Elantris Thoughts

[Notchbeard]

Just finished reading Elantris and I found it rather charming despite all the critics of the book telling me I was going to hate it. I will admit its narrative was far less complicated than Brandon's other fantasy books, landing somewhere between his YA & Epic Fantasy. It still had all his hallmarks; well thought out magic systems, good guys to root for and bad guys to hate as well as unanswered mysteries about the Cosmere at large. At 500ish pages it is also not quite the daunting task the other worlds are making it easier to convince people to give it a try. It takes more than that to even become invested in WoK. I personally think this is an IDEAL book to introduce someone who wants to read "epic fantasy" but isn't sure if they have the gumption to invest themselves in a series that will be 10,000+ pages and be released over the next twenty years. I'm making the attempt with some friends who are convinced they don't have the attention spans for such a wait/read and will post the results in a few weeks to see if it grabs them enough to wonder about this "cosmere" I am always rambling to them about when they haven't a clue wth I'm talking about. In conclusion, if you are thinking about reading Elantris and have read Stormlight or Mistborn do not expect that level of action or complexity, if however you want a few more tidbits about the Cosmere a charming good v evil story and another cool magic system to imagine it is your stuff.

8/10

[Wyndlerunner he/him]

On 7/24/2019 at 10:00 AM, Notchbeard said:

I found it rather charming despite all the critics of the book telling me I was going to hate it.

Very much my thoughts exactly. In fact, I'm quite fond of Elantris in general- Hrathen is one of my favorite Brandon Characters of all time.

[Klar she/her]

Elantris has a special place in my heart. 

On 7/25/2019 at 0:00 AM, Notchbeard said:

I personally think this is an IDEAL book to introduce someone who wants to read "epic fantasy" but isn't sure if they have the gumption to invest themselves in a series that will be 10,000+ pages and be released over the next twenty years.

I agree that it's a good intro to Brandon Sanderson's works, particularly for those with little patience for lengthy reading. His brilliance deserves to be glimpsed by anyone interested in this genre.

On 7/26/2019 at 9:07 AM, Wyndlerunner said:

Hrathen is one of my favorite Brandon Characters of all time.

Although Raoden is my ultimate favorite in Elantris, Hrathen comes to a close 2nd. It's one of the Cosmere's shorter stories but Hrathen's character development is still one of those that impacted me the most.

[Aluminum he/him]

It's a good starting book as it isn't too different from standard fiction but still has a few classic brandon plot twists

[I lost my flute]

It also has a very very good ending.

[Karger he/him]

The problem with rating books is that it is possible to thoroughly enjoy a 2/10 if you are in the right mood.  I personally think that Elantris is not his best work although I do like the final twist(I would have liked it more if I had a clearer visual but I don't think that way).

[Rushu42 she/her]

On 7/25/2019 at 9:07 PM, Wyndlerunner said:

Very much my thoughts exactly. In fact, I'm quite fond of Elantris in general- Hrathen is one of my favorite Brandon Characters of all time.

Hrathen is great. He's proof that you can love a character without rooting for them.

[Wyndlerunner he/him]

6 hours ago, Rushu42 said:

Hrathen is great. He's proof that you can love a character without rooting for them.

The religious side of me does slightly root for him, because I understand believing something so deeply that you want others to believe it too. 

[Seventh]

I also finished rereading it the other day, I'm really intrigued to learn more about the inner workings of Fjorden / Wyrn / The Skaze and how that all relates to Dominion and Devotion. Super sad about having to wait until after Stormlight 5 to get the sequels. 

On 7/25/2019 at 9:07 PM, Wyndlerunner said:

Very much my thoughts exactly. In fact, I'm quite fond of Elantris in general- Hrathen is one of my favorite Brandon Characters of all time.

Hrathen is definitely my favorite character in Elantris as well. I love how he grew over the course of the book as he's constantly wrestling with whether or not what he is doing is right.

[Kualo she/her]

I started reading Brandon from Elantris and don't regret that. It blew me away in all positive senses and when other books showed themselves to be even better, I smiled widely. 

Actually, my friend was telling me it's an easy fantasy for noobs, it amused me after I read the book.

Hrathen is one of the more complex characters indeed, I like his arc most from the book.

[Karger he/him]

I never realy liked it.  I suppose it is an OK big but I am glad I started with SA.