There are a few clichéd characters - in particular both the male and female protagonists however I can see that they are in their own way necessary for the story to work.ĭespite the large scale world building and depth of characters within Elantris the pace doesn't suffer as much as I expected it would, in part this is due to the fact that this isn't a high octane action epic to begin with but also the quality of the narrative is quite telling and I found myself swept along with the intrigue. He doesn't just limit this to the main cast but even the minor and incidental characters are imbued with a real depth and emotion.

His world building skills are simply incredible but not only that he is then able to populate this world with believable, likeable (and loathable) characters that live and breathe within the world of his creation. There are some very original ideas here, but the real magic is in the highly imaginative and complete world that Sanderson manages to create within the first few chapters of the novel. This once proud city of the gods became a prison and any who now go through the Shaod (which never stopped happening) are locked up tight with all the other sufferers. Ten years ago that all changed - the magic failed and Elantris began to rot from within, even worse the Elantrians turned into powerless wrecks, shunned as lephers and surviving as little more than zombies in a sludge-filled and crumbling city. Now though he has clearly gained a great deal of success both sides of the pond and has written a number of series while he writes the final novel in the Wheel of Time series.Įlantris was his debut novel and tells the tale of a city built on magic, people would be chosen to ascent to Elantris at random (an occurrence known as the Shaod), from common folk and royalty alike to become transformed into gods and reside in a place of beauty replete with miracles, magic and peace. Richard Montgomery (1738-1775), a Revolutionary War hero who led the army into Canada, capturing the city of Montreal he died while attempting to capture Quebec.I must admit that prior to the announcement than Brandon Sanderson would finish that little known series known as 'The Wheel of Time' I hadn't heard of the author, I know he already had a big following but I think this was more US based prior to the WOT announcement. Kansas Counties Montgomery County, Kansas Date Established:

Elantris book two