Genre: Fantasy
Date Published: May 2005
Publisher: Tor Fantasy
# Of Pages/Listening Time: 492 pages/28 hours 45 minutes
Goodreads | Audible
Synopsis: Elantris: 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. The Shaod became a curse.
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 suspects 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.
Elantris is fleet and fun, full of surprises and characters to care about. A welcome breath of fresh air, it is a rare epic fantasy that doesn't recycle the classics and is a complete and thoroughly satisfying story in a single volume. It's also the wonderful debut of a welcome new star in the constellation of fantasy.
My Rating:
★★★★
.....For being a great debut novel.
My Thoughts:
I'm having trouble figuring out how to start this review. I feel like I have a lot to say.
I guess first I should say that for a debut novel, this book was pretty good.
I am definitely on my way to becoming a huge Brandon Sanderson fan. It started with Steelheart, which I thought was a good YA novel, but it didn't wow me. The awe-inspiring moment came when I read The Way of Kings. That novel, along with the other installments in the Stormlight Archive series, really showed how awesome Sanderson is at creating fantasy worlds. The creativity of the world-building, and the plot pace, make for an enormously thick book that you just can't put down.
Then I discovered that Sanderson is doing something akin to what the Marvel movies have been doing: he has made a universe (a "Cosmere"), of which several of his books are a part of. After finding hints to this Cosmere in the Stormlight Archive series, I became determined to read the other Cosmere books.
So I read this book. Elantris.
Like I said earlier, this was a pretty good debut novel. Many readers would say that the book is amazing, but if you're a hardcore Sanderson fan, you will notice the halting quality of a first-time book in this story's writing style. Sanderson has clearly improved over time with each published book, but the fact that this debut is already pretty darn good just goes to show how great a writer this author is.
How is this book good, you might ask? Well! I would initially say that the main characters are people you can enjoy reading about. They are people you can love and root for.
Next, I would say that the plot is paced really well, making this 400-something-page novel a fast read. I got so immersed in the final 80 pages, that I had a hard time putting down the book so that I could go to work!
Finally, I would say that the world-building felt unique. All fantasy novels have their own unique concepts, but this one stands out. Sanderson is excellent with the world-building, taking a basic concept and developing it into something interesting and amazing.
This book is great, but like I said before, this is a debut novel. It's not perfect. It doesn't quite have the same writing flow as Sanderson's subsequent books, and the world-building doesn't feel quite as complete as his other novels. Nevertheless I still really enjoyed it, and I will definitely read it again someday. Strongly recommended for fantasy fans.
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