Elantris: Tenth Anniversary Author's Definitive Edition

► The quick overview for those browsing:Genre: FantasyRecommended: Yes, very much!Language: Very Mild (includes things like damnation, and maybe "hell" but not often)Sex Scenes: noneStory Quality: Very Good!World Building: ExcellentCharacter Development: ExcellentReal-World Politics or Allegory: Little to None (Excellent)Violence: There are some violent scenes, though usually brief and bloodless (as Elantrians can't bleed). However, the worst one is when they stumble into the middle of a human sacrifice. The bloody sacrifice is already dead, and the scene that describes it is brief, but might be a little too dark for youths.Age Suggestion: 18+ (Previously mentioned human sacrifice scene. Plus lots of strategy / political talk during Serene and Hrathen's chapters may be a little slower and drag on for younger teens).► The Detailed Overview:I've seen Brandon Sanderson before in the bookstore, but I've never given his books a try. Because I teach teenagers, most of the books I read now are teen fantasy and fiction. But, to be honest, I haven't found a good fantasy novel for myself that I've REALLY enjoyed probably since I was in high school (despite fantasy being my favorite genre). There have been a few exceptions over the years, but overall modern fantasy is often very dark, grisly, filled with sex, foul language, and are often allegories to real-world political issues. I'm with Tolkien on that one. Allegories = yuck. I usually start reading them, but get about halfway or so through before I can't stand the plot anymore and close the book.But after buying several books for my classroom library, Amazon suggested that I might be interested in "Elantris" as well. The synopsis sounded interesting (and many people online swear by his books) and so I went ahead and decided to give it a try.So glad I did! This book was refreshing and really enjoyable. I love that it's self-contained (though I heard the author is planning to possibly write another? Or already has?). The worldbuilding is very interesting and well thought out. The conflict is hooking, the characters are really likeable--and thankfully there is no vulgar language, no sex scenes, and the political battles within it are related to THAT world's politics and history. They aren't direct allegories of our own. (Plus, some of the characters are just downright funny). Yes, there are some darker parts to the story that show the gravity of their situation, but the author doesn't linger on them long and avoids being too grisly--which I'm thankful for.Any critiques I had are smaller, but there are some. The first of two (though I wouldn't call them big complaints overall), is that toward the end when some characters die or reunite, it feels like you don't get time to feel it. Sometimes a death of a character you like would happen so suddenly and out-of-the-blue and then the story would just roll on into the next scene. Or some great reveal is made, and they again continue on into the next scene without the reader getting to see how people really react to it. And since you've waited several chapters to see some of those reactions, it was a little frustrating.The second was that there were times I did roll my eyes at just how often Serene emphasized that she was a woman and couldn't allow herself to be defeated by a man (or how other characters talked about admiring her, not as a woman, but as an equal--which felt a tad preachy and corny simply because they said it too often)--but she was still written well and she does learn in fact that sometimes her drive to stand out as a woman of power causes her to overcompensate and really screw up at times, which felt realistic. She is a strong and likeable character who makes a difference and wants to feel that she belongs, but she isn't flawless and realizes when she goes too far. So, despite the fact that I rarely like female characters in novels (despite being a woman), I found that I really did end up liking her character. And I was surprised to find that I really respected Hrathen's character and how the author respectfully dealt with the conflict of rivaling religious denominations in the story. (Though Raoden and Galladon were still my favorite characters by far).So, yes! It's definitely worth a read! I think I'll start looking into more Brandon Sanderson novels after this.

While I absolutely love Brandon Sanderson's books, "Elantris" was merely okay. Pros: it's a fantastical idea (really!), there was some mystery and it had endearing characters. Cons: it was a bit dry, a bit boring, and there were too many characters and too many of those with similar names, making it rather confusing. I spent the first half of the book trying to figure out who was who and the second half of the book sorting the religions and territories. It was A LOT. The mystery and its resolution was not clearly explained, merely an "epiphany" by the protagonist - as suffered by other characters when they figured out something. Regardless, the book is written well and the story concluded beautifully. I recommend this book with the caveat that it's slow and not Sanderson's most exciting work. If you're a die-hard Sanderson fan, don't miss it, but if you haven't yet read his work, I suggest starting elsewhere (Warbreaker is a good one!).

While ELANTRIS is undeniably distinct from pretty much all of Sanderson's other Cosmere novels, I personally think this is one of the most enchanting and engrossing stories I have ever read.CHARACTERSAs is now typical with most any Sanderson story, the characters are really at the heart of this adventure. Over the course of the narrative, the perspective shifts between three main characters. Raoden is a prince of Arelon who is taken by the mysterious affliction known as the "shaod" and shipped off to Elantris, the once radiant city of god-like beings that is now a sort of dismal "Hell on Earth." Princess Serene arrives in Arelon for her wedding to Raoden just after he is exiled from the city of Kae and is told that he has died (which apparently still binds her into the marriage as per the political contract between his kingdom and her homeland of Taod). Then there is the gyorn, Hrathen, who arrives after Serene on a mission to convert the nation before his mysterious leader sends an army to take it by force. I loved how Sanderson rotates between all three of them in this exact order for pretty much the entire book (except for a few chapters toward the very end where things get a little more chaotic). While shifting perspectives is certainly not a novelty in Sanderson's stories, this predictable rhythm felt so satisfying for some reason and it was cool that some of the bigger events are covered from multiple perspectives. The desperate Elantrians that Roaden meets, the cunning, yet well-intentioned nobles that Serene forges alliances with, and the raging fanatics that Hrathen deals with made this one of the best casts of characters I've ever seen with Shudden, Galladon, Roial, Kiin, and Dilaf being particular standouts.SETTING/WORLDI have always loved how Sanderson is able to craft worlds with rich and complicated histories that often contain mysteries crucial to the current events of his stories. This is particularly the case with ELANTRIS as there is so much emphasis placed on how things used to be when Elantris was a city of magic and splendor. I also liked that the world felt so much bigger than it usually does in a Sanderson story. The key events still really only taking place in a very small portion of a large and politically complex landscape, but the presence of other nations and peoples is felt in other ways. I also felt like the political intrigue was a lot more complex than what I've come to expect and I really enjoyed how I slowly came to understand not only Arlenian's social system, but also some of the politics of Taod and Fjorden (an evil empire of sorts). The city of Elantris itself was deeply compelling as well as Raoden and his friends literally uncover it's secrets in the hopes of finding some sort of key to their survival.PLOT/TONEWithout giving too much away, it is worth noting that this is another one of Sanderson's earlier novels that I felt nailed the balance between character development, world building, and plot advancement. Raoden is on a quest to help the Elantrian people not just survive, but thrive in a world where their bodies whither, every injury they sustain stays with them forever until the pain eventually breaks their minds, and three viscous gangs steal what little the newcomers arrive with. While he is imprisoned in the once-majestic city, Serene takes it upon herself to continue her supposedly dead husband's mission to liberate the people of Arlene and foil the efforts of the devious gyorn's schemes at the same time. Seeing things from the antagonistic Hrathen's perspective was a really nice touch, especially since Sanderson villains tend to be a bit mysterious and obscure. Raoden's unyielding optimism, Serene's fiery determination, and Hrathen's internal conflict were just as much fun to explore as the now-defunct magic system, delicate political structure, and surprise-laden plot. In the end, what each of these characters brought to their respective sides of the story and how they contributed to uncovering all of this world's mysteries is something that will stick with me for a long time to come.THE PAPERBACKI read the tenth anniversary edition of this book and definitely found a lot of the bonus content to be quite worthwhile. The forward and endnote were very interesting and I really loved the inclusion of some deleted scenes that focused on a character who was part of the original draft, but ultimately cut because he just didn't work well enough with the story. While I'd have to agree that these cuts were for the better, I loved getting a little bit of insight into Sanderson's writing process and enjoyed his explanation of why he made this difficult decision. There is also a very interesting bonus scene in the final pages of the book which features a character who's become a bit of a recurring personality across the Cosmere stories. The paperback itself is well made, with lots of beautiful illustrations of the Aonic symbols adorning both the chapter headings as well as a special list of them all in an "Ars Arcanum" section. I found the pages to be a bit thin though and wondered why the publisher wouldn't have opted for a higher quality paper given that this is a special edition (more than a few times, I caught myself accidentally flipping a couple of pages at a time). I am also not usually a huge fan of the covers that Sanderson tends to get, but this one is pretty decent.CONCLUSIONWhile many might claim that this is a less interesting part of the Cosmere or that Sanderson's writing wasn't quite up to snuff yet, I would have to strongly disagree and encourage folks to check this one out for themselves if they haven't already. It might be good to go in with the expectation that this will read quite differently from Mistborn or Stormlight Archive books, but I think this novel has a different sort of magic about it. I know this one is definitely one of my all time favorites now.(+) Beautiful illustrations of each of the Aonic symbols(+) Three incredible main characters along with an intriguing and dynamic supporting cast(+) An explosive final act filled with some awesome action sequences(+) Lots of political intrigue and near-constant plot twists.(+) The concept of a magic system that is lost or broken was quite captivating(+) This world presents so much interesting potential that I hope will be explored further some day(-) The opening chapter does begin a bit abruptly(-) Thin pages

Esse foi a primeira novela do Brandon Sanderson e, pela qualidade, não parece nem um pouco a sua estréia.Bom livro, história que prende do início ao fim. Existe uma "sequência" para essa obra, chamada "The hope of Elantris".Esse foi o início das minhas leituras do autor e até hoje li quase todas as outras séries, adquirindo quando posso.

This was an amazing book. I love the world that Brandon Sanderson created. It is so different and unique. The little twists are amazing. I highly recommend it.

El libro está perfecto 👏llegó en excelentes condiciones. Solamente los de la paquetería lo aventaron al dejarlo y pudieron haberlo dañado, eso no me gustó si lo quieren tomar en cuenta.

I loved it (bit of a 'dragging' start but in hindsight that only adds to the satisfying progression of the story). It is not as excessive on the greater fantasy dynamics as are other cosmere novels, but since it's not part of a series, such as mistborn or the stormlight archive, it's understandably a bit more 'modest'. Since Brandon Sanderson has elaborate conceptions of so many possible worlds in his - or our - cosmere universe, Elantris is a very rich and immersive story to be swallowed and suprised by. All that put aside, the delivery went smooth/fast.

my first book by Brandon and yes he is amazing