Fernando reviewed Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
Una obra maestra
Dejo mi reseña en www.enredandotemas.com/2023/06/descubriendo-la-magia-de-de-brandon.html
638 pages
English language
Published May 18, 2006
In 2005, Brandon Sanderson debuted with Elantris, an epic fantasy unlike any other then on the market. To celebrate its tenth anniversary, Tor is reissuing Elantris in a special edition, a fresh chance to introduce it to the myriad readers who have since become Sanderson fans.
This new edition begins with a preface by author Dan Wells, the first person to read the completed novel, and a new afterword by Sanderson explaining how he came to write the book and its place in the Cosmere, the unified universe of all his Tor novels.
Also included is an expanded version of the "Ars Arcanum" appendix, with more of the technical details of the book's magic that fans can never get enough of.
Elantris was truly a milestone both for Sanderson and for the genre of epic fantasy. It deserves this special treatment, something Tor has done only once before, with Orson …
In 2005, Brandon Sanderson debuted with Elantris, an epic fantasy unlike any other then on the market. To celebrate its tenth anniversary, Tor is reissuing Elantris in a special edition, a fresh chance to introduce it to the myriad readers who have since become Sanderson fans.
This new edition begins with a preface by author Dan Wells, the first person to read the completed novel, and a new afterword by Sanderson explaining how he came to write the book and its place in the Cosmere, the unified universe of all his Tor novels.
Also included is an expanded version of the "Ars Arcanum" appendix, with more of the technical details of the book's magic that fans can never get enough of.
Elantris was truly a milestone both for Sanderson and for the genre of epic fantasy. It deserves this special treatment, something Tor has done only once before, with Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game. Sanderson fans old and new will be excited to discover it.
Other Tor books by Brandon Sanderson
The Cosmere
The Stormlight Archive The Way of Kings Words of Radiance Edgedancer (Novella) Oathbringer (forthcoming)
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
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Dejo mi reseña en www.enredandotemas.com/2023/06/descubriendo-la-magia-de-de-brandon.html
Really surprising book. It may not get a lot of headlines vs Sandersons other books, but should. One of his best.
"Elantris" me ha dejado una impresión duradera. Me cautivó el rico escenario creado por Sanderson, donde los detalles sobre los distintos reinos, facciones y grupos religiosos se presentan de manera puntual pero continua. Agradezco que el autor no dedique largas descripciones a estos aspectos, sino que los introduzca naturalmente a través de los diálogos entre los personajes. Dejo mi reseña en : www.enredandotemas.com/2023/06/descubriendo-la-magia-de-de-brandon.html
This is a very nice, fun read. Compared to his later works, it's clear that Sanderson has grown a lot. The characters here are good, the plot decent, and the setting great, but over the years Sanderson has matured his style a lot and perfected his art. This is still nevertheless, a great read for those looking for a short dive into a fantastical world and are willing to forgive a few rough parts here and there.
For a full review, check out my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2022/03/book-review-elantris-by-brandon.html
Awesome novel, as usual for Sanderson, but it shows its immaturity relative to later books in the Cosmere. More than anything else, the time frame of the events feels a bit weird. Still, an amazing book both in and of itself, and considering it was his first published one! :D
Although, for me at least, is the worst of Sanderson's books so far. It is still a masterpiece, and it is still between my top 15 favourite books. This is indeed a show of just how good is Brandon
Wonderful character-building. I really cared about some of the characters.
I also appreciated that the book, while open to sequels, could stand on its own. So many questions were answered, and I felt like every loose end and foreshadowed idea came to fruition in some way or another.
Not my favorite Sanderson but a strong book none the less. It was a surprising read, strong characters, and good story. But you can definitely tell how much Sanderson has grown as an author from this book.
3.5 stars. This is Brandon Sanderson's first novel, and it shows. It contains all the elements that make him so extraordinary now: worldbuilding, unique magic system, and political struggles. Just on a lesser skilled frame than Mistborn or The Way of Kings.
Elantris is a city in the country of Arelon. Ten years ago before the story happened, a natural disaster caused magic to fail in the city. Before that day, the Reod, the inhabitants of Elantris had been god-like creatures with magic powers who were able to create food from dirt, heal wounds and live like gods, with the country of Arelon serving them. But not anymore. Elantris is now full of zombie-like creatures without any magic or life in them. It is into this city that the protagonist Prince Raoden, crown-prince of Arelon, gets tossed in when his body begins the transformation to Elantrian and he joins the …
3.5 stars. This is Brandon Sanderson's first novel, and it shows. It contains all the elements that make him so extraordinary now: worldbuilding, unique magic system, and political struggles. Just on a lesser skilled frame than Mistborn or The Way of Kings.
Elantris is a city in the country of Arelon. Ten years ago before the story happened, a natural disaster caused magic to fail in the city. Before that day, the Reod, the inhabitants of Elantris had been god-like creatures with magic powers who were able to create food from dirt, heal wounds and live like gods, with the country of Arelon serving them. But not anymore. Elantris is now full of zombie-like creatures without any magic or life in them. It is into this city that the protagonist Prince Raoden, crown-prince of Arelon, gets tossed in when his body begins the transformation to Elantrian and he joins the 'zombie' masses. At the same time, his fiancee Princess Sarene arrives in Arelon, only to find out that her husband-to-be 'died' and she is now legally tied to be a widow and member of the royal family. A royal family that is not very stable in its rule, and which is threatened when Gyorn Hrathen arrives in Arelon, trying to convert the country to his god Shu-Dereth for the Empire of Fjorden.
I don't know, sometimes I was really thrown off by this book. It is written in what felt like a very light-hearted manner but the story that is going on itself is not very light-hearted at all. Those are desperate times in Arelon and Elantris, and I never really get to feel that despair inbetween all the light-hearted banter of Sarene and her band of Arelene nobles. The emotional impact could have been a lot higher, which would have made this a lot better. I think it's in this area that Sanderson has grown the most, if I compare Elantris to The Way of Kings, e.g. Sarene seemed like a first prototype version of Shallan in TWoK. Or maybe he just likes to write about women like that. Female characterisation is not a huge strength of his for me, I tend to like his male characters a lot better.
That said, despite this grudge of mine, the book is chock-full of action, and especially the last 20% are full of surprises, twists, turns and kept me glued to my Kindle.
I had hoped to get a better understanding of Sanderson's Cosmere universe from reading this, but other than spotting Hoid in the book, I am still no further at grasping what connects all his worlds.