Elantris was the capital of Arelon: gigantic, beautiful, literally radiant, filled withbenevolent beings who used their powerful magical abilities for the benefit of all. Yet each of these demigods was once an ordinary person until touched by the mysterious transforming power of the Shaod. Ten years ago, without warning, the magic failed. Elantrians became wizened, leper-like, powerless creatures, and Elantris itself dark, filthy, and crumbling.Arelon's new capital, Kae, crouches in the shadow of Elantris. Princess Sarene of Teod arrives for a marriage of state with Crown Prince Raoden, hoping -- based on their correspondence -- to also find love. She finds instead that Raoden has died and she is considered his widow. Both Teod and Arelon are under threat as the last remaining holdouts against the imperial ambitions of the ruthless religious fanatics of Fjordell. So Sarene decides to use her new status to counter the machinations of Hrathen, a Fjordell high priest who has come to Kae to convert Arelon and claim it for his emperor and his god. But neither Sarene nor Hrathen suspect the truth about Prince Raoden. Stricken by the same curse that ruined Elantris, Raoden was secretly exiled by his father to the dark city. His struggle to help the wretches trapped there begins a series of events that will bring hope to Arelon, and perhaps reveal the secret of Elantris itself.A rare epic fantasy that doesn't recycle the classics and that is a complete and satisfying story in one volume, Elantris is fleet and fun, full of surprises and characters to care about. It's also the wonderful debut of a welcome new star in the constellation of fantasy.
| Dewey |
813.6 |
| Cover Price |
$5.60 |
| No. of Pages |
638 |
| Height x Width |
6.7
x
4.1
inch |
| Original Publication Year |
2005 |
|
|
A daughter of my best friend sent me a message from Shelfari.com and got me to join. It does some of the things I already did, like keep track of my book collection, and when I read them. It also has groups, and I joined a book of the month discussion, and one of the books was this one, Elantris. If it weren't for having to work and having to sleep, I would have read this in one sitting. As it was I finished in four days. The first 550 pages were as good as anything that I've read. The ending was such a change of pace, but I guess it had to be.
Raoden was the crown prince of Arelon, but he was hit with the Shaod, that which turns someone into an Elantrian. Ten years ago that was great, the Elantrians were godlike. The Reod happened and the Elantrians lost their powers, their city became a slime covered nightmare, and they were like walking dead, blotchey skin, hair falling out, nicks and bruises that never healed, and a gnawing hunger even though they did not have to eat. Raoden was exiled from Kae, the capital city of Arelon, into the walled city of Elantris.
Sarene, a princess of Teod, an island north of the continent containing Arelon, Duladel and the eastern countries came to Kae to wed Raoden, only to learn that he was dead. By terms of her marriage contract she was married and a widow. The marriage was political. A wedding to bind the two countries of Arelon and Teod together, so they could stand against the Fjordell, and the Derethi. It didn't take long for Sarene to move into the gap left my Raoden -- bringing together the dukes and barons that were trying to save the country from Iadon's rule.
Hrathen, was a gyorn of the Derethi religion, and came to Kae to convert them all to Shu-Dereth. The Wyrn had given him ninety days to complete his mission before the invasion came and those that didn't convert would be slaughtered.
Raoden struggles to make it in the anarchy of Elantris, but never stops pushing to make it a better place, and studies the AonDor trying to find out what could have happened to the Elantrian magic. Sarene foils plan after plan of Hrathen, but he has the backing of a stable government, and Arelon is a house of cards waiting to topple. Only the love of the people for Raoden, knowing that at some point Iadon would die and Raoden would take his place, had kept the system in place.
Getting back to the ending, it's inevitable that the good guys are going to find out something about Elantrian power, so of course there's got to be some kind of almost equal force on the side of the baddies. So I guess it had to be done, it's just that the first 90% of the book was so great that I probably should have put the book down, and finished it today.
