(2005 / 2015) Brandon Sanderson, Gollancz, £9.99, pbk, 590pp, ISBN 978-1-473-21770-6
In the last ten years, Brandon Sanderson has become the go-to writer of the fantasy genre. He has written huge epic fantasies, to young adult adventure novels. His character driven novels has been a major reason why fantasy has become so popular in the UK. This all started with the release of Elantris. Now, after ten years, Elantris is getting a reissue in the form of a tenth anniversary edition.
Elantris was Brandon Sanderson’s debut novel and was one of the most interesting stand-alone fantasy novels in years. It is a beautifully crafted and elegantly written epic fantasy novel. It focuses on the Elantris, that capital city of Arelon. This city was the home of magical demigods who were transformed by a mystical process known as the Shaod. However, this magic started to fail, causing the city of Elantris to decay and transforming the magical demigods into powerless wrecks. In the new capital city of Kae, the princess Sarene arrives to unite Teod and Arelon through marriage. Tragedy strikes before she manages to arrive though, and now she must fight for peace as well as unravelling the mysterious occurring in the city of Elantris.
Elantris is one of my favourite novels. Although it is a standalone novel, Brandon Sanderson has stated that a sequel is slowly in the works. It is also part of his Cosmere universe and is a great starting point to jump into his work. This new tenth anniversary edition is now the official canon version. It contains 10,000 extra words of content. It also contains more detailed maps of Elantris and Kae as well as a foreword by Dan Wells. Most of the changes within the novel are continuity based as well as fixing grammatical errors. Perhaps one of the most exciting additions to this novel is the introduction of Eton, Raoden’s brother. This is a really captivating character that had to be cut for various reasons of which Brandon Sanderson explains. We get a few extra scenes with this character which offer an interesting insight into how this character would of contributed to the overall story arc. There is also an interesting few paragraphs by Brandon Sanderson regarding his reaction to the publication of Elantris.
Elantris is a standalone epic fantasy, which is great for newcomers in the genre. It has a slight political focus, whilst maintaining the magical and mysterious feel that is so beloved in the fantasy genre. Brandon Sanderson’s debut is a major work in fantasy and is one of the most beloved modern fantasy novels of the shelf. It holds a special place on my bookshelf, and with this tenth anniversary edition now on sale, this is the perfect time to pick up a copy and venture into the Cosmere.
Andrew Musk
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