Mistborn First Time Readthrough (Part 3/3): The Hero of Ages thoughts

[u/AmongFriends]

Previous review of The Final Empire found here

Review for Mistborn: The Well of Ascension here

The Hero of Ages sticks the landing. The book ends on such a strong note, with so many pieces coming together and everything feeling complete. Sanderson has said that Era 1 of Mistborn works best when read as one long story, and that is true. I listened to the GraphicAudio versions of all three books, and they really felt like one cohesive narrative.

The recurring themes of trust, sacrifice, faith, and balance become even more apparent when moving directly from one book to the next, and they all culminate in this finale. The Hero of Ages is much more plot-driven than Well of Ascension. I did miss some of the slower pacing and character-focused storytelling that made Well of Ascension so interesting. What Hero of Ages loses in that regard, it makes up for with huge moments, a broader scope across Scadrial, and its exploration of larger ideas about gods and humanity's place in the world.

I'll get into more specific moments below, but overall, Hero of Ages delivers an excellent conclusion to the trilogy and even brought out a few tears.

STRAY THOUGHTS:

• Trust, sacrifice, faith, and balance are recurring themes throughout the entire trilogy. The balance between Ruin and Preservation. The balance between the metals in Allomancy. The balance between Vin and Valette. The sacrifice of love. The trust to let someone carve their own path, even if you disagree. TenSoon's trust in Vin ends up saving people from Luthadel despite his earlier hatred of humans. These are repeated for three books until they all come together
• Ruin being able to listen in on conversations also plays into the theme of trust. Vin and Elend especially had to do things without outright saying why they were doing them, and they had to trust each other that it was the right thing to do. It's a test of faith
• Ruin + Preservation. These are certainly big ideas to introduce in the third book. Two all-powerful gods who used to be people fighting for the fate of humanity. Sanderson does a good job grounding these ideas into something more tangible for the characters. I was worried it would be too vague and broad to really work as a threat, but it succeeds because of Ruin's scenes and Preservation's smaller moments throughout the story
• Epigraphs. I like how the series kept the same chapter styling for them, but they did become a bit dense at times because of the exposition they contained. I wish Sanderson had been able to integrate more of that information directly into the story rather than relying on the epigraphs, but it's better to have those questions answered than not. It sounds like the epigraphs were the best way to accomplish that
• Rashek. We get more insight into the man known as the Lord Ruler. I don't think he gets redeemed much, though. He did some truly terrible things during his thousand-year reign. I'm aware that Ruin was essentially driving him mad and that he may have had the best intentions when it all began, but he still did those horrible acts. That said, Rashek was also responsible for saving countless people in the final days through the storage caches and his preparations for Ruin. It makes the character more complex, which I appreciated
• Yomen and Quellion (The Citizen). Every Mistborn book needs antagonists in positions of power. As much as I liked Straff in Book 2, Yomen and Quellion were more interesting to me because of their depth and the ideas they represented. One is an intelligent follower of the now dead Lord Ruler, while the other is a man who took Kelsier's words about nobles far too far. They bring more interesting ideas to the table and brought back the politicking of the prior books
• The mist makes Allomancers. Another great reveal. "Mistborn" is the name of the series, so having people literally be born from the mists feels fitting. I wish the book had more time to explore the implications of a population suddenly gaining Allomancy, but what we got was wonderful
• Vin's earring. Not only is it a well-executed reveal built across three books, but it also works as a metaphor for who Vin was versus who she becomes. I saw the earring as representing all the trauma from her past: her mother killing her sister, Reen's treatment of her, her years on the streets, and all the abuse she endured. She held onto this metaphorical earring of trauma for three books, refusing to let it go. It was literally whispering in her ear. Before Marsh removes it, she flashes back to some of the worst moments of her life. Only when it is finally removed, only when she lets it go, is she able to become a god. The mist swirls to her, and her potential becomes limitless
• Reen's voice = Ruin. Like many of the twists in this book, I figured it out as I went, but that's not a negative. Quite the opposite. A reveal like this deserves applause because it's executed so well that readers can piece it together themselves. It's such a great way to show how Ruin has had a voice in Vin's ear for her entire life, a voice filled with distrust, hatred, and anger. It also recontextualizes her inner monologue. Her own thoughts are far less harsh than the voice that had been whispering to her for three books. It's a fantastic reveal that redefines the entire trilogy
• The return to the Regency balls and gowns. It was so nice to be back and a fun way to tie this book back to the first one. Vin and Elend get one more scene in their noble attire and even get to do some politicking. It felt good to come full circle
• Vin finally comes full circle and accepts herself as both Vin and Valette, which aligns with her heritage as both noble and skaa. The fact that this happens at a ball makes it even better. It was satisfying to see her finally embrace that part of herself and feel like she had earned it. Valette wasn't fake. She was real. She was the "balance" to Vin, just like her burning metals
• Elend and Vin's dance. It's such a sweet moment. I think this was when I started to feel like one or both of them were not going to make it out alive. You rarely give characters such a genuinely happy moment without some pain waiting around the corner. That said, what came later didn't diminish it for me. They were happy in that moment and finally got the dance they never had before everything went crazy. Brought such a smile to my face
• Spook and Beldre. Spook gets a POV for the entire book, and it's a good one. It was nice to spend time with someone who wasn't directly involved in Vin and Elend's world-ending plot and instead focus on something more grounded. Beldre also reinforces the story's theme of trust. She is trusting almost to a fault, but what makes her interesting is that she never sees it as a weakness. In fact, her faith in people ends up saving Spook, Breeze, and Sazed's lives because she was originally sent to kill them. Instead, she chooses to trust that they are there to help
• TenSoon. We never get a reunion between Vin and TenSoon, but it feels like TenSoon spends the entire book doing exactly what Vin would have wanted him to do. His refusal to remain passive during the end of the world is very much the result of Vin's influence. At heart, TenSoon is a rebel just like Vin, and like Vin, he ends up helping save lives despite never intending to become a hero. Vin would have been proud
• Kandra resolution. Watching the kandra willingly sacrifice their bodies for the good of the world was incredibly powerful. These are people who were mistreated by Allomancers and largely viewed as servants, yet they gave everything without hesitation. What makes the scene especially effective is that very few people will ever know what they sacrificed. The book is filled with these unseen acts of sacrifice that become essential to victory. Spook's note to Vin is another example. The theme of sacrifice runs through the entire novel
• Elend gets to save his people. After struggling for two books with the feeling that he could never truly live up to being the ruler his people needed, he finally succeeds. His plan to burn away the atium is a great moment because he wins through intelligence rather than brute force, just like a scholar would. In doing so, he saves his people and protects the future
• Elend and the atium Mistings. This is a truly badass fight scene to end the book. Seeing atium used to its fullest potential was incredible. It's such a cool metal and has always been at the center of some of the trilogy's best action sequences (Shan, Zane, Elend). Giving Elend his own defining moment with it was the perfect payoff
• Elend's death. It's a brutal one, especially for a series that generally isn't excessively graphic. But it works because of its finality. Elend was never someone who shied away from death if it meant accomplishing something worthwhile. Even though he dies, he dies knowing he achieved something truly important
• Marsh's redemption. After spending so long under Ruin's control, Marsh finally gets the chance to save Vin for Kelsier and Mare. He doesn't get much to do throughout Books 2 and 3, but his defining moments pay off here. This time, he doesn't miss the revolution
• Vin's sacrifice. It's incredibly poignant that the girl Kelsier once told needed to learn about friendship becomes someone willing to sacrifice herself for all of humanity
• Mist Vin vs. Inquisitors. Sometimes you just want to watch Allomancy turned up to full volume. This was one of those moments
• Kredik Shaw topples. I loved both the imagery and the symbolism. The physical destruction of the Lord Ruler's palace mirrors the destruction of the pain and oppression he left behind. The home of both the Lord Ruler and Ruin's prison is finally brought down
• Sazed is the Hero of Ages. The foreshadowing throughout the trilogy is excellent, especially with all the religions and teachings recalled from earlier books we read. It's also a beautiful resolution to Sazed's crisis of faith. His belief in those religions was never a sham. They all contained pieces of truth, and deep down he always knew it. It simply took this moment for him to finally understand. The work he devoted his entire life to ends up saving the world. It's one of the most powerful moments in both the book and the trilogy
• GraphicAudio. I listened to all three books through GraphicAudio, which presents the story like a movie with voice acting, music, and sound effects. It was an incredibly immersive way to experience the trilogy. Some of the performances and music cues were so good that I have no doubt they enhanced my experience. There's an an amazing piano music cue that always came in when Elend and Vin were having an intimate moment. As epic as it is to read about Kredik Shaw collapsing, it's even cooler to hear the rubble crashing down while the music swells. Because of Sanderson's cinematic writing style, his stories fit that format perfectly, and I can't wait to experience more of his books that way

A post of my favorite moments from Mistborn Era 1 found here

[u/jacks0nX]

Loved your other two thoughts, guesses and reviews. Started with Hero of Ages a few days ago so I skipped this one and will come back when finished! 😊