Elantris is by Brandon Sanderson and one I have desperately been trying to devour. Serves me right for reading under a mountain of fuzzy blankets.
Elantris was once a city of prosperity. Her inhabitants, Elantrians, were once considered gods. For they possessed an ability to heal anyone with a mere wave of their hands. Anyone had the ability to become an Elantrian. In fact, this was desired by many people. For not only were Elantrians magical, they were also immortal. To become an Elantrian you had to be chosen by a transformation known as the Shaod.
But, the Shaod has somehow become something that is no longer magical but frightening. Those who have been touched by the Shaod are now doomed to roam in Elantris hungry, frightened, and burdened by pain that never goes away, a hunger that is never satiated, and worst of all, the inhabitants are still immortal. Left to wallow in Elantris for ever.
Our story centers around Hrathen, of Fjorden, Prince Raoden of Arelon and Princess Sarene of Teod. Prince Raoden wakes up one morning to discover that he has been cursed with the Shaod. He is thrown in Elantris to be forgotten about, even as Princess Sarene is on her way to marry him. He must navigate Elantris, avoiding the gangs of people in Elantris. He befriends a giant of a person and they slowly begin to pick their way through the ruined city of Elantris.
Meanwhile, Princess Sarene arrives in Arelon (the city next to Elantris) and is told her husband to be has died in a tragic accident. She, of course, does not believe this as she can tell there are cover ups and two story tellings happening throughout the Kingdom. She must learn to navigate her new life as the wife to a Prince she will never meet while trying to keep her overbearing Father in Law from, well, being overbearing.
Meanwhile the priest Hrathen is trying to convert an entire city to his religion of Fjorden or risk the entire city’s destruction. Sarene is trying to stop this conversion while trying to discover exactly what happened to her husband to be.
This was Sanderson’s first book and what a book it is. Told in groups of three Chapters, one for each main character, this is a fantastic foray into High Fantasy. Come and check it out today!
