Elantris

Elantris is a fantasy novel written by American fantasy and science fiction writer Brandon Sanderson. The book was published on April 21, 2005, by Tor Books and was Sanderson's first published book. The book gained generally positive reviews, and has been translated into multiple languages. Two related works, Hope of Elantris and The Emperor's Soul, have been released, and two additional novels in the series have been announced.

Elantris

Cover of Elantris
Author	Brandon Sanderson
Illustrator	Jeffrey Creer (1st edition) Stephen de las Heras (1st edition) Isaac Stewart
Cover artist	Stephan Martinière
Language	English
Genre	Fantasy
Publisher	Tor Books
Publication date	April 21, 2005 (first edition, hardback) May 30, 2006 (first edition, reprint paperback) October 6, 2015 (10th anniversary definitive edition)
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (hardcover, paperback and leatherbound), audiobook, e-book
Pages	496 (first edition, hardback) 656 (first edition, paperback) 590 (def. ed., hardback)
ISBN	0765311771 (first edition, hardback) 0765350378 (first edition, paperback) 9780765383105 (def. ed., hardback)
OCLC	57391959
Dewey Decimal	813/.6 22
LC Class	PS3619.A533 E43 2005

The story follows three main characters: Prince Raoden of Arelon, Princess Sarene of Teod, and the priest Hrathen of Fjorden. At the beginning of the story, Raoden is cursed by an ancient transformation known as the Shaod and secretly exiled to the city of Elantris just days before his betrothed, princess Sarene of Teod, arrives for their wedding. As Raoden tries to avoid gangs, keep his sanity, and unite the people of Elantris, Sarene must cope with the loss of her husband-to-be and try to save Arelon from Hrathen, a priest tasked with converting all of Arelon to the religion of Fjorden or dooming it to destruction.

Synopsis

Elantris was once a place of magic, and the immortal Elantrians were gods in the eyes of people, with the divine ability to create and heal with a mere wave of a hand. Anyone in Arelon had the potential to become an Elantrian through a magical transformation known as the Shaod. But ten years ago, a cataclysm known as the Reod somehow destroyed the magic of Elantris, the inhabitants of the city became "cursed," and the city was sealed off from society. Anyone affected by the Shaod is now thrown into Elantris to stay there forever, still immortal, but cursed with unquenchable hunger and unhealable pain.

Plot

The Shadow of Elantris

The events of Elantris take place predominantly in the country of Arelon from three separate points of view: Prince Raoden, Princess Sarene and Gyorn Hrathen. Raoden is the crown prince of Arelon and is first in line to inherit the throne from his father, King Iadon. He is engaged to Princess Sarene of neighboring Teod with the hope that their marriage will strengthen ties between their countries in the face of external aggression from the Fjorden Empire from which Hrathen hails.

Raoden wakes up in the morning before Sarene's arrival to find that he has been taken by the Shaod. He is thrown into the city of Elantris where he befriends Galladon, a fellow Elantrian who is originally from Duladen. Galladon describes the terrible lives that Elantrians live but Raoden believes that there must be a better way. He starts a new, more optimistic, society to help newcomers to Elantris. In the process he converts Karata and Taan, two Elantrian gang leaders to his cause. The third gang leader, Shaor, proves to be more difficult and his men's constant attacks are barely held off by the New Elantrians.

Meanwhile, Sarene arrives in Arelon to find the country in mourning for Prince Raoden. Under the conditions of their wedding contract, she must stay in Arelon. However she is suspicious of the circumstances surrounding his death. With no husband, Sarene throws herself into Arelene political life only to find King Iadon expects her to stay out of such matters. Sarene quickly allies herself to a group of nobles, including her uncle Kiin, who are dissatisfied with the king's leadership. Together they scheme to overthrow him.

At the same time, Hrathen begins his campaign to convert the population of Arelon to the Derethi religion. His propaganda involves speeches persuading the Arelenes to hate Elantris in the hope of turning them against Shu-Korath, as well as more discreet meetings with the nobility. Hrathen singles out Telrii, a greedy but influential noble, to try and place on the throne, thinking him to be a Derethi sympathiser. However, Hrathen's plans are often stalled by Dilaf, his overzealous odiv, who seems to oppose him at every turn.

Sensing that Hrathen is a danger to Arelon, Sarene also attempts to disturb his schemes. In a change of previous plans, Sarene stabilizes Iadon's rule, fearing that Telrii would be an even more incompetent ruler. Additionally, she enters Elantris with food to show the rest of Arelon that the Elantrians are mostly harmless, not realising she is disrupting Raoden's plans for New Elantris in the process.

With his plans falling apart, Hrathen has to take drastic action and drinks a potion that imitates the effects of the Shaod.

The Call of Elantris

After several attempts, Raoden eventually convinces Shaor's gang to join New Elantris. He also finds a mysterious pool where the nearly immortal Elantrians can go to die. Over a number of days, the New Elantrians observe Hrathen being locked into Elantris, being "healed" of the Shaod and subsequently released.

Outside Elantris, Sarene, noticing strange behaviour from Iadon, follows him when he disappears early from a ball. She is horrified to find Iadon ritually sacrificing his palace staff in observance of the Jeskeri Mysteries. He is arrested, but hangs himself in jail.

Claiming his recovery from the Shaod was due to his devotion to Shu-Dereth, Hrathen regains the upper hand over Dilaf. He is also pleased at the death of Iadon as this gives Telrii a clear path to the throne. Realising this, Sarene plans to marry Duke Roial because, together, they have a more legitimate claim to the throne than Telrii does. However on the day of the wedding Sarene appears to be struck by the Shaod, though in reality it is another dose of Hrathen's potion. Without Sarene, Roial's claim to the throne vanishes and Telrii is crowned king of Arelon.

Once in Elantris, Sarene spends a lot of time with Raoden, though she does not realise who he is. Together, they manage to work out what is wrong with AonDor, which has not worked for the past ten years. However, even with the addition of the chasm line to the Aons, AonDor does not seem as strong as it should.

Sarene rapidly heals from the shaod, as Hrathen did, and reunites with Roial, Kiin and the rest of the nobles. They decide to assassinate Telrii for the good of the country when one of their number betrays them. Telrii, with a number of guards, turns up to their meeting and orders Roial killed. Later in the evening, Eondel kills Telrii in revenge, leaving Hrathen's plans in ruins once again.

The Spirit of Elantris

Tensions rise as a detachment of fifty Elantric City Guards gallop towards Kiin's house, with Sarene and her friends convinced the guards will attempt to arrest them for treason against the king. Instead, they request that Raoden become their new king. Within the hour his coronation commences. However, Dilaf dispels the illusion Raoden has been keeping up to appear human. The nobles don't appear as shocked as Dilaf would have hoped. In their apathy they merely appear dejected, until Sarene rallies them behind the idea that Raoden is still the man who loved them before his exile.

Dilaf stalks angrily from the palace, lassoing Hrathen into stalking the arteth. Following him to the market district, Hrathen witnesses the Dakhor monks burst from the tents. Asleep in Roial's mansion, Raoden awakens to a disturbance and goes downstairs, only to find Dilaf, who knocks Raoden unconscious. Sarene is caught up in the Dakhor monks' attack when her carriage is assaulted on the way back from Elantris. Fortunately, she is saved by Kiin and Lukel, who take her back to Kiin's manor and barricade themselves in. Dragging Raoden to the manor, Dilaf uses him to capture Sarene. Done with his bait, Dilaf runs Raoden through with his sword and takes Sarene and Hrathen to Teod.

Emerging from their hiding place, Galladon and Karata approach Raoden to find the Hoed remnants of a man who was once their friend. Galladon is determined to give Raoden peace in the embrace of the pool atop the mountain; he will then also give himself the same peace. Karata only acquiesces. While Galladon and Karata carry Raoden towards oblivion, Lukel and the other captives are being marched to the pyres built for them within Elantris. As a revelation assaults Raoden's mind, he struggles to regain control of his body. Startling Galladon and Karata he dashes back down the mountain to Kae, grabs a stick and draws out the chasm line in the ground. It explodes with the power of the Dor as he completes it, revealing Elantris and its surrounding cities to be one massive Aon Rao.

As these events take place, Shuden and Lukel lead a fight against their captors, and Dilaf moves to crush Teod. Hrathen overhears Dilaf musing to Sarene that he is going to kill her in front of her father, motivating Hrathen to warn Eventeo of the Fjordell invasion and attack Dilaf. Fighting off the other monks, Hrathen escapes with Sarene. Lukel and the others are beaten but hope is restored with Raoden's intervention. Elantris and Arelon are secure but Ashe appears with grave news of Teod.

Hrathen is assassinated in the streets of Teod. Aided by a now lucid Adien, Raoden teleports to Teod to save Sarene from Dilaf. Galladon and the other Elantrians arrive in time to save Raoden and Sarene, fighting off more than fifty Dakhor monks with AonDor. Seeing Dilaf chase after Eventeo, Raoden pursues only to walk into Dilaf's ambush. Hrathen makes a miraculous appearance during the fight, revealing his partial-Dakhor secret, which he uses to kill Dilaf before succumbing to his own wounds.

With the war over and Teod managing to hold back the Fjordell army, Sarene has one thing left on her mind: marrying Raoden. She is not about to let him out of her sight this time, marching him down the aisle where they are married. A week after their marriage a great funeral is arranged for the people that died during the invasion of Arelon, Elantris, and Teod. Sarene speaks for Hrathen, asking all to remember him as the savior who put what was right before his own ambitions.

Characters

• Prince Raoden: the prince of Arelon, is transformed into an Elantrian at the beginning of the book. After the Reod, Elantrians were cursed with dark splotches on their skin and hair falling out. The cursed cannot die or be killed except by drastic measures, such as burning or beheading. A major part of the curse is that their bodies can not repair themselves, so they continue to feel the pain of a stubbed toe or bruise forever. Over time the minor injuries accumulate, eventually driving them all insane. Elantrians do not need to eat, but they feel torturous hunger when they don't. Once Raoden is transformed, he is immediately sent to Elantris in secret while his father pretends he has suddenly died. Raoden's storyline centers on his efforts to retain his sanity and improve the Elantrian way of life beyond the anarchy to which it succumbed when Elantris fell. He does this by displaying amazing skills as a leader and getting the Elantrians to focus on work, as opposed to their constant suffering. He also manages to calm and disperse or incorporate the gangs which were terrorizing new Elantrians upon their arrival.
• Princess Sarene: the princess of Teod and would have been Raoden's political bride had he not been cursed. Raoden has never personally met her, so it comes as a surprise to her when she discovers upon her arrival in Arelon that they are considered to have been married if either of them dies before the wedding. Widow of a supposedly dead prince and a new member of the mostly ill-suited Arelon nobility, she struggles to find out what exactly is going in all affairs concerning the nobility of Arelon, the downtrodden common people of Arelon and Elantris, and what exactly happened to her now deceased husband. Sarene's storyline follows her attempts to stabilize and improve the monarchy and political system, which encouraged nobles to mistreat the peasants. While spending her time in Arelon, she learns of Gyorn Hrathen, and relies upon her knowledge and skills to prevent his religious revolution.
• Gyorn Hrathen: a Derethi gyorn, otherwise known as a high-ranking priest, arrives in Arelon with a mandate to convert the country to the Derethi religion within three months' time, or his religion's armies will come to destroy the entire nation of Arelon. He parades around the nation to spread propaganda with the intention to make Arelenes hate Elantris and their religion, Shu-Korath, and, in turn, convert to Derethi. He takes advantage of the corrupt nobility of the region in order to reach his end goal, often holding secret meetings with them that involve bribery. Hrathen's storyline focuses on his efforts towards politically maneuvering the Arelene aristocracy, with the ultimate intention being to place a converted Derethi on the throne. The novel occasionally focuses on his inward struggles as he feels he must come to terms with the religion he is supposed to believe, for even he questions his work ethic at times.
• Ahan: Count Ahan is an Arelene merchant from Sel, and is very fat. He shares a friendly rivalry with Duke Roial and is constantly trying to either outdo or oppose him.
• Dilaf: an overzealous member of Hrathen's congregation and eventual major antagonist.
• Eondel: The Count of Eon Plantation. Eondel had a personal army, which was accepted to be the most effective fighting force in Arelon.
• Eventeo: King Eventeo is the ruler of Teod on Sel, brother of Kiin and father of Sarene.
• Galladon: a grumpy Elantrian Raoden befriends in the city.
• Iadon: Iadon was the first king of Arelon after the Reod on Sel. He is the father of Raoden.
• Karata: One of the main gang leaders in Elantris.
• Kiin: Sarene's uncle and a good friend of Raoden, he helps Sarene settle in to Arelon.
• Roial: Duke Roial was an old friend of King Iadon. He is an Arelene merchant and is among the richest of the noblemen in Arelon.
• Shuden: his family directed many trade routes around Arelon. He is a known amateur at least according to him practitioner of ChayShan.
• Telrii: a wealthy duke who allies with Hrathen to try and take the throne of Arelon.

Aons

Aons are central to the book's plot and are the means by which the Elantrians perform magic. Many characters' names are variations on the Aons, as is customary in this fantasy world. The images of the many Aons can be found in the back of the book. Raoden rediscovers many of the Aons while in Elantris, preserved in scrolls that have not been consumed by the decay of the city. He learns to invoke the Aons, but finds they have lost their power, which is the ultimate cause of Elantris' collapse. Near the end of the book, Sarene helps Raoden discover that the shapes of the Aons coincide with physical landmarks and natural features located around the country. A massive fissure in the earth that now cuts through the country 'altered' these landmarks, which in turn caused the Aons to lose their power. By 'reconstructing' the Aons to now incorporate the fissure in their design, Raoden restores the Aons' power. After realizing that Elantris and its surrounding cities are just one big Aon, he draws a giant line to represent the fissure, which restores Elantris and the Elantrians to their former glory.

The Cosmere

Like many of Sanderson's other novels and collections, including Mistborn, The Stormlight Archive, Warbreaker, and Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection, Elantris takes place within a universe known as the Cosmere. Although the different novels, novellas, and series within the Cosmere are largely separate narratives, they are related, and "Easter egg" references to other Cosmere works are common. A mysterious figure named Hoid appears at some point in each of Sanderson's full novels and series, including in the last chapter of Elantris. His origins and motives remain unclear.

Releases

Elantris was published by Tor Books in hardcover on April 21, 2005, and it was Sanderson's first published book. Coinciding with the general release, the Science Fiction Book Club released a hardcover edition in May 2005. The Tor mass market paperback was released on May 30, 2006, and the ebook followed in April 2007. In October 2015, a "tenth anniversary author's definitive edition" was released in trade paperback and hardcover, containing "10,000 words of additional content". In December 2015, the Elantris Tenth Anniversary Dragonsteel Leather Edition was released, which included full-color pages of Elantris-related art, new maps, and two-tonal typeset.

It has been translated into Bulgarian, Chinese, Czech, French, Dutch, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish.

Audiobooks

GraphicAudio released Elantris as a dramatized audio production on April 1, 2009. It was adapted and produced with a full cast, narrator, sound effects and music. Recorded Books released a digital audio book of Elantris: Tenth Anniversary Author's Definitive Edition on October 7, 2015, narrated by Jack Garrett.

Reception

Elantris gained generally positive reviews. Orson Scott Card, American novelist, critic, public speaker, essayist, and columnist, states on his website that "Elantris is the finest novel of fantasy to be written in many years. Brandon Sanderson has created a truly original world of magic and intrigue, and with the rigor of the best science fiction writers he has made it real at every level."

Kirkus Reviews praised the book because it was not the first book in a series: "An epic fantasy novel that is (startlingly) not Volume One of a Neverending Sequence... [with] an unusually well-conceived system of magic... the story has some grip and it's a tremendous relief to have fruition in a single volume... A cut above the same-old." Publishers Weekly praised Sanderson's fantasy debut as being outstanding and free of the usual genre clichés, noting that it offers something for everyone, including mystery, magic, romance, politics, religious conflict and robust characters.

Sequels

Sanderson has discussed an official sequel to Elantris, though he is not sure when it might be written. He has stated that it would take place ten years after the current book's events, and center around some of its very minor characters. He later announced plans for two books following Elantris, with Kiin's children being the main characters in Elantris Two.

The Hope of Elantris

An e-book short story was released in 2007 entitled The Hope of Elantris. It was initially for sale on Amazon, but Sanderson released it on his own site when the contract with Amazon ran out. Sanderson describes on his website that the events that take place in the e-book happen concurrently with events in Elantris, hence he suggests reading Elantris first for risk of spoiling certain aspects of the story. The inspiration for the story comes from a story told to him by his wife Emily when they were dating in 2006.

The Emperor's Soul

Main article: The Emperor's Soul

In 2013, Sanderson wrote the novella titled The Emperor's Soul that takes place in the world of Elantris, but in a very different region. Shai is a thief and practitioner of magical forgery who has been arrested and sentenced to death. She is given 100 days to forge a new soul for the Emperor, who is in a coma following an assassination attempt.

Sanderson notes that the reader does not need to read Elantris to understand the plot.

External links

• Elantris page on Sanderson's official website
• Elantris title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Elantris at the Internet Book List