Elantris

Elantris
Cover of Elantris, Brandon Sanderson's first novel.
Author(s)	Brandon Sanderson
Cover artist	Stephan Martinière
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Fantasy novel
Publisher	Tor Books
Publication date	April 21, 2005 (first edition, hardback) May 30, 2006 (first edition, paperback)
Media type	Print (Hardback) Print Mass market paperback
Pages	496 pp (first edition, hardback) 656 pp (first edition, paperback)
ISBN	ISBN 0-7653-1177-1 (first edition, hardback) ISBN 0-7653-5037-8 (first edition, paperback)
OCLC Number	57391959
Dewey Decimal	813/.6 22
LC Classification	PS3619.A533 E43 2005

Elantris is a stand-alone fantasy novel by Brandon Sanderson, published in April 2005 by Tor Books. Brandon is planning to write a sequel to Elantris, but its release has not yet been announced. It is significant as Sanderson's first widely released book. The book is named after the ruined city, whose "cursed" inhabitants are the focus of the book's plot. It has also been licensed for localized release in Russia, France, Germany, Thailand, Poland, Netherlands, and at least five other markets. Elantris has been generally well received by reviewers.

Plot summary

The book focuses on three principal characters whose experiences are strongly intertwined with and often direct the course of the plot. Much of the book occurs in groupings of three chapters each, one for each of the three main characters.

• Raoden, the prince of Arelon, is taken by the Shaod (The profound physical transformation through which one becomes Elantrian. Elantrians look different than they were before the transformation. They cannot die or be killed, except by drastic measures, such as burning or beheading. Their bodies do not repair themselves. They do feel pain, which gradually increases as injuries accumulate. They do not need to eat, but still have hunger pains.) at the beginning of the book, and is whisked off to live in the cursed city of Elantris, once, with its inhabitants, the wonder of the world. Persons transformed by the Shaod are treated as dead by those outside Elantris. Raoden's story line centers on his efforts to improve the Elantrian way of life beyond the anarchy to which it succumbed when Elantris fell.
• Sarene, Raoden's political bride whom he has never personally met, arrives in Arelon held by a legally binding contract that says she is married to the prince, even if he is dead. Widow of a supposedly dead prince and a new member of the mostly ill-suited Arelon nobility, she struggles to find out just what is going on, and to help the downtrodden common people, even the people of Elantris. Sarene's story line deals with her attempts to stabilize and improve the monarchy, and to prevent Hrathen's intended revolution.
• Hrathen, a Derethi gyorn (high-ranking priest), also soon arrives in Arelon, with a mandate to convert the country to the Shu Dereth religion within three months time, or his religion's armies will come to wipe out the city. Hrathen's story line focuses on his efforts at political maneuvering to sway the Arelene aristocracy and place a converted Derethi on the throne, and on his struggles to come to terms with the religion he is supposed to believe.

The story threads intertwine with each other (Sarene's and Hrathen's from almost the beginning of the book) and merge in the culmination of the book's climax.

Aons

These are central to the book's plot. They are the means by which the Elantrians perform magic. Many characters names are variations on the Aons, as is customary in this fantasy world. The images of the many Aons can be found in the back of the book. Raoden rediscovers many of the Aons while in Elantris, preserved in scrolls that have not been consumed by the decay of the city. He learns to invoke the Aons, but finds they have lost their power, which is the ultimate cause of Elantris' collapse. Near the end of the book, Raoden discovers that the shapes of the Aons coincide with physical landmarks and natural features located around the country. A massive fissure in the earth that now cuts through the country 'altered' these landmarks, which in turn caused the Aons to lose their power. By 'reconstructing' the Aons to now incorporate the fissure in their design, Raoden restores the Aons' power.

The Hope of Elantris

Sanderson released an e-book short entitled The Hope of Elantris. It was initially for sale on Amazon, but Sanderson released it on his own site "when the contract with Amazon ran out."

Reception

Elantris was very well received by both critics and readers. Orson Scott Card said, "Elantris is the finest novel of fantasy to be written in many years. Brandon Sanderson has created a truly original world of magic and intrigue, and with the rigor of the best science fiction writers he has made it real at every level." Kirkus Reviews praised the book for the fact that the book was not the first book in a series, "An epic fantasy novel that is (startlingly) not Volume One of a Neverending Sequence . . . [with] an unusually well-conceived system of magic . . . the story has some grip and it's a tremendous relief to have fruition in a single volume. . . . A cut above the same-old."

Sequels

Sanderson currently plans a sequel to Elantris, though he is not sure when it will be written. He has stated that it would take place ten years after the current book's events, and centre around some of its very minor characters.

He later announced plans for two books following Elantris, with Kiin's children being the main characters in Elantris Two.

Audiobooks

GraphicAudio has released Elantris as a dramatized audio production. It was adapted and produced with a full cast, narrator, sound effects and music.

Recorded Books has also published an authorized audio book of Elantris.

External links

• Elantris