Book notes: Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

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Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

Synopsis:

“In 2005, Brandon Sanderson debuted with Elantris, an epic fantasy unlike any other then on the market. To celebrate its tenth anniversary, Tor is reissuing Elantris in a special edition, a fresh chance to introduce it to the myriad readers who have since become Sanderson fans.

This new edition begins with a preface by author Dan Wells, the first person to read the completed novel, and a new afterword by Sanderson explaining how he came to write the book and its place in the Cosmere, the unified universe of all his Tor novels.

Also included is an expanded version of the “Ars Arcanum” appendix, with more of the technical details of the book’s magic that fans can never get enough of.

Elantris was truly a milestone both for Sanderson and for the genre of epic fantasy. It deserves this special treatment, something Tor has done only once before, with Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game. Sanderson fans old and new will be excited to discover it.” -Amazon

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Opening thoughts:

After hearing about this author from the Tim Ferriss podcast, and then reading Mistborn, I was excited to pick up another book of his. Elantis was apparently his first book he published which started his success as an author. I’m not sure what to expect, but I do hope it’s just as good as Mistborn.

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Key notes:

Part One: The Shadow of Elantris

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

• When the Arodians fell and turned into the sickly people they are today, the first to start the revolution were the servants 

Chapter 6

• The first step in taking control of a nation is the simplest: find someone to hate

Chapter 7

• Raoden saved one of the newcomers so that he could have another follower

Chapter 8

• Princess Sarene thwarted a priest’s plans to convert a group of people gathered around 

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

• Raoden planned to give the Elantrians purpose again through his leadership

Chapter 11

• Sarene gained the respect and acceptance of the other noblemen who were part of the rebellious group that wanted to save the country from the king

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

• Raoden learned that one of the gang leaders was a former palace guard who eventually recognized him as the prince. She then showed him that her gang was protecting and feeding the children in Elantris, which gave them purpose and helped them endure a bit more easily

Chapter 14

• Sarene went to the party to mingle and network with the other nobles

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

• Raoden’s followers discovered that focusing on their purposes helped them to ignore or not notice the pain and hunger
• He managed to stop a fight between two of the gangs by painting a vision for the opportunity they had together in this place

Chapter 17

• Princess Sarene learned she had to do a widow’s trial, which was basically some sort of personal service to the country
  • She also found out that she was one of the wealthiest people in the country because she inherited her late husband’s estate, which was pretty substantial
• Sarene and her father figured out the scheme with their two kingdoms, in which they had to protect against the religious cult from overthrowing them 

Chapter 18

• The younger priest Dilaf almost executed one of the Elantrians in front of a wild crowd, but the older priest Hrathen stopped it and redirected their anger

Chapter 19

• When you can’t find meaning in your pain, you give up on it and succumb to the suffering

Chapter 20

• She managed to broker a deal between her and the king to allow her to do service work in Elantris in exchange for a trade deal with her other father and home country to help his financial situation

“To live is to have worries and uncertainties. Keep them inside, and they will destroy you for certain. Leaving behind a person so calloused that emotion can find no root in your heart” -Ash

Chapter 21

• Dilaf started to gain influence in their group, which made it harder for the Hrathen to get rid of him

Chapter 22

• Raoden tried to find the leader of the last gang to try and stop their constant raids, but they discovered that the leader was a spoiled young noble girl who was taken 2 years ago
• Sarene came to Elantris with food, but Raoden knew it would ruin his plan. He wanted to help the Elantrians become independent by focusing on building their purpose

Chapter 23

• Sarene suspected that the man named Spirit was the true leader and that he was hiding something
  • However, she believed he was genuinely a good person who cared about the Elantrians

Chapter 24

• Hrathen questioned his own clarity of purpose and his own faith

Chapter 25

• Raoden knew it was best to keep his identity secret from his former friends, but was also able to finally spend time and see what his wife was really like. He discovered that she was just as amazing in all aspects. He admired the authority and respect she commanded from everyone around her, and admired her for it
• Raoden’s theory was that they were all in some sort of halfway transition, but frozen and not completed. Something was stuck or blocking the energy from passing through and completing them. Therefore, they aren’t dead, just missing something

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Part Two: The Call of Elantris

Chapter 28

• The wild Elantrians’ attack managed to get past their guard, and they scared away the noble people

Chapter 29

• Sarene threatened and yelled at the king to stop the slaughter of all the Elantrians

Chapter 30

• The Hrathen ingested the poison that simulated the illness the Elantrians had, and was sent to the city

Chapter 31

• Raoden’s plan was to encourage some of the rival gang’s men to come to their side with rational logic and hope

Chapter 32

• Sarene discovered the king was partaking in some sacrificial ritual, and everyone found out about it 

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

• Eventually, the rival gang killed their leader and joined the prince. However, Raoden discovered that they’ve ultimately succumbed to the illness and were essentially wild beasts
• Raoden continued his study of Elantrian books to try and figure out the mystery of what happened

Chapter 35

• They contrived a plan to have the princess and Duke Roial marry for political reasons so they could claim the throne

Chapter 36

• The potion finally wore off, and Hrathen emerged from Elantris “healed”

Chapter 37

• Raoden had another wave of pain, and they theorized that it was the trapped energy force trying to find a passage through him

Chapter 38

• During the wedding, Sarene began to show symptoms of the disease

Chapter 39

• Hrathen’s plan to stop the wedding by giving her the potion worked

Chapter 40

• Raoden greeted the former princess when she arrived in Elantris

Chapter 41

• Ash came and eventually found Sarene. She told him to let the others know she was okay

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

• Sarene finally admitted to Reondan that there was political turmoil that started when the late king was dethroned and later killed himself

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

• The poison finally wore off, and they realized it was a trick by the priest. Raoden urged her to go outside and help the situation, but it would also help them because their city is doomed if they don’t do something about the political situation

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

• The new king did not fulfill his promise and demanded to be bestowed a rank within the religious organization Shu-Dereth

Chapter 49

• Raoden figured out the solution, which was to add a new line to represent a chasm caused by an earthquake that changed the city’s landscape, on which all the magical symbols were based
• There was some part of the puzzle they were still missing, as some spells didn’t work and others had a subdued effect

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

• Raoden’s plan was to finesse his way into the group planning the revolution

Chapter 53

• Sarene figured out it was Raoden in disguise
• The king found out and had Duke Roial killed, and then Raoden revealed himself 

Chapter 54

• There was a coup that led to the king’s assassination

Part Three: The Spirit of Elantris

Chapter 55

• Raoden and Sarene finally caught up as husband and wife

Chapter 56

• Dilaf managed to drop Raoden’s illusion, but Sarene moved everyone emotionally with her speech to accept Raoden as the new king

Chapter 57

Chapter 58

• Sarene’s uncle managed to save her from an attack by the demon warrior. He also revealed that he used to be a warrior himself
• Dilaf revealed himself to have been the leader of a demonic warrior monastery, a Derethi Gragdet, outranking Hrathen

Chapter 59

• Dilaf stabbed Reondan and took Sarene hostage

Chapter 60

Chapter 61

• Raoden figured out the missing piece and restored Elantris’ power 

Chapter 62

• One of the other priests found them and stabbed Hrathen in the chest 
• Hundreds of Elantrians teleported to save Raoden and Sarene and to back them up from the other Dakhor monks
• Hrathen came at the last minute to save Raoden and Sarene from Dilaf

Chapter 63

• They finally got married and became king and queen

Epilogue

• Sarene learned that her uncle had moved to take over their home nation as the rightful king and elder brother. That was the falling out that they had
• They even had a burial for Hrathen to honor his sacrifice for them
• Hrathen initially wanted to be their savior, and ended up actually being their savior in the end

Postscript

• In storytelling, character and emotion are the true magic

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Closing thoughts:

I really enjoyed this book overall. My biggest gripe was that the first 10-20% of the book felt like it really dragged on. It’s always hard to get a handle on all the characters. I don’t usually have a grasp on who all the important characters are until the second half of a long book like this.

Also, their names are so confusing. I get that the author wanted to create a fantasy world with uniique names. However, it gets really confusing when I can barely tell people apart because their naems sound similar and/or I have no clue how to spell their names (as a reminder, I listen to the audio version of all my books. I think moving forward, I’m going to read a plot summary AND a character list next time I read a long, fantasy book like this. Unlike the Stars Wars Legends books where I have a solid grasp of the world and it’s characters, new worlds like the one in Elantris are harder to follow until I’m well into the book

With that being said, I really enjoyed this book. The plot twists and developments by the last act of the book had me on the edge of my seat. I can see why this author is so renowned. I am excited to read more books by this author.

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One Takeaway / Putting into practice:

I actually found a handful of good takeaways from this book, surprisingly. My favorite one is:

• When you can’t find meaning in your pain, you give up on it and succumb to the suffering

I think this idea perfectly encapsulates the situation of the Elantrians and how they would ultimately overcome their suffering.

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Nutshell:

An exiled prince, a foreign princess, and a priest all cross paths in their quest to save or conquer the nation of Arelon.

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Similar books:

• The Sandman by Neil Gaiman
• Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
• Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A Heinlein
• Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
• A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

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Rating:

4/5

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