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The Hero of Ages (Mistborn, Book 3) | 
| Author: Brandon Sanderson
Publisher: Tor Books
Category: Book
List Price: $27.95
Buy New: $18.45
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Rating:  55 reviews
Sales Rank: 1664
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 576
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.9
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.9
ISBN: 0765316897
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780765316899
ASIN: 0765316897
Publication Date: October 14, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
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 conclusion of the Mistborn trilogy fulfills all the promise of the first two books. Revelations abound, connections rooted in early chapters of the series click into place, and surprises, as satisfying as they are stunning, blossom like fireworks to dazzle and delight. It all leads up to a finale unmatched for originality and audacity that will leave readers rubbing their eyes in wonder, as if awaking from an amazing dream.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 50 more reviews...
 A Strong Conclusion December 5, 2008
A. Lee (L.A., CA USA)
In _Mistborn_ Kelsier's Crew of thieves plots an outrageously clever heist and the eventual overthrow of the Lord Ruler. In _The Well of Ascension_ the characters are challenged and develop as they need to cope with the chaos of what happens after a totalitarian ruler of a thousand-year empire falls. The trilogy concludes with our heroes still trying to keep war and chaos at bay... and having to deal with a godlike power, Ruin, who escaped from the Well of Ascension (and had been secretly plotting its escape for millennia) and wants to destroy the world. Elend, now Emperor, and Vin, his Empress, find out that the Lord Ruler may have been a bad guy, but Ruin is worse, and the Lord Ruler had foreseen its escape. They follow clues left by the Lord Ruler in hopes of finding an answer and save the world.
In the meantime, there are plots and diplomacy and battles and balls. The crew are much diminished, the action focusing on Elend and Vin, but all have a part to play (some more than others). Elend,Vin and Ham are besieging Fadrex City, where one of the Lord Ruler's secret caches is located. They fight the inhuman Koloss and the Inquisitors who control them. Spook and Breeze and Sazed are in Urteau, site of another cache, attempting to free the city from the harsh rule of a follower of the Church of the Survivor. TenSoon, the shape-changing Kandra, has returned to his people to face trial and imprisonment--and internal politics.
The conclusion is dramatic and action-packed and a worthy end to a fine fantasy trilogy. We finally get answers to why the world is as it is, and learn more about Allomancy and the other forms of magic. And more about the races that inhabit the world, and their origin. There are lots of twists and turns and it's just a roller-coaster of a ride.
My one quibble is with Sazed, who is trying to cope with the death of the one he loved and is searching for the perfect religion so that he can believe in something. Those parts are a little slow and repetitive, and often made me bounce out of the story a bit, wondering if the author's beliefs were intruding (what with Ruin manipulating text and people and after having just seen Proposition 8 passed here in CA, perhaps I was being just a little too paranoid? Or perhaps not). At any rate, I was troubled a bit by it, but decided that even if some proselytizing may have been going on, I could try and ignore it and keep the fantasy world as divorced as possible from the religious and political pitfalls of this world.
 Ridiculously Statisfying! December 3, 2008
A Noni Mouse
Sanderson set up some far-reaching challenges for himself and his readers with the first two Mistborn novels, and he meets every one of them in this spectacular finale!
The entire saga is creative, intelligent, complex, profound, consistent, and amazingly fun! The denouement is artfully paced--the unravelling of each secret at the end of the book as well as the revelation of each twist are not simply dumped upon the reader's head nor are they stretched out to the point of boring us. The first two books are wonderful, and the third of the trilogy is the perfect capstone.
As with the preceding two books, I love the unique magic system. The cinematic storytelling brings it to life beautifully and adds intensity to the action scenes.
Here's hoping the author maintains his quick publishing pace so we don't have to wait too long for more of his excellent work!
Genius... December 1, 2008
Rachelle (Oregon)
I've eagerly awaited each of these books after reading Sanderson's first novel, Elantris and absolutely loving it. I'll admit, the second book in the Mistborn trilogy was a little slow and uneventful (except of course for the end), but this final book in the trilogy completely made up for book two. Besides being incredibly well written and full of complex and realistic characters, the plot twists are mind-boggling. Though a few of the twists are easy to see coming, there are so many revelations that there was no way I could figure everything out. It was absolutely brilliant. The ending was pulled off spectacularly. I wasn't expecting to be content with it ending because I loved the characters so much that I wanted to continue reading about them, but it ended, and I was left feeling quite happy.
I would absolutely recommend reading this to anyone who read the first two books, even if you were put off somewhat by the second novel. I promise, this one makes up for that completely. For anyone who hasn't read anything by Brandon Sanderson... I recommend everything he has written. His characters are well developed, and he consistently reaches far beyond the traditional fantasy novel and comes up with something incredible. The barrier between good and evil is never absolute and there are enough secrets that you stay up at night simply coming up with theories that grow progressively more absurd as you try to figure them out. My friends would have needed a crowbar to pry the book from my hands to stop me from reading it... that is if they weren't just as glued to the book.
Mistborn! November 30, 2008
Starfish
Brandon Sanderson's fantasy books are great for two reasons. First, they have fun characters who are likable, but not perfect. This is a nice thing to have in any book. However, for me the best part about the Mistborn series is the magic system. It is incredibly unique and well thought out, and it is extremely complicated without being confusing. In most fantasy books, when a respected character explains the magic of the book's world, the statements can be taken as definitive truth. In Mistborn, however, even the characters don't understand a lot of the things about their world, and the reader and the characters have to figure out how things work as the story progresses. In fact, probably the most irritating thing about the book is how certain details about Allomancy aren't revealed even at the end, and I know Brandon isn't planning to release more Mistborn books anytime soon. I want to know the truth about atium!
But overall, this is a very exciting series, with a satisfying if bizarre ending. Sanderson continues to improve his writing skills to match his tremendous imagination, and if you enjoyed any of his previous books, you will definitely want to read this one.
Twist at the end November 29, 2008
MsRoseLovingJo (slc, ut)
The first couple of chapters of book one were a little bit hard to get into as the "magic of the Mistborn World" was being incorporated into the story line, but the books just got better and better and I did not see the ending to this story coming as I have in so many other books, yet it was satisfying and logical.
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