Elantris

As Brandon Sanderson's first novel, "Elantris" is, in many ways, one of my favorites. It has all the elements that I have come to expect from a Sanderson novel. A novel magic system; wonderfully created world, that comes alive as you read; a theme of self-reliance and spirituality; strong, noble hero and heroine. The magic system is discussed more than seen for the first 2/3s or so of the novel, and is based on runes and symbols drawn in the air or on the ground. Only "Elantrians" have the ability to perform these magical feats and they are created at random, there is no control over who becomes Elantrian and who does not. There is only one problem, the system is broken and rather than becoming godlike beings, the Elantrians become zombie-like creatures. They can be cut, yet do not bleed, and their minds and bodies slowly rot around them. There are more political battles than physical. Still the depth of the world and the liveliness of the characters will keep you interested in the story, as much as any magical battle would. The most interesting character in my opinion is one of the villains. I think Sanderson did a wonderful job of making him one of those villains that you can sympathize with. He is much more complex than either the hero or the heroine. Of course, he is not the only villain and the others are relatively typecast, but Sanderson knocked him out of the park. Another nice thing about this fantasy novel is that it is relatively self-contained. Too many fantasy novels are simply one piece of a bigger whole; whereas "Elantris" is a simple tale. It could however, be spun off in sequels if Mr. Sanderson so chooses. The biggest theme in this work, and one that I am seeing throughout Mr. Sanderson's novels, is a theme of self-reliance in both material and spiritual matters. The main hero discovers that one way to off-set the pain of become an Elantrian is to keep occupied with work and purpose. The main villain struggles with discovery of self in his spirituality, and the heroine finds strength though accepting herself. For a debut novel, "Elantris" tales one some pretty big philosophical questions and can at times read like an allegory more than a fantasy novel. Still, it provides for a few hours of entertainment and if you are looking for a beginning point to Mr. Sanderson's work, I can think of no better place to begin. In fact, I wish I had began here rather than with the "Wheel of Time" series because I feel like Mr. Sanderson's personality and philosophies on life really shine through here. I also hope that he decides for some sort of sequel, especially since we only get to see Elantrians in action in the last section of the novel and he sets it up for a continuing conflict between two religions and peoples, as well as two distinct forms of magic. Plus, I would love to spend more time exploring the wonderful world Sanderson has created in "Elantris".

This book was a pleasant surprise. I did not come in expecting a whole lot. As a big Sanderson fan, I figured I might as well read his first published book and only Cosmere book I had yet to read. I was picturing this book being similar to Warbreaker (my least favorite of Sanderson's books). However, I found that this book was a more entertaining read for several reasons: 1) Interesting characters, particularly Hrathen, the religious zealot sent in to convert the nation to his religion. The book has 3 main perspective characters, which it generally rotates between in intervals of one chapter apiece. The other 2, Raoden and Serene were also enjoyable, but did not stand out as completely unique as characters from Sanderson's other main characters. Hrathen, however, is unlike any main character I can think of from Sanderson's other Cosmere books. I really enjoyed reading through Hrathen's approach on life and internal conflict. 2) The mystery behind the book. Once again, Sanderson kept me reading by slowly revealing a mysterious history behind the events of the book. "What happened to Elantris?" is the main question the question the reader asks, but there are many others regarding the background of characters and the established nations. The payoff was worth it at the end of the book, but the book still begs for a true sequel (which Sanderson is planning). 3) The restoration of Elantris and several of the characters. Similar to Kaladin and his Bridge crew in The Way of Kings, Raoden is the perfect character for the hopeless city of Elantris. Watching him take the broken city and slowly give hope again to its people was an enjoyable storyline. Something about the way Sanderson writes about leaders coming into a broken situation with a different perspective is redemptive and enjoyable to read. There were other strengths, but these stood out to me. As far as weaknesses go, my main complaint would be the unanswered questions at the end of the book, which Sanderson should deal with in the sequel. Also, I thought that certain characters (particularly in Elantris) changed their minds quickly in a manner that was unrealistic. Sanderson has grown in this area since his first book. Also, the magic system was interesting, but undeveloped, which again Sanderson will probably expand upon in the sequel. Overall, an excellent read. I would recommend this book to most people, though if you are new to Sanderson it would probably be helpful to start with either The Way of Kinds, or Mistborn: The Final Empire. After reading this last major Cosmere book currently released, I would rank Sanderson's Cosmere series as follows: 1) The Stormlight Archive (The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance [current favorite of Sanderson's books]) 2) The Original Mistborn Trilogy (The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension, The Hero of Ages) 3) Elantris 4) The Second Mistborn Series (The Alloy of Law, Shadows of Self, The Bands of Mourning) 5) Warbreaker Excited for his upcoming third Stormlight book in 2017 and also looking foreword to reading his newly released Cosmere short story compilation–Arcanum Unbounded.

I'll start with my biases, though this is Brandon Sanderson's first published book; I read this after reading all of Mistborn era 1 and 2 and all of the stormlight archive. This book is a masterpiece. The pacing of the book is excellent as it throws you into a world of a diseased prince, a scheming warrior priest, and an uncertain widowed politically motivated widow allowing you to experience the world without overlong exposition. Like in most of Sanderson's books, he creates magic without calling it magic, and uses other fantasy elements with different races without calling them dwarfs elves etc. The book does not slow down to breath and no character, no detail is wasted. Each character, each detail paying off in reveals that do not pay off until the last act of the book. Even with the excellent pacing, the last quarter of the book is riveting, as it continually forces the reader to ask, how is this going to end. The book ends as poetically as it starts. Read if you want high fantasy, complex characters, and are interested in solving a fantasy mystery along with the characters. Sanderson again creates characters that are noble that you want to root for and this book is no exception. The plotlines of this book are not predictable and the way the plot evolves unlike any other fantasy work I've seen in film, TV, video games, or books. Truly the world crafted in Elantris is unique, and the story largely unpredictable. Give this book a try and pick it up. I promise you, if you do, you won't want to put it down. Highly recommend this 600 page book with tight story telling and compelling characters.

I was a little worried when starting this book that I wouldn’t like it. I’ve read a lot of reviews that say Elantris is Sanderson’s worst work, that it’s slow and rough and less polished than his other books, but I didn’t find that to be the case at all. Even though I’m biased toward Brandon Sanderson and therefore predisposed to like anything by him, I still thought this was a fantastic book, despite the amount of criticism I’d heard beforehand. In fact, I liked Elantris more than Legion, so this isn’t even my least favorite book of his. Elantris is different from Sanderson’s other books, I will say that. But it’s by no means bad. We follow three repeating perspectives of Raoden, the prince of Arelon, who just was thrown into Elantris; Sarene, the princess of Teod, who arrives in Kae to marry Raoden and finds him dead; and then Hrathen, the high priest of the Derethi church in Kae, whose goal is to convert all of Arelon to Derethi. The story is very unique and very political. It has a classic Sanderson-original magic system and a highly developed world and fleshed out characters, and the plot, although mostly politics, isn’t one I’ve read before. Almost this entire book is about politics, but it’s all interesting. I never found the story to be dragging or the narrative to be dry. The magic system develops slowly and it isn’t until the end that we fully understand its depth and vast implications. There’s also very little action until the very end, but I didn’t mind at all (I actually prefer scenes about political intrigue to action scenes anyway when I’m reading fantasy). I listened to the audiobook for most of the story and that made it a little hard to keep track of what was going on because there are lots of fabricated colloquial words in this book, many unusual names for both people and places, many of which are very similar to each other, and also the magic system involves Aons, which involves a lot of other terminologies that get confusing when you aren’t able to see the words written out. Keeping track of the main characters and plot is no problem but it’s the side characters that I got mixed up. So I would definitely recommend reading this book with your eyes if given the chance because it will make the story much easier to understand. I had to read along to the audiobook during most of the story to keep all the characters and locations straight, and I also was constantly referencing the maps and the Ars Arcanum, which I would also recommend heavily utilizing. Speaking of, I’m so glad I have the tenth-anniversary edition that has the three maps because I can’t imagine reading this book without the maps for reference. I was constantly looking at them to familiarize myself with the lay of the land and where everything was located. The same goes for the Ars Arcanum at the back. I can’t imagine reading this book without that critical reference either. It was very helpful to see the list of Aons and their symbols and meanings, and especially being able to reference the list when they’re described in the story is a big help. There is lots of room to expand on this world in a sequel, so I hope it does eventually get written. I know Sanderson has a plan for it way down the road, so we’ll see. Like what will Wyrn do next? What else can we learn about AonDor? The drama between Kiin and Eventeo—who will be the true ruler of Teod? Raoden and Sarene both voice some questions at the end that could be the basis for the sequel as well. I’m very curious to see where the story goes next. Overall I thought this was a solid book from Brandon Sanderson, and it makes me wonder what other early stories of his exist that haven’t been published. I bet they’re all just as good, and I hope we get the chance to read them someday. I would highly recommend this book, especially if you’re trying to read all the cosmere books, and don’t let the heavy political intrigue, general lack of action, or large amount of new words turn you away. This book is one to be savored. “Elantris proves that a book can be magical, yet not show magic itself until the last few chapters” (from the postscript).

Elantris is a wonderfully original story with great characters. I loved feisty Sarene and of course the hero Raoden. I also enjoyed Hrathen the gyorn of the Derethi religion (!!) who was struggling with a lapse in his faith while trying to convert an entire country in three weeks in order to save them from certain annihilation. The main premise of this novel is that there was a city called Elantris inhabited by godlike people who could use magic (Aons) and had silvery skin and white hair. Then ten years ago something terrible happened and they lost their powers and became zombie like beings with no heartbeat. They were no longer able to heal from pain and their hair fell out and their skin became grey and blotchy. This would happen overnight to randomly selected people from the neighboring city of Kae, and other neighbouring lands, and the following day they would be thrown into Elantris - never to escape (supposedly). So Elantris has gone from being a shining example of a perfect civilization to a kind of wallled prison full of zombies. The beginning of the book is quite tough since there are so many peculiar yet similar words to get used to: Shaod, Raod, Hoed to name but a few. There are also three religions and lots of peculiar names of people and places to figure out. I was glad to be part of a readalong group hosted on discord by @Bensblurb for this book as I might have given up in the early chapters otherwise. I’m very glad I didn’t give up. At one point I compared getting to know this universe to learning a language without a dictionary. There were also some chapters which dumped a lot of info on the reader which was not great all at once. However this was Sanderson’s debut novel and I think it is a good place to start in order to read more of his books (which I plan to do). His worldbuilding is excellent and his characters are fleshed out and believable. There were plenty of surprises in the story which hit really hard and made it impossible to put this book down a lot of the time. A book full of heroes and villains, intrigue, poison, magic and a touch of romance. Bring on the Mistborn trilogy!!

Fantastic book. Great story. Very intriguing. I had read Mistborn Era 1 already and the gone through the recommended reading before I got to Elantris and was really surprised that it had been described as Sanderson's weakest book. I don't get it. I am not a Rhode's Scholar by any stretch but I am a Classic Lit bibliophile and I had the best time reading it. Which is the point of reading fantasy, I think. Entertainment. So just get it and read it. It's fun and there are a few Easter Eggs that'll come up later if you continue on to the rest of the Cosmere. And this edition was awesome. Well-made paperbacks are my personal favorite. Easy to read, easy to hold. Great typeface, font and size.

► The quick overview for those browsing: Genre: Fantasy Recommended: Yes, very much! Language: Very Mild (includes things like damnation, and maybe "hell" but not often) Sex Scenes: none Story Quality: Very Good! World Building: Excellent Character Development: Excellent Real-World Politics or Allegory: Little to None (Excellent) Violence: There are some violent scenes, though usually brief and bloodless (as Elantrians can't bleed). However, the worst one is when they stumble into the middle of a human sacrifice. The bloody sacrifice is already dead, and the scene that describes it is brief, but might be a little too dark for youths. Age Suggestion: 18+ (Previously mentioned human sacrifice scene. Plus lots of strategy / political talk during Serene and Hrathen's chapters may be a little slower and drag on for younger teens). ► The Detailed Overview: I've seen Brandon Sanderson before in the bookstore, but I've never given his books a try. Because I teach teenagers, most of the books I read now are teen fantasy and fiction. But, to be honest, I haven't found a good fantasy novel for myself that I've REALLY enjoyed probably since I was in high school (despite fantasy being my favorite genre). There have been a few exceptions over the years, but overall modern fantasy is often very dark, grisly, filled with sex, foul language, and are often allegories to real-world political issues. I'm with Tolkien on that one. Allegories = yuck. I usually start reading them, but get about halfway or so through before I can't stand the plot anymore and close the book. But after buying several books for my classroom library, Amazon suggested that I might be interested in "Elantris" as well. The synopsis sounded interesting (and many people online swear by his books) and so I went ahead and decided to give it a try. So glad I did! This book was refreshing and really enjoyable. I love that it's self-contained (though I heard the author is planning to possibly write another? Or already has?). The worldbuilding is very interesting and well thought out. The conflict is hooking, the characters are really likeable--and thankfully there is no vulgar language, no sex scenes, and the political battles within it are related to THAT world's politics and history. They aren't direct allegories of our own. (Plus, some of the characters are just downright funny). Yes, there are some darker parts to the story that show the gravity of their situation, but the author doesn't linger on them long and avoids being too grisly--which I'm thankful for. Any critiques I had are smaller, but there are some. The first of two (though I wouldn't call them big complaints overall), is that toward the end when some characters die or reunite, it feels like you don't get time to feel it. Sometimes a death of a character you like would happen so suddenly and out-of-the-blue and then the story would just roll on into the next scene. Or some great reveal is made, and they again continue on into the next scene without the reader getting to see how people really react to it. And since you've waited several chapters to see some of those reactions, it was a little frustrating. The second was that there were times I did roll my eyes at just how often Serene emphasized that she was a woman and couldn't allow herself to be defeated by a man (or how other characters talked about admiring her, not as a woman, but as an equal--which felt a tad preachy and corny simply because they said it too often)--but she was still written well and she does learn in fact that sometimes her drive to stand out as a woman of power causes her to overcompensate and really screw up at times, which felt realistic. She is a strong and likeable character who makes a difference and wants to feel that she belongs, but she isn't flawless and realizes when she goes too far. So, despite the fact that I rarely like female characters in novels (despite being a woman), I found that I really did end up liking her character. And I was surprised to find that I really respected Hrathen's character and how the author respectfully dealt with the conflict of rivaling religious denominations in the story. (Though Raoden and Galladon were still my favorite characters by far). So, yes! It's definitely worth a read! I think I'll start looking into more Brandon Sanderson novels after this.

Elantris is the first novel of one of my now favorite authors, Brandon Sanderson. I finally picked this book a little over a year after I finished the Mistborn trilogy which I can safely say is probably one of the best series I have ever read along the lines of Frank Herbert's Dune novels and the timeless Lord of the Rings series by the indomitable J.R.R. Tollkien. However, that is a review for another time. Elantris, as a first offering by an author, is a stunning effort. On of the most common criticism of modern fantasy is that is most often a tired and predictable reproduction of the classic unexpected hero who rises from anonymity to confront an ultimately evil foe in some cataclysmic battle after a long and drawn out quest or struggle. That's actually one of the things that we, as fantasy readers, actually really love and when it is done right, we are quite happy. Elantris goes nowhere near that "usual theme." Elantris is imaginative in scope, which is probably the biggest strength of Sanderson's writing. He is an immensely gifted world builder. We are flung head first into a completely alien world after a major apocalypse during which the god-like Elantrians have fallen to destitution. Their once grand city now exists as an enormous leper colony outside of the capital of the kingdom of Arelon. We are introduced rather abruptly to the reality of the city by meeting the most beloved of the kingdom's citizens as he is transformed by the Shaod into one of the vile Elantrians. Very quickly we run into the various other characters. Sarene is the headstrong princess of neighboring Teod betrothed to Raoden and trapped by the marriage in a world she does not know. Hrathen is the haughty and formidable Fjordell priest sent to convert the masses in advance of an invasion by his kingdom, which seems on the brink of absolute domination. We are offered, through these three key characters, a world of clashing religions, court intrigue, and the rumors of a very unique system of magic as they struggle to protect (or dominate) the world of Arelon. However, the scope of the novel somewhat exceeds what we actually get in the novel. Perhaps I am not fair to Sanderson in reading this novel after the brilliant Mistborn novels. I know it is not fair to contrast and compare, but we do not exist in a literary vacuum and cannot help such things. I felt like with all the infrastructure of a wondrous world with a fascinating political structure, religious background, and magical system, there was not enough detail to satisfy. It felt much like walking through a house 2 months before it was complete and trying to judge it based on what the finished product should be. I felt like I had only a surface understanding of the religions of the world; the author spent all of his time on the major Shu Dareth religion with only off-hand remarks about the others. This would be fine if one of the major characters did not have a major affiliation to one of the other minor religions which led to their downfall. Also, the magic system, known as the Aons, and the magic source, known as the Dor, just did not get enough detail in the novel. It becomes such a big part in the end, but I felt a little unsatisfied about the intricacies of the system (something offered in length and depth in the Mistborn novels; I know, I'm totally unfair in this comparison). Most importantly is that I think this novel was produced before Sanderson truly had honed his skill as a writer. I could not help but cringe at the dialogue in this novel. It seemed very clunky, unwieldy. It seemed a tool to "tell" what the characters were thinking. They constantly told us about their personality, rather than have it show through good dialogue and character development. I think that some of the court drama and such was a little forced, and did not seem to flow as well as in his or other writers' novels. It just lacked some sort of....umph or imaginative flair that Sanderson develops later in his writing. In the end, I did enjoy this book and I would consider it a good novel for anyone looking for a different stroke in the fantasy world. It is a quick read, and like I said, a very stunning effort for a first time novelist. I love Brandon Sanderson, to the point that I am willing to tackle the Wheel of Time for the third time, just to be able to read all of his work in full.

I loved the book, the story was really great. It made me want to keep reading — I wish there were a sequel. The way the story developed was very surprising.

I previously read Elantris courtesy of my local library but I loved it so much that I wanted my own copy. Sanderson has created a wonderful world filled with an articulate magic system, religious tension, and well-developed and likable characters. An absolute gem of a standalone fantasy novel, would recommend to anyone.

El libro está perfecto 👏llegó en excelentes condiciones. Solamente los de la paquetería lo aventaron al dejarlo y pudieron haberlo dañado, eso no me gustó si lo quieren tomar en cuenta.

Sanderson lo conosco per via della serie della Ruota del Tempo, sebbene non sia ancora arrivato a leggere la parte scritta da lui (ho scoperto relativamente da poco la saga). Tuttavia un amico mi ha vivamente consigliato di leggere qualcuno dei suoi libri e, dopo aver letto qua e la per decidere da dove iniziare, ho optato per l'ordine cronologico. Elantris, il suo primo lavoro. E penso di non aver sbagliato perché è brillante, accattivante e quando pensavo di aver capito qualcosa, mi sono trovato spiazzato dalla narrazione. Ti tiene sulle spine, ti avvince, anche se per la maggior parte del tempo non è un libro di grandi azioni e battaglie a suon di magia. E' diverso da ogni altro fantasy io abbia mai letto, una ventata di freschezza in un mondo pieno di storie simili, dove cambiano solo l'ambientazione e i nomi dei personaggi. Non so (per ora) se il resto dei suoi lavori meritino quanto Elantris, ma fossi in voi, non me lo perderei di sicuro!

Absolutely brilliant.... would rate at 6 out of 5 if I could. Outstanding mind-bending story with amazing characterisation. A "could not put it down" saga! If the rest of the series is only half as good I will be well pleased.