Most fantasy stories consist of strings of lengthy books, taking thousands of pages to build worlds, develop characters, and set up larger than life plots and themes. Normally, this is what I love about fantasy, but lately I have been wondering what it would be like to read a stand-alone high fantasy – a single, average-length book with a full plot arc and satisfying conclusion. Enter Elantris.
As the first stand-alone fantasy novel I have ever read, Elantris quite frankly blew me away with its complexity and rich story, all fit neatly (rather than crammed) into a single book. As the debut novel of now-famous Brandon Sanderson, this story was a true lesson in fantasy story-telling, and one I would recommend to readers and authors alike!
Elantris was published in 2006 by Tor Books. The namesake and center of this book is a magnificent city once inhabited by powerful and benevolent people capable of wielding incredible magic – Elantrians. Every one of these people were once ordinary citizens, randomly touched by the random and magical transformation of the Shaod at some point in their lives. A decade before the outset of the story, however, the magic of Elantris failed without obvious cause, and the Elantrians descended into a decrepit and near lifeless state of leperdom. The Elantrians are now confined to the crumbling and filthy remains of Elantris, looked on with fear and disgust by the citizens of nearby Kae – now the capital of Arelon after the fall of Elantris.
This story grabs your attention from page one. Raoden, the prince of Arelon, is stricken by the Shaod just before his wedding day, and is announced dead to the citizens of Arelon – and his waiting bride. The king spirits his son away to Elantris, where Raoden is condemned along with the other Elantrians. Raoden begins unraveling the secrets of the fallen city and its magic, and doing all in his power to help those trapped within its walls.
Meanwhile, Raoden’s legally-bound widow, Sarene, starts to use her new influence in Kae, navigating politics and carrying on the secret meetings of the husband she thought she could have loved. The religious fanatics of Fjordell have begun to infiltrate Arelon, and Sarene must do all in her power to stop their ruthless conversion and take-over. As part of the Fjordell plans involve condemning the Elantrians as demonic heathens, Sarene takes it upon herself to abolish the stigma associated with the city and its inhabitants, and begins to brush paths with a nameless leader within its walls…
The mystery of the Elantrian magic was the most tantalizing and engrossing part of this story. Every page, the stakes rose higher, giving Raoden less and less time to crack the mystery before everything was lost. At the same time, the reader got to follow a classic story of ‘team sports,’ in which one person must bring together a group of hopeless people and make them into something new, cohesive, and successful. Brandon Sanderson is a specialist in this type of story-telling, and this book was no exception in his mastery.
Outside the city of Elantris, this is a story of complex politics and religion. The world-building of this stand-alone book is impressive, with obviously detailed nations, cultures, societies, and religions that meld and play off each other in realistic and intriguing ways. The characters feel real and relatable, with ambiguous lines of ‘good’ and ‘bad.’
Recommendation:
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mystery and politics. This book will make you think and feel, and is a great option for potential fantasy readers who may not typically have the attention span required for high fantasy. I especially recommend this book to writers of commercial fiction as a near-flawless example of concise world-building and character development. There isn’t too much violence, and no sex, making it a tame read for fantasy.
I warn you, this book will make you so tense. You will get invested. You will want to shout at characters and author alike. The ending is as large and stressful as the end of a full series, but unlike a book lost in a series, you may rest assured that all your questions will be answered by the last page.
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