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Dec 15, 2009

Jon rated it:

Very few authors can convince me to care about their characters. I started reading this book with a chip on my shoulder, having recently learned that Brandon Sanderson has been awarded the task of writing the Wheel of Time's final book A Memory of Light. My goal while reading this novel was to compare Brandon's talent and ascertain his ability to carry on the torch that is the Wheel of Time.

Brandon's talent for characterization, especially the female lead, and plot twists and prog More...

3 comments like (18 people liked it)

Aug 31, 2007

Mark rated it:

Nice change of pace for a while, but get ready to transfer to the bore train. The book's setting was slightly removed from that of the usual spells and sword hackfest genre, but it still fell back on some lazy devices. The political system was unimaginative and the main characters' plots to manipulate it were infantile, and the reliance of chauvinism and a more or less feudal society as plot devices wore thin fast.

On the other hand, the glyph system and the lexicon introuduced wi More...

0 comments like (20 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Todd rated it:

I never would have picked up this book, normally, because I usually base my fantasy reading on referrals rather than random browsing, but this was an exception. But I'm getting ahead of myself, let me tell the story from the beginning:

My last semester at BYU I took a How To Write Sci-Fi/Fantasy class as a relaxing, fun, end-of-college class to balance out all the yucky quantum physics. The professor was none other than Brandon Sanderson, who had just had his book, Elantris, accepte More...

0 comments like (12 people liked it)

Jun 11, 2008

Becca rated it:

This one is a tough one for giving stars -- I found the story very engrossing and unpredictable: grade B+ ; the characters engaging, rarely caricatures: B; and the writing itself didn't do the plot justice in at least two ways -- first, it was clogged with all sorts of unnecessary elements (that sounds picky, but it really gets sluggish to keep reading "he said in a happy tone" and "the source of the attack was one that surprised him" when he could have just skipped the flour More...

0 comments like (10 people liked it)

Feb 14, 2008

Victor rated it:

I was really looking forward to this book based on reviews and reading a sample chapter. It looked like it was going to be a good, serious fantasy novel.

However, five chapters in, I gave up on this book.

The overall tone was just on this side of cutesy. If anything, it reminded me of David Eddings' Belgariad series. There was no danger to any of the characters until you got to the big climax, and then characters would be in danger only if they were about to give their More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Oct 22, 2011

Lady Moorchild rated it:

To be clear, 3.5 stars.

Most of what I loved about Elantris was the Graphic Audio presentation, complete with a full cast of voice actors, orchestrated music, and sound effects. Seriously, support the guys at GA. They do good work, and it's a lot of fun to listen to, a bit like an old time radio show: http://www.graphicaudio.net/

Elantris most definitely a first book and feels like a proto-Mistborn. You have the strong-minded heroine who competes in a boy's club of older men w More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Mar 29, 2011

David rated it:

It's a good thing I started reading Brandon Sanderson's later works, and only listened to this audiobook because it happened to be on sale. It's Sanderson's fantasy debut, and while I wouldn't call it terrible (it's actually entertaining and somewhat original, like most of his work), it sure has all the signs of something written by a beginning author.

The main characters, Prince Raoden and Princess Sarene, are so noble and good and wonderful and pure-hearted they practically stepped More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jan 05, 2008

Jaleh rated it:

This book.... Wow. Elantris came highly recommended by a librarian. It also has very high praises through reviews on the cover. The story definitely has major potential to be really amazing. The plot is of a fallen magical god-like city, Elantris. The city literally glowed and showed bright with magic and glory and it's inhabitants were immortal god-like beings shrouded in glowing white. The book begins with the knowledge of the city Elantris, but it had mysteriously fallen 10 years prior More...

2 comments like (7 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Monk rated it:

This was a first novel by Brandon Sanderson, and when I picked it up I thought that like many other books, I was about to be taken in by a well done cover and that it would languish on my shelf for several months before I finally got around to reading it.

I was wrong, I finished the book in four days.

It's a story about a city of a fallen people, Elantris. In the glorious days of the past, the Elantrians were a proud and noble race of near-people, commanding long lifespans More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Apr 18, 2011

joy rated it:

if i could crawl into any fantasy novel and live there, it very well might be this one.
AWESOME. INCREDIBLE. and i would've been happy if it were twice as long.

this is an accessible high-fantasy world, with main characters that are unusually likable and extremely attractive to the reader. yet again, i am impressed by the unique system of magic (or religion??) sanderson creates. very funny. touching. and lasting.

it has what is possibly my favorite hook ever. More...

2 comments like (6 people liked it)

Dec 02, 2011

Reuben rated it:

Review originally written on 10/19/11.

So Elantris was recommended to me by two of the most trustworthy people in the entire world—my brothers! (If you can't trust your brothers, who can you trust?) Brandon Sanderson is most well known for finishing the Wheel of Time series after the unfortunate death of the former author, Robert Jordan.

"""Elantris was the capital of Arelon: gigantic, beautiful, literally radiant, filled with benevolent beings who used their pow More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 29, 2008

Kathleen rated it:

Very interesting fantasy from a new author. The magic system is clever and well-thought-out, the problems each of the three characters deal with are life-changing, and the resolutions are satisfying. The prince's resourcefulness in a terrible situation reminded me of the resourcefulness of Miles Vorkosigan (a character created by Lois McMaster Bujold), and I really liked his courage and wisdom. The princess's intelligence and compassion made her a strong heroine and very sympathetic. And the More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Nov 05, 2007

brian rated it:

A new fantasy. He gets 3 stars instead of two because I am generous and because I think there is a bit of originality to the premise of his story. Probably won't read the sequels though. We'll see.

4 comments like (3 people liked it)

Nov 05, 2011

Anila rated it:

Warning: the review that follows is terribly unprofessional (you know, in the way that no one ever bitches about for some reason) and full of love and lots and lots and lots of

because REASONS.

I think I've wished for half-stars maybe three times, at the outside, in the years I've been on Goodreads. Generally, though I may waffle between stars for a little while, I can settle on a rating which I feel accurately represents my feelings about the book in a.. More...

9 comments like (19 people liked it)

Mar 30, 2009

Sdaes rated it:

Elantris is a pretty decent first novel, but it has its flaws. It is split into three storylines that take place at the same time and is more a political thriller than a classic fantasy novel.

The Problem for me was that I had problems with different aspects of all three character storys. I loved Raoden's story in Elantris, but his chracter was just a bit too perfect for my taste. With Hrathen it was exactly the opposite: He is one of the most interesting book characters I know, but h More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 19, 2008

Kami rated it:

I just found this story hard to swallow. It was completely predictable and the two main heroes, well, left a lot to be desired. The princess who is supposed to be smart and opinionated, moans patheticly about her lover-less life, and while as a female that may ring true to me at some levels, it didn't really fit with the rest of her personality and it added an eigth-grade SVH feel to the story. The prince on the other hand was TOO perfect, thus making his character completely unbelievable. My More...

2 comments like (7 people liked it)

Jan 22, 2009

Rachel rated it:

For a beginning book from this author, I thought it was good. His books since this one are, in my opinion, better than Elantris. However, this is original, interesting, and all in all a good read.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 14, 2008

Maze rated it:

Elantris is the debut novel for Sanderson, which was probably at the back of my mind while I was reading it. The pacing starts out somewhat slow, but once the plot speeds up, it never slows down again. There were several plot threads that seemed inevitable, cliche and predictable... but that which seemed inevitable didn't happen, the cliches were turned on their heads, and the predictable course of action defied the laws of physics by turning a different way! In short the book was like a roller More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 19, 2008

Shannan rated it:

This book grabbed me right from the beginning and I loved every page. This was my first fantasy fiction novel (other than the Twilight books) and it is fantastic!! I am so impressed with Brandon Sanderson and I quickly forgot that I was reading a book my neighbor wrote because the story was so intriguing and the characters so well developed. I love it when the good guys aren't always perfect and the bad guys aren't always evil. It makes it more complex and interesting. This is a fast and FU More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 12, 2009

Foomy rated it:

This is Brandon Sanderson's first published novel, and it's a great read with a unique and interesting premise.

In the past, anybody could be chosen to be a god. Any person, no matter age or station, could wake up one day to find they had become a glowing, immortal, magic-using being. If this happened you could move to Elantris, the city of the gods, to live an unending life in what was essentially utopia.

Then something happened, and Elantris and its citizens changed. T More...

0 comments like

Nov 30, 2011

Text rated it:

I’m not going to finish reading this book.

It’s really a fascinating setting, and I’ve been trying to finish it, but there’s been one too many Dramatic Reversals, the whole thing has been prolonged by one of the main characters not talking to the other one (I really dislike that), and – forgive me – a book is getting too politically complicated when the antagonist’s struggle to stay on top of his power structure takes up a fourth or so of the wordage.

Plus, it has a Princess ex More...

0 comments like

Nov 19, 2011

Peter rated it:

This book had it all. Each character was great, even Dilaf. You couldn't help but sympathize with all of them at once, even though several of them were struggling to dismantle others. Everything was perfect; the story was original, intriguing, and had pretty much everything for everyone. I was highly impressed with the quality and the originality of the story. Every chapter covered a different character, and I would always want to skip ahead to follow the same one, but I found myself quickly wra More...

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Oct 26, 2011

Petgcatr rated it:

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Oct 23, 2011

Jen rated it:

Brandon Sanderson’s Elantris exceeded my expectations with its vividly depicted characters and plot complexity. The characters within the novel use wit and speech to manipulate hateful crowds, give hope to the discouraged, and undermine oppressive government regimes. The dialogue exchanges between the characters portray their sarcastic, solemn, or thoughtful personalities and make the story very enjoyable. Sanderson constructs a believable fantasy world that draws the reader into the land of More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 04, 2011

Susan rated it:

I really enjoyed this book. I found the time and world fascinating. It was amazing to think of an arranged marriage princess bride arriving to her new land to find out that her intended was dead and she was married to him, thus a widow never having met him in person. I have to admit that I have never met a character who came so close and yet had such a hard time getting married.

I marvel how both the Princess and Prince created their own realms similarly yet apart. You want so badly f More...

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Sep 14, 2011

Ruth rated it:

c2005: Debut novel by the author who has taken over the Wheel of Time series - and in this book, I can see the faint echoes of the author who was to be. The world building was good - the characters a little cheesy and traditional - but the system of magic was ingenious and the mystery of Elantris well plotted - if overlong. There are 3 main POVs carrying the story through to its end - all of which I enjoyed. Especially as far as the "baddie", Hrathen, is concerned as there seemed to be More...

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Aug 29, 2011

Matt rated it:

A lot is wrong with this book.

Like most seriously flawed epic fantasies, when describing the problems with Elantris, it's easiest to start at the end. There's a lot of violent action at the climax, of course, but it suffers from bad pacing and vague description, and there's a good deal more convenient coincidence than is healthy. There's a twist at the end that shouldn't have been a twist at all, given the knowledge the caracters have available, and there's a completely gratuitous sh More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Aug 06, 2011

Jason rated it:

Brandon Sanderson is considered one of the best new authors in fantasy. After reading his first book, Elantris, as my first foray into his non-Wheel of Time work, I can see why. The number of parallels to life in our current society are multiple, hard-hitting, and done in a way that you know Sanderson derived them from modern life. A culture where nobles must stay as wealthy or become more wealthy in order to keep their title, a la Wall Street/NYSE? Religious fundamentalism? It's well-writte More...

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Jul 30, 2011

Jason rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Jul 21, 2011

Cameron rated it:

Elantris is a hard novel to review; it is filled to the brim with all of the things that I love about Brandon Sanderon’s work, the riveting premise, creative magic system, and compelling characters. The issue is that Elantris also has all of the things I hate about Sanderson’s work: the choppy writing and what I call a Sanderson ending (more on that later).

There was once a beautiful city known as Elantris, a city of power, grace and beauty. More importantly, the city contained More...

0 comments like