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Elantris (Elantris #1)

by Brandon Sanderson (Goodreads Author)

4.13 of 5 stars 4.13 · rating details · 27,394 ratings · 2,390 reviews

Elantris was the capital of Arelon: gigantic, beautiful, literally radiant, filled with benevolent beings who used their powerful magical abilities for the benefit of all. Yet each of these demigods was once an ordinary person until touched by the mysterious transforming power of the Shaod. Ten years ago, without warning, the magic failed. Elantrians became wizened, leper-...more

Kindle Edition, 508 pages

Published April 1st 2007 by Tor Books (first published 2005)

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Jan 03, 2013 Jonathan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: personal-favourites, want, fantasy, fantasy-sci-fi-challenge, brandon-sanderson, countries-challenge, alphabet-challenge

Review number 2

Having just finished re-reading the first ever stand alone Brandon Sanderson novel I ever read it struck me how my view of the book has changed. Of course I always knew it was likely to happen. As such because of the flaws (more noticeable a second time around) I have lowered the rating to 4 stars.

The flaws of Elantris are to put it simply a slow and uneven pacing, the occasion lapse of characterisation, the fact that some characters are thinly sketched out and the use of unexplai...more

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Apr 02, 2013 Jon added it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, fiction, read-in-my-40s, loved-it

5 stars

Due to the acquisition of GoodReads by Amazon on March 28, 2013 and my existing and continuing boycott of all things Amazon, the review I wrote after reading this book has been relocated to my blog and can be found in its entirety by following this link: http://bit.ly/10nUFlx

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May 09, 2013 Carol rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: die-hard Sanderson fans, except they've probably already read it.

Shelves: epic-fantasy, fantasy, skimmed

Oh, Elantris, why must you torture me so? Why must you force me into conflict with the library, my favorite supplier? They claim I owe them something, and they aren't going to leave me alone. I'm afraid to go to the corner dropbox at night in case a librarian is lurking. I've stubbornly held onto their copy of Elantris hoping that I would become inspired to re-read and provide a more thorough review. Alas, no. You will have to read my generalized dislike instead of many specific examples. For no...more Oh, Elantris, why must you torture me so? Why must you force me into conflict with the library, my favorite supplier? They claim I owe them something, and they aren't going to leave me alone. I'm afraid to go to the corner dropbox at night in case a librarian is lurking. I've stubbornly held onto their copy of Elantris hoping that I would become inspired to re-read and provide a more thorough review. Alas, no. You will have to read my generalized dislike instead of many specific examples. For no clear reason, I was completely unable to sustain interest in Elantris despite leaving the library copy on my physical 'currently reading' shelf for months. While there is an interesting vision of a magical system, magic isn't enough to save the story, especially as the re-discovering of Elantrian magic is so slooow in the making.

Out of the triplicate storyline, the destroyed Elantrian city was the only plot that really sustained my focus. Perhaps part of it was a difficulty connecting with any of the characters who were mostly out of the Campbellian Mythical Archetype lineage. Prince Raoden has been declared dead, but has actually been thrown into slime-coated Elantris. He has undergone the random but incomplete transformation into an Elantrian. However, he brings his royal training, knowledge of various Arelon citizens and unflagging optimism to the destroyed city and starts gathering the hopeless citizens into a band of survivors. He has a vision--plans to forge them into a populace with pride. He is going to scrub the slime from the buildings and recognize that even the street-sweepers have value in society. He's going to study, at least the books that haven't been eaten by the starving populace. He's going to make friends with a ~~Jamaican~~ friend and adviser, Galladon. He's going to fix things.

A second storyline is focused an an annoyingly plucky young heroine, Sarene (subtle much?)--saved from being a Mary Sue because, you know, she can't draw. Or sing. I think. She's been betrothed to the prince of Arelon as part of an alliance between her kingdom and his. She faces somewhat predictable kingdom politics, as well as--gasp--overt sexism from her father-in-law and the generally patriarchal Arelon society. But don't worry--she'll modernize them and teach them that real princess can fight using swords.

The final storyline is focused on Hrathen, a high priest from Fjordell who is in a mission to convert the godless in Arelon before his emperor invades. He's actually one of the most layered characters because he has the zeal of a believer tempered with flawed insight. Though he thinks he knows the politics, he's frequently outmaneuvered by everyone around him, from Sarene, to his recruit, to the emperor. However, the subtlety of his characterization is based on overly-fuzzy political details, so there is a tremendous amount of info-dumping whenever he is in a scene, likely one reason a number of readers label it their least favorite storyline.

I just didn't feel the heart here, ultimately leading it to a two star read for me. It felt a little too self-conscious and 'I'm-avoiding-formula-by-changing-two-things' on Sanderson's part. There are a couple of unsolved questions, at least as far as my half-a-brain effort could tell, but I'm not sure there's anything worth potential conflict with the library.

After all, I have to stay on the good side of my dealer.

Cross posted at http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2013/0...(less)

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Mar 26, 2013 Clouds - (¿head-in-the?) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-stand-alone, fantasy, reviewed, read-in-2012

A man cannot live on award winning Sci-Fi alone!

Following the resounding success of my Locus Quest, I faced a dilemma: which reading list to follow it up with? Variety is the spice of life so I’ve decided to diversify and pursue six different lists simultaneously. This book falls into my GIFTS & GUILTED list.

Sometimes people gift you books you want which barge their way into your reading list.
Sometimes people gift you other books and you feel guilty for not reading them...

Sanderson is fast...more

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Aug 31, 2007 Mark rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: People in ruts

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 with it were rath...more

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Aug 26, 2007 Todd rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

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, accepted for publicat...more

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May 10, 2012 Stefan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What an amazing debut fantasy novel!

I've got to admit, I'm impressed. From the first page to the last, I greatly enjoyed this novel. It is populated by rich, vibrant characters; has a quick-paced plot; twists and turns throughout and is totally unique in it's scope. I would be hard pressed to find more than a couple of fantasy novels in recent years to come up to this level.

I think that the plot has been sufficiently covered in the synopsis for this book already. Suffice it to say that I was enc...more

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Sep 13, 2012 Dragana rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Dragana by: Book of the Month August 2012 @ Fantasy Book Club

Shelves: fantasy, favorites, magic

If you have talked about fantasy books with me, you surely know that I simply adore Brandon Sanderson. I think he is the one of the big new hopes for the genre with his talent and originality. I have only read Mistborn series, so recently I decided to rectify that error and read the rest of his books.

Elantris is the one of the first books that Sanderson published. And you can sense that a little bit in his writing, but it is still very original and addictive. This book kept me awake until 1am re...more

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Jun 11, 2008 Becca rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: people interested in social-justice-meets-fantasy who can forgive occasionally clumsy writing

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 flourishes and written "h...more

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Feb 14, 2008 Victor Digiovanni rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: New fantasy readers

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 lives in a noble sacrifice....more

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May 26, 2011 Lady Eilonwy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 with plans to overthr...more

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Mar 28, 2011 David rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, fantasy, fantasy-epic

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 out of a Dis...more

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Dec 03, 2012 Chaitra rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2012, fantasy, politics, high-fantasy, epic-fantasy, read-before-2012, banging-heads-on-keyboards, book-at-wall

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Elantris is a beautiful, glowing city that houses beings that are so powerful and kind and all the good stuff, that they are considered to be gods. Ten years ago, some bullshit (called Reod) happened, and it stopped being the city of gods, but instead is the Opelon equivalent to a leper's colony. On the day of the plot, when all is rosy for the soon to be married prince Raoden of Arelon (where Elantris is), he is taken by the transformation (Shaod - notice the lovely vowels? Arelon is famous for...more Elantris is a beautiful, glowing city that houses beings that are so powerful and kind and all the good stuff, that they are considered to be gods. Ten years ago, some bullshit (called Reod) happened, and it stopped being the city of gods, but instead is the Opelon equivalent to a leper's colony. On the day of the plot, when all is rosy for the soon to be married prince Raoden of Arelon (where Elantris is), he is taken by the transformation (Shaod - notice the lovely vowels? Arelon is famous for…) and is thrown, unmercifully, into Elantris by his own father. His luck must have been smiling at him, because this happens immediately before the fiancée, the princess Sarene, arrives to give him a surprise a week before the wedding. Through the next 400 pages, we see Sarene being awesome by suggesting worthless solutions to Arelon's various problems, shocking the assorted nobles of the court who couldn't have found their ass with the GPS, but have somehow managed to eke through ten whole years before this beautiful angel could come hold their hand, and in turn for them to scratch her back assuring her that she is beautiful, intelligent, the angel herself etc. (They also take care not to show any romantic interest - one does not marry goddesses, one worships them).

So how's Raoden doing without the help of this glowing-more-than-an-Elantrian-Wall-on-a-Bright-Sunny-Day woman? Not very well - he's trying his best to unite the unfortunate people of Elantris with his sidekick Galladon, by making them wash off the sludge that seems to have accumulated in Elantris. They do this weary task, but nothing is truly accomplished until the merciful angel comes through with some bent nails and leaky buckets (I kid you not). There is a contrived diversion in which the beauty personified flies into a snit and leaves Raoden and Elantris. But! A priest named Hrathen (who is basically peddling the opposing religion and is contriving to either convert or bring war upon Arelon), intervenes to dump her back into Elantris, only this time without the amazingly useful goodies. Of course, how can that minor detail stop this glorious being? She turns poor Raoden into a quivering, love sick mess, also giving him the clue that may help restore Elantris. All sorts of bull happens, and everything but the kitchen sink is thrown at the poor star-crossed lovers. Raoden continues to be in complete thrall to The Girl Who Gave Him Bent Nails, and finally figures out the secret to restoring Elantris, because obviously he will need godlike powers if he is to be worth at least a speck of dust on that brilliant specimen's boots. The End.

And a good thing it is too, because I'm scraping at the bottom of my adjective list to describe the most wonderful Sarene. Right. A disclaimer first. I've read this before and I liked it. I have no idea how. I don't like skipping, I don't like giving up on anything and I was certainly not a better person than I am now, so it must have been my brain taking a vacation. It certainly could've used the vacation now, because every sentence with Sarene in it hurt (which is more than 80 freaking percent of the book), and by the end I was inches away from being one of the Hoed myself. That's basically everything that's wrong with the book, which is the sad part. Cut out Sarene, and what would remain is an imaginative novella of what happened when gods turned into demons. With Sarene, we have an unending political intrigue, because she is diplomat! as she will stomp her feet and pout whenever someone has the gall to suggest otherwise. Never mind that this diplomacy of hers gets not one, but two kings killed (and another would be king). Thankfully, Elantris can't handle the shock of this, hurries the fuck up and rights itself.

I wouldn't let Raoden off scot-free in a normal book, as he too is a flawless saint of a character. But, he comes by whatever solution by at least pretending to show some effort and way less obnoxiousness. That and I did not have to read pages and pages of how no one likes me romantically! I'm too intelligent for men! (girls, in his case, I think, even though he's next to god himself but still suspiciously free of any other romantic entanglements). Hrathen, the villain, was a cool character, the only one who had doubts, a grey area. But, he too, is rendered silly when Sarene upstages him with a child's argument - this man is the high priest of his religion, but cannot deflect a bullshit argument from a silly girl? Nope. He says and I quote, She was magnificent! Honestly, there is not a paragraph that goes by without someone extolling Sarene's virtues. Even those who dislike her like her.

For me, the bottom came when this girl is held up as a model of goodness and internal beauty, when she fails to show even a speck of humanity. She chooses to provide food for the Elantrians, undermining everything Raoden has been doing within, but this is so she can upstage Hrathen. When the gang leaders ask for such basic necessities as clothes, buckets, steel and nails, she decides to give them the worst possible things in Arelon. Her explanation is that these are things they will use to control the population, but how is that any worse than giving them broken and faulty things - useful to no one, instead of only a few? This she does, after Shuden observes that the leaders didn't look any better than the people they were supposedly lording over. If she did not know why they needed things like buckets, could she not have at least found out? Hrathen, who hasn't set foot into Elantris at this point, bribes the Elantrians guards so he can interrogate an Elantrian. Could this model of intrigue not also do the same, especially when she was in there? But, why would she, when she knows everything? She does this just to show who's boss to people who are in no position to go one up on her. Am I just being picky, or would this behavior not be called villainous in normal books?

Galladon had the best line in the book. He tells Raoden that if that was what he was going to be married to, then thank the merciful god that he's stuck within Elantris. I agree. I wanted to give this two stars, because of the genuinely compelling Elantris, except Sanderson found it necessary to throw Sarene in there too, sucking the joy out of even that tiny portion. 1 star.

ETA: Shoar, one of the original gang leaders turns out to be a tiny terror. A little privileged girl, with a golden wig, she whines incessantly to her mindless followers, 'bring me food'! I think Sarene would be an older version of that had she really transformed. (less)

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Jan 05, 2008 Jaleh rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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. Now t...more

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Nov 25, 2007 Monk rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, world_builders

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 and powerful magics that...more

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Jan 17, 2011 joy *the clean-reader extraordinaire* rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: high-fantasy, loved-em, pg13-green, wishlist

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. from the back cover,
"The Shaod, it wa...more

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Aug 08, 2012 Anna-louise rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: my-favourites

4.5 stars for me

I got into this book really quickly the beginning is captivating and sucked me in. I did think a quarter of a way in that there was far too much religion for my liking, more then most fantasy books, i soon forgot that once i had learnt all i needed to know and the story pace quickened. You soon realise without the religion the book really wouldn't be as good. I love a good book with mystery, magic and twists and that's exactly what it delivered to me. I never guessed anything th...more

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Dec 02, 2011 Reuben H. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 powerful magical abilities for the ben...more 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 powerful magical abilities for the benefit of all. Yet each of these demigods was once an ordinary person until touched by the mysterious transforming power of the Shaod. Ten years ago, without warning, the magic failed. Elantrians became wizened, leper-like, powerless creatures, and Elantris itself dark, filthy, and crumbling.

Arelon's new capital, Kae, crouches in the shadow of Elantris. Princess Sarene of Teod arrives for a marriage of state with Crown Prince Raoden, hoping — based on their correspondence — to also find love. She finds instead that Raoden has died and she is considered his widow. Both Teod and Arelon are under threat as the last remaining holdouts against the imperial ambitions of the ruthless religious fanatics of Fjordell. So Sarene decides to use her new status to counter the machinations of Hrathen, a Fjordell high priest who has come to Kae to convert Arelon and claim it for his emperor and his god.

But neither Sarene nor Hrathen suspect the truth about Prince Raoden. Stricken by the same curse that ruined Elantris, Raoden was secretly exiled by his father to the dark city. His struggle to help the wretches trapped there begins a series of events that will bring hope to Arelon, and perhaps reveal the secret of Elantris itself.

A rare epic fantasy that doesn't recycle the classics and that is a complete and satisfying story in one volume, Elantris is fleet and fun, full of surprises and characters to care about. It's also the wonderful debut of a welcome new star in the constellation of fantasy."""

The book starts out mildly interesting, every chapter alternating between each of the main characters—Raoden, Sarene and Hrathen. As the story progresses, however, Elantris turns into an epic tale of mystery, fantasy and magic. Locus magazine once said, "You'll swiftly forget you're reading a first novel . . . this is one heck of a debut!" I disagree about forgetting that it's a first novel, as sometimes it seems very apparent while reading, but I wholeheartedly agree about it being one heck of a debut!

Sanderson draws the readers in, introducing each character so that they make a mark in the readers' brains. At times it seems things could be worded a bit better—which are the signs of a debut novel to me—but as the book continues, your mind will be blown. Numerous times. At least half a dozen times in the book something happens that completely changes the direction the story is going. You thought you knew what was going on, and then everything suddenly changed in a way you couldn't conceive.

Elantris has truly shocked me by all of the culture and worldbuilding that Sanderson put into it. The magic system, the societies and countries, the people themselves, everything intrigued me. Something that made me laugh was the pronunciation guide that Sanderson has on his website—almost nothing is pronounced how I would assume! Truth be told, Sanderson's pronunciations do sound kind of cheesy, but also kind of cool.

In conclusion, Elantris is an amazing novel of fantasy. The climax moved a little too quickly at the end and sterilized some of the emotion, but it was a worthy end nonetheless. The "plot twists" that fit everything together in the end are so simple, yet you never even begin to see them coming until they're revealed. I absolutely cannot wait until Sanderson writes his longtime-planned sequel. It may never be written, but I certainly hope it is.(less)

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Aug 31, 2012 Πέτρος rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I heard the audio version of the book, only because I was interested to see how Sanderson improved later on. And boy, did he improve a lot by the time he wrote his Mistborn trilogy. I watched some of his lectures on youtube explaining what it takes to write a good story and it feels like he hadn’t realized all that when he was writing Elantris.
Despite the interesting characters and setting, the form of storytelling is plain awkward and amateurish. The characters talk in a very fake and childish...more I heard the audio version of the book, only because I was interested to see how Sanderson improved later on. And boy, did he improve a lot by the time he wrote his Mistborn trilogy. I watched some of his lectures on youtube explaining what it takes to write a good story and it feels like he hadn’t realized all that when he was writing Elantris.
Despite the interesting characters and setting, the form of storytelling is plain awkward and amateurish. The characters talk in a very fake and childish way, to the point it borders a comic book. At the same times when it comes to exposition of motivations and description, the characters will be talking as if they are tour guides; meaning they will feel like the author is using them to describe something through their mouths. The result is stupid, since there is no way they would really talk in such an explanatory manner. Meaning, Sanderson did the basic mistake all amateurs do and had everything being told instead of being shown.
Another thing is how the characters themselves feel too cartoony. They are either too good or they are too bad. Occasionally they show signs of doubt and have bad dreams regarding their fears, but in all they will feel like a typical cast of a family oriented movie, full of good-hearted nobles, scheming priests, and humorous dialogue that borders a satire, even when the situation will seem like they should be terrified.
The plot is also one big pile of convenience. Everything seems to work just fine for the prince and he uncovers secrets in weeks when nobody else bothered to look into them for a decade. He keeps finding secret passages, and important answers in books, and wins the hearts of men with a few words, and fights amazingly all the time. It would really help if it was often stated he could do all that because he is an educated and military-trained noble instead of a nobody peasant but no, we are just left to assume he is just born to do everything perfectly. That makes it very hard to like him. The same goes for the princess, who is your typical dynamic girl in a world of men, always going against what she is told and having her way thanks to her curiousness and charisma. And the thing is she achieves all that amongst nobles, who in theory are highly experienced in intrigues yet act like complete retards before her. It just fails to feel believable.
As for the story itself, it mostly has to do with discriminations of all kinds, from gender, to race, to religion, to even the sick. The heroes of course are so good that they always poke their noses in all that just because they are good and manage to easily get on top of things because they are perfect and their opponents are retards.
The duration of the books is also not enough to properly convey all its potential. All of its themes and conflicts are presented in a rather dried up manner and are resolved easy, while the conclusion is rushed as heck. There is also a seemingly out of place fantasy war as the book begins with a scene where a powerful demon is released and vows to destroy the world with his legions of monsters. Yet as soon as that scene is over, you never see of that demon or even feel his effect on the story until the conclusion. That was simply a very sloppy way to build tension and throw in a crisis seemingly out of nowhere.
In all, it has a lot of untapped potential and could easily be remade in a far more mature and longer version, with far less awkward dialogues and far more world building… Hey wait, there actually is such a version and it’s called Mistborn. Elantris feels as a much more family friendly and shorter version of it, sort of like a blueprint for it. It has several similar themes, such as an uncommon magical system, the importance of religion, racial discrimination, and heroes who are part of nobility, fighting against evil kings and powerful demons. The setting is also dark and there is a lot of work given to characterization.
Other than fancy ideas though, there is not much here for a veteran reader of fantasy to enjoy. Perhaps some inexperienced young teens can get a few kicks out of it but for all the rest this is indeed nothing but the rough sketch for Sanderson’s later trilogy. (less)

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Dec 29, 2008 Kathleen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 ant...more

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Nov 05, 2007 brian tanabe rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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.

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Sep 18, 2012 Plaama rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Epic fantasy lovers...

Recommended to Plaama by: Мартина Неделчева, Tsvetelina

Shelves: fantasy, romance, personal-collection, favorites, reviews

Вълшебството на книгата често се крие във възможността непрекъснато да откриваш все нови и нови светове, в които да се загубиш, поемайки на пътешествие из магичното и красивото, далеч отвъд реалността, която познаваш. За съжаление, колкото това твърдение е вярно, в нашата съвременна реалност все по-малко и по-малко автори успяват да създадът свят, който напълно и изцяло да те накара да изпиташ всичко това. По-малко обаче не означва, че такива книги няма и Елантрис, невероятният дебют на Брандън...more Вълшебството на книгата често се крие във възможността непрекъснато да откриваш все нови и нови светове, в които да се загубиш, поемайки на пътешествие из магичното и красивото, далеч отвъд реалността, която познаваш. За съжаление, колкото това твърдение е вярно, в нашата съвременна реалност все по-малко и по-малко автори успяват да създадът свят, който напълно и изцяло да те накара да изпиташ всичко това. По-малко обаче не означва, че такива книги няма и Елантрис, невероятният дебют на Брандън Сандерсън, е чудесен пример за това.

Истината е, че не знам откога не съм попадала на истинско стойностно фентъзи, от което да бъда толкова моментално и буквално превзета и то само след първите няколко страници. Не помня кога за последно съм се смяла от сърце, заради остроумието на героите, които блестят още с първото си представяне. Не помня, кога същите герои и онова, което се случва с тях са ме карали да роня сълзи и да тръпна в очакване, заради онова което предстои да се случи.

Иронията в случая е, че в Елантрис има много аспекти, каквито по принцип не харесвам. Силният привкус на политически игри например, никога не ми се е нравил особено много. В случая обаче, завидното умение, с което се редяха интригите, както и прекрасните и абсолютно завладяващи словесни двубои на героите всъщност поддържаха интереса ми и ме караха да продължавам да чета.

Друг аспект, който отново, по принцип, не тача особено е липсата на достатъчно романс, което в случая отново се явява като плюс. Нетърпението и очакването от това кога ли пътищата на Raoden и Sarene най-сетне ще се срещнат правеше четенето още по-вълнуващо, отколкото съм предполагала, че е възможно. А и непрекъснатите и много уместни, поставени в правилните моменти, намеци на Брандън Сандерсън, поднесени с не по-малка прецизност от горе споменатите политически интриги, компенсираха за липсата на какъвто и да е романс.

Да... Има го големият брой герои, многото имена и специфична сложна терминология, неразделна част от този жанр, да, сигурно има включено и някое друго клишенце и да си призная, малко преди края имаше някои събития, които може би се развиха твърде бързо за вкуса ми, с оглед на цялостната динамика на книгата, но... Да, но... на фона на цялостната картина на Елантрис, всичко това е крайно незначително, за да промени очевидното, а именно, че това е едно наистина стойносттно четиво, което напълно е оправдало и залсужило всяка похвала по свой адрес, в това число и моята.

Що се отнася до Брандън Сандерсън. Mistborn: The Final Empire ме очаква.(less)

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Sep 03, 2012 Midnight rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ar-books, mom-owns, own, audio-books, adult, fantasy, lllloooonnnnggggg-books, witches-and-wizards, supernatural-creature-uncommon, 4-stars, reviewed, romance, read-in-high-school

Actually rating- 3.5 stars but I rounded up because of the ending.

This book for me is very hard to write a review for and to me rate as well. While it says that I rated it four stars I was waffling between 3 and 5 stars. 3 stars for the parts where we had to listen to many a time with political things that really didn't concern me. 5 stars for the parts of realization and the parts of action. The problem for me was that we didn't have much action we had a whole lot of political and religious act...more

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Jul 03, 2012 Kirsten rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I am totally on the fence with this one beings a 2 or a 3. This book was SO hard to read the first 130 pages, and for me that is a little too much to get into a book. As this was a book club book I was determined to finish it, but it was rough. The author did a little too much background in my opinion, but many would say it was necessary to make all things connect in the book. I got really hung up on the many different religions in the story and who was who and what was what - it was as if he wa...more

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Oct 09, 2012 Ian rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, post-apocalyptic, romance, politics, halloween-2012

First things first.

The Good :
- Sanderson is a writer who seems to be more focused on ideas than characters or relationships, and the ideas here are among some of his best.
- Of the three Sanderson books I've read, this one has the strongest opening. I was gripped immediately and it didn't let me go until the focus shifted away from the inhabitants of the fallen city.
- The supporting cast is incredibly strong.
- The setting is familiar enough to be immediately comprehensible, but original enough t...more

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Sep 20, 2012 Cindy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a great audio book, loved the voice and the story. Sanderson has a great ability to build this amazing world that you feel completely apart of. I really wanted to go and see the City of Elantris and its people after it was restored to it's former glory.
The people of Elantris as well as the city have become ill to the point of near death. They are ghastly to look upon and are left in the city or thrown back into it for fear that it is contagious. Roeden the Prince ends up with this illn...more

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Nov 05, 2011 Anila rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fangirl-alert, favorite-2011-reads, clone-the-guy-i-want-one, reviewed

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... mostly unemotional manner. (All my rating...more

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Feb 25, 2012 Heidi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Elantris was a beautiful city filled with beautiful people. Both city and people shone with a glowing brilliance that amazed the people not of that city. Elantrians healed quickly and could do magic to heal others. Their magic could do many things. Anyone could become an Elantrian as the Shaod (Transformation) happened randomly to peasant or king during the night. This was considered a blessing and those taken by the Shaod went to Elantris with honor. Then 10 years ago something changed and inst...more Elantris was a beautiful city filled with beautiful people. Both city and people shone with a glowing brilliance that amazed the people not of that city. Elantrians healed quickly and could do magic to heal others. Their magic could do many things. Anyone could become an Elantrian as the Shaod (Transformation) happened randomly to peasant or king during the night. This was considered a blessing and those taken by the Shaod went to Elantris with honor. Then 10 years ago something changed and instead of shining with brilliance and healing quickly they seemed to be cursed. They never healed and a simple bruise or stubbed toe would cause them to feel agony forever. They could not die but still felt hunger...and there was no food in Elantris after the curse.

Raoden is the crown prince of the country where Elantris is. He is devastated when he is taken by the Shaod and cast into Elantris. Out of shame, his family tells the country that he was taken by a coughing disease and is dead. Raoden is horrified by the city and the state of the hopeless people who live there. He sets about to fix the city and help its people though the task is nearly impossible. Not only does he try to bring purpose beyond suffering back into their lives, he tries to figure out what happened to cause the drastic change in the city and the physiology of its inhabitants.

Sarene is the princess of Teod, neighboring country to Raoden's. She travels to her arranged marriage with Raoden only to arrive and find he is dead. Her marriage contract states that if either of them were to die before the marriage could take place that the contract is considered the marriage and is binding. She finds herself the widow of a man she never met in a country ruled by an in competent king seemingly bent on bringing the country to ruin. She is determined to save the people of her new home as best she can to fulfill the dream of the husband she never knew.

Hrathen is high priest of Fjordell sent to convert the people before they are destroyed. His superior has given him three months to convert the country or the armies will come in to wipe them out entirely. Hrathen works to save the people's souls and their lives in any means necessary.

Elantris is very well written. The three main characters are all very determined and stubborn. Sarene and Hrathen work in strong opposition, both devout in opposing religions. A lot of the action in this book is political scheming and is very intriguing as to how each of the main characters will handle their respective self-appointed missions. Some of the plot was predictable but once the predictable happened there was more to the story. It was very cleverly crafted and held my attention very well. As with all of Sanderson's books that I have read, once I was partway through the book I could not stop, I had to finish it to see how everything was resolved. Sanderson is also an author not afraid to kill main characters so beware.(less)

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Nov 23, 2009 Kat Hooper rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

Upon arriving in Arelon to marry Prince Raoden, the competent and strong-willed Princess Sarene discovers that he has died. What she doesn’t know is that Prince Raoden has succumbed to the Shaod and been cast into Elantris, an uncivilized slum of undead zombie-like people who have no government and no resources. I won’t say anything more about the plot, since it’s been covered in Bill’s review (above).

I really enjoyed listening to Elantris on audio (nice p...more ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

Upon arriving in Arelon to marry Prince Raoden, the competent and strong-willed Princess Sarene discovers that he has died. What she doesn’t know is that Prince Raoden has succumbed to the Shaod and been cast into Elantris, an uncivilized slum of undead zombie-like people who have no government and no resources. I won’t say anything more about the plot, since it’s been covered in Bill’s review (above).

I really enjoyed listening to Elantris on audio (nice production by Recorded Books) and I think it’s a great debut. Brandon Sanderson has created a couple of heroes I enjoyed spending time with, and a truly engaging story. But, Elantris had several elements that almost made me cringe:

1. Some of the “lessons” of Elantris (war is bad, zealots are dangerous, women are just as competent as men, political rank should not be determined by wealth but rather by ability, you can do anything if you try) are handled with all the subtlety of a brick to the forehead. For example, the men’s attitudes toward women, and the subsequent behavior of the women, are so ridiculously patriarchal as to be unbelievable. If a woman uses her brain, the men (and women) are intimidated by her. Therefore, Sarene hasn’t been able to find a husband. Obviously there’s a lesson here, but it loses its potency when we see that nearly all of the women actually are stupid and are just as intimidated by Sarene as the men are. Also, when Sarene mopes that she (a princess) hasn’t been able to attract a husband because she doesn’t act like they want her to, it makes me think that the men in this society are just as stupid as the women are (and why would she want to marry one of them?)...

2. …Except for Prince Raoden and Sarene, of course. They are perfect. Mary Sue and Gary Stu, actually. Though they have been dealt a bad hand, they are super-smart and super-competent. When they act, roads straighten and obstacles move out of the way. The reader has no doubt that everything will turn out right in the end, so there’s essentially no tension. However, Hrathen, the high priest who is trying to convert Arelon for his wrathful god and emperor, is a more complex character and saves this novel from feeling too simplistic.

3. I didn’t believe the political system in which people rise to, and fall from, power based on their income. How long could that kind of system work and what kind of people would go for that? Well, I guess the same sort who are intimidated by Princess Sarene… I also had trouble believing that the people who lived in Elantris never tried to better their lives before Prince Raoden showed up.

4. The writing is competent, but some of the dialogue is stilted and there are frequent uses of unnecessary explanatory narrative, such as telling the reader what something implies or when someone was “speaking for the first time,” or “declining to answer” or holding their questions or obviously unconvinced, etc. This made for some long passages (usually during meetings) where not much actually happened.

Even with all of this stuff that annoyed me all the way through, I have to say that I still loved Elantris. Mary and Gary — I mean Sarene and Raoden — are characters to care about, and that still-young-and-idealistic part of me enjoyed reading about the successes that Prince Raoden and Sarene accomplished in Elantris and Arelon. Brandon Sanderson’s greatest strength, though, is his creative magic systems. Just as in the Mistborn trilogy, the magic of Elantris is truly unique and one of the most fun parts of the book.(less)

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Mar 30, 2009 Sdaes rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

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 his story was...more

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Fantasy Fanatics: Elantris by Brandon Sanderson (Spoilers)	15	27	May 12, 2013 06:54pm
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About Brandon Sanderson

Brandon Sanderson is an American fantasy author. A Nebraska native, he currently resides in Provo, Utah. He earned his Master's degree in Creative Writing in 2005 from Brigham Young University. He has been nominated twice for the John W. Campbell Award.

Sanderson married on July 7, 2006 and is a member of the LDS church. Sanderson's writing is noteworthy for its epic fantasy tone, unique settings,...more

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Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)

The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1)

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“Remember, the past need not become our future as well.” — 76 people liked it

“To live is to have worries and uncertainties. Keep them inside, and they will destroy you for certain--leaving behind a person so callused that emotion can find no root in his heart.” — 64 people liked it

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