Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

29 reviews

lisavandonselaar's review against another edition

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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


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troublesometrios's review against another edition

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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!

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badbadwolf's review against another edition

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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


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dionysius_miller's review against another edition

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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


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gdwilliams019's review against another edition

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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


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njthk's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.75


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mkaiww's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious slow-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No

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dredadonx's review against another edition

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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. 

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kassidyreads's review against another edition

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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


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navyredrose's review against another edition

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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


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