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Elantris

by: Brandon Sanderson
en | Tor Fantasy

0765350378  9780765350374 

Elantris
By Brandon Sanderson




Product Description:

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.



Summary: Decent Enough of a Read
Rating: 3

Pros: Author does a superb job at world building. He introduces a few different concepts with ease. He also does a decent enough job at creating different characters to fit into this world - some of them more effective than others.

Cons: Some of the writing falls into the category of telling us, rather than showing us. For example, there might be 5 or 6 paragraphs stemmed together that really don't do much for the story, but rather rehash or explain something. I'd much rather gain this understanding through dialogue or by characters' actions.

Also, much like one of the main characters - some of the dialogue is a bit awkward and almost computer like. But overall, it is a good read to fill in the down times. I will likely buy one of this other novels in the near future.



Summary: Had some serious problems with this book, but will try the author again
Rating: 2

I found Elantris to be disappointing, but I did struggle between rating it a two star or three star disappointments. Sanderson had a lot of good ideas that both impressed and delighted me. The nature of magic, the nature of the political entanglements (both between countries and within Arelon ), the basic conception of the trouble and its eventual resolution were all good.

What did not impress or delight me was the execution of the story.

1) It reminded me too much of an outline. Each scene was an island of some depth and complexity, but there was the scantest of connective flow between each scene. Enough to maintain the direction of the story, but none of the richness one finds with the Bujolds, Gaimans or Brusts of this world. I felt as though everyone in the story was moving in lockstep choreography to the needs of the writer, as opposed to the personal motivations of each respective character.

2) The characters were touted as being politically adroit, but I found them to be juvenile and hamfisted. Sarene was supposed to be an experienced diplomat with a command of the subtle, but she was invariably direct and pushy or melodramatically manipulative and pushy.

3) Sanderson mistakes chaos for drama. From the point where Hrathen goes into Elantris, which I admit was a brilliant move, Sanderson presents scenes where one pointlessly chaotic thing happens after another. It is supposed to give us a sense of tension and anxiety and make us wonder what will happen next. I just felt ineffectively manipulated.

I think that if Sanderson can smooth out his approach, stop rushing around, and flesh out his thoughts then he will become a fine writer. Clearly, as I finished the book, I was interested enough in what was happening to withstand the presentation. But I cannot say that I actually enjoyed the ride.



Summary: Entertaining
Rating: 5

It's a sweet story and the fact that Raoden is stricken with a horrifying and disfiguring disease really turns me on.



Summary: Great, original, and satisfying fantasy!
Rating: 4

Elantris
This book was a refreshing fantasy read for me. The author writes excellently and I never felt like I was reading something totally unnecessary to the story.

The characters were great and well-made with strong personalities despite some of them bordering certain archetypes. However, none feel generic and every single one has a backstory that remains unexplained.

The world feels pretty small and the book isn't exactly "epic" but you get the feeling of doomsday arising from most of the book. The magic of the book was excellent to be honest and shrouded in a certain mystery that doesn't explain every single detail about it. Despite this, in the end, some loose ends about the magic and characters left me with something to be desired. At some points, I felt this boo bordered on becoming overly dramatic. At the end, the author definitely took a risk with the main characters. Some characters sort of popped out too. It felt out of touch with most of the book.

Even with these few set backs, I was still able to enjoy the book to its fullest. It goes rather slow near the beginning, but it pulls you in more and more as you go deeper into the book.

I can see why some people wouldn't like this book at all and I don't necessarily blame them. The book seems like it was a copy off something at some points. It feels original but cheap at some points. Some things in the story are overdrawn and a lot of the ideas in the book could be called totally uncreative, though I felt his world building was set out to be reasonable within its own bounds and amazing within them too, rather than pull new ideas out of itself every chapter.

I enjoyed it and I think fantasy readers who aren't looking for the "greatest fantasy ever" or reading to be critical can enjoy this book. It is certainly a unique book, but at the same times feel un-unique. Try it. You'll probably like it.



Summary: fun and easy with cool magic
Rating: 4

"Elantris" overall was a fun, easy-to-read novel that had an interesting premise and a cool system of magic (granted, I've only been reading fantasy for 5 months, so almost any magic will be new to me :) ). I found myself eager to learn how and why "Elantris" fell from glory, and was not disappointed. This novel did not have great character development, although it was interesting to look at the glossary of letters used throughout the novel (the basis of the magic), and then to connect the letters' meanings to how the characters were named. It was one of those "extras" that helped reinforce the driving characteristics of each character and how they related to the events in the novel. In general, I felt the purpose of the novel was to tell the story of Elantris, not to tell the story of its characters.

No, this is not a spectacular fantasy novel along the lines of "The Name of the Wind" or the "First Law" series, which both get high marks for character development and plot. But "Elantris" does get 4 stars for likability, ease of reading, and innovation.