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troublesometrios's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
5.0
This is my first Sanderson. I should preface that I adore mysterious lost/abandoned city settings and magic systems that involve the land , so I might be just a liiiiittle biased.
Reading this book is like starting a puzzle and putting it together piece-by-piece. We follow three characters, each quite different from the other particularly in personality. Two are written as heroes, but they achieve nothing without the communities they helped build and lead. The third character is more complex and experiences the most character growth of the three. Thoughtful conversations surrounding religion, government, and community are rife throughout the story.
There IS a slow spot in the pacing -- just know that it is well worth pushing through it!
Reading this book is like starting a puzzle and putting it together piece-by-piece. We follow three characters, each quite different from the other particularly in personality. Two are written as heroes, but they achieve nothing without the communities they helped build and lead. The third character is more complex and experiences the most character growth of the three. Thoughtful conversations surrounding religion, government, and community are rife throughout the story.
There IS a slow spot in the pacing -- just know that it is well worth pushing through it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Violence
Moderate: Classism, Mental illness, Genocide, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Torture
asearl's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
People may say this is Brandon Sanderson’s weakest novel, but his weakest is still better than many other’s strongest.
I, personally, did not enjoy Elantris. I believe this opinion is more because of the order I chose to read Sanderson’s books, than the quality of this book itself. I read this book after already finishing Stormlight, Mistborn (Era 1 and Era 2), Frugal Wizard, and Tress. Because I started off knowing what he was capable of writing, I was underwhelmed. He has come a long way since 2009.
I, personally, did not enjoy Elantris. I believe this opinion is more because of the order I chose to read Sanderson’s books, than the quality of this book itself. I read this book after already finishing Stormlight, Mistborn (Era 1 and Era 2), Frugal Wizard, and Tress. Because I started off knowing what he was capable of writing, I was underwhelmed. He has come a long way since 2009.
The Cons
- From the beginning to the last couple dozen pages, the plot is ploddingly slow.
- The characters are one dimensional (at least relative to someone like Shallan or Tress or Dalinar). They have their “trait” and stick to it.
- There is so much politicking. I normally don’t mind scheming over action, so much of the book focused on scheming for it to not pay off well in the end.
The Pros
- The magic system is, of course, wonderful and unique.
- The last dozen or so pages explode in your typical Sanderson-esque finale. I think this makes the plod through the rest of the book worth it.
All-in-all, I’d recommend Elantris to anyone willing to read his other books as well, or to those looking to understand this particular magic system. If this is going to be your only Sanderson book ever, maybe try Mistborn.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Chronic illness
Moderate: Xenophobia and Classism
elwh's review against another edition
4.25
I really ate through this book after getting into it. Great worldbuilding and a unique premise. I was happy to predict certain parts, and it was fun to speculate as I listened. The writing’s easy to follow, and the characters are well-defined and easy to like. I wish many of the descriptions had more detail rather than referring to broad notions and vibes.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Misogyny, and Death
Minor: Suicide
bergha1998's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
3.75
I liked it generally, it was the pacing that tripped me up a little. There were really dry subplots and then really interesting ones. Also, there were so jumps in the book. Like how we waited the whole book for Elantra’s / the Dor too be fixed and then the way it was fixed wasn’t explained well and came about way too easy. . Over all I was just left a bit unsatisfied by this one.
Multi-POV, Romance Subplots, Hidden Identity
“Pain loses its power when other things become more important.”
“Truth can never be defeated… Even if people do forget about it occasionally.”
“When you can’t find reason in life, you tend to give up on it.”
“Joy was more than just an absence of discomfort.”
Multi-POV, Romance Subplots, Hidden Identity
“Pain loses its power when other things become more important.”
“Truth can never be defeated… Even if people do forget about it occasionally.”
“When you can’t find reason in life, you tend to give up on it.”
“Joy was more than just an absence of discomfort.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Colonisation, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Violence, Suicide, Abandonment, Blood, Chronic illness, Classism, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Grief, Murder, Racism, and War
lakinglaze's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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? It's complicated
5.0
I can’t believe it, but Elantris is now kind of my favourite book by Brandon Sanderson (that I’ve read so far). I absolutely loved it. I loved the quiet struggles and political intrigue. The characters were so varied and fun. The whole mythos surrounding everything was constantly a mystery. And Sarene as a character was just kind of perfect, honestly! I really enjoyed it and can’t wait for future stories to come!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Death of parent, Pandemic/Epidemic, Suicidal thoughts, War, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Abandonment, Alcohol, Classism, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Body horror, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Torture, Violence, Blood, Genocide, Chronic illness, Gore, Mental illness, Sexism, Slavery, and Suicide
proza's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Classism, Colonisation, Death, War, Terminal illness, Violence, Cultural appropriation, Genocide, Grief, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Self harm, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexism, Abandonment, Child death, and Misogyny
Minor: Blood and Cannibalism
ericarao's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Genocide, and Misogyny
Moderate: Sexism, Gore, and Grief
Minor: Suicide and Body shaming
zea_d_writing's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
This was my 2nd read through of this book.
When I first read Elantris, I loved it. I was fairly new to Sanderson’s work at that point and was kind of blown away by it all. The worldbuilding is detailed. The magic system is unique and interesting and complex and visual. The plot is a slow burn full of political intrigue that builds to a fairly satisfying crescendo of a climax before wrapping up nice and neat.
I was also in a fairly different place in life when I first read it; physically, mentally, and socially.
So I picked Elantris up again this year as the first book in my big Cosmere re-read and had…a very different experience of this book the second time around.
I still generally enjoyed it, don’t get me wrong. But it very quickly became very obvious that this was early in Sanderson’s career before he not only grew as an author but also (hopefully) as a person.
The story itself is not as clean as I’ve come to expect from Sanderson’s work. The worldbuilding isn’t as deeply intricate nor as subtly incorporated in this book as with his others. The plot and pacing are much slower and kind of stagnates in places. And the characters…the characters in this book are Sanderson’s weakest.
Sarene is damn close to being a Mary Sue without the self insert aspect nor a tragic backstory. She’s damn near perfect and isn’t shown to have many flaws (if any) that actually affect her arc and actions within the story. Sure, she seems to have some self-esteem issues. But that never stops her from being proud of herself, being confident, standing up for herself, etc. Sure, she claims that she isn’t attractive and no one wants her…but goes on to charm every single male character in the book including the antagonist. She can sword fight better than anyone, she’s an expert in politics and intrigue, she can solve puzzles and see patterns, she’s amazing at making public speeches at a moments notice, and the list goes on and on. She doesn’t read as a realistic human. She reads like an idealized independent yet feminine woman.
It gets nauseating at some point.
And I can’t say Raoden is much better, despite the fact that he’s my favorite of the three main POV. Something about him just made him pop off the page a little more than the others.
Hrathen I also found more interesting as a character and I feel he also had more internalized weaknesses and faults that actually impacted his arc and story, but he still didn’t feel entirely consistent. And honestly his “turning point” in the book, while not entirely out of the blue, also didn’t feel entirely earned either.
ALL OF THIS ASIDE, the poorer characterization isn’t actually what made me so disappointed in this reread.
What really caught me off guard during this reread was the blatant ableism, sexism, fatphobia, and racism throughout this book.
I knew, in the greater discussion of Sanderson as an author, that his earlier work contained a lot of biases he held before he very publicly started having discussions with his fan base about these issues, listening to the affected groups, and started implementing sensitivity readers. I knew all this, but I also hadn’t read his older work in a good long while in order to remember the extent of it.
As a disabled individual, I think there could be some really interesting discussions had about the Elantrians. How the Shaod can happen to anyone, at any time, without warning. How, instead of taking care of the Elantrians and giving them the tools to be able to take care of themselves, they are cast out of society and expected to fend for themselves within a system that intentionally isolates and impoverishes them.
I think there are really solid discussions to be had here. And I have no doubt this was the intention on Sanderson’s part.
However, the execution of exploring disability through this lens fell flat for me. Overshadowed by the blatant ableism displayed by all of the characters, how the aspect of chronic pain was “solved” in the narrative, and the use of the magical cure trope and how it applied to the only autistic character.
And I found that that was a theme throughout the book in regards to both the casual and overt sexism, fatphobia, xenophobia, and racism. The book tried to address SOME of these issues but always failed to do so with any nuance or authenticity. In many cases these problems weren’t being addressed at all and were simply there in the text or, worse, acknowledged and even joked about.
I’m not going to go into full detail on the long list of examples for these issues (the autistic coded character, the autistic character being magically cured, how both Shuden and Galladon are often referred to by their race instead of names, how Raoden - a pale skinned character - puts on an illusion to make him appear to be the same race/nationality as Galladon - a dark skinned character - and has Galladon pose as his servant, the rapey joke made by Roial, the numerous fatphobic jokes…etc) because if I did the review would be too long but the list is unfortunately far longer than I expected it to be upon going into this reread.
Overall, this book has a lot of problems. I like the plot and the story as a whole. I think some of the characters are interesting. And the magic system is easily the best aspect of the book.
It was also fun to see the first appearance of Hoid in the Cosmere.
If I didn’t already know that Sanderson is learning to do better, has taken steps to mitigate further harm, and improved in these specific areas in future books, I wouldn’t continue reading him based on this book alone.
Thankfully, he has. So, for now, I’ll continue to read.
I just might not be revisiting this one again.
And hopefully, when Sanderson finally gets around to writing in Sel again, he’ll fix some of these problems when he does.
When I first read Elantris, I loved it. I was fairly new to Sanderson’s work at that point and was kind of blown away by it all. The worldbuilding is detailed. The magic system is unique and interesting and complex and visual. The plot is a slow burn full of political intrigue that builds to a fairly satisfying crescendo of a climax before wrapping up nice and neat.
I was also in a fairly different place in life when I first read it; physically, mentally, and socially.
So I picked Elantris up again this year as the first book in my big Cosmere re-read and had…a very different experience of this book the second time around.
I still generally enjoyed it, don’t get me wrong. But it very quickly became very obvious that this was early in Sanderson’s career before he not only grew as an author but also (hopefully) as a person.
The story itself is not as clean as I’ve come to expect from Sanderson’s work. The worldbuilding isn’t as deeply intricate nor as subtly incorporated in this book as with his others. The plot and pacing are much slower and kind of stagnates in places. And the characters…the characters in this book are Sanderson’s weakest.
Sarene is damn close to being a Mary Sue without the self insert aspect nor a tragic backstory. She’s damn near perfect and isn’t shown to have many flaws (if any) that actually affect her arc and actions within the story. Sure, she seems to have some self-esteem issues. But that never stops her from being proud of herself, being confident, standing up for herself, etc. Sure, she claims that she isn’t attractive and no one wants her…but goes on to charm every single male character in the book including the antagonist. She can sword fight better than anyone, she’s an expert in politics and intrigue, she can solve puzzles and see patterns, she’s amazing at making public speeches at a moments notice, and the list goes on and on. She doesn’t read as a realistic human. She reads like an idealized independent yet feminine woman.
It gets nauseating at some point.
And I can’t say Raoden is much better, despite the fact that he’s my favorite of the three main POV. Something about him just made him pop off the page a little more than the others.
Hrathen I also found more interesting as a character and I feel he also had more internalized weaknesses and faults that actually impacted his arc and story, but he still didn’t feel entirely consistent. And honestly his “turning point” in the book, while not entirely out of the blue, also didn’t feel entirely earned either.
ALL OF THIS ASIDE, the poorer characterization isn’t actually what made me so disappointed in this reread.
What really caught me off guard during this reread was the blatant ableism, sexism, fatphobia, and racism throughout this book.
I knew, in the greater discussion of Sanderson as an author, that his earlier work contained a lot of biases he held before he very publicly started having discussions with his fan base about these issues, listening to the affected groups, and started implementing sensitivity readers. I knew all this, but I also hadn’t read his older work in a good long while in order to remember the extent of it.
As a disabled individual, I think there could be some really interesting discussions had about the Elantrians. How the Shaod can happen to anyone, at any time, without warning. How, instead of taking care of the Elantrians and giving them the tools to be able to take care of themselves, they are cast out of society and expected to fend for themselves within a system that intentionally isolates and impoverishes them.
I think there are really solid discussions to be had here. And I have no doubt this was the intention on Sanderson’s part.
However, the execution of exploring disability through this lens fell flat for me. Overshadowed by the blatant ableism displayed by all of the characters, how the aspect of chronic pain was “solved” in the narrative, and the use of the magical cure trope and how it applied to the only autistic character.
And I found that that was a theme throughout the book in regards to both the casual and overt sexism, fatphobia, xenophobia, and racism. The book tried to address SOME of these issues but always failed to do so with any nuance or authenticity. In many cases these problems weren’t being addressed at all and were simply there in the text or, worse, acknowledged and even joked about.
I’m not going to go into full detail on the long list of examples for these issues (the autistic coded character, the autistic character being magically cured, how both Shuden and Galladon are often referred to by their race instead of names, how Raoden - a pale skinned character - puts on an illusion to make him appear to be the same race/nationality as Galladon - a dark skinned character - and has Galladon pose as his servant, the rapey joke made by Roial, the numerous fatphobic jokes…etc) because if I did the review would be too long but the list is unfortunately far longer than I expected it to be upon going into this reread.
Overall, this book has a lot of problems. I like the plot and the story as a whole. I think some of the characters are interesting. And the magic system is easily the best aspect of the book.
It was also fun to see the first appearance of Hoid in the Cosmere.
If I didn’t already know that Sanderson is learning to do better, has taken steps to mitigate further harm, and improved in these specific areas in future books, I wouldn’t continue reading him based on this book alone.
Thankfully, he has. So, for now, I’ll continue to read.
I just might not be revisiting this one again.
And hopefully, when Sanderson finally gets around to writing in Sel again, he’ll fix some of these problems when he does.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Classism, Ableism, Chronic illness, Death, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and War
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Colonisation, and Eating disorder
iono's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Confinement, Abandonment, Sexism, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Classism, War, Violence, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and Genocide
Minor: Misogyny, Blood, Slavery, Child death, Death, and Gore
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
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