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rynaissanceenby's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Overall, this was a decent book and worth reading. I was routinely pretty disappointed by the lack of strong female characters, though. Sarini is great, but she's the only important female character in the whole book, it seems like.
There also seemed to be a few too many twists. Every time you started to get comfortable with the plot progressing, there was some major twist thrown into it. Normally, twists bring excitement and intrigue to a book, but in this case, it almost started feeling monotonous because of how many there were.
I also find it very dubious that Sarini wouldn't recognize Reoden even after spending that much time in extremely close proximity to him .
Despite it's flaws, I still enjoyed the book. I think it had some interesting reflections on the role religion can play in a society and the inner conflicts it can incite in people. There was also political intrigue galore and rich cultural worldbuilding. It was fun to see little Easter eggs from Sanderson's other Cosmere books.
There also seemed to be a few too many twists. Every time you started to get comfortable with the plot progressing, there was some major twist thrown into it. Normally, twists bring excitement and intrigue to a book, but in this case, it almost started feeling monotonous because of how many there were.
I also find it very dubious that
Despite it's flaws, I still enjoyed the book. I think it had some interesting reflections on the role religion can play in a society and the inner conflicts it can incite in people. There was also political intrigue galore and rich cultural worldbuilding. It was fun to see little Easter eggs from Sanderson's other Cosmere books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Suicide, Religious bigotry, and Misogyny
merlucito's review
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This whole review contains spoilers
I would've never imagined that a fantasy book about conscious zombies was going to be this relatable. I have chronic pain; every day, I wake up and my body hurts, all of it; sometimes the pain is so big that I can barely walk, sometimes is something in the back of my brain. So, reading about the Elantrians and their constant pain and how they started to manage it really resonated with me. And it means a lot.
That's probably I loved Raoden so much. He refuses to fall for the pain, he sets a goal for himself and the whole city and pursues it even when the hunger and the pain never leave.
I would've never imagined that a fantasy book about conscious zombies was going to be this relatable. I have chronic pain; every day, I wake up and my body hurts, all of it; sometimes the pain is so big that I can barely walk, sometimes is something in the back of my brain. So, reading about the Elantrians and their constant pain and how they started to manage it really resonated with me. And it means a lot.
That's probably I loved Raoden so much. He refuses to fall for the pain, he sets a goal for himself and the whole city and pursues it even when the hunger and the pain never leave.
The man had come looking for a magical solution to his woes, but he had found an answer much more simple. Pain lost its power when other things became more important. Kahan didn't need a potion or an Aon to save him—he just needed something to do.
That, right there, was perfect. For me, at least. Raoden gave them what they needed and they forgot the pain. And I've been in that situation: when I'm doing something that's important, I can forget about my pain; when I'm working, my body doesn't scream as much. But if I stay all day in bed, doing nothing, feeling sorry for myself, the pain gets worse, because all my mind does is think of it. And so I loved everything about Raoden and Elantris. And I see myself re-reading some of those parts in the future, when I feel down.
On the other side, I also loved the political stuff. Sarene was a great character to follow and I really liked her interactions with the other nobles. The religious aspects of the world were really, really interesting and it kept my attention at all moments. Hrathren was a little tedious to read at times, but it ended up being a very interesting perspective. I love the discussion presented with his character and it was great to see the different sides of religion, and how men manipulate the belief systems to justify their atrocious actions. I think it's specially interesting coming from an author that's religious himself and as an atheist, I found it just... fascinating.
And, lastly, I just loved the magic system. But with Sanderson, I didn't expect less. I always love the magic in his books. In every chapter I went back and forth between the reading and the Arcs Arcanum to see which Aon was drawn and how that connected with what happened. I just loved it, I want to know more about the Dor.
I have the Arcanum Unbounded, so I'll just run to read The Hope of Elantris now, bye!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Chronic illness, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Suicide
A mayor theme of the book is religion and the atrocities men do in the name of their gods.anelya's review against another edition
Why didn't I finish this book? I worry that a better question is, "Why did I start?" I read Warbreaker and the the first Mistborn Era Trilogy first. Already there I chafed at the sexism, the casual and implicit sexism; already in those novels the racism was uncomfortable, the ableism and treatment of neurodivergent characters brought me to frustrated tears. But I was told that these books were wonderful, so I kept trying, waiting for them to get better.
Elantris was the last straw. The sexist comments were every two pages, slowly grinding down the walls I put up against it. The internalised misogyny was so present and so unnecessary; it was repeatedly so heartbreaking to hear the few female characters in the novel tear each other down. The off-hand comments against psychologically-disabled characters made me want to rip up the E-Reader. But what really made me stop and made me finally give up was the racism and slavery.
What is it with Sanderson and slavery? Most importantly, what is it with Sanderson and entire groups of people who either choose to be enslaved or are happy to act as slaves? It already made me feel so gross in the other books, but at around page 200 in Elantris, there was a scene where a child tried to let the enslaved character free, and the character fought back and claimed it was free and just... *SIGH* Yada, yada, different very terrible arguments that don't hold up to a mite of scrutiny. Flawed arguments attempting to legitimise slavery in a novel that claims to be against it. I just couldn't handle it anymore.
I'm sick and tired of this man's writing. How many groups must he treat terribly before he's through? I am in so much disbelief that so many people support his writing and claim that his representation is even halfway decent. Either he cleared up his whole act for The Stormlight Archive, or people are making excuses for him for some reason. I tried long and hard to see what on earth is worth it in these novels to make the positive points of reading them outweigh all the bad, but it has evaded me.
I guess if you're a person who can excuse ableism, sexism, misogyny and many layers and types of racism, then this is for you.
Elantris was the last straw. The sexist comments were every two pages, slowly grinding down the walls I put up against it. The internalised misogyny was so present and so unnecessary; it was repeatedly so heartbreaking to hear the few female characters in the novel tear each other down. The off-hand comments against psychologically-disabled characters made me want to rip up the E-Reader. But what really made me stop and made me finally give up was the racism and slavery.
What is it with Sanderson and slavery? Most importantly, what is it with Sanderson and entire groups of people who either choose to be enslaved or are happy to act as slaves? It already made me feel so gross in the other books, but at around page 200 in Elantris, there was a scene where a child tried to let the enslaved character free, and the character fought back and claimed it was free and just... *SIGH* Yada, yada, different very terrible arguments that don't hold up to a mite of scrutiny. Flawed arguments attempting to legitimise slavery in a novel that claims to be against it. I just couldn't handle it anymore.
I'm sick and tired of this man's writing. How many groups must he treat terribly before he's through? I am in so much disbelief that so many people support his writing and claim that his representation is even halfway decent. Either he cleared up his whole act for The Stormlight Archive, or people are making excuses for him for some reason. I tried long and hard to see what on earth is worth it in these novels to make the positive points of reading them outweigh all the bad, but it has evaded me.
I guess if you're a person who can excuse ableism, sexism, misogyny and many layers and types of racism, then this is for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Colonisation, Sexism, Misogyny, Racism, Xenophobia, Violence, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, Fatphobia, Classism, and Chronic illness
mandkips's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Body horror
Moderate: Religious bigotry and Violence
Minor: Child death, Suicide, and Sexism
reneebkreviews's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Death, Slavery, Chronic illness, and Suicide
Moderate: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Eating disorder, Torture, Death of parent, and Sexism
entranced_reader's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Suicide
lilifane's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Everyone warns people not to start reading Brandon Sanderson with this book, but I always want to experience a complex book universe in the publication order. So I started with Elantris, but told myself that it doesn't matter how much I hate it, I will definitely still read Mistborn at least.
To my biggest surprise I actually really enjoyed this book and if this is his weakest one... okay.
It certainly has its issues. Most of the characters are pretty flat and boring (although I like most of them without a doubt). I think there is only one character that is actually complex and interesting. And the whole political plot didn't interest me that much, I just didn't care for it and I think it dragged on for too long. I didn't care for the king and this baby monarchy, I didn't care for the nobility. I might have cared for the peasants, but they were basically absent from the plot, although they had so much more potential?
The rest of the book? I loved it! The world building is phenomenal, I enjoyed the magic system a lot, everything about Elantris (history, mystery, present state) is so cool and fascinating, and I flew through these chapters. The story was really well plotted in my opinion, all the small details that became important at the end and fit perfectly together. Ah, I love this. (I'm just a little sad the final Elantris mystery wasn't really explained. That scene was so confusing, and I don't know what happened there. I have a vague idea, but it's bothering me not to know the details!)
Also: Although I know, Sanderson discusses mental health in his books, I wasn't aware it was already so present in this first one. The way the suffering of Elantrians can be compared to depression really impressed me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, War, Fire/Fire injury, and Misogyny
maelikesbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Torture
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Sexism, Sexual violence, and Suicide
sashafriese's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, War, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Sexism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, Fatphobia, Death, Colonisation, Chronic illness, and Child death
jamieleepilk's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Continuing my Brandon Sanderson journey by going back to the very beginning.
"Elantris was the capital of Arelon: gigantic, beautiful, literally radiant, filled with benevolent beings who used their powerful magical abilities for the benefit of all. Yet each of these demigods was once an ordinary person until touched by the mysterious transforming power of the Shaod. Ten years ago, without warning, the magic failed. Elantrians became wizened, leper-like, powerless creatures, and Elantris itself dark, filthy, and crumbling."
Epic fantasy at it's finest, I will admit it's not quite as polished as his later work but I loved it all the same. With his Trademark charming characters, Raoden a resilient Prince, Sarene a sword fighting, political minded princess and Hrathen a priest with a dark purpose.
Filled to bursting with unforgettable characters, captivating magical systems and mysterious religions. Something I always love about Brandon's work is how immersive it is, every little detail is incredibly well thought out I also do not understand how one many can have this whole universe inside his brain.
"Elantris was the capital of Arelon: gigantic, beautiful, literally radiant, filled with benevolent beings who used their powerful magical abilities for the benefit of all. Yet each of these demigods was once an ordinary person until touched by the mysterious transforming power of the Shaod. Ten years ago, without warning, the magic failed. Elantrians became wizened, leper-like, powerless creatures, and Elantris itself dark, filthy, and crumbling."
Epic fantasy at it's finest, I will admit it's not quite as polished as his later work but I loved it all the same. With his Trademark charming characters, Raoden a resilient Prince, Sarene a sword fighting, political minded princess and Hrathen a priest with a dark purpose.
Filled to bursting with unforgettable characters, captivating magical systems and mysterious religions. Something I always love about Brandon's work is how immersive it is, every little detail is incredibly well thought out I also do not understand how one many can have this whole universe inside his brain.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Violence
Minor: Cannibalism
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