I finished reading Elantris by Brandon Sanderson (published by Tor in 2005) last week, and overall it had a good plot and interesting characters. The villain has some real reason for what he does rather than seeking the world’s destruction because he’s just plain evil, as classic villains typically are, and he actually undergoes some character development.

The most interesting of the three main characters was Raoden, probably because he was pursuing the real mystery of why Elantris fell and why becoming an Elantrian turned into a curse rather than an empowerment. That is the plotline that kept me reading. (Don’t worry, I’m not spoiling anything. You learn that much in the first few pages.)

The story’s tension builds right until the very end of the last chapter. The end did have a couple of tidy little plot elements that seemed a little convenient, as if Sanderson wrote his characters into such a tight situation that they needed some help, but they weren’t deal breakers.

If you’re looking for something good to read, Elantris is worth a try.

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