The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson

The Mistborn Vin released the power in the Well of Ascension even after the mist spirit that tried to help her and Sazed before had wounded Elend Venture so she would keep the power. The prophecies of the Hero of Ages claimed that a savior would one day find and then give up the power in the Well. Believing this to be the right thing, Vin released the power to save the world from the Deepness. But the prophecies were tampered with. A force named Ruin was trapped in the Well and in its desire to destroy the world it had altered the Terris prophecies so that the Hero will be tricked into releasing it. Elend was saved when Vin gave him a nugget of pure Allomancy which contained the power of Preservation, Ruin's opposite. It turned Elend into a Mistborn.

Vin and Elend would have to find clues how to save the world from Ruin. The Lord Ruler had apparently prepared for such an event knowing he would one day be defeated. He had stored food and other supplies in various cities. Their chances grow dim however as more earthquakes occur and the ashfalls increase.

Among the last cities are Urteau and Fadrex. Urteau is ruled by a man named Citizen who had successfully overthrown the nobles. It is a city of skaa where people with noble blood are punished. His tyranny however incited the wrath of Spook.

Fadrex City was able to retain the old structure used by the Lord Ruler. The king, Yomen, doesn't appear intimidated by Vin and Elend even when the pair have a koloss army in tow.

Vin and Elend cannot discuss strategies because Ruin is omniscient. What they're trying to accomplish seems impossible and they're running out of time. People are attacked by the mists and their resources are dwindling. Vin is almost certain that she is the Hero of Ages, but they're not so sure anymore.

The conclusion to the trilogy left me stunned. The author made Vin and Elend's predicament miserable and I almost thought they would never find a way to get out of it. The way Sanderson pushed the lead characters to the brink was just brilliant. Every little detail I tried to remember in the previous two books fell into place. The hints that seemed vague and irrelevant made sense. I was able to figure out who the Hero of Ages was but still I questioned many things up to the last scene. The part about Ruin manipulating the people threw off my previous predictions. I did not expect some of the twists at all. It is a feat rarely managed nowadays what with so many works (books, movies, television series, etc.) that trained me as an audience to be good at guessing.

I don't think I need to say more about how good the series is except that I enjoyed it. It is a rare treat for fantasy fans. You'd have to experience it yourself.

Rating: 10 out of 10