Sometimes I know exactly what to say about these things. Other times, and they feel increasingly common (though perhaps that’s my imagination instead? I hope so), I’m a little bit stuck. Is it that the middle of the night makes me too tired for inspiration? Is it that inspiration itself is rarer on some days than others? Is it simply that the book is too easily spoiled if I give very much depth to a plot review, and so I’m going to have to actually stare at the themes for a little while instead, and should maybe ought to quit whining about it and move along? Well, okay, that’s pretty clearly it, but in my defense it is the middle of the night too.

The Hero of Ages concludes Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn trilogy in grand apocalyptic style. Another year has passed since the events at the Well of Ascension, and circumstances are more dire than ever. In truth, I read a lot of books that describe the end of a world, usually but not exclusively Earth. Sometimes, there are comets. I’m just saying, I know from apocalypse, and out of all such books I’ve read, this is the one that best demonstrated the hopelessness and wanton destruction of a world going through its last throes. I had to slow down now and again just to keep from letting myself get washed away by the currents of despair. But what’s cool is, the book is kind of about that: the capacity for trust in the face of destruction, faith in the face of despair. Also, it’s still about cool powers of jumping around and stabbing every enemy in sight, and sometimes seeing the future, so it’s not like that part of the series has taken a backseat as it progressed; if anything, the magic system has only grown in complexity.

Although the circumstances were not optimal, I’m glad I got a chance to see this author thrust into the limelight, and I’m looking forward to whatever he writes next. (Okay, technically, it’s already written. But I will totally read it, honest! Just not sure how soon.)