Reviews with content warning for Grief - Elantris

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.”

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lakinglaze's review against another edition

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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!

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proza's review against another edition

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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

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ericarao's review against another edition

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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

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diana_barv's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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? No

4.25

Well I'll be dammed. I am back on my fantasy-loving bs; expect a lot of cosmere reviews in the next months. I had intended to read more of them but finally, Jack convinced me by constantly making references to them and I wanted in on the joke.
Oh Elantris, for a first work it is surprisingly solid and I could see the roots of the style I so loved in Mistborn. The 3 POVs were very solid as was the world building. I could read an entire book on pre Shaod Elantris tho.
Sarene has everything I could wish in a protagonist, she was witty and bold and yet she had insecurities and fears. I loved her banter with Spirit.
Raoden was every bit a "good Prince this kingdom needs" but it slaps. His endless optimism was wonderful and I would have loved to see what he could have achieved with new elantris, separated from him as king of Arelon. Galladon (my beloved) was right, this dude was a sappy romantic and you know what? Some straights do deserve rights and him and Sarene were meant to be.
Hrathen's arc... sir, Mr. Gyron... holy shit. I am still unconvinced if I liked the last bit. His story was so complex and I loved the way he approached his mission and how strong his morals were, autodeception aside. He had purpose despite his lack of faith and he tried to mend his ways at the very end. BUT I do question his motivation. He and Sarene had mutual respect as opponents and barely. This was not an enemies to lovers and I think respect->admiration->love would have taken a bit more time. I feel that he could have realized he had faith in the people more than in his God's will (which was more Wrym's than a divine mandate but theological discussed will take us nowhere) And avoid parting with a dumbass confession he didn't even voiced.
Other random things that kept me from 5 stars are the weird shit with the king's rituals and lack of acknowledgement later. The "pope" who just came to read the frankly ex-machina decree. Sarene taking advantage of the shock; no way the people would have just calmly accepted an elantrian as king, not even their beloved returned-from-death prince.
Adien or whomever. He... No. Bad autistic rep. I am not well informed to give the particulars of why (Jack had however told me he IS bad rep and I trust her first-hand judgment) but even I know that was so wrong.
The pace was a bit funky, the last 3rd was super packed! But all in all I enjoyed it immensely. I even cried when I thought all elantrians lost forever. I am definitely going into the storm light archive next. Wish me luck.

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jamieleepilk's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging funny inspiring 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

Continuing my Brandon Sanderson journey by going back to the very beginning.
"Elantris was the capital of Arelon: gigantic, beautiful, literally radiant, filled with benevolent beings who used their powerful magical abilities for the benefit of all. Yet each of these demigods was once an ordinary person until touched by the mysterious transforming power of the Shaod. Ten years ago, without warning, the magic failed. Elantrians became wizened, leper-like, powerless creatures, and Elantris itself dark, filthy, and crumbling."

Epic fantasy at it's finest, I will admit it's not quite as polished as his later work but I loved it all the same. With his Trademark charming characters, Raoden a resilient Prince, Sarene a sword fighting, political minded princess and Hrathen a priest with a dark purpose.
Filled to bursting with unforgettable characters, captivating magical systems and mysterious religions. Something I always love about Brandon's work is how immersive it is, every little detail is incredibly well thought out I also do not understand how one many can have this whole universe inside his brain.

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