Elantris (Cosmere Universe)

by Brandon Sanderson

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.

Arelon's new capital, Kae, crouches in the shadow of Elantris. Princess Sarene of Teod arrives for a marriage of state with Crown Prince Raoden, hoping -- based on their correspondence -- to also find love. She finds instead that Raoden has died and she is considered his widow. Both Teod and Arelon are under threat as the last remaining holdouts against the imperial ambitions of the ruthless religious fanatics of Fjordell. So Sarene decides to use her new status to counter the machinations of Hrathen, a Fjordell high priest who has come to Kae to convert Arelon and claim it for his emperor and his god.

But neither Sarene nor Hrathen suspect the truth about Prince Raoden. Stricken by the same curse that ruined Elantris, Raoden was secretly exiled by his father to the dark city. His struggle to help the wretches trapped there begins a series of events that will bring hope to Arelon, and perhaps reveal the secret of Elantris itself.

Other Tor books by Brandon Sanderson

The Cosmere

The Stormlight Archive
The Way of Kings
Words of Radiance
Edgedancer (Novella)
Oathbringer

The Mistborn trilogy
Mistborn: The Final Empire
The Well of Ascension
The Hero of Ages

Mistborn: The Wax and Wayne series
Alloy of Law
Shadows of Self
Bands of Mourning

Collection
Arcanum Unbounded

Other Cosmere novels
Elantris
Warbreaker

The Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians series
Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians
The Scrivener's Bones
The Knights of Crystallia
The Shattered Lens
The Dark Talent

The Rithmatist series
The Rithmatist

Other books by Brandon Sanderson

The Reckoners
Steelheart
Firefight
Calamity

• ISBN10: 0765381028
• ISBN13: 9780765381026
• Publish Date: 6 October 2015 (first published 1 May 2005)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Tor Books
• Edition: -Tenth Anniversary Author's Definitive ed.
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 592
• Language: English

Reviews

[anne]

Hard to put down. Very dense. Not entirely clear about some of it.

[ladygrey]

It did not take me two weeks to read Elantris. Though I started it and wasn't interested in anything happening by the end of the first chapter so I put it down for a while. I mean, there was a prince so I figured it would get interesting. And there's a girl on the cover so I assumed she'd show up at some point. But the first chapter is all grimy and violent and depressing.  Which, is kind of the point, I get. But not fun to read.

Eventually, though, I came back to it and read the second chapter which was much more interesting than the first. And by then the particular Brandon Sanderson way of making you want to see what happens next kicked in and I read Elantris, truly, in like two days.

Brandon Sanderson is good so I enjoyed it. I liked Roadan and Sarene a lot. I liked the secondary characters a good deal as well. I couldn't stand Dilaf, like from the first glimpse despised him and every time he showed up on the page. But, again, I kinda think that was the point. I liked Hrathen more when he was opposing Dilaf and liked him less when it seemed Dilaf was getting the better of him.

The end wasn't really much of a surprise. How it played out was unexpected but I don't think you write a story telling us so much of who the Elantrians used to be without eventually making the half formed versions into the whole. The good part is that I enjoyed the rest of the book enough that by the time I got to the end that wasn't what I was reading for anymore.  

I found it interesting how similar certain things were to The Final Empire. Dilaf's use of Dor and the partially metal parts to him were a lot like the Steel Inquisitors. And the theme of the gods and the rewritten history was a little similar. And the seons were a lot like the gloopy creatures that can change shape and live to serve people. Which makes sense because he was writing them sort of in parallel and because they're in the same universe. But I had to keep reminding myself that they're in the same universe when I stumbled on a similarity because it felt a little too the same, but also a little not. It was very subtle.

The thing is, as well written as Elantris is, I didn't love it. There were no parts I wanted to quote or characters I adored or moments that got me especially excited. I might have almost cried at one moment at the end a little, but I'm not being facetious--I honestly can't remember and it was last night. Sanderson's books are always good and always well written but I haven't read one yet that I love or that I need to read again. 

[HekArtemis]

Ah so good, Sanderson sure knows how to punch me straight in the heart. But he also knows how to make me laugh. So it's all good.

It's meant to get a sequel in the distant, distant future too isn't it? I look forward to that.

[mitabird]

2.75 stars

Holy crap, I have no words! What a wonderful read! I was instantly hooked by this book but Part II shit gets CRAZY. I loved all three POVs - These characters are wonderful (btw, Hrathen is my favorite). Sanderson managed to write a book centered around politics/religion that didn't make me feel bored. That in itself is an achivement lol.

Mistborn, here I come!

Simply amazing. One of Sanderson's first published books and, I think, one of his best. There were several days where all I wanted to do was go home so I could read this book and it took a lot of willpower to put it down every evening. If you love Brandon's other books (I've only read Mistborn), you'll love this. If you haven't read any of his other stuff but like fantasy, you'll love this. Heck, I'm pretty sure if you like books period, you'll love this. The only (extremely minor) complaint I have is that this book was published 10 years ago and there isn't a real sequel! Brandon really hooked me with the characters and worldbuilding and I was settling down for another trilogy in progress when I realized at the very end this was the only proper Elantris book! I hope he does get around one day to expanding Sel and in the meantime, I plan to read The Hope of Elantris and The Emperor's Soul before moving on to other worlds in Sanderson's cosmere.

[Mercy]

Hacía tiempo que no leía libros gordos de fantasía en menos de una semana. Este mes leí dos en una semana y fue como encontrarme con un viejo amigo. Cuanto extrañaba perderme en otros mundos, descubrir formas de magia distintas, preocuparme cuando el malo va ganando... y todo eso que sientes cuando lees fantasía.

[adamfortuna]

Even though this is Sandersons first book, it hits many of the same chords. The magic system isn't as well developed as in his following works, leading to revelation moments which had me scratching my head a little. The story itself was a bit long for how little happened. The overall story ended up leaving me wishing some of the mysteries were revealed sooner, giving more time for elaboration.

[KitsuneBae]

#Sanderson Cosmere

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

Review to follow soon.

For a debut novel, Elantris was a damn good book. But still, I can't help comparing it to the author's other works.

[Amber]

After reading The Final Empire, I was in denial and really didn’t want to carry on with the rest of the Mistborn trilogy, so I went ahead and picked Elantris up instead. Still set in the Cosmere universe, I knew that I was in for a treat, although I wasn’t expecting anything as phenomenal as my first Sanderson book. And I was kind of right. While Elantris is pretty awesome, and while I adore the world that it’s set in, it wasn’t The Final Empire by any means.


In this world, Elantris was once a place of magic and awesomeness, but something happened that caused the city to lose its magic, as did the citizens who resided there. There is this whole mystery of what exactly happened to Elantris that is a prominent plot point throughout the book. How could anything destroy a city in such a way? And why don’t the people who live there die? Prince Raoden is sent to Elantris after he goes through a thing, and through his eyes we discover what’s really going on there.

Outside of Elantris’ walls, we have Sarene, who was on her way to marry Raoden for a political marriage. She gets caught up in all of the mystery business, with the priests and the preachers and the royal family. It’s all very complicated but Sarene is bloody awesome. I loved the inside-outside dynamic that she and Raoden provided, although I wasn’t a fan of the romance that eventually blossomed between them.

Sanderson is so good at world-building, you guys. While he does seem to recycle tropes and basic plot points and themes, he goes on to build upon them and develop them and eventually you are left with an amazing world that feels pretty damn unique. The fantasy elements are, of course, the most compelling part of the story, and I loved reading about the world as it started to take shape. I love this Cosmere universe so much, and I am actually pretty excited about doing a reread at some point in the future so I can note down absolutely everything.

Elantris is a really good book, that is currently a standalone although I think Sanderson might be planning a potential sequel. Either way, Elantris is awesome, and I highly recommend reading it if you’re already a fan of Sanderson’s other series. I’m not sure I would recommend starting with this book as your first venture into the Cosmere, but it’s certainly a very good read.