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lisavandonselaar's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Religious bigotry, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, and War
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
badbadwolf's review against another edition
adventurous
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Violence, War, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, Child death, Death, Sexism, and Suicidal thoughts
dionysius_miller's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Religious bigotry, War, Murder, Body shaming, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Abandonment
Moderate: Chronic illness, Blood, Ableism, Body horror, and Child death
Minor: Death of parent, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Kidnapping, Racism, and Cannibalism
gdwilliams019's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Religious bigotry
rheagoveas's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Body horror
mels_booknook's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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? N/A
4.5
Overall I really enjoyed this one! Loved the splash of romance and the intertwined storylines. It had a lot of religious and political aspects which I liked but also was hard to follow at times. Overall it was a great fantasy and had a crazy ending true to Sanderson fashion. And the audio was great.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Violence
Romance: kissesimskylow's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
tense
slow-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? No
3.25
It was good. I enjoyed it. It didn’t wow me like the Stormlight Archive series does but this is also one of Brando Sando’s earlier books. It did, however, help me understand a certain aspect of The Rhythm of War. It’s cool to see all the different worlds of the Cosmere and how and where they cross over.
I sure do wish Brando could give romance a bit more flavor in his books 🙃 like, I don’t need them to be romantasy but give me a bit more chemistry and one good smooch in these dictionary sized books. That’s all I ask. That isn’t too much, is it?
I sure do wish Brando could give romance a bit more flavor in his books 🙃 like, I don’t need them to be romantasy but give me a bit more chemistry and one good smooch in these dictionary sized books. That’s all I ask. That isn’t too much, is it?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Genocide, and Confinement
Minor: Murder and Misogyny
hdcamp's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This was absolutely captivating.
The plotting and world building in this was expert and engaging. There's a note at the end from Sanderson about what he really loves about Elantris: that it's a story about a good man thrown into a bad situation. And Raoden is definitely that - no "morally gray" nonsense here, he's just a good dude who continues to do good in the horrible place he ends up. His chapters were easily my favorite. I was completely taken in by the mystery of what happened to Elantris, his study of the Aons was intriguing (scratched the linguistics part of my brain in a fun way), and the stakes were really high. I was initially quite horrified by Elantris and the wholenot healing thing (the bit where the random guy gets his neck ripped open? A MOST unfortunate start my guy) , but ultimately it was a really obstacle for the characters. I think it added to the virtue of Raoden too, that he was overcoming this constant, intense pain, and that he found a way to "heal" it in others as well.
Raoden and Sarene's little romance was sweet if not a bit awkward. I was so rooting for them though, and to have theminteracting with each other without knowing it was pretty exquisite. I appreciated that Sarene was a strong FMC without being one of those obnoxious, "strong" FMC's I see so often in fiction. She was quick and clever, and she had a history of being quick and clever that was backed up by her actions on the page. I appreciated everything about her, pretty much.
Hrathen was probably my least favorite of the characters, but there was a great deal that I appreciated about him from a technical standpoint. He wasn't a clear-cut villain either, which I think added to his success as a character; he could very easily have been written as a gross religious stereotype, but instead Sanderson gave him depth. He grappled with his faith even while trying to do the work he believed he'd been called to, and as his storyline went on I really came to appreciate that. There did end up being a crazy zealot in the story, but even he was given a bit of humanity - he had his reasons for descending into madness.
I felt the ending was a little rushed. We'd been plodding along at a pretty even pace, gradually increasing if anything, when all of a sudden everything started happening in quick succession.Roial's death was the biggest blow to me, I'd really come to like the guy. It's been a while since I read it now (dagnabbit, depression, getting in the way of my review writing), but I remember once they ended up in Teo, it all kind of felt as though I was being hit over the head with one shocking revelation after another. Hrathen's crush on Salene was my least favorite of all - it had been set up a bit, kind of, but I don't think it was set up enough. It just felt weird, which is too bad, because I could've seen it being a really interesting thing. I like me a good forbidden romance though, so take that opinion with a grain of salt.
If this review feels weird, it's because it was written two weeks after I finished the book and my brain is rotting 🙃 Overall I really enjoyed it, I can't say enough in praise of Sanderson's worldbuilding, and I can't wait to dive into more of his writing this year.
The plotting and world building in this was expert and engaging. There's a note at the end from Sanderson about what he really loves about Elantris: that it's a story about a good man thrown into a bad situation. And Raoden is definitely that - no "morally gray" nonsense here, he's just a good dude who continues to do good in the horrible place he ends up. His chapters were easily my favorite. I was completely taken in by the mystery of what happened to Elantris, his study of the Aons was intriguing (scratched the linguistics part of my brain in a fun way), and the stakes were really high. I was initially quite horrified by Elantris and the whole
Raoden and Sarene's little romance was sweet if not a bit awkward. I was so rooting for them though, and to have them
Hrathen was probably my least favorite of the characters, but there was a great deal that I appreciated about him from a technical standpoint. He wasn't a clear-cut villain either, which I think added to his success as a character; he could very easily have been written as a gross religious stereotype, but instead Sanderson gave him depth. He grappled with his faith even while trying to do the work he believed he'd been called to, and as his storyline went on I really came to appreciate that. There did end up being a crazy zealot in the story, but even he was given a bit of humanity - he had his reasons for descending into madness.
I felt the ending was a little rushed. We'd been plodding along at a pretty even pace, gradually increasing if anything, when all of a sudden everything started happening in quick succession.
If this review feels weird, it's because it was written two weeks after I finished the book and my brain is rotting 🙃 Overall I really enjoyed it, I can't say enough in praise of Sanderson's worldbuilding, and I can't wait to dive into more of his writing this year.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Gore
Moderate: Violence and Gore
There is some violence and gore mentioned throughout the book, but it is most explicit right at the beginning.sorbeth's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
4.0
This has political maneuvering (well thought out), characters with genuine motivations for what they do and why, a very well done structure. A number of basically decent people who do things for reasons, a number of people that are awful for reasons. It does get pretty bloody It also has a strong tone about the hazards of demagoguery, zealots, and attaching yourself to someone seething with hate .
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence