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Elantris: Anyone else give up on Elantris the first time around?
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Benjamin
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rated it 2 stars
Nov 24, 2011 03:54AM
I started reading Elantris because of Way of Kings and Mistborn. I made it 75 pages in and then gave up, but I'll be picking up where I left off so I can follow along with the Podcast. I really like Sanderson's newer work: WoK is what got me back into reading/writing speculative fiction. Elantris feels like a rookie book (which it is); maybe now that I'm writing again, I'll have a better appreciation for it. I think I'll like it this time around.
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Yes, I gave up the book when I first bought the book. I was not really sure what he was trying. It took me a couple of try for over two years to actually finish and understand the book.
Strange. I'm a Sanderson newbie, but I liked how the book basically pulled me right in. There wasn't a lot of introduction, just BAM! Raoden gets sick, throw him into Elantris, get the story going.I'm liking it very much (30% into the book). Maybe it's different when you have read other Sanderson books? I don't know if his style has changed or anything and expectations are different. But for me, this is a pretty quick and easy read.
Anne wrote: "Strange. I'm a Sanderson newbie, but I liked how the book basically pulled me right in. There wasn't a lot of introduction, just BAM! Raoden gets sick, throw him into Elantris, get the story going...."I agree Anne. I'm a Sanderson newbie as well. If I can get my family to stop making me play scrabble (a Holiday tradition) then maybe I'll get some time to read and finish this selection.
I found it disappointing and gave up after a few chapters.It felt like Cinderella with some role reversals.
I kept expecting some singing dwarves to come marching around the corner. It wasn't a bad book. Just that there are too many good ones still on my shelf to spend time ploughing through this sort.
I've put Elantris on hold at page 67, although I do intend to finish it before the wrap up in January, I've bumped it from a long haul flight I'm taking at the weekend to one I'm taking after Christmas. I've read his two Wheel of Time books but this is my first attempt at one of his original stories and I'm frankly bored by it. Don't care about the characters, don't care about the world, want to read something else.
I found the setup interesting but the narrative just hasn't grabbed me. I'm reading the Kindle sample but I'm not sure if I will continue.
I was pulled right in from the beginning. My wife is not a big fantasy reader, and I had to buy a copy for her after she discovered mine. However, I have been told this is Sanderson's weakest book. That makes me excited to read the other ones!
Anne wrote: "I'm liking it very much (30% into the book). Maybe it's different when you have read other Sanderson books? I don't know if his style has changed or anything and expectations are different. But for me, this is a pretty quick and easy read."One of my gripes is that it doesn't actually change much. It didn't progress. Having read other stuff by Sanderson, I was excited to read this. I even kind of enjoyed it early on. But as the book progressed, I was less and less excited. I felt like I had to drag myself to it and force myself to finish the book.
I read it originally after reading his mistborn trilogy, which I enjoyed. It felt completely different and a bit clunky and rushed. Short enough to read in a day, and still pretty enjoyable for what it was.
But yeah, it is his weakest work and obviously his rookie entry.
But yeah, it is his weakest work and obviously his rookie entry.
Is it too late to switch to Way of Kings? Kidding, a little.But honestly this was the last Sanderson book next to Alloy of Law that I read/listened to. I made it through though I've never put a book down after four chapters so that doesn't say much.
I think I said in my review but I feel it would have been more solid if the princess was removed as a viewpoint and perhaps made the Yern (Rathen?) the female viewpoint instead.
I've read the Mistborn trilogy and greatly enjoyed it, so I dove into Elantris when I learned it was the next selection. While his writing style has obviously grown since writing Elantris, I'm still finding it a fun work. Most books about its size tend to drag in the middle, but I'm halfway through and it hasn't started to drag for me yet. It's not the most original overall plot, but the details are creative.
Hmm: mixed feelings. I think I'm just going to finish the book and then decide. Thanks for all the comments, though. Also, was my thread just a little pretentious? I really do love the other Sanderson books; I just wanted to hear some other thoughts.
I actually really enjoyed it when it first came out, and then going back and listening to the audiobook hasn't changed my opinion. Yes Sanderson's writing style is rough around the edges, but overall I quite enjoyed it.
de gustibus non est disputandum(No disputing taste)
Seems like people either love it or hate it.
Which is better then a bland golf clap.
Tried it while ago and gave up. I really wanted to like it because I'm a fan of his other works.
I am about 40% into the book and have to admit I am not enthralled with it. I was excited to read Sanderson for the first time but I find myself not liking or caring about 2 of the three arcs. I am going to finish it and reserve judgement until then, but I understand the folks out there who gave up on it.
Not Elantris, but I did give up on the first Mistborn book (audio version). I am only a few dozen pages into Eltantris, but am enjoying it, so far.
I gave up the first time as well. Hearing this was going to be the book pick reminded me about my "Gave Up" shelf here on Goodreads and I had to go back and add it to that shelf. I don't remember the exact reasons except that it seemed very bland, very cliche. I'm not a fan of Sanderson's other works, I have a failure to care when it comes to his characters. How did this make it to the book club pick?
Ryan wrote: "How did this make it to the book club pick?"Democratic Process!
*cues the "Don't blame me, I voted for ..." crowd*
Wasn't my choice but I read it anyway. I do think Sanderson's Mistborn books are better, as is the work he's done on the Wheel of Time series. Elantris was his first book...and I think it shows.
Something about the pacing just hasn't clicked for me, but it's kept me interested. If I'd read it outside of the club I'd be 50/50 but I'm still reading it for the community. Also I paid for it so I might as well.
How did this get picked? Welp. This is a pretty big club, so tastes are going to vary at times. Not everyone is going to enjoy every book.
Chalk it up as a miss and hope for a hit next time.
Chalk it up as a miss and hope for a hit next time.
aha! didn't realize it was done by poll. I was more imagining one of our august hosts thinking "I love Mistborn, let's read this!"I realize tastes differ, I just hope that the next time an older book is chosen there's a little more acclaim behind it (i.e. Shadow and Claw)
Heh, I disliked Shadow & Claw. Go figure :P
Ala wrote: "Heh, I disliked Shadow & Claw. Go figure :P"I'm with you there. I wanted to like it but couldn't even finish the thing.
As far as Elantris goes, it was actually my first introduction to Sanderson and found myself enjoying it right away.
I'm enjoying myself so far, but I do find two of the three narrators fairly uninteresting.
I love Brandon Sanderson but Elantris isn't his best book, it seems quite shallow to me, I think maybe the characters are a little lacking.I recently went to a book signing for Alloy of Law (Brandon is the nicest guy, by the way. He was so generous with his time, made me like him all the more!) and he talked about how he started writing.
He wrote 13 books before he got published; Elantris was number 6, and the other 12 he scrapped!!! So I'm willing to cut him some slack because it isn't up to the Way of Kings standards! :)
I gave up on the Kindle sample....probably somewhere around the time where I realized balls of light follow the people....
I started reading Elantris and I liked it but I was busy with other things. Since I was slowly reading it I never got pulled in and decided to wait to retry it another time. This has been happening to me a lot lately which is frustrating. I think I'm in a picky reading mood.
Elantris was the first Sanderson book I read, and while in retrospect I agree that it is the weakest novel he's written, it was also really early in his writing career. I guess what I love about Sanderson is his world building. I feel like each book he writes has a completely unique world to explore, and I love that kind of creativity.The characters are not super strong, tend to be a little one-note, and don't really grow or change all that much in the course of the novel. However, that didn't prevent me from enjoying this a lot when I read it, and I blew through it really quickly, actually. It was good enough to get me into Sanderson's work, which I think says enough. Definitely not the greatest novel I've ever read, but worth the time in my mind.
I read Elantris after the Mistborn Trilogy and was not that into it until close to the end. I felt it took a while to really pull the story together and then once it got momentum it was over. It turned out to be a decent book but you have to give it time and then you should be pleased. I know I was!
Brian wrote: "I gave up on the Kindle sample....probably somewhere around the time where I realized balls of light follow the people...."You know, even though I read the book only a short while ago, putting it in this context explains it all. Raoden (spelling...) is OBVIOUSLY Link from Legend of Zelda. He also gets followed around by balls of light...
Never even heard of this book before they picked it and I finished it today so no. I found it thoroughly enjoyable.
I'm a bit further into it now. I think I do like it better this time.
There really wasn't anything specific that I didn't like about it, it just felt mediocre (not that I could do better) but I think I would have liked it more if I hadn't already read the first three Mistborn novels before this. I guess it's not really fair that I judged his book based on his later writings but I found it hard not to.
This was my first Sanderson novel. I just finished, and I really enjoyed it. If this IS his weakest novel, I can't wait to read the rest. I'm really glad this was the pick.
Sam wrote: "This was my first Sanderson novel. I just finished, and I really enjoyed it. If this IS his weakest novel, I can't wait to read the rest. I'm really glad this was the pick."Sam, once you get to Way of Kings, your mind is going to be blown!
I first read this one when it came out, and while it's not his best work I've really enjoyed it every time I've reread it. I've gone through it three or four times already, the last time being back in September.Compared to the later Sanderson works it is lacking some character development and certainly doesn't feel connected to his broader Cosmere storyline but it's still fun.
For those who found 2/3rds of the POVs boring, I'm curious which ones you don't like. I had the same problem my first time through and so did some friends, but I wonder if everyone is bored by the same characters.
So, is this another book where the Goodreads rating of over 4 is over inflated by Sanderson fanboys? Sounds like that is the overall opinion.
It's an enjoyable enough book, but yeah. I think it may have been fanwanked to the over four rating it has.
I made it through on the first try but i can certainly say that it wasn't an easy read the way the later books he's written were. The same could be said for his self published Warbreaker. You can see the beginnings of a system that is, IMHO, perfected in the Mistborn series.Applying him to the WoT series has made his books some of my favorites in the series. It's one of the reasons that I picked this book up. I seem to remember finding this as the first adult entry in amazon when I looked him up after it was announced he would finish the WoT books.
And the survey says: maybe we should have read this one BEFORE Mistborn and Way of kings (and don't forget Warbreaker). Same way anytime I read my own stuff. Even if it's only a week after I've first written it, I find myself thinking of ways to improve upon it.
Benjamin wrote: "And the survey says: maybe we should have read this one BEFORE Mistborn and Way of kings..."I think you're right. I probably would have liked Elantris more the first time if I didn't have expectations from the Mistborn books. On re-read I do enjoy it more than the first time.
This is my first Sanderson book, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I guess I am lucky in that way. Now I wonder if reading this thread might place impossibly high expectations on his other series.
I intend to read Way of Kings and find out.
This was the first "solo" Sanderson book I've read. I am one of those who invested enough time and money over the years reading through the first seven or 8 WOT series novels that I have to see finally slog through to the end, and I was pleasantly surprised with volumes 12 and 13 that Sanderson co-wrote. I felt that Jordan's world had become very stale and it felt like he was trying to make excuses to make the series longer instead of finishing it, but the ones that have been published posthumously are refreshing.So I was a little surprised when Elantris started out with a very clumsy and clunky feel, until I realized from the podcast that this was his first novel. It feels like a first novel--the storytelling is good, but the writing seemed forced and stilted at the beginning until Sanderson seemed to find his voice. Then the writing gradually caught up to the storytelling and I found myself enjoying it much more.
I've returned it to the library. Life's too short.
I came very very close during some of the dull scenes, but I pulled through and was ultimately glad I did. It might have been easier because I listened to the audiobook and found the narrator excellent (was it Kramer? Can't recall)
I've been trying to force myself to get through the audio version; I almost quit but hate to bail on a book. Maybe it's just me, but this book is really creeping me out-- the whole people being dead but can still get hurt and never heal thing...
I tried, I really did, but I just couldn't stick with it. So I gave up and jumped into A Dance With Dragons so I can catch up on the podcasts and discussions I had to avoid over the summer. I can't put my finger on what my problem with Elantris was, but I got about 1/3 of the way into it and was filled with dread every time I turned on my Kindle to see it.
Hmmm.. good to know I'm not the only one struggling through this book. Overall I've really enjoyed Sanderson's later works but as for Elantris I must admit that I'm finding it hard to finish. I keep putting it off whilst I read something else. Illuminates the issue with some of the ratings on this site. A 4 definitely seems puffed up unless things improve dramatically in the later half of the book?
