OH MY GOSH GUYS THIS BOOK IS FANTASTIC!!!!!
So basically Brandon Sanderson is my new favorite author and my new goal is to read all his books of ever. Which is to say, I'll be occupied probably until he dies, which is kind of morbid but whatever it's true.
I guess we'll just jump right into everything then, trying to keep this as spoiler-free as possible!
The story has basically three main characters and each has their own POV chapters. First, we have Raoden, crown prince of Arelon. Then, there's Sarene, princess of Teod. And finally, Hrathen, gyorn (aka way high up priest) of Shu-Dereth (that's a religion).
Then there's Elantris, the fabled city of practically gods. People randomly get chosen by some unseen force to become Elantrians and it can happen to anyone, which is pretty cool honestly. But guess what? It gets messed up! So instead of becoming gods, Elantrians are basically cursed and practically dead but still living. It's a pitiful existence really. And they're locked in Elantris, as if it wasn't bad enough already. And guess who gets chosen by the Shaod to become an Elantrian?
Raoden, that's who! (No it's not a spoiler, it says it in the synopsis don't get mad)
So when Sarene arrives in Arelon to marry Raoden, he's "dead" and she's his widow. Which sucks basically. But she's super crafty and dives right into the country's politics and she's super awesome.
Meanwhile Raoden is off being the eternal optimist in Elantris with the ever-hilarious Galladon. Side note on Galladon - he's a Dula, which is a people stereotyped as flamboyant and happy and just the complete opposite of pessimistic Galladon, and there's your humor!
Also --- I totally ship Raoden and Sarene!!! #Raorene just go with it
Now, Hrathen is trying to convert the entire country of Arelon to Shu-Dereth before his country, Fjordell, invades and kills everyone who isn't Derethi. But no one likes him so it's kind of hard. Honestly I hated him until the end, but I really had to respect his cunning and logical problem-solving. And Dilaf was a sneaky little rat and I hated him. Constantly. He was the worst not gonna lie.
As you could probably tell from that not so simple background, this book is really complex. The plot is soooo political, with lots of religious conflict and power struggles and stuff like that. I loved it all completely!!
And let's just take a moment to appreciate the languages! So there's Aonic first of all, which is how the Elantrians use magic (or used to use magic if we're being accurate). It's these glyph-like characters that are actually really pretty and complicated if you look in the glossary at the end of the book. And they're all pronounced with crazy double-long-vowel combinations that messed with my brain but I eventually got the hang of...kinda...not really who am I kidding? But I didn't even care because it was just so amazing!
I could not for the life of me believe that this was Brandon Sanderson's debut!! This much awesomeness is incredibly impressive for a first novel, but I guess it is Brandon Sanderson soooo...
I highly recommend this to fantasy lovers! As great as it was, however, I don't think this should be your first (either fantasy or Brandon Sanderson). I just don't think it's a very good bridge book if that makes sense.
What are your thoughts on Elantris? Do you like fantasy too? Any recommendations? Let me know down below!
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