Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

12 reviews

dredadonx's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

This was my first book introducing me to the world of Brandon Sanderson's expansive Cosmere universe. This book touched on so many deep and socio-religious themes throughout the book, especially with one of the main characters, Hrathen, who is a high Fjordell Preist within the opposing Fjordell Empire. The book follows other two perspectives, Raoden, who was a fallen prince from Kae and was sent to Elantris after getting hit with the Shaoden (more on this later); the other POV we see is Sarene, a princess from Teod, who is actually married to Prince Raoden.

The Shaod is a supernatural curse that pervaded all throughout Elantris and gives you dark blemishes all throughout your skin, turns your skin a dark-greyish color, and pronounces you "dead", but technically you can still "live", breath and talk like normal. You don't retain a heartbeat, and you feel hunger, but you don't need food to keep living (but without food you can suffer from extreme hunger, fatigue, and deliriousness, eventually causing you to pass away). It is a weird curse, and **spoiler** Raoden almost gave into the hunger in the book, which made me cry because it seemed like he was considering un*living himself. 

My review is a little over the place but I did not want to give too much away with spoilers. PLZ PLZ PLZZZZZ READ THIS BOOK and I cannot wait to dive in further into Emperor's Soul, which is a sequel, but also stand-alone novel, to Elantris. 

My only issue with this book was how Sarene would describe herself due to how perverse patriarchal norms are in the setting of this book. Once you read it you'll understand what I am referring to. Also, I was not a fan of how Shuden, who is a darkskinned man from an indigenous Jindo , was kind of fetishized throughout the book due to his skin type. I understand the book was written in the early 2000s so reading this in 2023 where we have made great advancements in gender and racial issues definitely had me uncomfortable. 

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ravenfaerie's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25


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lakinglaze's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I can’t believe it, but Elantris is now kind of my favourite book by Brandon Sanderson (that I’ve read so far). I absolutely loved it. I loved the quiet struggles and political intrigue. The characters were so varied and fun. The whole mythos surrounding everything was constantly a mystery. And Sarene as a character was just kind of perfect, honestly! I really enjoyed it and can’t wait for future stories to come!

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proza's review against another edition

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  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75


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ericarao's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5


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giulianalb99's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Primer libro publicado de Sanderson. Después de haberme leído “El Imperio Final” este me ha parecido también muy bueno aunque a veces se hacía un poco lento y me sobraban algunas explicaciones. Se nota en este libro comparándolo con otros del autor que ha evolucionado bastante su manera de escribir. Me ha parecido súper curioso lo de los aones y toda Elantris, tanto sus habitantes como su magia y la Shaod. Totalmente recomendable.

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anastasiamakes's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Some more top-notch fantasy from Brandon Sanderson. I didn't love it quite as much as Mistborn era 1 - I just didn't gel with one of the POVs and felt myself rushing through those bits to get to the others, and the ending didn't feel as powerful to me - but I appreciated having a little standalone reading 'break' in my Sanderson journey!

Elantris spends more time exploring the politics if and relationships in a fantasy world, more than the magical elements of it, which I personally enjoyed but others may not.

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apersonfromflorida's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75


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lilifane's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Everyone warns people not to start reading Brandon Sanderson with this book, but I always want to experience a complex book universe in the publication order. So I started with Elantris, but told myself that it doesn't matter how much I hate it, I will definitely still read Mistborn at least. 
To my biggest surprise I actually really enjoyed this book and if this is his weakest one... okay. 
It certainly has its issues. Most of the characters are pretty flat and boring (although I like most of them without a doubt). I think there is only one character that is actually complex and interesting. And the whole political plot didn't interest me that much, I just didn't care for it and I think it dragged on for too long. I didn't care for the king and this baby monarchy, I didn't care for the nobility. I might have cared for the peasants, but they were basically absent from the plot, although they had so much more potential?
The rest of the book? I loved it! The world building is phenomenal, I enjoyed the magic system a lot, everything about Elantris (history, mystery, present state) is so cool and fascinating, and I flew through these chapters. The story was really well plotted in my opinion, all the small details that became important at the end and fit perfectly together. Ah, I love this. (I'm just a little sad the final Elantris mystery wasn't really explained. That scene was so confusing, and I don't know what happened there. I have a vague idea, but it's bothering me not to know the details!)
Also: Although I know, Sanderson discusses mental health in his books, I wasn't aware it was already so present in this first one. The way the suffering of Elantrians can be compared to depression really impressed me. 

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sashafriese's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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