Elantris by Brandon Sanderson: Please Stop Toying With My Emotions

 I need counseling. 

I decided to follow up on Warbreaker by reading Elantris, another entry in the Cosmere universe that Brandon Sanderson has created. Elantris was the first book published by Mr. Sanderson and it follows a Princess named Sarene from the nation of Teod as she travels to the neighbouring kingdom of Arelon to marry their Prince Raoden and secure political ties. Arelon was once the home of powerful god-like beings known as Elantrians but the Elantrians fell 10 years previously to where the story begins, what was once a blessing has become a curse, now Elantrians are a reviled people.

It will be difficult to review this book without going into too much detail but I will give it a shot. Elantris is the debut novel for Brandon Sanderson and he comes flying out of the gates with this book. The narrative primarily follows Sarene and Raoden as they each adapt to changing circumstances, supporting characters come from the nobility in Arlene, Sarene's family, and the fallen Elantrians. After the fall of Elantris, the titular city that was once home to living gods, a new power has risen to the East, the followers of an opposing religion have converted other nations and now target Arlene and Teod and this religion is where we get our antagonist Hrathen a priest tasked with converting Arlene.

This book favours political maneuvering over grand battles and swordplay, although there are some of those too. The back and forth between Sarene and Hrathen as each plot to undermine the other and counter each other's plans is fascinating, their rivalry keeps throwing up surprises. Sarene is a fantastic character, her interactions with her Uncle and his family provide some levity as a counterpoint to some of the darker moments in the story, and her rivalry with Hrathen and political battles serve to move the story forward.

As the title of this review suggests this book took me on somewhat of a rollercoaster, I'm not going to cover anything as to how or why as I really enjoyed the ride and hope that new readers of this book get to experience that ride for themselves. What I will say is that as the book reached its crescendo there was no way I was going to be able to put it down, the book reaches a frenetic pace and I'm not sure I would have been able to stop had my house caught fire.

I mentioned before that Brandon Sanderson has a way with building the worlds his books take place in, I will probably mention it every time. Elantris takes place mostly in two cities and focuses mostly on the people of Arelon however during the story we are introduced to characters from other nations. The wider continent of Opelon feels populated and the nations within it feel diverse and developed.

So far there is not a sequel to Elantris although there are two short stories that accompany it, I for one hope we eventually get more from the world of Elantris.