Sections
– The following review contains spoilers for the entire trilogy.
Written by Brandon Sanderson, The Hero of Ages marks the conclusion of the first Mistborn trilogy by repeating the same achievements and failures of the previous volumes. The novel is uneven when it comes to developing its characters and presenting its many twists and turns, showing consistency only in its ability to contradict itself all the time.
The story begins a few years after the events of The Well of Ascension, with the deity Vin freed, called Ruin, loose in the world to wreak – as his name suggests – destruction. With the help of her husband, Emperor Elend, Vin’s plan is to seek out the [...]
The review contains spoilers for the first book, The Final Empire.
The second volume of its trilogy, The Well of Ascension is a much more flawed book than its predecessor. Still repetitive and occasionally inconsistent, the novel is also full of genre tropes and problematic characterization, and even the titular MacGuffin is not used well, feeling much more like an afterthought than a force or goal that drives the characters.
The story begins months after the climax of the previous volume: the Skaa are now free workers, Elend Venture is king, and Kelsier’s troupe has become his advisors, but the city of Luthadel is besieged by enemy armies, with the main one being [...]
The first book of a trilogy, Mistborn: The Final Empire is a competent introduction to one of the biggest fantasy worlds created by Brandon Sanderson. With The Final Empire, the author is successful at creating a compelling cast of characters, which helps to save a narrative marred by repetitive prose and problematic symbolisms.
The setting is the great city of Luthadel, the center of a feudal empire that has in its foundations the constant exploration of the poor, the peasant class called Skaa. It frequently rains ash over the city, which is commanded by a man goes by the name “Lord Ruler” and, being immortal, is considered a fearsome god by his subjects, ruling [...]