Ultimately, the story is driven by the underlying mystery of Elantris and its sudden decay. The story is embargoed with religious and societal commentary though this isn’t surprising as Elantris was Sanderson’s thesis for his Master’s degree. The characters are only mildly interesting and the conclusion of the story felt too contrived for my liking. Simply put, Elantris is a trudge in many places.Ĭompared to his other novels, Elantris is also quite weak. I also felt as though Sanderson hammered in Sarene’s whole “independent woman” aspect too hard with this readers. In my opinion, Sarene and Hrathen simply served to slow the pace of the plot. Of the three interwoven stories, I only cared about Raoden’s. The story is dense and complicated, ofter marred by too much politicking and religious digressions from Sarene and Hrathen.
Finally, there is Hrathen, a religious fanatic intent on exposing Elantris as a city of heathens, whose purpose is to raise Arelon from the shadows and into the knowledge of his one true God.įor me, Elantris definitely felt like Sanderson’s first ever book. Then there is Sarene, a fierce and antagonistic princess, come to marry her husband, Raoden, to seal a diplomatic deal between their two neighbouring lands.
The first is Raoden, prince of Arelon, and newly blighted Elantrian. Sanderson extrapolates his story through three protagonists. The pain from every bump, every bruise, and every cut is felt by the Elantrian forever, until his or her mind snaps from the agony.Įlantris is now feared and hated. However, the Shaod still continued to transform citizens, forcing them into a life of endless torment. The demigods lost their magic and the city began to crumble. Consequently, these demigods were loved and worshiped.īut then the magic stopped. Every few days, the Shaod – the undercurrent of magical energy – randomly transformed citizens from the surrounding capital Arelon into powerful magic-wielding and immortal demigods. Elantris – the city of the demigods – was once a place of glory and wonder. Like all Sanderson stories, the premise is infuriatingly simple.
And with Calamity – the final book in the Reckoners series – only a week away from its release, I thought it apt to read Sanderson’s first ever published novel, Elantris, to supposedly discover where the magic began. Love him or hate him, there’s no denying Sanderson’s ability to pump out wickedly interesting stories.
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