Book Review: Elantris

Brandon Sanderson’s first novel is quite a remarkable effort. Focused around three characters, he really grabs you into his world, creating an interesting and unique mystery, tying in magic, religion, politics and action/adventure… all the makings of a great standalone fantasy novel. The story is creative and unique, and Sanderson has a great writing style that makes the words bounce of the pages… In the story, Raoden is a prince that is taken ill by the Shaod, a strange transformation that leaves its victims basically as walking dead… except they aren’t dead… He is thrown into the guarded city of Elantris, which was once a flourishing city of magic, but after the Shaod, has fallen to become a city of the dead. Magic no longer flourishes. The other two main characters are Sarene, a strong educated princess from another land who was on her way to meet her future husband, Raoden, when she was told he was dead, and Hrathen, a warrior-priest from another land who is aiming to convert the people of Raoden’s and Sarene’s lands to a different religion or face invasion. Anyways, it’s a must-read for fantasy fans. Highly recommend… I found it hard to put it down… and I keep hoping for a sequel! (9/10).