breathe is to read more character work. 

But, that could have inflated this story into four or five volumes instead of the conservative and marketable three, so there’s a good argument that Sanderson made the right call with his pacing.

Aside from a preference for digestion time, this story checked my boxes. And though it wasn’t the exact pacing I expected or wanted, it finished the work and delivered an ending appropriate for the novel’s theme as it fits into the larger context of the trilogy.

And that is arguably far more important than conforming to this reader’s minor complaint.

But what about you? Did you enjoy how era one of Mistborn wrapped up? Who do you think were the story’s standout characters and how did they add to the story’s composition? I’d love to hear about your experiences. Just leave a comment below.

And If you’d like to embark on a new adventure, check out my book, The Seventh Cadence. It’s an epic fantasy adventure that blends science into its magic system, and if you like Sanderson’s books, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy this one too.

If you’re interested in showing your support, that’s the best way to do it. 

And until next time, err on the side of awesome.