The Hero of Ages gave me the satisfying conclusion I was hoping for from the original Mistborn trilogy.
What I enjoyed most was seeing how the various pieces came together. There was one particular delightful moment toward the end when I found myself thinking, “How did I not see this coming?”
My son found this particularly entertaining because he apparently had exactly the same experience. Now that my husband is reading the series, we have both agreed that he absolutely cannot figure everything out before he reaches the ending. If he does, my son and I are going to feel considerably less intelligent.
Sanderson does an especially good job of making the reader question what the characters know and what we ourselves have actually seen. I found myself wondering whether a particular detail had always been there or whether I had simply failed to notice its significance. That made the revelations particularly satisfying.
I also enjoyed seeing Vin and Elend mature. Both characters have changed significantly since the beginning of the series, and I liked seeing how those changes affected their relationships and the decisions they made.
The ending itself felt very complete. There were plenty of surprises, but when everything was finally explained, it made sense within the rules of the world Sanderson had established.
That is probably the highest compliment I can give this series. I never felt like the ending required Sanderson to suddenly invent a new set of rules to make everything work. Instead, he had laid out the pieces and then shown us how they fit together.
I finished the trilogy feeling very satisfied—and understanding exactly why my 16yo had been so insistent that I read it. Four more Mistborns, in a new series… then I have to tackle Stormlight Archive. (gulp)
