A review by lilifane
Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious 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

4.0

Everyone warns people not to start reading Brandon Sanderson with this book, but I always want to experience a complex book universe in the publication order. So I started with Elantris, but told myself that it doesn't matter how much I hate it, I will definitely still read Mistborn at least. 
To my biggest surprise I actually really enjoyed this book and if this is his weakest one... okay. 
It certainly has its issues. Most of the characters are pretty flat and boring (although I like most of them without a doubt). I think there is only one character that is actually complex and interesting. And the whole political plot didn't interest me that much, I just didn't care for it and I think it dragged on for too long. I didn't care for the king and this baby monarchy, I didn't care for the nobility. I might have cared for the peasants, but they were basically absent from the plot, although they had so much more potential?
The rest of the book? I loved it! The world building is phenomenal, I enjoyed the magic system a lot, everything about Elantris (history, mystery, present state) is so cool and fascinating, and I flew through these chapters. The story was really well plotted in my opinion, all the small details that became important at the end and fit perfectly together. Ah, I love this. (I'm just a little sad the final Elantris mystery wasn't really explained. That scene was so confusing, and I don't know what happened there. I have a vague idea, but it's bothering me not to know the details!)
Also: Although I know, Sanderson discusses mental health in his books, I wasn't aware it was already so present in this first one. The way the suffering of Elantrians can be compared to depression really impressed me. 
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