The Hero of the Ages by Brandon Sanderson

     This is book three in the “Mistborn” series. Mistborn was first, The Well of Ascension was second, and this one is the final installment in the trilogy.

     I really like Brandon Sanderson. His writing is what good fantasy is all about: complex worlds, changing characters, a strong good vs. evil conflict, profound ideas and questions, a transporting story line. His books are pretty amazing. 

     However, I do not really like dystopian books. I find them dark and even a little depressing. In this book, our story is finally resolved, but not before lots of blood is shed, people die….and other stuff like that—reminded me a bit of the last Lord of the Rings movie (I found the movie more oppressive than the book) where it seems like the war can never be won and all your favorite people will certainly die and problem mounts upon impossible problem. Sigh. I read this book about halfway through and felt so mired in doom that I had to put it down for a week or so while I read a bunch of lightweight stuff. Ha. I do really like Brandon Sanderson. I thought about his characters the whole time I was taking a fluff break. His worlds are very memorable (I loved Elantris too). But I really had to make myself get back into the hopelessness that was going on in Elend’s and Vin’s world.

    Anyway, that’s my own preference—I don’t like the dystopia thing that’s so popular right now. However, despite the doom and gloom that seemed so prevalent for most of the second and third books, I was deeply engaged, I loved the questions about God and fate, creation and destruction, opposition, lies and truth that the characters were mired in. The book was pretty amazing. And the ending was satisfying. 

Bad language: none
Sex: none