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Even if this is “baby" Sanderson, as the author himself puts it, this book as his first published novel is still amazing. If you love Sanderson, you should absolutely read it. True, Mistborn is probably its elder sister and Stormlight the mature parent, but it still has most of what I love about Sanderson: awesome setting with a cool magic system and a captivating plot�� though, admittedly, I was not quite as emotionally invested in the characters here as I was in Mistborn and even more so in Stormlight. (Especially in Stormlight everything is simply perfection.)

Don’t get me wrong, in Elantris, I did like Raodon and Sarene and found the antagonist Hrathen (who “grew out of [Sanderson’s] time as a Mormon missionary��) fascinating, but I didn’t live and breathe for them as I did for Kaladin, Shallan and Dalinar in Stormlight. I’m not quite sure why that is; it might just be that Sanderson’s writing and narration in recent novels is more engaging.

On that note, in the 10th anniversary edition, Sanderson himself writes in the postscript:

“Over the years, my prose has improved and my narrative voice has matured, but I find it essential to remember that a vibrant, passionate story about engaging characters is more important than a cool magic system or epic action sequences. Characters and emotion are the true magic.��

I absolutely concur �� though, to me at least, characters and emotion being “the true magic�� applies much more to Stormlight than to Elantris. More importantly though, with Sanderson, you actually don’t need to prioritize; you always get the full package �� characters, emotion, magic, and action.

What else did I like about Elantris? I enjoyed that Raoden reminded me somewhat of Elend, and Sarene of Shallan, though a less witty version of her (despite the fact that her name “Ene�� means wit/cleverness), as I love them both.

Some other parallels within the Cosmere universe were also fun to explore, like the human bond with a magical force/being �� the Selish seons really reminding me of the Rosharan spren! [2022 addendum: Sanderson confirmed in Spoiler Stream #5 that seons in fact are spren.] Shu-Dereth as both a religion and a system of government, with its bureaucracy and supernatural fighting monks, also reminded me of the Steel Ministry and the inhuman Inquisitors in Mistborn and let me just say that both theocracies were equally ingenious and downright terrifying. Oh, and the fact the book was “inspired by the idea of a prison city for zombie lepers��? Nice!

All in all, experiencing this book both via Graphic Audio (highly recommended!) and the print version was brilliant. “Baby�� Sanderson already was a literary genius then and it is awe-inducing how much more accomplished a writer he has become. I really hope a sequel is in the making! [Books 2 and 3 have been announced!]

Anna, forever Bran. San. Stan.