Review – Elantris

From Goodreads:

ELANTRIS WAS A PLACE OF GLORY

The capital of Arelon, the home to people transformed into magic-using demigods by the Shaod.

But then the magic failed, Elantris started to rot, and its inhabitants turned into powerless wrecks.

And in the new capital, Kae, close enough to Elantris for everyone to be reminded of what they have lost, a princess arrives. Sarene is to be married to unite Teod and Arelon against the religious imperialists of Fjordell. But she is told that Raoden, her husband to be, is dead.

Determined to carry on the fight for Teod and Arelon’s freedom, Sarene clashes with the high priest Hrathen. If Hrathen can persuade the populace to convert, Fjordell will reign supreme.

But there are secrets in Elantris, the dead and the ruined may yet have a role to play in this new world. Magic lives.

This was actually my second attempt at reading Elantris and I really don’t know why it took me so long to finish it. I adored this book. Sanderson really is a king at world building and magic systems. I can only compare this to his YA books but even compared to them you can tell this was his first novel. There is just a tiny something missing. Just small details of the magical system, of the world in general or of back stories for the various secondary characters. This could get a little confusing at times as many of the secondary character names were similar so I would occasionally get them mixed up.

However, most of this is easily overlooked as there is just so much content in Sanderson’s books. The plot just twists and turns filled with political intrigue. It moves with such an exciting pace and just when you think you know how things are going to unfold you are surprised with another turn in direction. While at time some of the setups could seem rather long winded the pay offs were fantastic!

I absolutely adored the characters. I lived for both Raoden and Serene and how their stories intertwined. It was just so beautifully crafted. The ending was also fantastic, it kept me on edge right up to the last page, with potential losses of favourite characters, redemption of others all encouraging me to turn the page.

If this is billed as being one of Sanderson’s poorest written books then I can not wait to continue with the Cosmere!