Elantris

Tenth Anniversary Special Edition

By: Brandon Sanderson

Narrated by: Jack Garrett

Length: 28 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

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

Just love Jack Garrett's narration!

Ever since I read MISTBORN a couple years ago, I’ve been obsessed with Brandon Sanderson’s writing. His books launched me into the world of adult fantasy when I had been reading nearly exclusively young adult and I’ve been on a mission ever since to gobble up the rest of his books. Every book I’ve read (and every novella) has been enjoyable and I simply cannot get enough. I took advantage of an Audible deal that had Brandon Sanderson audiobooks on sale so I picked up ELANTRIS and WARBREAKER (which I also hope to read soon) and decided to start with ELANTRIS since it was Sanderson’s first published novel and it’s a stand alone.

ELANTRIS was such a good, solid read. At times it felt a bit lengthy and I was anxious for things to get moving but that could also be because I was listening to the audiobook so it did take me significantly longer than if I was reading it in print. I was “warned” ahead of time that the beginning was a lot of set up and character development and the true action and twists didn’t occur until closer to the end so I was all right waiting for that. I also didn’t mind because the characters were just so enjoyable! Since it’s not as action packed as some of his later books, ELANTRIS is able to really dig into characters and let their personalities shine! Raoden was truly as personable as he was made out to be and I loved Sarene’s independence and strength. Each character really brought the book to life and it was so easy to connect with each and every one of them.

The concept of Elantris and its fall was incredibly interesting. For most of the book, no one really knows why the once godlike inhabitants of Elantris fell and why the Shaod continues to take people, turning them into the “creatures” that the cities fear and quarantine. The world-building and background surrounding these questions impressed me and as always, the big reveal was so satisfying. I was really hoping for a bit more history of the magic system because it was so interesting and complex and I’m always anxious to dig into why and how it works! There is an explanation but I’ve been spoiled with the details that Sanderson includes in subsequent books and so I was seeking so many more details about AonDor! I also hoped for a bit more of digging into the creation myths of the Cosmere but since it was Sanderson’s first published work, there was still so much more to come to play around with what this world was, what drove its magic, and how it connected within the Cosmere. I know ELANTRIS was a stand alone (well, it does have a short story but it’s more of a companion to the novel than a continuation) but I would love to learn so much more about this world! I immediately went digging into the Coppermind (the Wiki for Sanderson’s complete works — it’s incredibly detailed!) to get any more info that I possibly could! All it did was make me want another book detailing this planet’s history even more.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Sanderson yet (since I’m finally writing a review for a book that’s not a sequel in a series), the Cosmere is Sanderson’s universe and most of his adult works take place on a different planet in the Cosmere. ELANTRIS is the first book set in the Cosmere and takes place on the planet Sel. Each Cosmere-set series is independent of the others but they all take place in the same universe and therefore share the same (incredibly detailed) history. I won’t get into it because a lot of this was explained with MISTBORN: A SECRET HISTORY, which is meant to be read after the 6th book in the Mistborn series and it could be a little spoilery to say more about the Cosmere since I only just discovered it this far into my Sanderson journey. I will say, though, that I’m constantly impressed with the world-building and I’m obsessed with books that are not series that connect. Sanderson is such a craftsman when it comes to connecting the Cosmere books and it may not always be in the most obvious way but when you make that connection, it’s so incredibly satisfying and it is such a delight to observe as a reader!

ELANTRIS was a book that really stuck with me and I keep thinking about it long after I’ve finished! It didn’t have quite as many historical details or action as some of the first Sanderson books I’ve read but I actually enjoyed that because it’s great to see how Brandon Sanderon’s writing style has changed, evolved, and can differ from story to story. I love that the books can feel so unique and yet still have a typical Sanderson feel that I can identify with. I can’t wait to continue my Cosmere binge later on this year!

AUDIOBOOK IMPRESSIONS

Source: Purchased from Audible during a sale
Narrator: Jack Garrett
Performance: More books narrated by Jack Garrett, please!

I’m always iffy trying out a narrator that I haven’t listened to before, especially with a favorite author AND an audiobook that’s literally 28.5 hours long. That’s over a full day of my life listening to one person’s voice so it gets intimidating to pick someone new! I’m really glad that I not only liked Jack Garrett but ended up loving him! His narration really embodied each character and each person had their own unique voice. I’m always so impressed with how many different voices a voice actor can do and with a detailed cast of characters, Jack Garrett had no issue making each voice quite unique. His female voices were softer and more feminine but not over the top. Accents were well placed and the general performance of everything was just top notch. I don’t know what other books he’s narrated but I will definitely be seeking out more!

wonderful!

Great world! Really unique story. Strong characters. Loved it! You'll get sucked in soon enough!

Fantastic!

The beginning introduced a few too many characters (3) a little too fast for me, but I'm glad I stuck with it, because this book was simply wonderful.

Pretty good story, enjoyed the performance

This was an enjoyable book for me to listen too. It was nice that it wasn't a large epic story, but long enough to get a world built up around it. The performance by Jack Garrett was solid and was an enjoyable listen.

Great book, horrible narrator

I love Brandon Sanderson’s work, and this book is no exception. Like others have said, if you’ve read any of his other works it’s obvious that this is his first published book. However, that’s not to say this book isn’t great in its own way. He has an uncanny knack for world building and he disperses information at intervals that make it easy to pick up as you go along as opposed to throwing too much at you at once.

My ONLY problem was the narration. I would so much rather read this book than listen to it, but I bought the audio version simply because I couldn’t stand waiting all day just to read a little bit of the story in the evening. I was invested in the characters after only a few chapters and needed to know what happened next. However, the narrator makes it so hard to do. He reads with little enthusiasm and does not make any effort at all to distinguish between characters which can make it very difficult to follow along. He doesn’t even change his voice when he’s speaking as a female character which is seriously the LEAST he could do.

tl;dr: great book, needs a different narrator

Good story, bad narrator

Really great story for the most part, but the narrator was an annoyingly pompous twit.

Captivating

Wonderful, captivating story with a thoroughly likeable protagonist and a positive ending. #DarkFantasy #tagsgiving # sweepstake

Excellent Book

I have been a Sanderson fan for a long time but I never had the time to read Elantris. I thought that listening to it would be a good alternative. I was right. The performance of Elantris was fantastic and brought the story alive for me. I loved the story and I loved the audio of this book.

awesome, awesome awesome awesome

It was an awesome book. a little slow in the beginning, but once you near the end it just gets you so entranced in the book.

It has its moments

The narrators performance was good. The most exciting moments where not during action sequences but more during moments certain characters interact and meet. A good listen, defiantly worth the time and money