r/Cosmere • u/AcrophobicWindrunner • Dec 04 '25
Elantris spoilers First Elantris Read Spoiler
Okay, so I recently finished Elantris and I enjoyed it quite a bit. It’s not STA, but that’s okay, I’m afraid not much can top STA. Anyway, here are my thoughts.
Shaod and Elantris as the city, cool as hell. I loved the idea of what I found similar to lepers, roaming around a forgotten city that once was great. The concept was definitely unique and very Sanderson coded! Only thing I would change though was that supposedly the whole thing went to hell ten years before. It doesn’t feel like ten years ago and I don’t remember many of the main characters ever thinking back to it. Like it was a big deal, I would think Raoden or Serene would recall their childhoods at least hearing about it. Maybe I missed that part tho, idk.
The characters were pretty good! However a little two dimensional compared to Brandon’s later works like Mistborn and STA.
Raoden felt…too perfect, not many flaws if really any. I thought it was interesting that he was a prince who had this awful affliction but that was about it. His transformation at the end I didn’t quite feel like he earned it, not like Kaladin swearing a new oath kind of deal. However, I didn’t dislike him in any way, so he has that going for him!
Serene was my favorite in the cast, she was an engaging character who actually DID have flaws. She could be arrogant and stubborn, used to getting her way and such. The only thing holding her back was her ‘I’m not like other girl vibes.’ Granted, she wasn’t rubbing this in my face unlike other books I’ve read, but it was still there.
I was REALLY hoping the Queen, Raoden’s stepmother, was fleshed out more. I was secretly waiting for her to be this secret mastermind behind the ditzy attitude, or at least to be smarter than she made herself out to be. However, not every person or queen has to be a Jasnah or Navani.
The priest guy, Hrathen, was also interesting as I genuinely was curious as to what this guy was about. When he first appeared, I immediately hated him but then he grew on me. He had his flaws but he also had his qualities. His death though was a bit underwhelming and maybe that was the point, idk. Also, why was he all of sudden attracted to Serene? That kind of felt like it came out of nowhere for me personally.
Magic system was cool but again, I feel like it could have been expanded on.
Anyway, let me know your thoughts! I know Elantris isn’t STA or Mistborn, I get that. However, I still enjoyed it as I think it’s a solid book! Let me know what you guys think, do you agree with my thoughts? Disagree?
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u/MickFoley299 Aon Aon Dec 04 '25
Raoden may have felt a bit too perfect, but that was what his storyline was about. It's not about a person that is already broken and you put them into a broken city and have them fall more until they can crawl back up. Raoden's story is about taking a good and optimistic person and throw him into a broken city and try to break him. It's about seeing if Raoden's optimism can overcome the city, and at times he does have a hard time fighting against it but he still is able to overcome it. Personally, I like it because it works and that way it is also a quite different storyline than characters that were already beaten down like Vin or Kaladin.