Now that I am a few days removed from finishing the Mistborn trilogy, it is time to share my thoughts. It isn't easy to do though, because it is nearly impossible to review The Hero of Ages (book 3) without looking at the series as a whole. I know, I know, that is like saying you can't talk about The Return of the King outside of the context of the Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers. This obviously goes without saying when it comes to a series, but with Sanderson it is that and more.
This review will be pretty brief, generally sparse on details relating to the story, because I don't want to get into any spoilers in any way. What I will say is that this book kept me guessing until the very end. I must admit that I continuously tried to figure out the twists and turns before they happened. I constantly tried to understand how they would stop Ruin, and what part each character would play, for good or evil. Even in the end, I was wrong more often than not, which is quite rare for me when it comes to books and movies. I also admit that I continuously tried to find flaws in the stories from a consistency stand point and I was always left impressed, because it seemed the Mr. Sanderson did well to close every loop, or at least every obvious one. To both of these, I say, once again, well done.
Overall I loved the entire series, and I feel that Mistborn is a wonderful tale full of excitement and original concepts worth exploring. This really is all about the author's ability to create worlds and characters with depth, while weaving a vast array of intricate storylines together. That being said, The Hero of Ages was not the best book in the series in my opinion. On my snobby scale, I would give it a four out of five stars. It did not measure to book number two in terms of sheer excitement and anticipation, despite drawing ever closer to the grand finale. I did thoroughly enjoy the book, but book two provided me with more moments of sheer awe. I also thought I hated the ending, right up until the actual ending, but then I didn't. I wasn't in love with the how it was all playing out, but once I got through the last few passages, I felt it did come together quite nicely—despite the direction that the story had taken. Now I won't explain how or why, but the unexpected ending also left everything wide open for future books. Initially I wasn't in too much of a hurry to read the sequel, the Wax and Wayne series. I cannot say that anymore. Those books might not be at the top of my list, but that is only because I have so many other new worlds to explore first.
