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117 of 130 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a one volume fantasy? Yep, and it's great!, June 17, 2005
"Elantris" is the debut novel from Brandon Sanderson. Blurbs on the cover from Orson Scott Card and David Farland say this book is "the finest novel of fantasy to be written in many years" and "one of the finest debuts I've seen in years." When I read a novel I generally do not pay attention to when it was written and I know that I haven't read all of the debut fantasy novels which have come out in the past several years. I do know when I've read a very good book, however, and "Elantris" is certainly that.
The prologue to the novel was all of five paragraphs but it gave all of the information needed to understand the background of what the story would be. It tells of a beautiful city named Elantris which glowed like magic and where amazing magics were possible and commonplace. Elantris was populated by godlike beings who could wield these powers as I might use a pen. But these beings were once regular humans, soldiers and serfs, princes and beggers and merchants. When something called the Shaod came upon them they were transformed into Elantrians and into a newer, greater existence. But ten years ago something happened.
That something is that the blessing turned into a curse and Elantris and its population started to rot away. The city now abandoned except for the poor souls still called by the Shaod is covered in slime and muck and the Elantrians are the cursed, neither dead nor truly alive.
This was a beautiful set up and pulled me right in from the start. Sanderson introduces Raoden, a prince and heir to the throne of Arelon. The city of Kae lies in the shadow of Elantris and the glory of Arelon has fallen with Elantris. Raoden is a man who gives his people hope, but when he is called by the Shaod he is doomed. His father, the king, does not reveal what happened to Raoden, but rather holds a funeral for his not beloved son. Meanwhile, Sarene, a princess from another country has arrived to marry Raoden not knowing what has happened. Her marriage contract considers her married upon the betrothal and even continues after Raoden's death, so she remains in Kae. But Raoden must find a way to survive, such as it is, in Elantris. Sarene is the only one who sees the coming doom from the religion of Darethi and an invasion from Fjordell.
Brandon Sanderson has done something remarkable here. He has created an incredibly original work and unlike so many other works of fantasy this novel is complete in itself. It is not, as I understand it, the first volume of a trilogy or larger series. It is an epic work of fantasy in one self contained novel. It's one of the better fantasies that I have read. Sanderson does a good job in making all of the primary characters understandable, and sympathetic...even the "bad guys". The motivations are explained well and the characters are well developed and revealed. Simply put, with one novel Sanderson has made a fan of me. I was surprised by just how good this book was. If Sanderson writes another, I will definitely read it.
-Joe Sherry
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200 of 231 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not a 5, but a good first novel, June 23, 2006
I think I may rate books differently than other readers. For me, a book starts out as a 3. That means solid writing, no major plot holes or characterization issues, and an overall satisfying experience: the basics we should expect from a published fiction. A lack of any of those facets means the book is a 2 or a 1; additions like social relevance, emotional resonance, memorable writing, or intellectual stimulation can drive the rating up to a 4 or (for those few books that have all or most of these) a 5. There are very few books I'd rate as a 5, which I think is as it should be.
Elantris on my scale is a 3. The writing is clear but rarely poetic. The main characters are well-defined but two of the three are a little too perfect to relate to and don't experience any inner growth, while the secondary characters almost universally seem to exist in order to provide some sort of surprise loop-back later in the book. The system of magic was interesting but the answer to the central question -- why it had stopped working -- turned out to be something I had a hard time believing wasn't commonly known and understood. The city of Elantris was a well-described setting, a character in itself, but other countries and races seemed rather stereotypical portrayals of Earthly analogues. Overall, while reading the book I never stopped in boredom but also I never paused in wonder, and when finished I was satisfied but it's not a book that I feel any great desire to re-read.
That being said, the author is someone that I plan to keep an eye on and hope to read more from in the future. It's my understanding that Elantris was written some 7 years ago, and much of the above is understandable as "young author/first publication" issues. Despite what I wrote above, the author clearly has a lot going for him: the novel was smartly structured; the inter-relationships between names, glyphs and magic, as well as the setting and basic plot, were all well imagined; genders and religions were dealt with even-handedly; and it was simply refreshing to read a fantasy that was not a multi-volume rehashing of the "orphan boy undertakes journey from one side of the map to the other with party of companions to save the princess/retrieve the object/kill the bad guy" story. I look forward to seeing what the author's intelligence and imagination can do when combined with the further refinement of his craft that only experience can bring. And by all means, pick up a copy of Elantris if the story sounds interesting to you, just don't expect it to be more than it is.
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21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great work by first-time author, May 21, 2005
I was most impressed by this novel's combination of religion, politics, social strata and economics. These elements combine to create a more complex world than the typical good-versus-evil we see in so many other works of fiction. It's pleasing that this work relies on these complex systems and their products, rather than simply setting characters on some physical quest and exposing them to new lands and beings as the source of entertainment. Equally important is the concept of magic, called AonDor, in this novel. The idea is well-rooted in a spiritual construct, rather than simply granted as a source of power and wonder. Furthermore, there are secrets to using it that can only be discovered by study and practice. This is a well-thought out perception of how a magical force might work. There is a well-outfitted cast of characters, and it's satisfying to see that they each have combinations of faults as well as virtues. This makes the characters more engaging, since the protagonists are at-times flawed and make mistakes and the antagonists can still stir sympathy and understanding in the reader. The only detractions I found in this novel were some phrases and expressions that seemed overused by the author, perhaps in his zeal to remind you of the world and characters he created. Things like the princess tapping her cheek, or the Dula character who says "Kolo" in as many as a quarter of his phrases eventually become a distraction and almost come across as overly insistent attempts to make you perceive the characters as the author imagines them. This, however, is a minor distraction when the great value of the other elements are taken into account. All in all, the story is engaging and there are several unexpected events which take the story down paths not anticipated, yet are rewarding. Fantastic work, and I look forward to reading more from Brandon Sanderson.
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