May Contain Spoilers

Review:

I was in the mood for something different, and when I saw Elantris mentioned on a list of zombie books, I decided to give it a shot.  While there aren’t zombies in the traditional sense, Prince Raoden, is technically dead, with no heartbeat, no real need to eat, and wounds that never heal.  When he becomes the victim of a curse that makes him one of the living dead, his father sends him to the deteriorating city of Elantris, which was once the shining beacon of Arelon.  Now its magnificent buildings crumble and its streets are coated in slime.  The other cursed residents of Elantris suffer from an all-consuming hunger, and every little wound causes unending suffering.  Those that have succumbed to the pain lie huddled in the streets, muttering and no longer aware of their surroundings.

At over 500 pages,  Elantris is a bit longer than novels that I usually read.  This isn’t a conscious decision on my part, but most of the books that I read clock in at around 350 pages.  I don’t know if that’s because publishers are so focused on series now and the pressure to produce books on a steady time table has put a dent in page count. Or maybe reader attention span has forced shorter books to prevail.  Regardless, when I see a longer book, I do sometimes think twice about picking it up because they can take so long to read.  A thousand pages can be off putting.  Five hundred pages – that’s doable in a few days for me, so I clicked the Borrow button and settled down with my first Sanderson read.

I really liked the characters, and there are a lot of them. Sarene was my favorite, with Raoden running a close second.  They were engaged to be married, until Raoden’s untimely “death.”  When Princess Sarene arrives from Toed, she’s dismayed to discover that she’s now a widow.  The terms of the marriage contract between Toed and Arelon stipulated that should Raoden die, the marriage instantly becomes binding.  Toed and Arelon are the last two countries holding out against the religious fanatics from Fjordell.  The marriage between Sarene and Raoden was meant to cement their countries together and make them allies against the priests of Shu Dereth.  With a convert or die policy, countries have fallen like dominoes under the might of Fjordell.  Sarene is committed to resisting conversion to Shu Dereth, and she and Hrathen, a high priest who has been sent to convert Arelon, battle to sway the populace of Kae, Arelon’s capital.  Sarene fears that if Arelon falls to Shu Dereth, Teod won’t be far behind.

Sarene learns that Raoden had gathered together followers to oppose his father, King Iadon.  Iadon is a poor ruler and has weakened the country considerably since he took control ten years ago, just after the collapse of Elantris.  Iadon instituted a policy that rewarded the wealthy, and made virtual slaves of the poor.  The injustice is so great that Raoden and his father constantly butted heads over Iadon’s policies.  Sarene wishes to infiltrate Raoden’s group and persuade them to continue their opposition to Iadon, as well as to fight against Hrathen and his efforts to convert the citizens of Arelon to Shu Dereth.

More than anything, Elantris is about politics.  Arelon is seething with political cesspools, from the threat of forced conversion to Shu Dereth, to the possibility of rebellion from a group of nobles.   With Raoden in the decayed city of Elantris, struggling to understand the power behind the Aons that once created the magic and wonders that held Fjordell at bay, there’s yet another threat that few are even aware of.  Everyone thinks that Raoden is dead, and Iadon hasn’t done anything to enlighten them.  A petty man ill suited to leadership, Iadon believes that wealth is an indicator of the right to rule.  With his repressive laws, the poor suffer and seethe at the injustices shown to them.  It’s a huge powder keg just waiting for a spark to ignite.  Sarene turns out to be that spark, but has she brought greater ruin down on the her new country?

I really enjoyed this book.  It’s a nice blend of political intrigue and mystery, with a light romance thrown into the mix.  I wanted to know what happened to the gods of Elantris, those mighty beings that once ruled Arelon.  Why didn’t the magic work anymore, and why were those taken by the Shaod now cursed, powerless shells instead of the once powerful gods that the transformation turned them into?  While I liked Sarene, I was dying to find out the secrets behind the fall of Elantris.  And what was the deal behind the monasteries of Shu Dereth?  The momentum flagged a bit with the chapters featuring Hrathen, but I found him, at the beginning at least, to be humorless and void of a personality.  No wonder he was having trouble winning over the masses during his quest to convert the citizens to his religion!

Grade:  B

Review copy obtained from my local library

From Amazon:

Elantris was the capital of Arelon: gigantic, beautiful, literally radiant, filled with benevolent beings who used their powerful magical abilities for the benefit of all. Yet each of these demigods was once an ordinary person until touched by the mysterious transforming power of the Shaod. Ten years ago, without warning, the magic failed. Elantrians became wizened, leper-like, powerless creatures, and Elantris itself dark, filthy, and crumbling.

Arelon’s new capital, Kae, crouches in the shadow of Elantris. Princess Sarene of Teod arrives for a marriage of state with Crown Prince Raoden, hoping — based on their correspondence — to also find love. She finds instead that Raoden has died and she is considered his widow. Both Teod and Arelon are under threat as the last remaining holdouts against the imperial ambitions of the ruthless religious fanatics of Fjordell. So Sarene decides to use her new status to counter the machinations of Hrathen, a Fjordell high priest who has come to Kae to convert Arelon and claim it for his emperor and his god.

But neither Sarene nor Hrathen suspect the truth about Prince Raoden. Stricken by the same curse that ruined Elantris, Raoden was secretly exiled by his father to the dark city. His struggle to help the wretches trapped there begins a series of events that will bring hope to Arelon, and perhaps reveal the secret of Elantris itself.

A rare epic fantasy that doesn’t recycle the classics and that is a complete and satisfying story in one volume, Elantris is fleet and fun, full of surprises and characters to care about. It’s also the wonderful debut of a welcome new star in the constellation of fantasy.