► The quick overview for those browsing:
Genre: Fantasy
Recommended: Yes, very much!
Language: Very Mild (includes things like damnation, and maybe "hell" but not often)
Sex Scenes: none
Story Quality: Very Good!
World Building: Excellent
Character Development: Excellent
Real-World Politics or Allegory: Little to None (Excellent)
Violence: There are some violent scenes, though usually brief and bloodless (as Elantrians can't bleed). However, the worst one is when they stumble into the middle of a human sacrifice. The bloody sacrifice is already dead, and the scene that describes it is brief, but might be a little too dark for youths.
Age Suggestion: 18+ (Previously mentioned human sacrifice scene. Plus lots of strategy / political talk during Serene and Hrathen's chapters may be a little slower and drag on for younger teens).
► The Detailed Overview:
I've seen Brandon Sanderson before in the bookstore, but I've never given his books a try. Because I teach teenagers, most of the books I read now are teen fantasy and fiction. But, to be honest, I haven't found a good fantasy novel for myself that I've REALLY enjoyed probably since I was in high school (despite fantasy being my favorite genre). There have been a few exceptions over the years, but overall modern fantasy is often very dark, grisly, filled with sex, foul language, and are often allegories to real-world political issues. I'm with Tolkien on that one. Allegories = yuck. I usually start reading them, but get about halfway or so through before I can't stand the plot anymore and close the book.
But after buying several books for my classroom library, Amazon suggested that I might be interested in "Elantris" as well. The synopsis sounded interesting (and many people online swear by his books) and so I went ahead and decided to give it a try.
So glad I did! This book was refreshing and really enjoyable. I love that it's self-contained (though I heard the author is planning to possibly write another? Or already has?). The worldbuilding is very interesting and well thought out. The conflict is hooking, the characters are really likeable--and thankfully there is no vulgar language, no sex scenes, and the political battles within it are related to THAT world's politics and history. They aren't direct allegories of our own. (Plus, some of the characters are just downright funny). Yes, there are some darker parts to the story that show the gravity of their situation, but the author doesn't linger on them long and avoids being too grisly--which I'm thankful for.
Any critiques I had are smaller, but there are some. The first of two (though I wouldn't call them big complaints overall), is that toward the end when some characters die or reunite, it feels like you don't get time to feel it. Sometimes a death of a character you like would happen so suddenly and out-of-the-blue and then the story would just roll on into the next scene. Or some great reveal is made, and they again continue on into the next scene without the reader getting to see how people really react to it. And since you've waited several chapters to see some of those reactions, it was a little frustrating.
The second was that there were times I did roll my eyes at just how often Serene emphasized that she was a woman and couldn't allow herself to be defeated by a man (or how other characters talked about admiring her, not as a woman, but as an equal--which felt a tad preachy and corny simply because they said it too often)--but she was still written well and she does learn in fact that sometimes her drive to stand out as a woman of power causes her to overcompensate and really screw up at times, which felt realistic. She is a strong and likeable character who makes a difference and wants to feel that she belongs, but she isn't flawless and realizes when she goes too far. So, despite the fact that I rarely like female characters in novels (despite being a woman), I found that I really did end up liking her character. And I was surprised to find that I really respected Hrathen's character and how the author respectfully dealt with the conflict of rivaling religious denominations in the story. (Though Raoden and Galladon were still my favorite characters by far).
So, yes! It's definitely worth a read! I think I'll start looking into more Brandon Sanderson novels after this.
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Reviews with images
Love the book, damaged in delivery though
This is a great book. I have read it in Books before. Decided to purchase a hard copy that came to me damaged. I am a book lover so I hate to see them mistreated
Top reviews from other countries
Andrea Ochoa
Llegó rápido y en muy buenas condiciones
Reviewed in Mexico on October 21, 2023
Andrea Ochoa
Reviewed in Mexico on October 21, 2023
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Tamagotchi Matt
Sanderson's 1st novel - an excellent start
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