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A review by daumari
Elantris: Tenth Anniversary Author's Definitive Edition by Brandon Sanderson
4.0
I know I initially five starred it, but rereading at least 15 years later (though I'm pretty sure my initial read was in high school... ah. I started my goodreads account in 2009; that's why that's the earliest shelved date) I can definitely spot some of the first time authorisms, like infodumping and some of the verbal tics (Sarene taps her cheek thoughtfully a lot!)
Still, Elantris is worth a read despite being overshadowed by Mistborn and Stormlight. For starters, what compelled me to reread this time was connectivity between worlds in later books and I'm VERY rusty on aonic power, and also a book club with first time readers. Elantris is still a really sturdy story, with triad points of view to keep it interesting (even if Raoden feels disconnected from the other two in the first half). Brandon's optimism shines through the grim settings, and the magic (and mystery of why it stopped working) is fascinating.
For me, the main sins are not really grasping the differences between religions (I get that Korathi and Derethi are rival factions descended from the same original religion, but we're not really told why they have a difference in opinion. Maybe they don't need to since real life denominations don't necessarily have firm whys, but it would've been useful), and throwing in a bunch of world building from the get go like all of the various countries (and who's under Fjorden control) etc. But, that's not enough to suggest readers skip Elantris in my opinion- if you're a Cosmere reader, this is relevant to future things (the 10th anniversary postscript makes that obvious), and it's a decent fantasy read on its own that wraps up nicely (sometimes we don't need to read series the length of encyclopedias...)
Still, Elantris is worth a read despite being overshadowed by Mistborn and Stormlight. For starters, what compelled me to reread this time was connectivity between worlds in later books and I'm VERY rusty on aonic power, and also a book club with first time readers. Elantris is still a really sturdy story, with triad points of view to keep it interesting (even if Raoden feels disconnected from the other two in the first half). Brandon's optimism shines through the grim settings, and the magic (and mystery of why it stopped working) is fascinating.
For me, the main sins are not really grasping the differences between religions (I get that Korathi and Derethi are rival factions descended from the same original religion, but we're not really told why they have a difference in opinion. Maybe they don't need to since real life denominations don't necessarily have firm whys, but it would've been useful), and throwing in a bunch of world building from the get go like all of the various countries (and who's under Fjorden control) etc. But, that's not enough to suggest readers skip Elantris in my opinion- if you're a Cosmere reader, this is relevant to future things (the 10th anniversary postscript makes that obvious), and it's a decent fantasy read on its own that wraps up nicely (sometimes we don't need to read series the length of encyclopedias...)