Published Information
| Author: | Brandon Sanderson |
| Published: | May 2005 |
| Genre: | Fantasy |
| Pages: | 656 (paperback), 499 (hardcover) |
Plot Summary
The book is set in the land of Arelon which up until 10 years ago, was ruled by the city of Elantris. The inhabitants of Elantris held incredible magic that made seem god-like. Even their appearances were more beautiful and glorious that other men. Every so often, someone local would go to sleep and wake up as one of the "gods" and move to Elantris. But 10 years ago, something changed and the "gods" that lived in that city have fallen. They no longer control magic that allowed them to be so powerful and beautiful. Elantris is now the city of damned souls. And now, when people change, their skin blotches, and their hair falls out. Once this happens to someone, they are considered dead by all, and are sent to live in Elantris.
Now, Prince Roaden is engaged to marry Princess Sarene. They have written and communicated through several months and recognize the alliance will be very beneficial to both countries. Additionally, they both recognize something in each other that might allow their marriage to be one of more than convenience. But as she travels to meet Roaden and to be married, he dies. Their marriage contract was written so that if either died before they could actually perform the ceremony, it would be as if they had already wed. So Princess Sarene finds herself widowed without ever having met her husband. As she arrives, she finds that the city is having difficulties, politically and otherwise, and decides that since she is now a princess of this country, she will make it her home and help fix the problems. However, unknown to her, Prince Roaden didn't die. He was changed, and now lives in Elantris.
As Prince Roaden enters Elantris, he finds that things are not what they seem. They people there don't need to eat, but their bodies also don't heal. So any pain felt doesn't go away. So hunger becomes a constant state and, when added to the small pains that occur from little (and not so little) accidents, the pain drives the people of Elantris into a vegetative state where they give into the pain, lie down, and slowly become buried in the muck of the streets. Roaden, seeing and recognizing what is happening to this people, his people, he decides to see what he can do to help them.
At the same time, a leader of the Shu-Dereth faith, named Hrathen, arrives in the land with the mandate to convert or destroy the land within three months. This land, as well as Princess Sarene's home land are the last two countries still to be converted to the Shu-Dereth faith. Unfortunately, conversion is often forced through Shu-Dereth lead insurrection, or through war. Will the same happen in these two lands?
Comments
This is one of my favorite books of all time. There is so much to read into the narrative. Leadership, religious differences, and prejudices are all discussed in the book, and done in such a way that the storyline is not interrupted.
One of the main themes of the book deals with when good (or in the book "god-like") people "fall from grace." In our lives, we often see those who seem to be doing everything right. They work hard, they are good to their friends, live their religion, and yet bad things still happen to them. In this book, the fall from grace has nothing to do with how the Elantrians lived or how good they were. Rather, there was some aspect of their environment that was out of their power. How do we react when that happens in our lives? Do we give up after we have hurt too much? Or do we endure no matter what the difficulties and survive?
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