Elantris (2005)

Holy crap, I have no words! What a wonderful read! I was instantly hooked by this book but Part II shit gets CRAZY. I loved all three POVs - These characters are wonderful (btw, Hrathen is my favorite). Sanderson managed to write a book centered around politics/religion that didn't make me feel bored. That in itself is an achivement lol.

Mistborn, here I come! ( )

Honestly, this is closer to 3.5 stars. Main reasons it is not a 5: safe writing (no risk taking, not lively, overly measured pacing), Hrathen could have been one of the all-time greats of Fantasy, but he just comes in as a helluva character, instead. I think his story is immense and also if Sanderson wanted to work on prequels - this is the pivot point.

I recommend it to all fantasy readers. Its an above-average novel with plenty of soap opera moments and the pacing is slow enough to make you regret your choice in books by page 250. However, in for a penny-in for a pound, there are rewards to be had here and most soaps feel interminable, right?! ( )

This was incredible!
If this is supposed to be Sanderson worst book I don’t know what to expect from the rest.

The story is told through 3 POV: the cursed Prince Raoden, the smart and slightly misfit princess Sarene and the high priest Hrathen. At first I preferred some POV over the others, but with the story evolution they became equally strong (I'm still leaning a bit towards Raoden who completely stole my heart).

What to love:
- Good and immersive writting with intriguing politics and religion, amazing world building and interesting magic system.
- The characters are completely different and they never sound the same.
- How everything wraps up in the end. I don't mind reading book series, and is conforting to know there is more to read of the stories and characters we love. However, I'm somewhat tired of cliffhangers and of waiting for book series to finish (GOT, Kingkiller chronicles, etc).
I've found Sanderson's ability to create something so different and complete, while being able to do it on a standalone, very refreshing.

This is a February read and will probably be my favorite book of 2022. ( )

While I enjoyed the premise, I was ultimately disappointed with Sanderson's performance in this novel. It's rare to say this of a lengthy fantasy novel, but here it is: there was not enough development and details of the world he created. Here's this great premise, that the lost magic of the world is tied inherently to the physical geography of the earth, and....that's it. Why is the magic tied to the earth, why do natural formations affect the source of magic. Nothing. Bah humbug. What a disappointment. The most interesting part of the fantasy was completely ignored. I never thought I'd say this but this fantasy novel needed to be a series! It felt like Sanderson was trying to not do the typical fantasy thing and develop a rich complex world at the expense of the characters. He should have chosen a different world...The characters were rather generic and the political intrigue was fairly predictable. It was certainly entertaining, a fast read and page turner, but ultimately left me wishing I had spent my time with another book. ( )

While I enjoyed the premise, I was ultimately disappointed with Sanderson's performance in this novel. It's rare to say this of a lengthy fantasy novel, but here it is: there was not enough development and details of the world he created. Here's this great premise, that the lost magic of the world is tied inherently to the physical geography of the earth, and....that's it. Why is the magic tied to the earth, why do natural formations affect the source of magic. Nothing. Bah humbug. What a disappointment. The most interesting part of the fantasy was completely ignored. I never thought I'd say this but this fantasy novel needed to be a series! It felt like Sanderson was trying to not do the typical fantasy thing and develop a rich complex world at the expense of the characters. He should have chosen a different world...The characters were rather generic and the political intrigue was fairly predictable. It was certainly entertaining, a fast read and page turner, but ultimately left me wishing I had spent my time with another book. ( )