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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
what a fantastic debut novel! I read this after the mistborn trilogy and though the social structure or indeed the narrative of Elantris wasn't as grand or complex as that of the mistborn trilogy, it was still remarkably well thought out.
Over all, a fantastical mystery with likeable characters and a unique magic system. I think I'll definitely re-read this at some point, it's one of the greats.
Over all, a fantastical mystery with likeable characters and a unique magic system. I think I'll definitely re-read this at some point, it's one of the greats.
Powerful and masterfully crafted story, 3-dimensional characters, interesting setup at the dawn of the fall of a society. No threads left untied at the end and everything placed with a narrative purpose. Sanderson at his best.
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
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:
Yes
Dragged a little in the middle for me but definitely made me interested in diving deeper into Sanderson’s work.
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So gooood! This is my first Sanderson, and I loved it. The broad strokes were definitely predictable, but that didn’t bother me. There were still specific aspects of twists that I didn’t see coming.
At the beginning, I really only enjoyed Raoden’s journey. Then I started enjoying Sarene’s, and then at the very end I liked Hrathen’s. But for a lot of the book I was annoyed with Hrathen… and Dilaf was just such a fuck. And once he revealed his motivation I was like
At the beginning, I really only enjoyed Raoden’s journey. Then I started enjoying Sarene’s, and then at the very end I liked Hrathen’s. But for a lot of the book I was annoyed with Hrathen… and Dilaf was just such a fuck. And once he revealed his motivation I was like
Update: I finally got around to a second read of this book and it was way better than I remembered. The reason I gave it 4 stars vs 5 is because it gets seriously bogged down in the middle. Everything takes way too long to move, but the world and magic system are fantastic!
I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed this book. I am not a major fantasy fan but his one was not too extreme and the "journey" that always happens in fantasy books was shorter than most.
I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed this book. I am not a major fantasy fan but his one was not too extreme and the "journey" that always happens in fantasy books was shorter than most.
İ think can be better. Caracters are so stupid how can be a king so stupid an raoden story can be better and realistc
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read the Mistborn era 1 series before Elantris and the character development and world-building felt a lot more polished than this, in my opinion. A lot of the burning questions I had throughout Elantris were still not answered by the end.
Still, I was completely invested in the plot and main characters, specifically Raoden in the fallen Elantris and Sarene in the politically chaotic Arelon. I wish their convoluted relationship was more thoroughly developed by the end, but I am a romance reader at heart so a more well developed relationship probably meant more to me than it would for the average fantasy reader. I loved the Elantris AonDor magic system and often wondered why the intelligent Seon orbs and other book characters were named similarly to the Aons that the Elantrians used for magic (which we still did not learn by the end of the book).
I personally could not stand the Hrathen and Dilaf chapters, no matter what their character arcs became by the end of the book. I feel my whole country is currently being persecuted by religious ideologies via a hostile government takeover right now, so every time Hrathen or Dilaf opened their mouths or even thought about their hostile religious opinions I got extremely pissed off. Their use of purposeful lies to manipulate citizens as pawns in their religious takeover schemes really set me off. I was fuming every time I had to read a Hrathen chapter.