Since Sanderson is the author tasked with the job of finishing the Wheel of Time series after Robert Jordan's death, I wanted to read some of his other works to get a feel for him. I picked up Elantris since it was a standalone novel, something that seems to be a bit of a rarity these days in the fantasy world. This started out strong as we're introduced to the characters and setting. The book is broken up into a triad of chapters. There are three viewpoint characters and we rotate through them every three chapters. Only one of them held my interest for the first half of the book. This is mostly a political themed book and there is little action in the first 200-300 pages. Plenty of important setup though and considering the story and where we are headed, it was needed to tell the story. While I typically enjoy a bit more action in my fantasy novels, I appreciate that Sanderson didn't sprinkle in some just to satisfy they "we must have massive battles every few pages, just to fill in the gaps between the story" trap that a lot of fantasy novels fall in to.

However, the second half of the book was worth the wait. There is a bit more action, still not a ton, but the pacing picks up and wow the twists. Branderson has a way of leading you in seemingly one direction only to throw a twist at you that at least I didn't expect. Everytime I thought I had the story figured out, I was wrong. That style of writing I enjoy. Well done. This is one I would definitly recommend to anyone and I will be picking up the remainder of Sanderson's books and anticipating his finale of Jordan's mammoth series.

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This is a great first novel for Sanderson. I am not a real science fiction/fantasy reader, so this was a different read for me. But I enjoyed it very much. It was not a lot of action, but more a lot on intrigue. The ending is full of unexpected surprises. I would definitely recommend it.

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There is a point in every good book that I have read that I become engaged in what's going to happen to the characters. I never fully reached that point with this book. The story was interesting enough for me to keep reading, but parts were very slow, and as I inferred earlier I never become invested with the books characters, except possibly Hrathen, a sort of villain. It was a decent book, but far from great.

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I had a hard time getting used to the character names and the world Sanderson created, but once I was into the flow of the book I really enjoyed it.

You can read my complete review here.

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Around page 400, something interesting and unexpected happens. Before that, there's a whole lot of the same, particularly of characters rehashing the same sentiments about their situations. After page 400-something, there's again a lot more of the same -- until the end, when everything comes together in rush.

This is now the third Sanderson book I've read. The only one I was really impressed with was "The Emperor's Soul." I've come to the conclusion that, although he comes up with really interesting, creative, unique premises, Sanderson lacks the storytelling ability to maintain my engagement for anything longer than a novella.

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I read this book after reading the remarkable Mistborn series. Although the book's conception is strong, I found Elantris to be a first novel with areas where you can see Brandon Sanderson's genius coming through, but everything falling a bit short of its potential. Here, you get to see Brandon Sanderson start to develop his strengths.

Mr. Sanderson's setup for the three characters is to make each of them remarkable: a gifted priest, a fair prince, and a politically savvy princess, yet each of them falls short of the sales pitch. The priest is mediocre, the prince's royal family is merchant born, and the princess, although enthusiastic about politics is mostly just meddlesome. In later books he seems to relax a bit and just let his characters be what they will be.

You can also glimpse Brandon Sanderson's gift for writing group interactions. He is one of the best authors for bringing alive the camaraderie of a band of adventurers.

All in all, this is an enjoyable fantasy novel that defies the norms of the genre.

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I read Warbreaker by Sanderson and absolutely loved it. Then I immediately acquired Elantris as well as Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy because I wanted to read more Sanderson. This was a great book and I am so glad that I read it.

The story is told from the viewpoint of three different characters. Riorden is the Crown Prince of Arelon and is struck down by the curse of Elantris and thrown into that city to rot with the other Elantrans. Princess Sarene of Teod finds out about Riorden's death on her way to marry him; because of the contract she is considered married even if the other party should die until Riorden's father is no longer ruling. The third viewpoint is from Hrathen, a leader of the Shu-Dereth faith, who is under a deadline to convert Arelon to the Shu-Dereth religion. These three characters maneuver deftly through complex politics in an effort to save Arelon, the people and themselves. Along the way the secret of Elantris is discovered.

Sanderson is an exceptionally story teller; and he really excels at these complex epic fantasies. My biggest complaints about some epic fantasies are there are too many people to remember, the plot is too complex to remember, the magic system is confusing, and relationships between the characters are unbelievably dry. Sanderson never runs into these problems; he introduces the people in a way that makes them easy to remember...never once was I confused about who was who. The magic system is explained very well without getting preachy; we discover it along with the characters. The plot is very complex and full of intrigue but Sanderson maneuvers through it with such grace you never have trouble following what is going on.

Most importantly Sanderson's characters have heart. At times they may be a little too perfect, but that just endears them to you more. I always thought that the Lord of the Rings could have done better with a little more emotion and love between the characters, same with the Wheel of Time series. I love both of these series dearly, don't get me wrong. Sanderson just gives his characters a penchant for nobility and love that makes them so interesting to read about. There is also some humor thrown in now and then which made this book more fun to read than your typical epic fantasy.

I loved that the story was so complete and that it fit into one book, instead of twelve 800 page books. I am impressed with the intelligence behind the plot, the serious moral issues discussed, the humor, the love, the magic...just everything. This book is much like Warbreaker in that is it more about political intrigue than about massive battles.

Overall I loved this book. Now I am ready to read the Mistborn trilogy. I also have his Stormlight series on my list to get when it is released. If you love epic fantasy, intrigue, and magic with a touch of romance you will love this book.

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Elantris is a story about a land in turmoil. Once Elantrians were like gods in the country of Arelon. They had magic that allowed them to do miracles. No one was hungry, wounds could be healed with the wave of a hand, and the Elantrians literally glowed. One day the Elantrians gifts changed into a curse. Instead of magical godlike beings they became walking corpses that lived in perpetual pain. The political and religious structure of the country was destroyed. Ten years later, a king has become a tyrant and a foreign religious leader has decided the country must convert or be destroyed. The book is told from the point of view of three different characters: Raoden, prince of Arelon who woke up one day with the Elantrian curse; Hrathen, high priest of Fjordell who is given the task of converting Arelon, and Sarene, princess of neighboring Teod who comes to Arelon to marry Raoden but finds out she is a window instead of a bride. There is alot of political maneuvering in this book, which I really enjoyed. I also appreciated a fantasy novel with a strong female protagonist. The mystery of what happened to the Elantrian magic was interesting and different than what I have read in the past. I found myself cheering on the characters, even some of the "bad guys." I recommend this book to fans of fantasy, especially those that don't mind a lot of politics in their books.

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