I was actually kind of refreshing to read an epic fantast that wasn’t The First Book in the Chronicles of insert name of country, hero or object. On the other hand, Elantris was so good that I want there to be more books in the series. Natch.
Elantris is a very political book. There is magic, and there are cults, creatures, princesses, etc. But most of this book centers around one country’s attempt to rebuild itself after the collapse of a power structure that had existed for centuries. Plus, a neighboring country with imperialist tendencies is looking to add Arelon to its territory. While this main plot is going on, there is a second plot almost as important–the search for why the old order, based on magic, failed.
Unlike a lot of fantasy I read, Elantris was so original that I couldn’t figure out the answers to anything. The characters were so devious and well thought out that they surprised me by the things they thought of. I only managed to stay a little ahead of them (only some of the time, to be honest) because I had the benefits of a third person omnipotent narrator talking me through.
This book is a fun, addictive read. I was up until 1:00 last night reading and I finished it this morning before I did my reading for class. Its about 400 pages long, but I finished the book in about eight hours of reading.