The Hero of Thumbs

About four years ago I was losing my passion for reading. I had always read books as a child, but I had been struggling to find a series of books that I could really get into. I had outgrown all of the series that I read when I was younger and I wanted something more mature. My mom asked her friend to recommend a book for me because we had the same tastes in reading. She recommended a book called Elantris by Brandon Sanderson. I read this 500 page book in two days and wanted more. I asked my mom to buy another book by him and she brought me Mistborn the first in a trilogy of books. I quickly read that and the second book. But none of these are what I would call my favorite book of all time. That title goes to the third book in the series: The Hero of Ages. I could not and can not get enough of that book. It will probably always be my favorite book of all time because it represents a transition in my life to maturity. It rekindled my love for reading. I feel that I can relate to the characters in the novel. It is one of the few books that really speaks to me. I have since read every book that Brandon Sanderson has written and loved them all. I devour anything he writes. But no matter what The Hero of Ages will always be my favorite. Others come close but they are not the same. They do not have the same epic story. The same themes that persist throughout time. They do not address my fears and worries. My hopes and dreams. They do not speak to me like The Hero of Ages does.

The Hero of Ages made me love reading more than any book ever did. It was different than any other book series I had read before. It tackled such different and complex themes. I never expected this from a fantasy book. It had a seriousness to it that I had not experienced before. It truly felt as if the problems of that world were real and could really happen. I read this book while I was losing my innocence and becoming the teenager I am today. This book helped me to mature. It dealt with themes of hopelessness, freedom, finding the joys in everyday life, and destiny. Many of these themes exist in other books, but they were approached in a more adult way in this book. I learned that not everything works out in the end. I learned that life is not even remotely close to fair. I learned that freedom is worth fighting for. This book helped me to see the world as it really is. However, I do have a bias towards this book. I read it at a critical time on my life. Therefore, I see it as a very important book to me because it is associated with such an important time in my life. I was growing up and dealing with the issues that all adolescents experience throughout the tumultuous years of junior high school. This book shaped and molded who I am today. It taught me to never give up, never stop fighting, never stop trying to better myself and the world around me. These are some of my core values today. Without The Hero of Ages  I would be a very different person.

Imagine a world where the only person who was holding the world together has died. Imagine a world where a small percentage of the aristocracy has the power to burn metals to gain superhuman abilities. Imagine a world where the planet itself is being ripped apart by some unknown force. Now imagine trying to stop this apocalypse. This is the world that the Hero of Ages is set in. Vin and her husband Elend are the ruler of a fledgeling empire trying to stop the end of the world and God himself. The world is in chaos and all seems hopeless, yet they never stop fighting. This is not the typical preteen fantasy book. There are some spoilers ahead so if you have an interest in reading this book then skip to the next paragraph. In the end of this book, Vin and Elend die. There is no resurrection and no happy ending for them. They do not know if they have succeeded in saving the world. But they die fighting anyway. They never gave up. And now I do my best to follow their example. Finally, throughout the book the main characters are confronted with ethical dilemmas. There is not perfect solution to their problems. However, there is an ethical solution. They always act on what they believe. Vin believes that the ends justify the means. Elend believes that our morals are all that matter when making decisions. After reading this book I sided with Vin. I learned that if there is a beneficial outcome then we should do anything to reach that outcome (within reason of course). This book taught me to see the world as it really is and that the world does not like perfect solutions. It does not allow for everything to be alright. But it allows for things to improve through the heroic actions of a few.

I went into this book thinking that somehow and someway the heroes would prevail and all evil would ba vanquished. This turned out to be a glaring misconception. There was no fairy tale ending for Vin and Elend. After finishing this book I just stared into space and thought about the final events. I did not expect the ending. I was shocked. I could not stop thinking about the book. It consumed my thoughts for the next week. I kept trying to wrap my head around what had happened. It completely went against every other book I had read. And I loved it. I loved that a book could surprise me so much. I loved that it could surprise me so many times. The misconception that the book would follow the pattern of every other book I had read allowed me to be so completely surprised at the end. It caused me to think and think about the events in the book. That is what made this book so great for me. It made me think about everything that had happened and if it was all worth it. In the end I knew that it was. The ends justify the means. Even if the ends are not exactly what you want or expect.

Now four years later I still have a voracious appetite for reading. I read close to 20 books a year. I read every book that Brandon Sanderson writes. I simply cannot get enough of them. The Hero of Ages taught me many things. I now know to never give up. I know that freedom and happiness is worth fighting for. I know that things do not always work out, but we should enjoy the victories we do have.  I am going to spend every day working for what I believe and what I desire from my life. I will probably not achieve all of my goals. But if I achieve a few then all of my work will be worthwhile.