Elantris

you can tell it’s his first book for sure - certain plot points are juvenile - but still a good story

You can tell this was his first book. The first half of the book wasn’t as easy to read as his newer books are. But it was well worth it as the book got more and more exciting towards the end.

Took a bit to get rolling and get me truly hooked and even a while to finish, but a very worthwhile read. Got a lot of tears out of me not gonna lie!

★★★★½ Eu gostei muito do livro, apesar de ser um pouco arrastado ali no meio, mas depois pega um ritmo gostoso e que atiça a curiosidade. Enfim, a Sarena foi de longe minha personagem favorita, o Brandon é bom demais criando personagens femininas... Ficaram algumas perguntas no ar, mas esse foi o começo da cosmere né, então é sobre isso.

Genuinely one of the best books I’ve read in a while. Nothing is wasted at all. Not a single word, plot point, character. The first plot twist genuinely shocks you, but lets you weave together the rest of the stories. There’s a trust with the reader - that some things do not need to be explained and that’s half the fun of reading that I’ve recently found lacking. Also, there is a lack of female characters, but the one with the POV is one of the best written I’ve seen from a male author in a long time. Sarene is not like other girls but not in the way that makes her better, she has flaws and pride and insecurities in it.

logical brain says i shouldn't like this as much as i do and yet i do

Brandon Sanderson's debut novel that begin to shows what a great writer he is. The book definitely has its flaws, but it is entertaining enough as a stand alone. Definitely recommend it to any fantasy fan.

This was absolutely captivating. The plotting and world building in this was expert and engaging. There's a note at the end from Sanderson about what he really loves about Elantris: that it's a story about a good man thrown into a bad situation. And Raoden is definitely that - no "morally gray" nonsense here, he's just a good dude who continues to do good in the horrible place he ends up. His chapters were easily my favorite. I was completely taken in by the mystery of what happened to Elantris, his study of the Aons was intriguing (scratched the linguistics part of my brain in a fun way), and the stakes were really high. I was initially quite horrified by Elantris and the whole (view spoiler)[not healing thing (the bit where the random guy gets his neck ripped open? A MOST unfortunate start my guy) (hide spoiler)], but ultimately it was a really obstacle for the characters. I think it added to the virtue of Raoden too, that he was overcoming this constant, intense pain, and that he found a way to "heal" it in others as well. Raoden and Sarene's little romance was sweet if not a bit awkward. I was so rooting for them though, and to have them (view spoiler)[interacting with each other without knowing it (hide spoiler)] was pretty exquisite. I appreciated that Sarene was a strong FMC without being one of those obnoxious, "strong" FMC's I see so often in fiction. She was quick and clever, and she had a history of being quick and clever that was backed up by her actions on the page. I appreciated everything about her, pretty much. Hrathen was probably my least favorite of the characters, but there was a great deal that I appreciated about him from a technical standpoint. He wasn't a clear-cut villain either, which I think added to his success as a character; he could very easily have been written as a gross religious stereotype, but instead Sanderson gave him depth. He grappled with his faith even while trying to do the work he believed he'd been called to, and as his storyline went on I really came to appreciate that. There did end up being a crazy zealot in the story, but even he was given a bit of humanity - he had his reasons for descending into madness. I felt the ending was a little rushed. We'd been plodding along at a pretty even pace, gradually increasing if anything, when all of a sudden everything started happening in quick succession. (view spoiler)[Roial's death was the biggest blow to me, I'd really come to like the guy. (hide spoiler)] It's been a while since I read it now (dagnabbit, depression, getting in the way of my review writing), but I remember (view spoiler)[once they ended up in Teo, (hide spoiler)] it all kind of felt as though I was being hit over the head with one shocking revelation after another. (view spoiler)[Hrathen's crush on Salene was my least favorite of all - it had been set up a bit, kind of, but I don't think it was set up enough. It just felt weird, which is too bad, because I could've seen it being a really interesting thing. I like me a good forbidden romance though, so take that opinion with a grain of salt. (hide spoiler)] If this review feels weird, it's because it was written two weeks after I finished the book and my brain is rotting 🙃 Overall I really enjoyed it, I can't say enough in praise of Sanderson's worldbuilding, and I can't wait to dive into more of his writing this year.

3.5 stars

impressed and speechless. loved every part of it

mmmmmm I liked it but the pacing was off and it felt too calculated honestly, but maybe I’m just built for longer series

I’m so confused but that could just be exhaustion

I feel like the pacing could have been better. It starts strong but then it drags a little during the middle. To me the book could have been shorter, more than once I felt like the story was taking too long for the characters progress, especially Raoden's parts.

I liked all the main characters, especially Roaden and Sarene. Although I complained about pacing, their parts were my favorites. And I was interest on how they would resolve things.

I didn't care much for Hrathen and didn't like how his story ended.

3.5 ⭐️

I can agree on the general opinion that this is not his best work in terms of writing and pacing that is.
The concepts and the story behind were really awesome and I liked them more than Warbreaker.
The characters are what makes me give this book a good average rating honestly. Sarene is one of the best female character I have met in a fantasy. She was so smart, badass, interesting and layered. She shined in this story and I wished there were more characters like her. It also helped that she was impersonated greatly by the narrator of the audiobook I listened ngl.
Overall, ((unpopular opinion) I enjoyed this one more than Warbreaker despite its flaws.

Let it first be said that Sanderson is one of, and in this humble readers opinion, the best fantasy writer of our generation. The ability to spin out webs of literary saga, to build worlds in a matter of pages, and to emotionally entangle a reader in the woes of a fictional character (of whom we just met) is second to none.

These are the stories I seek. I’ll trudge through what’s recommended, the modern contemporaries, the autobiographical monotonies, the perspectives that just may change your life, the poor subject who lived through it and imparted the wisdom upon you so that you might glean just an ounce of understanding of what they experienced. And LEARN from it. Those exist simply as placeholders for the next accidental stumble into the few and far between, the truly great, the masterfully crafted fantasy novel.

We’re talking about the books that have you looking forward to your morning commute, that have you staying up later than you know you should, that cause you to question your bodies own ability to push your eyes any faster so that you can continue to drive the film real of narrative in your mind. It’s in these day to day pleasures, so hard to find but so treasured when obtained, that we place Sandersons writing.

What about Elantris you ask? This has nothing to do with Elantris. This is about the man.

The book was fine. The worst of Sanderson that i’ve come across if we’re being critical. As I’ve seen suggested before me, might i add. But even at his worst, I found myself experiencing the journey outlined above. A world appeared in a matter of pages. Characters became old friends in a few short chapters. The fate of the world hung on the shoulders of our unlikely, and unwanting heroes. The story doesn’t matter. The ending doesn’t matter. The journey matters. The feeling you’re sat with as you shut that book for the last time. It matters. And i’m convinced that there are few books, stories, authors that can recreate that. Every time one closes, there’s one less to discover.

My only solace comes in knowing that he’s still out there somewhere. Typing away. Crafting the next saga.

Read the book. Don’t read the book. It doesn’t matter. You understand or you don’t. If you don’t, I have sympathy for you

The storytelling while being a little slow at the start, in true Sanderson fashion developed into something amazing!

First of all I didn't expect to like Hrathen as much as I did.  Have mixed feelings about the exposition but loved the lore. The pacing on the last part felt too rushed, but the ending was a satisfactory one— and once in a while it's nice to read something that you know is going to end well, despite it all.  Sarene was an interesting character, despite her falling into the I'm Not Like Other Women cliché at times. Would've loved to see her interacting with other women, though.  Also if I were Galladon and the (very white)  prince of Arelon made up a stereotypical brownface persona of my people, I would simply kick his ass.

My favorite Brandon Sanderson book. I feel that in most of his novels it is such a slow build to the end where all of the action is but in Elantris there is a lot of scheming and character development with small plot points along the way.

This tells a beautiful story about a hero's hope, a princess' plotting skills, a villain's redemption and a fallen city. Elantris is a solid read, with intricate political schemes and religion wars, told by three different perspectives in a way Brandon Sanderson did brilliantly. I've loved the world setting and all the theories surrounding Elantris, which is why I gave 4.5 stars: I just need more of the Elantrians and the magic system ONE BOOK IS NOT ENOUGH FOR THIS. That being said, it is a genius debut. The multiple points of view makes it fun (even though I was completed caught by Raoden's chapters and not actually caring about the others until the last half of the book hehe) and THE PLOT TWISTS, MAN. SANDERSON DOES THIS INCREDIBLY. OMG. I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT WAS A HAPPENING HALF THE TIME, IT ALL JUST UNROLLED BY ITSELF. Definitely an awesome read, I'm excited to read more about The Cosmere.

brandon sanderson writes such good plots but I just think as a Writer he's... not tht good? tell me why this book had the line "he smiled evilly" LMAO. You can definitely tell it's his debut, it just doesn't have hit like the final empire did. but after a slow start, I did start to enjoy this. I think the middle section is by far the strongest, but the final section was fun too. Portrayal of women was a bit .... thumbs down. You could tell he thought he was doing something but he was NOT ! Sarene is giving 'im not like other girls'. Anyways despite this I rated it 4 stars because the plot is really well executed like I do admire his ability to set multiple plot points in action and tie them together so neatly, plus I like how his fantasies almost genre shift into mysteries at times, it's all very clever

So I think we were all here for my very late discovery of Booktube and Brandon Sanderson. And so far, I have clearly noticed that no matter how many fantasy booktubers I watch, they all have different opinions on how to approach the Cosmere. Which is, you know, to be expected on a 20+ book-universe spanning different series. But the one thing they all seem to agree on is that you should not start with Elantris. The reasons vary, but most of all they seem to agree that it is not Sanderson’s best work. It has flaws, and issues, and it is apparently not quite up to snuff nor really that representative of his future work, I guess. So I listened, and I went about it in a different way: so far I have read Warbreaker and Mistborn Era 1. And Audible was having a sale, so I bought Elantris and decided to read it (technically I got a bunch of his books on sale on audible, so technically I have, in order of purchase: The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, Oathbringer, Elantris, The Rithmatist, Starsight, Warbreaker and The Original – but I am too terrified to start the Stormlight Archive so I thought I might as well read his “bad” book, Elantris. Can you tell I’m a bit of a Audible addict?). Anyway, I fell in love with Elantris. I just couldn’t put it down. I read it in less than 3 days, in a mixture of audio and ebook, eschewing things like sleep and doing my actual job and in lieu surreptitiously reading from my strategically placed phone right next to my mouse while idly clicking through excel sheets. And I don’t even know what made me love it so much, which is awkward. I mean, I guess I know why people say Elantris is not quite representative of the Cosmere. Sanderson writes epic fantasy, and Elantris felt much more intimate than that. Let me try and give you a bit of the concept of the story without giving too much away. I almost want to quote the entire prologue, but I shall refrain. Elantris is a city where people who were taken by a mystic force and became Gods moved to. There was no rhyme or reason as to who would be taken by the “Shaod”, which made it a great equalizer. Once there (and please allow me a little quote here), they could live in bliss, rule in wisdom and be worshipped for eternity. And then he drops the bomb: Eternity ended ten years ago. (I promise to stop quoting now) So we are following 3 characters, 10 years after the fall of Elantris. The first one is Raoden – the son of the new king of Arelon, who gets taken by the Shaod in the first chapter. That’s the interesting part, just because Elantris fell, it doesn’t mean the transformations stopped. Only instead of being turned into a being of light and immortality, the Shaod now curses people into baldness, black splotches to their skin, and an eternity locked inside the walls of a decomposing city with unending pain and insatiable hunger. The second one is Sarene – Raoden’s bride and now widow, who arrives in Arelon the day of the prince’s suspicious and untimely death, to find herself married by death due to the betrothal contract. The third and final character is Hrathen, a gyorn (think bishop) of the Derethi religion, who has been given three months to convert the entire country. Scheming ensues. From all parties. Hrathen wants to convert an entire country without causing a bloody revolution (which he has in a different country), and is not above subterfuge to achieve his goals. Sarene’s whole political reasons for marrying a stranger in a different country was to stop the domination of the Shu-Dereth religion which is spreading and has conquered all other countries, and she takes it upon herself to try and hamper all of Hrathen’s schemes. She is smart, and strong-willed and determined, and it’s a pleasure to be in her head. Raoden is just a pure little snowflake and I love him. He’s a good man, if an eternal optimist, with a sharp mind, and who believes he can make things better, and will work for it. I don’t want to say much more, because I went into it completely blind and it served me well. I wouldn’t say this is a book full of twists or surprises. I saw some things coming, but it did not make them any less enjoyable. I also know his prose got better over time, but I thoroughly enjoy his straightforward way of writing here (except the one time he randomly uses the word maladroit in such a weird way that I swear it took me out of the book for a minute, but he’s allowed one WTF moment in his word choices). There are other things, of course. There is an issue with a character who shows some autistic traits that could definitely have been handled better. We have another couple of stereotypical side characters, and an conclusion to one of the side-characters’ side plots which came completely out of the left field to me (I am looking at you, King Iadon). The ending was not quite as engrossing as I found the rest of the book to be, but I definitely still loved it. I have to give it at least 4.5 stars, but I’m rounding it up to 5.

Re-read this gem. UGH, I forgot how good it was. It's been almost ten years since I read it the first time, and it was definitely time to revisit.

Elantris, Sanderson's outstanding fantasy debut, has something for everyone: mystery, magic, romance, political, wrangling, religious conflict, fights for equality, sharp writing and wonderful, robust characters. If you like this sort of thing: this is the book for you! Elantris is a story of a city and its godlike inhabitants, yes, but first it's a story of three amazingly different characters. Raoden, prince of Arelon, loved by all, including the princess he'd never met. Headstrong Sarene, princess of Teod, a widow before she was ever married. And Hrathen, high priest of Fjordell, who desires to covert the people of Arelon or kill them. Their stories are so different, but they intertwine in the best of ways. You see there’s a force in Arelon known as the Dor that randomly chooses people and grants them divine powers. Elantris was once the city of the gods, where anyone who was ‘chosen’ went to live. Ten years ago, the Elantrians lost their powers and caught a terrible disease instead. From that point on, Elantris became a prison city/contamination zone for any who caught that disease, for the Dor continues to choose people and curse them. The book starts out with Prince Raoden being struck by the curse and imprisoned in Elantris, while Princess Sareene of Teod in Kae, who was bethrohed to Raoden, believers her intended husband has died. She decides to use her wit and political savvy to protect Kae from malevolent forces without and within the city, chiefly the tortured soul Hrathen, a leader of the creepy Shu-Dereth faith, who aims to either convert Kae or destroy it. This is a story of faith and determination set against a vividly portrayed world where magic is based on channeling power through the depiction of runes, which I found to be highly intriguing. The magic systems of the world of Elantris each use a set of forms to access the Dor. 1. AonDor uses symbols called Aons, which can be drawn directly in the air as glowing light, or in a large variety of physical representations, such as etched into metal plates, or incorporated into the design of buildings. Anyone can learn to draw Aons, but they only have power when created by an Elantrian. AonDor is tied to the city of Elantris and is only practiced within its borders. Aons work elsewhere but become weaker with distance from Elantris. 2. ChayShan is not explored much in Elantris, however it seems to consist of a type of meditative martial art, with the forms one moves through granting access to the Dor. It appears that, like Aons, these forms can be practiced, potentially by anyone, without supernatural effect, with additional factors such as intent or bloodline establishing the connection to the Dor. 3. Dakhor is even less well understood than ChayShan, without even a concrete name. It is currently referred to as Dakhor because its only known practitioners are members of Dakhor Monastery. What is known is that its use alters the bones of the user, causing them to twist and form patterns under the skin. These patterns are most likely the 'form' through which this magic is channeled. Dakhor allows access to the Dor and has a possible connection to Dominion. Dakhor requires human sacrifice in several of its uses. Yes, the magic system is fascinating but it's the vivid, strongly drawn characters that make this story compelling. If you haven't read this one, do yourself a favor and pick it up.

elantris is a reminder to myself to not let other people lower my expectations. after reading mistborn, stormlight and warbreaker yes, this is the 'weakest' cosmere book. but it doesn't mean it is bad. elantris is worth-reading. it contains a unique world and starting point: elantris was once the most beautiful city in the world, populated by magical beings that were considered gods, strong and powerful, who were even able to convert stone into food. but for some unknown reason, this eternity ended 10 years ago when a mysterious sickness affected all elantrians, turning them into 'monsters' and eliminating magic from the world. when the story starts, elantris is a destroyed, ghost city, home to all the elantrian population affected by the illness, living in isolation. the plot focuses mainly on religious and political conflicts, but a pretty cute slowburn romance (in my opinion) has its weight in the book as well, the pacing getting better with each chapter. we have only three main characters and povs: raoden, the crown prince who is suddenly affected by the elantrians' sickness and is now expelled from society into the abandoned city; sarene, raoden's fianceé who gets involved in the kingdom's politics when she sees how unstable the situation and gets suspicious abouts raoden's sudden 'death'; and hrathen, the 'villain' who is trying to convert the kingdom into another religion, taking advantage of the delicate political situation and becoming sarene's direct rival, surprising the reader until the very end. they're not the most well-developed nor well-written characters in this entire universe of books, but you will find yourself rooting for them. elantris is pretty solid, and i'm excited for the second part, even if we know it isn't coming for a few years still. honestly, most people are harsh with this book because they have already read other sanderson's works before picking this up and, obviously, they're so much better and compelling. reading his debut novel i appreciate even more how much he has grown and learnt since then; you can clearly see the ideas and basis for other cosmere books and characters. don't be fooled by cosmere readers - judge elantris for yourself.