Elantris (Brandon Sanderson's First Novel)

Elantris (Brandon Sanderson's First Novel) - Book Review!

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Күн бұрын

In this episode of Next Chapter, we dive into 'Elantris,' Brandon Sanderson's first published novel. Join us as we explore the city of Elantris, once a place of magic and wonder, now a decaying shadow of its former glory.
We'll discuss Sanderson's world-building, the intriguing magic system of AonDor, and the compelling characters that drive the story. From the political intrigue to the personal struggles of the inhabitants, we break down what makes 'Elantris' a remarkable debut in the fantasy genre.
Subscribe to Next Chapter for more in-depth book reviews and discussions on your favorite fantasy novels. Have you read 'Elantris'? Share your thoughts and favorite moments in the comments below.
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Пікірлер: 43

@apebblemaster4570 2 ай бұрын

Yay! Somebody who loves Elantris as much as me! Not only was Elantris one of the first books I picked up when I got back into reading, but it was also my first Brandon Sanderson book and I was blown away! Objectively, I know that it is not his best work, but I love it and it will always have a place on my Favorite Books list.

@NextChapterYT 2 ай бұрын

Love it!! You’re in good company. I loved Elantra’s and can’t wait for the sequels

@Wordhopper1990 2 ай бұрын

I especially like the premise that Elantris starts with. “Elantris was beautiful, once. (…) Eternity ended ten years ago.” So cool to have a sentient zombie story. And the opening lines! “Prince Raoden of Arelon awoke early that morning, completely unaware that he had been damned for all eternity.” “Sarene stepped off the ship to discover that she was a widow.” “None of Arelon’s people greeted their savior when he arrived.”

@NextChapterYT 2 ай бұрын

Those lines are incredible. What a way to start a book!! And even more so since it was his first book…

@Wordhopper1990 2 ай бұрын

@@NextChapterYT They really are! Even though not everyone likes the execution of Elantris, the ideas are just so good. I’m very excited for the Elantris sequels that Brandon is planning. After springing a bunch of standalones on us and after finishing Mistborn Era 2 and the first Stormlight sequence, it’s time for some progress on the smaller series in the Cosmere.

@gregorywendel6203 2 ай бұрын

The story arc in Elantris itself resonates strongly with me. As someone who deals with chronic pain, seeing people in constant pain rise above it strengthens my own will to persevere.

@NextChapterYT 2 ай бұрын

It’s fantastic. Glad to hear your persevering too! I love the potential of that story and the resilience of the human mind

@mattpen 2 ай бұрын

I am also one of those that prefers Elantris over Warbreaker it’s surprising how rare that view is. Also I always view it as talent is inherit/natural ability while skill is learned and worked towards.

@NextChapterYT 2 ай бұрын

Agreed!

@TryingExtraHard 2 ай бұрын

That's so interesting. For me, Warbreaker is one of my two favorite Cosmere novels with Shadows of Self, and Elantris is probably my least favorite. I think part of the issue for me was that I figured out why the magic system was broken very early on and that may have poisoned my Sanderlanche experience.

@NextChapterYT 2 ай бұрын

Yeah that would do it, but hopefully sequels help us make sense of it

@macowwan6075 2 ай бұрын

I'm with Jaden on this one, I read Elantris and Warbreaker for the first time earlier this year and liked them both, but Elantris is by far my favorite of the two, one of my top Cosmere books for sure.

@NextChapterYT 2 ай бұрын

You’re on the right side of it!! ;)

@chrisrumfellow4566 2 ай бұрын

This was such an interesting read, I read it after reading basically all of the other cosmere stuff. It was so cool to see the sanderson style not as refined but still telling a good story.

@NextChapterYT 2 ай бұрын

Definitely felt the same way!

@MrMoonCraft 2 ай бұрын

12:48 just a few thoughts so far: Elantris was one of the few Sanderson books I didn't try out the audiobook for. I feel like this probably elevated my experience, because it doesn't sound like you guys enjoyed it _that_ much. It also made the times where they would reference the different religions easier to catch, for me personally, because I'm really good at comparing how things are spelt, so I noticed the difference all the time. It sounds to me like the audiobook captures a different tone for the book than the book itself. For me, I found the book to be pretty well thought out as far as the planet, the local community, and the backstory, but I feel like I didn't get much character development outside of the three main characters. For me, Raoden's character arc was wayyy more interesting than the princess story arc going on. That and the religious uncertainty we see developing in Hrathen (?) throughout the book. I read elantris about a year ago at this point, but I remember the scene with the completion of his character arc bringing a tear to my eye. I also like how despite it being his first published book, you can see some of the connections to it in his later publishings. I think this book was an incredibly solid start to Sanderson's cosmere!!

@exaggeratedhistory 2 ай бұрын

This was my first Sanderson book it has a special place in my heart

@NextChapterYT 2 ай бұрын

Those are the best memories :)

@koalabear6089 2 ай бұрын

I was really happy that Jaden liked this one. I think it was one of my first Brandon Sanderson novels - I knew nothing about the Cosmere, I knew nothing about Hoid. I enjoyed it as just .. a novel. The things that drew it down a bit were: 1. audiobook narrator's 'suli' stuff ... 2. Some of the political/religious stuff dragged a bit but other than that - I thought it was so imaginative and atmospheric .. It had Ben Hur / Valley of the Lepers vibes to it ... I could almost see this decayed formerly beautiful city ... I liked the hope in it and I liked the Sanderlanch. It's an underrated Sanderson book and I actually think that it would make a good movie / tv series because it's one of those ones where an adaptation could basically address some of the things that aren't fabulous in the book - plus it's quite cinematic with its various locations and set pieces and I think I would really enjoy seeing it brought to life. In relation to Sarane - I liked her and think she's way more compassionate and human than Jasnah. Jasnah's quite a cold blooded scientist / politician. Sarene cares very much at the individual level as well.

@NextChapterYT 2 ай бұрын

100% agree. I think you and I had very similar thoughts on it! That Suli thing over and over again got old fast ;) And I would definitely enjoy the movie! Has enough intensity and exciting scenes and characters to make for a super good film or tv series

@Moonadept 2 ай бұрын

First: Congratulations! You have reached 1,000 subscribers! Elantris may be my least favorite Cosmere book. It felt like it dragged for a bit, or at least the plot wasn't as interesting. This is definitely a story helped by the ending. I still thought it was good though, and side Marty and set it probably around a 7.5. I think I will like the sequel when we can see more of the world with the magic back. It would be good to do some Cosmere-wide videos as you all get closer to completing.

@NextChapterYT 2 ай бұрын

THANK YOU!! We just hit it today and we are super psyched. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Elantris! I honestly loved it and hopefully the newer sequels bring in some of Brandon’s better writing too

@MrMoonCraft 2 ай бұрын

After a quick peek thru michael kramer and kate's books. I think I can safely say that y'all are going to read Yumi next! I read the audiobook for that one and it was amazing. I think Yumi was my favorite secret project after sunlit man

@NextChapterYT 2 ай бұрын

You got it!! We’re super excited and I LOVED Sunlit Man!

@gregorywendel6203 2 ай бұрын

I'm currently reading Yumi. Finished Tress and Sunlit Man in the past couple of weeks.

@ryaniwanejko5970 2 ай бұрын

This ended up being a dnf for me. The narrator really didn’t sit with the characters like the other Sanderson books. This is the only one in the cosmere I couldn’t finish. As for a guess on the book you’re posting soon. I think it’s the second book in the V.E Schwab darker side of magic series. I was very happy to recognize their voices and it made the book better. Cheers

@NextChapterYT 2 ай бұрын

Wow the only DNF! That says a lot… thanks for sharing your experience!

@OriginalMrocco 2 ай бұрын

i was gonna say elantris is the book where the characters miss the most for me of any sanderson book, but i fully forgot hrathen. that guy is a great character. its always incredible to me how someone as deeply religious as sanderson can have such a differentiated view on organised religion/religion as a whole. i think hrathen almost fully losing faith but still working towards furthering the goals of the religion he doesnt believe in is such an interesting angle. i think its a good retelling of, like, religious organisations masking their imperialist expansionism as just being like missionaries or whatever. great character. also, despite me somewhat disliking most other characters, i think conceptually its one of his more interesting worlds. elantrian magic seems really strong, i believe there was something in the lost metal about them having like Dor bottles? and its called "pure investiture" which just sounds strong. also the split between the emperors soul world & elantris is interesting to me because idk how that works. ive rambled myself into appreciating elantris more i think :D. for his first novel its really good

@HotshotMama 2 ай бұрын

9.1 sounds like a nuts rating until I thought about the different POVS. Raodens perspective is easily a nine, just so exciting. I think the story just gets dragged down by the poor dialogue and the slowness of the other two, where they only got me excited in the sanderlanche and I was ripping through them before it

@NextChapterYT 2 ай бұрын

Super interesting character potential is super high! But yeah some things have been learned by Sanderson ;) excited for sequels!

@paualejandrino1302 2 ай бұрын

I'm surprised you were thrown off by the Warrior Monks. I mean Christianity had the same thing, The Knights Templar (People often forget that the knights templar weren't just Warriors, they were also Monks!). This book was basically a fantasy version of the Medieval Holy Wars, complete with pope fights and battles ending by converting kings.

@NextChapterYT 2 ай бұрын

I don’t know a ton about that part of history, so that context definitely does help! It just threw me for a bit of a loop during the story :)