Elantris

By: Brandon Sanderson

Narrated by: Jack Garrett

Length: 27 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

Legendary science fiction author Orson Scott Card calls Brandon Sanderson a writer to watch.

Once the godlike rulers of the capital of Arelon, the inhabitans of Elantris have been imprisoned within themselves, unable to die after the city's magic failed years ago. But when a new prince falls victim to the curse, he refuses to accept his fate.

©2005, 2015 Dragonsteel Entertainment, LLC. (P)2008 Recorded Books,LLC

Critic reviews

"...readers won't want to put it down." ( Publishers Weekly)

"Outstanding." ( Publisher's Weekly)

Fantastic book.

Can't recommend this book enough. Bought it on sale but was worth full price. Excellent story, powerful characters and satisfaction at having all wrapped up on one book.

An Excellent example of Sanderson's early writing

A well done book and a great example of Sanderson's title as preeminent world-builder in modern fantasy novels. The story arc has multiple excellent little twists that I couldn't have predicted and the final showdown(s) are well told and thrilling (even if some reviewers called them clichéd.)

The narration was excellent, though I feel some of the voices and pronunciations seemed a bit cumbersome.

Fantastic novel

This novel did a wonderful job of developing the relationships between the different characters and giving the reader a true sense of the political and religious context of the story. My only recommendation for improvement would be to extend the pause between the end of a chapter and when the narrator says "Chapter X."

A long book

It was a little difficult keeping the names and characters striaght due to the fact it took along time to finish the book. Overall it was a good story.

Good but not Mistborn

Story:
Over all I thought the story was excellent. It comes in typical Sanderson fashion: well defined and unique magic system with lots of depth, layers of thoughtful mystery that is unfurled as the story progresses, exciting action scenes, and a complex love story. I thought that the beginning of the book was exhaustingly slow, and it wasn't until around chapter 20 that I found myself "hooked" and eagerly wanting to read more. Maybe he could have shortened those first 20 chapters into 5-8? Anyway, the later 2/3 of the book was great and was an enjoyable read/listen.

Naration:
I thought Jack Garrett did a great job, I just can't give him a 5 stars after having listened to several books done by Michael Kramer.....he's just not on Kramer's level. Also, I would have given 4 stars, but the way 50% of the chapters were put together was just atrocious. A chapter would begin literally milliseconds after the last words of the previous chapter completely killing any feeling or thoughtfulness of what had just happened in the previous chapter. At least give us a few seconds pause between chapters, jeez....

Excellent read

Sanderson delivers another fantastic world of magic and heroes!
This is another that could be expanded on.

Awesome story, slow narrator

The story was gripping, even if it took a few chapters to really kick off. I grew to really like some of the characters, especially (to my surprise) Hrathen. Found it hard to tell some of the minor characters apart, though. The political maneuvering and theological drives were really well done, and I found myself constantly pushing play to find out what happened next or how this character dealt with this problem or how this puzzle was solved. I was a really big fan of how the biggest obstacles to the main characters' goals were often the actions of the other main characters. It all felt real, and I liked that.

My only complaint (except perhaps the "too-good"ness of Raoden) is how slow the narrator talks. I've been through multiple long series and stand-alone books on audible, and this is the first time I turned the speed up to 1.5. He just spoke really slowly, to the point where the 1.5 speed sounded normal. This was annoying at first and would have been a big stumbling block if the speed-up option wasn't a thing, but thankfully after I changed the settings it was fine.

Great book, first Sanderson book I've read (apart from the WoT finale), and I'm looking forward to reading "Warbreaker" next. Great read!

Not Nearly His Best

Any additional comments?

I think this must have been written awhile ago, before Sanderson hit his stride. It wasn't helped by the narration, which was clear but lacking in distinction between characters. This is the first Sanderson book I've listened to that I wanted to end. Having said that, I've preordered the next book set in the Mistborn universe and am very much looking forward to it.

An INCREDIBLE performance from Jack Garrett!

Brandon Sanderson was and is a very talented author, and it shows even in Elantris, one of his earliest published works. The worldbuilding in this book - and across Brandon's books - is beautifully done. Each character takes on their own identity and personality! Which brings me to my other point, the narration.

Jack Garrett's narration brings life to the characters in a way that writing, however grand, just can't. At the end of this book, I came to the conclusion that this is my favorite of Brandon Sanderson's works. Read (or listen to) it, and check out his other books!!

I enjoyed this book thoroughly

This book had a very good story and the performance was pretty good as well. It was overall a very enjoyable experience.