Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn trilogy has been a surprisingly good read, and the final volume, Hero of Ages, ends the series in a way I never quite expected. The edge hard science fiction has always had over the other speculative genres has been its ability to comment on contemporary life through a high concept setting.  Epic fantasy tends to be a simpler affair, focusing on the black and white battle between good and evil over examining the human condition. Generally, it’s Joseph Campbell recycled, but not so with Hero of Ages. In the final volume of the series, Sanderson deals with issues of faith and atheism, the inconsistencies of organized religion and how normal people can made into martyrs, messiahs and gods.

Picking up a year after Well of Ascension, Hero of Ages opens on the cusp of the apocalypse.  The mists, once confined to the night, are staying out longer and longer through the daytime. People exposed to them are struck down by a mysterious illness or killed, and the ash mounts are throwing a near-constant spray of ash into the atmosphere. As Vin and Elend seek out clues left behind by the Lord Ruler that may hold the secret for saving the world, Spook, Sazed and TenSoon all have trials of their own to overcome.

The various character arcs converge on an endpoint that is moving, haunting and ultimately satisfying. The action sequences are as exhilarating as in previous volumes, and although some of the characterization can come off a bit flat at times, the greater subtext of the series, as well as the revelations regarding the nature of the mists, allomancy and the world itself have real resonance.

I fear saying anything more would give too much away, but the Mistborn trilogy isn’t just a great series, it also heralds the arrival of a massive (and prolific) talent. Brandon Sanderson is the real deal — I can’t wait to read his contributions to the Wheel of Time, as well as his upcoming novel, the Way of Kings. Once you get to the end of Mistborn you’ll understand just how serious he is as a writer — this is a man who walks shoulder to shoulder with George R.R. Martin. No mean feat, given how many authors have failed to live up to the comparison.