I first read The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson (the third and final book in the Mistborn trilogy) in January 2016. This review, however, was written after I reread it in December 2017, and was originally posted on my Goodreads account. Some minor edits have been made to this review.

What. A. Conclusion.

The Hero of Ages wraps up the Mistborn trilogy (though Sanderson does have several more books now, set several centuries after the events of this book). Practically everything introduced in books 1 and 2 return here, or are built on here, in a truly first-rate way. The last hundred pages or so especially are just phenomenal.

Characters are, as usual for this series, stellar. Vin is stronger than ever, Elend gets some exciting roles, Sazed has a fascinating journey, TenSoon is delightful, and Spook gets his own story told. And I love them all. Five is a lot of perspectives to juggle, but Sanderson does so with a deft, skillful hand.

I always have to mention the magic in these books, and this book… is just genius. Somehow, Sanderson has worked in not just one but THREE systems of magic into this world, and teaches us so well that by the time I got to the end of this book I felt I could have written a dissertation or informational book on Allomancy, Feruchemy, and Hemalurgy. “Sanderson’s Metallic Arts for Dummies” anyone? 😉

Threads that have been subtly woven since the first chapters of book 1 weave into a cohesive whole here, and questions we have had since early on in the series are answered. And it is SO rewarding when we reach those “ah ha” moments.

It is so hard to avoid spoilers in this review, but I’m trying. I do want to say, though, that the scene that might be my favorite of the book was when Vin and Elend go to the ball. It’s intense, exciting, clever, funny, and unexpectedly poignant. We feel here, perhaps more than at any other point, how far these two characters have come, and it is simply a gorgeous section of the book. Vin’s reconciliation of the parts of herself — street girl, Mistborn, noblewoman — is so gratifying. And Elend is, as ever, a delight.

The final scenes of the novel are magnificent. My favorite character (again, I’m trying my best to avoid spoilers) is astounding, and the resolution fulfilled my expectations. However, I did have questions upon finishing this book about what came next. I wanted to know how things were after these events, but luckily Sanderson has show us with The Alloy of Law and its fellows. The Hero of Ages finishes one era, and you end it aching to know what the next will hold.

Basically, The Hero of Ages — and the first three books in the Mistborn series altogether — are so well-write that I ran out of superlatives for this review and had to google synonyms for “brilliant” and “incredible.” Read this series, please, I beg you. You won’t regret it.

Overall rating: 9.5/10