Scan barcode
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
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
simmonsj's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
medium-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
4.5
After reading Mistborn Era 1, I could definitely tell Elantris was Sanderson's debut novel. Elantris moves slower, less descriptive in some areas and a little too descriptive in others, but maintains good world building and characters throughout.
Elantris is more a focus on politics. We have a king failing, a prince shunned, a political marriage gone awry, and a neighboring country vying for power through religion. There are political maneuvers, political bribes, politics and religion getting mushed together.
In the background we have Elantris. Elantris was a great fallen city with an interesting premise. The city and its people are well described. The magic of Elantris, AonDor, is not as well described - better at the very end, but not really during the book as a whole. There are some Aon examples at the back of the book, but sometimes the ones described in the text are not in the index. Some of the text descriptions do not match the index drawings either. It was a little bit of a struggle to wade through AonDor passages until the end when things finally started clicking.
The niggle about the magic system aside, I really enjoyed this book. Good writing, plotting, and world building kept me entertained even though I don't always enjoy politics-heavy novels. Characters were fleshed out and believable, and Galladon's "Doloken" might be my new favorite book "swear word."
Elantris is more a focus on politics. We have a king failing, a prince shunned, a political marriage gone awry, and a neighboring country vying for power through religion. There are political maneuvers, political bribes, politics and religion getting mushed together.
In the background we have Elantris. Elantris was a great fallen city with an interesting premise. The city and its people are well described. The magic of Elantris, AonDor, is not as well described - better at the very end, but not really during the book as a whole. There are some Aon examples at the back of the book, but sometimes the ones described in the text are not in the index. Some of the text descriptions do not match the index drawings either. It was a little bit of a struggle to wade through AonDor passages until the end when things finally started clicking.
The niggle about the magic system aside, I really enjoyed this book. Good writing, plotting, and world building kept me entertained even though I don't always enjoy politics-heavy novels. Characters were fleshed out and believable, and Galladon's "Doloken" might be my new favorite book "swear word."
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent, Death, Body horror, and Violence
teyn's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I'm conflicted on this one. The story was amazing, but soooo many unchallenged problematic biases seeped into the world-building.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic, Ableism, Physical abuse, War, Fatphobia, Body shaming, and Chronic illness
Minor: Death, Violence, and Suicide
mkaiww's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Medical trauma, Colonisation, Blood, Violence, Religious bigotry, Confinement, Chronic illness, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Body horror, Gore, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Murder, Stalking, Kidnapping, Eating disorder, Alcohol, Genocide, Child death, Death, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Cannibalism, Death of parent, Grief, Bullying, and Child abuse
dredadonx's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
4.75
This was my first book introducing me to the world of Brandon Sanderson's expansive Cosmere universe. This book touched on so many deep and socio-religious themes throughout the book, especially with one of the main characters, Hrathen, who is a high Fjordell Preist within the opposing Fjordell Empire. The book follows other two perspectives, Raoden, who was a fallen prince from Kae and was sent to Elantris after getting hit with the Shaoden (more on this later); the other POV we see is Sarene, a princess from Teod, who is actually married to Prince Raoden.
The Shaod is a supernatural curse that pervaded all throughout Elantris and gives you dark blemishes all throughout your skin, turns your skin a dark-greyish color, and pronounces you "dead", but technically you can still "live", breath and talk like normal. You don't retain a heartbeat, and you feel hunger, but you don't need food to keep living (but without food you can suffer from extreme hunger, fatigue, and deliriousness, eventually causing you to pass away). It is a weird curse, and **spoiler** Raoden almost gave into the hunger in the book, which made me cry because it seemed like he was considering un*living himself.
My review is a little over the place but I did not want to give too much away with spoilers. PLZ PLZ PLZZZZZ READ THIS BOOK and I cannot wait to dive in further into Emperor's Soul, which is a sequel, but also stand-alone novel, to Elantris.
My only issue with this book was how Sarene would describe herself due to how perverse patriarchal norms are in the setting of this book. Once you read it you'll understand what I am referring to. Also, I was not a fan of how Shuden, who is a darkskinned man from an indigenous Jindo , was kind of fetishized throughout the book due to his skin type. I understand the book was written in the early 2000s so reading this in 2023 where we have made great advancements in gender and racial issues definitely had me uncomfortable.
The Shaod is a supernatural curse that pervaded all throughout Elantris and gives you dark blemishes all throughout your skin, turns your skin a dark-greyish color, and pronounces you "dead", but technically you can still "live", breath and talk like normal. You don't retain a heartbeat, and you feel hunger, but you don't need food to keep living (but without food you can suffer from extreme hunger, fatigue, and deliriousness, eventually causing you to pass away). It is a weird curse, and **spoiler** Raoden almost gave into the hunger in the book, which made me cry because it seemed like he was considering un*living himself.
My review is a little over the place but I did not want to give too much away with spoilers. PLZ PLZ PLZZZZZ READ THIS BOOK and I cannot wait to dive in further into Emperor's Soul, which is a sequel, but also stand-alone novel, to Elantris.
My only issue with this book was how Sarene would describe herself due to how perverse patriarchal norms are in the setting of this book. Once you read it you'll understand what I am referring to. Also, I was not a fan of how Shuden, who is a darkskinned man from an indigenous Jindo , was kind of fetishized throughout the book due to his skin type. I understand the book was written in the early 2000s so reading this in 2023 where we have made great advancements in gender and racial issues definitely had me uncomfortable.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Violence, Mental illness, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Forced institutionalization
ravenfaerie's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Chronic illness, Confinement, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
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
kassidyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death
Moderate: Genocide, Sexism, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Death of parent and Slavery
navyredrose's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Murder, Xenophobia, Violence, Suicide, Sexism, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Mental illness, Genocide, Dysphoria, and Chronic illness