I just finished Elantris, by Brandon Sanderson.  I’ve come to enjoy Sanderson as an author, having first found him in The Way of Kings, then in The Gathering Storm and Mistborn: The Final Empire, and Elantris held my attention for much the same reasons.  First, it’s ‘clean’.  Too many times I’ve had to put a book down halfway through (or maybe just a page or two through) because the author couldn’t tell a good story without using material I have no desire nor business reading.  Sanderson’s books aren’t like that, and that’s refreshing.  Second, the systems of magic he comes up with are inventive, believable, and understandable (well, as much as bodies that don’t quite die and glowing balls that materialize into people can be ‘believed’).  While this is less true in Elantris than his other books, it still holds up. Third, they seem to follow a Rags to Riches mentality (this doesn’t include The Gathering Storm, since that story line was already 11 books into it before Sanderson took over.  It has it’s own rags to riches themes, but you can’t really credit Sanderson after 10,000 pages were already written), where the heroes are people of character who overcome great trials.  They’re not perfect, but still good.  Classic Good vs. Evil, where good wins.  I like that.  This book did have some rougher edges, which is understandable imho considering it was his first novel.  About a thousand times better than anything I could have come up with.  However, at times the story seemed just a tad bit forced, and I was disappointed with the ending.  Not really for what happened in the end, as much as it felt rushed.  I came to the climax thinking, “Surely there’s not enough pages left!”  I knew it was a stand-alone book, but I’d started wondering if maybe it was indeed a series because it felt like a ‘To be continued’ was coming up.  Overall, a great book, but not the best I’ve read.  His later books are better, but this is still a good find.

Grade: B