Elantris

I just recently finished reading Elantris by Brandon Sanderson. I had received it as a gift for my birthday and it sat on my bookshelf for a few months before I decided to read it.

Surprisingly, it’s a stand-alone novel. There is no sequel, no trilogy, no massive series – which I find to be rare in Fantasy. And quite honestly, I wish there was a sequel. I think one of the reasons I love the Fantasy genre so much is because I know the stories typically continue. And generally, they’re good enough to continue.

I must admit, upon beginning Elantris I was worried I might not like the book. One of my few complaints about the book had to do with the names that Sanderson chose.  There was a lot of similarity in the names, but he also threw quite a few at you very quickly, making it difficult to keep them all straight. What was the Hoed, Teod, Reod, Shaor, Shaod – I don’t have my copy on hand so I’m not 100% sure the E’s and the O’s are in the right order, but you get the gist.

My other complaint might not be an issue to some people, but I felt like the pacing at the start was a bit slow. At first I only read between projects or between games – anytime I had a few extra minutes to spare. It took me a while before I wanted to read because I was absorbed in the story, but that time did come.

Because it’s a debut novel, I opt to overlook the lag in pacing as much as possible. The story was fairly strong, and the whole premise was very interesting. A quick summary from Amazon.com:

The godlike inhabitants of Elantris, once the capital of the land of Arelon, have degenerated into powerless, tortured souls, unable to die, after the city’s magic inexplicably broke 10 years earlier. When the same curse strikes Prince Raoden of Arelon and he’s imprisoned in Elantris, he refuses to surrender to his grim fate and instead strives to create a society out of the fallen and to unlock the secret that will restore the city’s glory. Meanwhile, Princess Sarene of Kae (Arelon’s new capital), who was betrothed to Raoden sight unseen, believes her intended has died. Officially declared his widow, she must use her political savvy and wit to protect Kae from malevolent forces without and within the city, chiefly Hrathen, a leader of the creepy Shu-Dereth faith, who aims to either convert Kae or destroy it within three months.

It was refreshing to read a story that was so unique and original. The characters were very solid and interesting. Some have said that a couple of the characters were too perfect or too static, that they didn’t experience change or growth. I’m not sure I really agree with that. In fact, I think I would have to disagree. The characters felt very well developed to me.

I wouldn’t give this book  five stars, but I reserve 5 only for my absolute favorite books. I’d give it a 3.5 or maybe a 4, as I prefer faster paced books. And I usually don’t care for political intrigues or any kind of story centering around religious fanatics – this book has some of both.

I think Sanderson’s strength is character development. So if you like character-driven stories, this is probably one you should look into. But if you like constant action and tons of fight scenes/big battles, you might not.

That being said, if Sanderson ever does write a sequel as he’s mentioned he’s been considering, I’d totally read it. I was captivated enough by the end of the book to continue on for another round – if it was available. The last 50 pages alone might have convinced me to read a sequel if I hadn’t already decided by then.

As I was also given Sanderson’s book Mistborn for my birthday, it is the next book I’ve picked up to read. Hopefully it turns out to be as good as or even better than Elantris. From the little bit I skimmed, I’m not sure if the pacing is going to start off any faster or not, but it did seem as though this book is going to have another complex society with strange religious or political systems. I’m already curious as to what the heck God’s obligator is and why he has to be present for official business, but I’ll find out in time. After all, I only skimmed the first three or four pages.

Also, another interesting little thing: Sanderson has kind of a “behind the scenes” or “the making of” section to his web-site where you can read information about the books as they were before editors and publishing. It’s very interesting to learn that there were characters that existed but were cut, completely changing how the story could’ve gone.  If you’re interested in what those changes were for Elantris, then click here and enjoy! It’s pretty cool and rarely do authors do that sort of thing (at least that I’m aware of.)

For more customer reviews, head on over to Amazon and read what other people had to say about Elantris.