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    Elantris: Tenth Anniversary Author's Definitive Edition
    Elantris: Tenth Anniversary Author's Definitive Edition
    Elantris: Tenth Anniversary Author's Definitive Edition
    Audiobook28 hours

    Elantris: Tenth Anniversary Author's Definitive Edition

    Written by Brandon Sanderson

    Narrated by Jack Garrett

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    In 2005, Brandon Sanderson debuted with Elantris, an epic fantasy unlike any other then on the market. To celebrate its tenth anniversary, Tor is reissuing Elantris in a special edition, a fresh chance to introduce it to the myriad readers who have since become Sanderson fans. This new edition begins with a preface by author Dan Wells, the first person to read the completed novel, and a new afterword by Sanderson explaining how he came to write the book and its place in the Cosmere, the unified universe of all his Tor novels. Also included is the first book appearance of the short story "The Hope of Elantris," revealing interesting action referred to late in the novel, and an expanded version of the "Ars Arcanum" appendix, with more of the technical details of the book's magic that fans can never get enough of. Elantris was truly a milestone both for Sanderson and for the genre of epic fantasy. It deserves this special treatment, something Tor has done only once before, with Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game. Sanderson fans old and new will be excited to discover it.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateOct 6, 2015
    ISBN9781501902062
    Elantris: Tenth Anniversary Author's Definitive Edition
    Author

    Brandon Sanderson

    Brandon Sanderson grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska. He lives in Utah with his wife and children and teaches creative writing at Brigham Young University. His bestsellers have sold 32 million copies worldwide and include the Mistborn saga; the Stormlight Archive novels; and other novels, including The Rithmatist, Steelheart, and Skyward. He won a Hugo Award for The Emperor's Soul, a novella set in the world of his acclaimed first novel, Elantris. Additionally, he completed Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time®. Visit his website for behind-the-scenes information on all his books.

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    Reviews for Elantris

    4.5/5

    346 ratings81 reviews

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    • 2/5
      I’ve listened to many Brandon Sanderson audiobooks and have loved them, so I was excited to listen to his very first book as well. I hate to say it, but it was not very good. You can see pieces of what would make Sanderson the outstanding author he is today, but ultimately Elantris comes across as a passable rookie effort. But what really soured me on this book was the atrocious narration. The cadence and lack of nuance in the performance made me want stop listening altogether. I would only recommend Elantris to someone who is already a Brandon Sanderson fan. If you’re not, I recommend starting with the Mystborn series.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      All my fantasy-loving friends who have read Sanderson are almost wildly enthusiastic about his writing. After many of their urgings, I finally started reading Elantris, and they were right. I must say, it wasn't entirely as absorbing as I expected it to be (I imagine due to overwrought expectations), but it is a very good book, and I found it impressive how much story Sanderson managed to cram into a stand-alone book. Ok, it's a 600+page book, but still. I'm very glad he kept it in one book and didn't split the book up. The book is told from three different points-of-view: Raoden, prince of Arelon, who gets transformed by the Shaod, a process that used to change people into powerful demi-gods who could use magic, but nowadays changes them into something more resembling plague victims. These parts of the book were my favourite: I liked the society Raoden started building in Elantris, the city in which all the people hit by the Shaod are living. And I liked even more the research he was doing into what went wrong with magic. The second point-of-view is of Sarene, princess of Teod, and Raoden's betrothed, although she has never met him. When she arrives at Kae, the capitol city of Arelon, she quickly immerges herself in politics, collecting Raoden's allies around her and battling both his incompetent father and king, and the insidious priest of the martial Shu-Dereth religion, Hrathen. With these bits, I had some trouble connecting, and I don't entirely understand why myself. Sarene is likeable, and competent, and she has enough imperfections to make her realistic. Perhaps I found her a bit to clever for herself, getting herself mixed up in just about anything. Maybe that was just a bit too much. I don't know, perhaps it really was just me.The third point-of-view is of Hrathen, the aforementioned priest. He is one of the obvious bad guys from the start, but what I like is that he is not evil. Misguided, yes, with some very clear faults (if you can call it a fault to cause thousands to be massacred because it is logical). But he makes sense, he's not one of those over-the-top evil guys that you can dismiss out of hand, because you know they only have a place in the story to be evil. Although I liked the parts of Raoden and Sarene better, the Hrathen parts were very well done. Taking everything together, the story became quite intricate, with all kinds of things happening and the mystery of what happened 10 years ago to the magic at the center. The magic itself was original and conceptually well thought out. I also have a few small minus points:1. The names. Really. They are all very much alike. Just as an example, some names of concepts, places and people: Reod, Shaod, Teod, Raoden, Iadon, Edan, Eondel. After a while I figures out why the names are a bit similar, but it's very confusing. In the beginning I had some trouble keeping things apart, and there's no name list.2. The map. It doesn't show everything. This is a bit tied into my previous complaint: I had some trouble keeping things apart in the beginning. I personally don't like to look at the map in the middle of the story, but in this case I sometimes had to, and that made it especially frustrating when I could't find things on there. Really, there are three main countries, Arelon, Fjorden, and Teod. And of those three, one (Teod) is not on the map. Although the minus points annoyed me somewhat in the beginning, they didn't subtract from the whole that much, and overall, I liked this book a lot.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      Can be a bit slow at times, unanticipated ending but a good read.
    • 5/5
      An amazing fantasy book, and also a bit unique. I loved the book for not only its characters, but its plot as well. I'm not one to read about fantasy if the religions sound a bit preachy, but Sanderson manages to make not one, but three religions in the book, and even though we follow a character who does preach, nothing feels enforced on the reader. The characters are deep, complex, and "real." It's so rare when I like a woman in a fantasy novel, but Sarene is an astounding character. Her wit helps her stand out above the rest of the fantasy "babe" drones that are out there.The only qualm I had with the book is that sometimes the important scenes seemed to rush past. There are parts that I could see taking up a few pages lasting only half of a page. I had to go back and reread some sections more than once just to make sure I didn't miss anything. Other than that, this is a must-read for any fantasy lover.
    • 3/5
      This is a decent fantasy novel with a couple of original concepts. The conflict in the book is mostly political, with a little bit of traditional fantasy violence mixed in, though much less than usual. The kingdom of Arelene used to be ruled and protected by benevolent beings able to make anything with magic, beings that used to be normal people. However, 10 years ago those beings stopped being magical wish granters and instead became something more like ghouls without magical powers. The king's son becomes one himself, and his future arranged wife has to try and keep the kingdom together, protect it from his incompetent father, and save it from religious fanatics. The biggest drawback to this book is that everyone except the princess and the prince are mostl incompetent, which makes it a bit unrealistic. Still a good read.
    • 3/5
      Narrator sounds like he’s voicing the previews on Disney vhs tape, circa 1991.
    • 4/5
      The Elantrians - a once god like people who could heal the wounded, transform food from waste and travel great distances, all through the use of drawing characters in the air known as Aons. In order to join the noble faction of Elantris one must be chosen; pauper or nobleman were all candidates. However, 10 years ago a curse befell the Elantrians, the Shaod, in which the recipient was transformed into a blotchy skinned human-like creature without the powers once granted to the chosen few. The story centers around the relationship between two characters, Raoden and Sarene. Raoden, the once crown prince of the land is stricken by the Shaod and sequestered to Elantris. There he strives to learn the secrets of the city and hopes to cure the Shaod and restore hope to his people. Sarene, the lanky princess who is slated to marry Raoden, attempts to restore hope and prosperity to the people from outside the grim walls of Elantris. Elantris is not quite as strong as Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy, but it is a solid standalone fantasy novel. Fans of Sanderson's attention to detail, especially to that of magic, are sure to enjoy this epic tale.
    • 3/5
      I actually went online to see how old the author is because this book has some very naive concepts in it. Like, really, how can anyone think that a nation can change from a capitalist to a feudal type system in 10 years? It's 10 years buddy, not a generation. OMG, are we supposed to believe that the WHOLE NATION sat on its duff while an upstart took over and changed the rules, and laws, and property distribution? yeah, uh-huh.The main female character is 25. Which means 10 years earlier she was 15. And yet she "forgets" fundamental things about her uncle, like how to pronounce his name. A 15 year old is smarter than that.And if I read any more half-baked pro-feminism gibberish I'm going to throw the book out. Okay, I GET it... Sanderson tries to pass a message about how women are strong by showing how stupid it looks when they are treated as weak. He must have taken a Feminism 101 course at a local college. The biggest shame of it all is that the actual story is interesting and I want to know what happens. I just don't want to read about adolescent understandings of economies, gender equality and religion in the process.
    • 3/5
      Whew. That felt long. Overall the book was ok. I thought the characters were likeable and believable. They had clear motives and goals and behaved rationally. I also liked the straighforawrdness of the love story. There was no contrived betrayal of trust or other unbelievable drama. The conflict of the plot was sufficient to keep the love interests apart until the end. But the pace of the plot was a bit too slow to support the length of the book. Also the made up naming system doesn't quite hit the nail on the head. I had a hard time differentiating many of the secondary characters from each other. There were many interesting world-building elements that helped hold my interest despite the slow pace of the story. If you've never read anything by this author I would say don't start here. His later works are much more captivating and I'd hate for someone to be put off his writing if they don't like this one.
    • 3/5
      A solid first novel, but nowhere near as good as Sanderson's later stuff. Shows the potential of everything to come, and hints at his broader universe in some neat ways.
    • 4/5
      Substance: Engaging characters, interesting magic system, moral dilemmas satisfyingly resolved. Plot twists well-laid but not telegraphed. Heroic heroes and villainous villains, and some surprises.Style: Too many names and too much "history" in the first chapter (a common failing of this genre). One major plot hole and a few minor annoyances.
    • 5/5
      I like fantasy, but I don't always like Epic Fantasy that takes itself Very Seriously. So I groaned a little inside when I ran across words like Shaod and Arelon in the very first pages. However, my concern was unwarranted, because Brandon Sanderson's story is full of humor, romance, and intrigue and isn't overshadowed by the world or words he's created. Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      Elantris is a well plotted and fairly well paced fantasy novel with a strong female protagonist and a well thought out world; the fact that this is a debut novel would mark Brian Sanderson as someone to watch if he hadn't already established himself as an excellent talesmith.I'll pause for a moment to let grammarians and those with short attention spans recover from that sentence.Right, and moving on. A good book and an easy read, with likable characters who've sympathetic motivations. Stands nicely by itself, a refreshing change from the multi-tome epic series that seems to be the rage for the up and coming these days. Simple prose and straightforward plot (in the easy-to-follow style, not as much in the I-saw-that-coming-from-page-2 style) makes this a nice quick read that tells a good story without trying to be anything else.
    • 4/5
      This is Brandon Sanderson's debut novel and you can tell. The writing felt clunky and contrived. The bad guy didn't feel bad enough which made it seem wrong that the everyone else fought against him so hard. Problems seemed to be solved a bit too easily. But the basic premise was very original and I quite liked the story. The writing improved as the novel progressed and it made me wish the author had saved this story for a later novel after he had worked out some more of the kinks in his writing. I have high hopes for his second novel, Mistborn.
    • 4/5
      A solid, standalone fantasy novel (although there's room for sequels). Good magic system, characters, political intrigue and action. The ending incorporated a bit too many coincidences for my taste, but that's a minor flaw. Apparently this author has the task of completing Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. If this is any indication, I'm confident he'll do a decent job.
    • 4/5
      I really liked this book. I had heard a lot of good things about it on various sites, so I decided to pick it up and I'm glad I did. The author has a firm grasp of dialogue and a nice "voice" which makes this a compelling read. There's some good world building here without a lot of tedious infodumping, like you often get in first books. The story is told from three different viewpoints which allows us to see what's going on in the different areas of the city and in the different major camps of the population. There is political intrigue, religious contraversy, and magical mysteries.I found myself really caring about the characters. The romance between Raoden and Sarene feels natural, not forced, and you root for them to succeed and end up together. Everyone in the story--villains and heroes alike--shows a lively intelligence which is most gratifying for the reader.The only thing that bothers me about the story is the solution to the mystery of the Aons' failure. I would have thought that when they first began to fail that there would have been an immediate investigation into how and why, and the answer to "why", at least, jumps out at the reader from the first few chapters of the book. If the key to the solution is indeed the kind of common knowledge that it is referred to as in the book, then any decent scholar should have come up with the answer years ago.That said, I still love the world and the characters, and thought the rest of the plot was nicely constructed. I'd love to read more in this world.
    • 5/5
      Awesome first novel. There's one BIG flow however: The book [ referring to the hardcover] is divided in three parts. While the entire book is made of 487 pages you've got a first part which is close to 300 pages long and a last part which is a bit more than 50 pages long. I don't really mind how he's decided to divide the book, but the pace is a bit off. For instance, It took me a bit more than a week to read the first part, not because It wasn't interesting, but terribly slow paced. No action, no blood, no cascades, no romance, you just follow Raoden, Sarene and Hrathren discovering and planning for their next moves. Sanderson slowly lay each pieces in place for the second part.It just felt like eating too much appetizers before moving to the next dish.The second part, is faster, and it catches you by surprise as you see Sanderson accelerating the pace, now each previous elements carefully laid in the first part no longer require explanations, and the story takes a steady pace, not rushed but not slow...Then the last one, and let me tell you: DON'T START IT IF YOU'VE GOT IMPORTANT THINGS TO DO! Gosh I had an exam the following day and had to wake up at 3 a.m to have time to study -_- There is no rest whatsoever, everything moves so fast, it's a torture to even turn the pages. And you can't even cheat, because there's so much happening in so little pages, that if you try to skip three pages you end up not understanding at all what happened before. You have to bear it! I mean isn't the author nasty? 55 pages of dying suspense, with no rest whatsoever, like a final sprint after a long run and it leaves you dizzy... and asking for more.It's a wonderful standalone and at the same time, there's hints to discover more about Elantris. While the book stands very well on its own, Sanderson still leaves you with some unexplained mysteries but not in a frustrating way.What's even more striking, is how much complexity the book holds on its own. Fantasy novels are usually written at least in Duology or Trilogy, but this one is a gem on its own.Despite the pace, Elantris is NOT a story to be missed.
    • 5/5
      Wonderful story, and you just get lost in the world. It is one of the best books I've ever read, and is definitely going to be added to my favorites.
    • 5/5
      I read Warbreaker by Sanderson and absolutely loved it. Then I immediately acquired Elantris as well as Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy because I wanted to read more Sanderson. This was a great book and I am so glad that I read it.The story is told from the viewpoint of three different characters. Riorden is the Crown Prince of Arelon and is struck down by the curse of Elantris and thrown into that city to rot with the other Elantrans. Princess Sarene of Teod finds out about Riorden's death on her way to marry him; because of the contract she is considered married even if the other party should die until Riorden's father is no longer ruling. The third viewpoint is from Hrathen, a leader of the Shu-Dereth faith, who is under a deadline to convert Arelon to the Shu-Dereth religion. These three characters maneuver deftly through complex politics in an effort to save Arelon, the people and themselves. Along the way the secret of Elantris is discovered.Sanderson is an exceptionally story teller; and he really excels at these complex epic fantasies. My biggest complaints about some epic fantasies are there are too many people to remember, the plot is too complex to remember, the magic system is confusing, and relationships between the characters are unbelievably dry. Sanderson never runs into these problems; he introduces the people in a way that makes them easy to remember...never once was I confused about who was who. The magic system is explained very well without getting preachy; we discover it along with the characters. The plot is very complex and full of intrigue but Sanderson maneuvers through it with such grace you never have trouble following what is going on.Most importantly Sanderson's characters have heart. At times they may be a little too perfect, but that just endears them to you more. I always thought that the Lord of the Rings could have done better with a little more emotion and love between the characters, same with the Wheel of Time series. I love both of these series dearly, don't get me wrong. Sanderson just gives his characters a penchant for nobility and love that makes them so interesting to read about. There is also some humor thrown in now and then which made this book more fun to read than your typical epic fantasy. I loved that the story was so complete and that it fit into one book, instead of twelve 800 page books. I am impressed with the intelligence behind the plot, the serious moral issues discussed, the humor, the love, the magic...just everything. This book is much like Warbreaker in that is it more about political intrigue than about massive battles.Overall I loved this book. Now I am ready to read the Mistborn trilogy. I also have his Stormlight series on my list to get when it is released. If you love epic fantasy, intrigue, and magic with a touch of romance you will love this book.
    • 4/5
      A good, solid book. This is Sanderson's first novel, and I think I approached it differently having already read several of his other, more mature works when I first tackled this one.It was good. The plot was compelling, the characters were vivid. There were surprises to be had, and the ending felt right.However, this book does not have the complexity of his later novels. It's not fair to compare a single novel like this to, for example, the Mistborn series. But comparing it to Warbreaker, which did stand alone very effectively, would be a fair comparison. Elantris is great, but it's no Warbreaker.Recommendation: A good, solid fantasy. This would probably be enjoyed most by young adults with a desire for more adult fantasy, or adults who are looking for something fairly uncomplicated. It's a fun read.
    • 4/5
      A decade before the story’s open, the vast and glittering city of Elantris suddenly…changed. Once a place of glory, inhabited by a race of humans transfigured nearly into gods, Elantris became a scabrous, slimily decaying slum and the Elantrians became undead demons mottled with black spots, afflicted by unending pain and insatiable hunger. Once considered a blessing, the Shaod—the Transformation from normal human to Elantrian—is now considered a curse, and any displaying the telltale signs of Shaod are thrown into Elantris wearing nothing but burial rags.Raoden, the crown prince of Arelon, is awaiting the arrival of his bride-to-be, the Princess Sarene of neighboring Teod, when he awakens stricken by the Shaod and is tossed into Elantris. Shocked and disgusted by the hopelessness and bestial fury of the inhabitants, the prince begins to organize the Elantrians, creating order from chaos and giving hope to the people. Meanwhile, he begins studying AonDor, the legendary form of magic once practiced by the Elantrians, in an attempt to understand just what went wrong 10 years ago. Sarene, meanwhile, has arrived to discover that her intended has died—his father the king has hidden Raoden’s curse. The terms of her marriage contract still bind Sarene as Raoden’s widow, however, and she stays, finding herself taking up Raoden’s revolutionary efforts to overthrow the corrupt and unstable government his father has devised. When a group of zealous priests from a foreign religion come to the capital city and begin both preaching against Elantris and also attempting to convert the people of Arelon as a first step to conquest, Sarene and Raoden find themselves working on the same side to protect the people of their country and find the cure for the curse of Elantris.Complex, well-written, and convincingly detailed, “Elantris” is that rarity in the contemporary fantasy landscape…a stand-alone novel with a well-developed back-story and a resolved plot at the end. It is also a first novel, written by an author who is quickly becoming a star in the field, having been asked to complete the lengthy “Wheel of Time” series after the death of author Robert Jordan.
    • 4/5
      4 1/2...not quite good enough to round up to 5.
    • 3/5
      Brandon Sanderson cuts his teeth on his first fantasy novel filled with mystery, magic, and political intrigue. If this were classified as a young adult it would be superb for a first novel. As it is thought it reminded me of a Stephen King novel. It had great characterization, decent plot (predictable), but the ending was choppy, came from left field and felt lacking. What I love about Sanderson's writing is his depth in dialoguing the religious/spiritual aspects without seeming contrived.
    • 4/5
      How does a world carry on when its gods die? How does the political machine grind on in an immediate catastrophic power vacuum? Can a dystopic future can be reversed? Sanderson tackles all these questions in the form of a mystery novel set in a fantastic setting.The lead theme in this volume is leadership. What role can good leadership play in the face of overwhelming odds? What effect does weak leadership have on a nation? Of course, the religion plays a lead role in this discussion, as it does in all of Sanderson’s works.Sanderson excels at planting enough foreshadowing in the text to alert the thinking reader just before major events happen. I found myself cluing in to what was about to happen a number of times just before the events or epiphanies transpired.Elantris is a fine novel that grips you in the preface and refuses to let go until you lay the book down sometime well after midnight.
    • 5/5
      Top-notch and original fantasy. One of the best I've read in a long time.
    • 5/5
      This book blew me out of the water, and that’s a rather difficult thing to do. I enjoyed it so much that I’m not even sure where I ought to start here; there were just so many things I liked about it!For one, there was a great mix of personal conflict and political machination. The political struggles made a nice backdrop for the character development, which I found very effective. I cared about the book because I genuinely liked both Raoden and Sarene. (Hrathen was okay, but I found him interesting in more of an intellectual sense). I was desperate to see them succeed; both their triumphs and their failures really resonated with me.I also found the setup very effective; the POV rotates amongst the three main characters, and I’d often find myself reading just one more chapter so I could see what was going on with Sarene… then just one more after that to see how Hrathen was making out… and then of course I had to see what Raoden was doing… and so on and so forth. This really added to the book’s readability, and created a satisfying amount of tension.There’s so much more to this book, but I have a feeling this review will end up being far too long – and decidedly spoilerish – if I mention much more. Suffice to say that I recommend this very, very highly. It’s a long book, but it flies by.
    • 4/5
      What an amazing debut fantasy novel!I've got to admit, I'm impressed. From the first page to the last, I greatly enjoyed this novel. It is populated by rich, vibrant characters; has a quick-paced plot; twists and turns throughout and is totally unique in it's scope. I would be hard pressed to find more than a couple of fantasy novels in recent years to come up to this level.I think that the plot has been sufficiently covered in the synopsis for this book already. Suffice it to say that I was enchanted with the fresh slant that Mr. Sanderson has taken with the genre. He has created heroes (and heroines) that we can truly root for and villains to despise and hate. A world of magic and chaos and good and evil can be found within these pages. Be warned though, once you pick it up, you won't be able to set it down for long!!
    • 4/5
      This is my first book from this author, and although much of the book was somewhat slow in building, the ending Asbury riveting and very good. I will definitely B reading more books by Sanderson.
    • 4/5
      Elantris was once a fantastic city and the capital of Arelon. Its inhabitants had magical powers and were worshipped as demi-gods. Suddenly the magic disappeared – everything started to rot and the Elantrians became a cursed people. Even after the fall of Elantris Arelenes were taken by the so-called “Shaod” (the transformation to an Elantrian). From that point Elantrians are seen as dead – they cannot be killed unless they’re decapitated or burned, they don’t need food, although they feel like they’re starving all the time, and if they’re wounded in any way, their bodies cannot heal themselves.This is what happens to the first of our three main protagonists at the beginning of the book: The prince of Arelon, Raoden, is thrown into the city of Elantris. His storyline focuses on how he wants to improve the lives in Elantris.The second protagonist is Sarene, Raoden’s fiancé, who arrives in the new capital Kae a few days early to her wedding with Raoden. Although Raoden is thought dead as she arrives, their marriage contract is valid and Sarene is now a widow to a husband she has never met. She struggles to find her place at the court: She wants to stabilize the monarchy and improve the situation of the Arelens, even of the Elantrians. She chooses Hrathen, a high-ranking priest of a rivalling religion, as her nemesis and tries to corrupt all his plans.Hrathen, a gyorn of the Derethi religion, is coming to Elantris at about the same time as Sarene. He wants to convert the people of Arelon to the so-called Shu Dereth. If he doesn’t achieve the conversion before three months are over, his countries’ armies will run over Arelon.***I’m very new to the Fantasy genre and haven’t read much apart from The Lord of the Rings or A Game of Thrones. I liked this novel very much and I’m sure that I would have enjoyed it even more when I could have read it in one go. It was just the right balance between fantastical elements, politics and fighting. Although the protagonists could have been a little bit more ambivalent, it was a good read.
    • 4/5
      Very few authors can convince me to care about their characters. I started reading this book with a chip on my shoulder, having recently learned that Brandon Sanderson has been awarded the task of writing the Wheel of Time's final book A Memory of Light. My goal while reading this novel was to compare Brandon's talent and ascertain his ability to carry on the torch that is the Wheel of Time.

      Brandon's talent for characterization, especially the female lead, and plot twists and progressions eased my mind. Elantris stands alone as a well-written fantasy and worthy of your time spent in Arelon.