Hardcover, 592 pages
English language
Published July 16, 2015 by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.
I liked Elantris! I feel like it's most easily comparable to Warbreaker, but a bit more interesting. The characters for the most part are interesting, if a little preachy.
I do think the book lags a little in the middle 50%.
It reads like a first novel. It also reads like an early Sanderson, in that it's too long and there is no character development. The writing is simple and the story trope-y. But after the Austen-like mess that was Strange & Norrell it was just the right thing.
It reads like a first novel. It also reads like an early Sanderson, in that it's too long and there is no character development. The writing is simple and the story trope-y. But after the Austen-like mess that was Strange & Norrell it was just the right thing.
3.5* -- I ended up reading Sanderson's books backwards so it has been a neat journey seeing how his prose and character development have evolved. I can see the beginning of it all and now finally see the cosmeres outline and really enjoy what has been crafted.
The storytelling here is solid, the character development is 90% there. Some things go missing, simple things that should be noticed by a character are missed and thus let the plot develop how it is wanted to but some of that frustrated me. Again though, I reflect that this was a first, an origin, and I can forgive any shortcomings.
I enjoyed the 10th year anniversary edition. I always love it when an author gives us a sneak peak, a tour behind the scenes to understand motivations or cut dialogs & characters, etc.
If you haven't read any of Sanderson's work I really …
3.5* -- I ended up reading Sanderson's books backwards so it has been a neat journey seeing how his prose and character development have evolved. I can see the beginning of it all and now finally see the cosmeres outline and really enjoy what has been crafted.
The storytelling here is solid, the character development is 90% there. Some things go missing, simple things that should be noticed by a character are missed and thus let the plot develop how it is wanted to but some of that frustrated me. Again though, I reflect that this was a first, an origin, and I can forgive any shortcomings.
I enjoyed the 10th year anniversary edition. I always love it when an author gives us a sneak peak, a tour behind the scenes to understand motivations or cut dialogs & characters, etc.
If you haven't read any of Sanderson's work I really would start here. Let its stand as a prologue to some of his best work and enjoy.
The Short Version: Interesting concept, clever well-constructed magic system wrapped up in a solid story. In other words, it's a Brandon Sanderson book :).
I never read the original release of Elantris. My introduction to Sanderson's work was the Mistborn series. By the time I got around to reading Elantris it was the 10th Anniversary Edition, and I had already read the Mistborn books (through Alloy of Law). Unavoidably, I have a somewhat skewed perspective of this work.
That said, I liked Elantris a heck of a lot. I liked it a bit more than Alloy of Law, but a bit less than the original Mistborn trilogy. That's a gross oversimplification of course. I couldn't avoid seeing the roots of Mistborn characters or themes in this book. While the magic system is quite different, it felt logical that it came from the same mind that gave us Allomancy. The backstory …
The Short Version: Interesting concept, clever well-constructed magic system wrapped up in a solid story. In other words, it's a Brandon Sanderson book :).
I never read the original release of Elantris. My introduction to Sanderson's work was the Mistborn series. By the time I got around to reading Elantris it was the 10th Anniversary Edition, and I had already read the Mistborn books (through Alloy of Law). Unavoidably, I have a somewhat skewed perspective of this work.
That said, I liked Elantris a heck of a lot. I liked it a bit more than Alloy of Law, but a bit less than the original Mistborn trilogy. That's a gross oversimplification of course. I couldn't avoid seeing the roots of Mistborn characters or themes in this book. While the magic system is quite different, it felt logical that it came from the same mind that gave us Allomancy. The backstory and mystery surrounding Elantris and Elantrians pulled me in early and kept me interested until the end.
Brandon has an interesting talent for making magic feel like science without sucking the wonder out of it. Now he's been doing that for ten years. I can't wait to see what will come our way in the next ten.
This was a good book, and I enjoyed it, though not as much as his later books. As usual the world building was interesting and the system of magic lively and well formed and every bit as much a character of the story as the main characters. As a story it is an average offering – he explores his usual themes of power and responsibility very well but the personal story of the characters is shallower than his later works. The ending is bang up though!
Brandon Sanderson’s first novel Elantris has the advantage of being a standalone book (for the moment, there have been talks of sequels). There’s something extra satisfying about getting the whole beginning and end of a story in one go.
Elantris was Sanderson’s first novel and it’s a very capable outing displaying most of the things that people generally enjoy about Brandon Sanderson’s writing.
51cDW lBNRL Book Review: Elantris By Brandon Sanderson Book Review: Elantris By Brandon Sanderson
The world building here is strong and by no means limited to the city of Elantris and its immediate surroundings. In fact there are areas of this world we never visit that nevertheless feel quite real to me.
In many ways the novel deals with a lot of very familiar fantasy themes. We have politics, religion, magic (of a sort) and of course an evil empire. However, Sanderson steers clear of many of …
Brandon Sanderson’s first novel Elantris has the advantage of being a standalone book (for the moment, there have been talks of sequels). There’s something extra satisfying about getting the whole beginning and end of a story in one go.
Elantris was Sanderson’s first novel and it’s a very capable outing displaying most of the things that people generally enjoy about Brandon Sanderson’s writing.
51cDW lBNRL Book Review: Elantris By Brandon Sanderson Book Review: Elantris By Brandon Sanderson
The world building here is strong and by no means limited to the city of Elantris and its immediate surroundings. In fact there are areas of this world we never visit that nevertheless feel quite real to me.
In many ways the novel deals with a lot of very familiar fantasy themes. We have politics, religion, magic (of a sort) and of course an evil empire. However, Sanderson steers clear of many of the usual clichés. If Elantrians are by surface description quite similar to elves then they are in the details also quite distinct from elves.
As the book progresses we rotate through a small number of viewpoint characters and Sanderson plays fairly with the reader here, not holding stuff back artificially but also not letting them know more than the character would. One of our viewpoint characters is at first glance not a sympathetic one but Sanderson does a good job of showing that character’s perspective and how he is perhaps not such a terrible person after all.
The book is not perfect mind you and I think it’s fair to say that both Prince Raoden and Princess Sarene are just a bit too wonderful. Everyone likes them. Everyone wants to follow them. And they’re generally right. Sure they are the heroes of the piece but it gets a bit blatant at times.
And there’s something a little off about the speed at which things develop. Admittedly my grasp of the geography is pretty vague but people seem to be able to move around awfully quickly. Not to mention the scale of the political intrigue which happens over a couple of months and feels like it maybe should have played out over more like a year.
However the book’s pace stops you from spending too much time picking at the details. Things start off fairly tense and the plot steadily builds up the tension as the book progresses. It comes in waves so each time the heroes have some sort of success they are rapidly faced with a setback that leaves them worse off than they were before.
The pattern is obvious, but effective, leaving you wondering not so much if they will be able to survive this, but how.
All in all for fantasy fans, particularly those who like the political intrigue more than the hack and slash, Elantris is definitely worth reading.
The story starts slow. At the point that I was considering quitting I was invested enough to want to know what the main characters were going to do.
Two of the main characters have only superficial flaws, and they offer little in growth, but have much to offer in terms of conflict.
A third main character, much darker, and brutal in many respects to the first two main characters, offers a more interesting view into the twisted human psyche, and his growth is the most fascinating of the three.
Its a good read, but not one that I'll revisit.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel by Brandon Sanderson! I've been meaning to read it for some time now, after finishing the Mistborn trilogy and Way of Kings. I knew right off that this was Sanderson's first novel. I felt like the characters and plot were less complex than his later novels. As a writer, I enjoyed the simplicity of the story structure. The plot felt like a lot of concentric circles of ideas. This one simple event occurred, which struck off a ripple of complication, which created another ripple. These ripples collided with ripples from another set of complications, creating new ripples. The characters worked backward through the complications to determine what caused the big overlying issues of the story. I think I could use this technique in my own writing. I really appreciate Sanderson's writing for this reason alone. He uses simple techniques to create complex worlds and characters, …
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel by Brandon Sanderson! I've been meaning to read it for some time now, after finishing the Mistborn trilogy and Way of Kings. I knew right off that this was Sanderson's first novel. I felt like the characters and plot were less complex than his later novels. As a writer, I enjoyed the simplicity of the story structure. The plot felt like a lot of concentric circles of ideas. This one simple event occurred, which struck off a ripple of complication, which created another ripple. These ripples collided with ripples from another set of complications, creating new ripples. The characters worked backward through the complications to determine what caused the big overlying issues of the story. I think I could use this technique in my own writing. I really appreciate Sanderson's writing for this reason alone. He uses simple techniques to create complex worlds and characters, and builds idea upon idea for a logical story structure.
SPOILERS
As I mentioned previously, I did feel that this novel's characters were less developed, or maybe just less complex than his later characters. Their motivations and masks were two-dimensional. The most complex character was Hrathen, who was the only character to go through a significant transformation by the end of the novel. His history, personality, and motivations were hidden further beneath the surface than the rest of the characters. I had trouble deciding whether I liked him or not, throughout the novel, and I'm not sure if that is because of Sanderson's writing, or because his character seemed wishy-washy. Was the character insecure and undecided, or was Sanderson undecided about the character? At times, I felt that I should hate Hrathen. But at the end, he came through for the characters I was rooting for when the real villain came to light. I kept mistaking Hrathen for the cold-hearted conqueror, and then getting thrown every time he showed remorse or regret for his actions.
I really enjoyed Mistborn and wanted to find out what his first book was like. I enjoyed reading it a lot. What I noticed is that the story is a lot simpler. The premise straightforward. The writing is just as good as in the later books. A bit too simple in the end. A bit too happy-ending like. There are a few open-ends that look like a sequel was possible but then came Mistborn with much more potential ...
I got into Sanderson's work by randomly picking up Mistborn: Final Empire last summer. I'm so glad I finally got around to checking out his debut.
Sanderson is an absolutely wonderful author. His use of magic as a plot device is extremely well done. We learn the rules of the world as the characters do, his worldbuilding combining with character development to carry the reader through to the end.
The story of Elantris is one of a fall and redemption, both for the city of Elantris and for a certain Derethi monk. Sanderson's characters are as human as can be, with faults and redeeming qualities to be found in all.
I really recommend Elantris to those desiring a great fantasy read.
I really liked this book, I enjoy the style of the writer, but I have to say that I LOVED mistborn, this book is good but pales in comparison.
