Missing Michael Kramer

If you are thinking about getting into Sanderson’s work, you had better start with this….if only to avoid the minute by minute disappointment of not experiencing this interesting world through the rich and varied voices of Michael Kramer who narrates the later works.

The narrators grating voice is an ongoing distraction in this edition of Elantris….made worse by the awareness of how good it could be in Kramer’s hands.

Audible, this tenth anniversary edition of Elantris was a missed opportunity. Please can you commission Kramer for the next!

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4 people found this helpful

Great story let down by rather dull narration

I really enjoyed the story, but the narration was very slow and rather stilted and flat. Could have used more energy.

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2 people found this helpful

Creative writing 101

The author uses complex sentences and ‘clever’ words to give a false impression of depth to a story about a banished prince and a banished princess overcoming outrageous fortune and initial loathing to defeat an existential threat. Their exceptional heroism and the loyalty they inspire in the lower orders due, presumably, to their own high births in combination with a good deal of lucky coincidence allows them to prevail.
Having said that, I enjoyed the book because it was just SO corny; the haughty princess who was too bold, the monstrous monks, figuring out the magic of elantris just in time and all those adverbial clauses. I was entertained but largely because it was all so laboured. It’s certainly a fantasy novel just a very cliched one.

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1 person found this helpful

Another good one!

Working my way through Sanderson's back catalogue after finishing Mistborn and I found this. Some more amazing world building but I found the pacing was a bit off. I guess it was his first book. Still thoroughly enjoyed it.

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Captivating

Great first book from Brandon. One of my top 5 authors. Read the book years ago and had forgotten just how much I enjoyed it.
A truly talented writer.

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Great, but also dated and full of bad tropes

It is really hard to give an accurate review of this. The basic premise, intrigue and writing is absolutely wonderful. I can totally see how Sanderson has become a very successful writer. I believe this was the first book he wrote, and I will seek out other works to see how he developed his skills.

On the other hand, there are a couple of hard negatives for me too. The most glaring one to me is Sarene, the only woman that gets more than a few paragraphs and a living embodiment of the 'not like other girls' trope. I am not kidding. Every woman in this world is a doddering ditz, only interested in clothes and men, or acting spoiled and entitled. But NOT Sarene. Noooo, she's smart and intelligent (we are told this, not shown) and plucky and interested in politics and sword fighting. Nothing like all the other shallow girls! She is worried that no man wants her because she is too opiniated and also because she is 'ugly'. She THINKS she is ugly, but every man falls over himself to tell her she really IS beautiful. She is also thin, supermodel tall, and has really long golden blond tresses that sparkle like the sun. Despite that, she is preoccupied with not being married yet because she is so hideous. I really wanted to like her, but that and the constant disparaging of other women just rubbed me the wrong way. If the only way to make your female character stand out and be cool is to turn all the other women into vapid doozies than you've written a bad character. The only other exception to 'all women are stupid, except Sarene' is a woman who became a gang leader in order to take care of abandoned children. That sounds interesting, but that is literally it. No other traits. She is a MOTHER. She instantly defers to the superiority of the main male character and dissolves her own gang in order to follow him a day after he arrives on the scene. Yay. She also only gets a few pages at best. Men get a better treatment (there are dozens of male characters, because the natural ratio male/female is at least 30 to 1, right???) but there are some racist tropes as well. For instance Galladon, the salt of the earth black man who mainly serves as a as a guide to the protagonist who just arrived. His entire race is described as lazy, 'sensual' and vain, and he is voiced with a Caribbean accent. Oh and every fat person in this book is evil. There is also a weird fixation on height and lack thereof when men are concerned.

The above stuff is pretty frustrating because in essence this is a really cool story, written by a very skillful writer. I was really interested in the word that was created, the concept of the Elantris and its inhabitants is awesome, and the male lead, Raoden, is a great protagonist. So that is why the above stings more. If it was just an overall bad book I would have given it 1 stars based on the above for sure, but I've decided on 3. I also think it is 'dated' rather than just outright bad. This is the first book of someone who now has a successful career, and I have heard/read that his writing has improved regarding female characters and such. It also seems like he really wanted to create a cool woman with Sarene, but just didn't know how. So maybe he learned along the way.

The narration can be off-putting because the narrator has a very American sports-caster type voice. He really tries and is very professional, but to me he sounds more like someone who does the voice-over for a commercial or a movie-trailer instead of someone telling a compelling story. Depending on your tolerance for American accents your opinion on this may vary though.

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Great introduction to Brandon Sanderson

Was recommended to start with Elantris as I’m new to Brandon Sanderson and it’s definitely the right choice. It’s a great way into his works as this is his first ever book, it’s good but his other materials are far more better. Narrator did a brilliant job which made it a joy to listen to.

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Love the characters!Narrator not as good as Kramer

Ok ok. I can’t give anything else than five stars for the book. It feels somewhat slower than other Sanderson books, or maybe it is the narration that is a bit slower as well, but still; I fell in love with all the characters, and the events are nicely woven together. Not as satisfying twists as for other Sanderson books, but the characters, and a cool (but broken) magic system makes up for this. I’m used to Michael Kramer as the narrator for other Sanderson books, and I sometimes miss his pace/voices. HOWEVER!!!! Garret nails the Aonic pronunciation, as explained on Sanderson home page https://brandonsanderson.com/books/elantris/elantris/elantris-pronunciation-guide/ and I think that is pretty cool and well done. When you listen to The Hope of Elantris (and The Emperor’s soul) with Kramer and Reading, it becomes a bit weird because they pronounce the names very different from this. But these are short stories, so it’s ok. (The Emperor’s soul is the best short story ever btw! Check it out in Arcanum Unbounded!!!!)

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Great book

fantastic first published book by one of my favorite authors. The narrator was great as well.

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Outstanding

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Enjoyable and full of surprises.

What other book might you compare Elantris to, and why?

Although the story is unique, it's a great listen for the fans of Mistborn series and other books by Brandon Sanderson.

What does Jack Garrett bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Jack Garrett puts emotion into narration, which makes you sympathise or dislike the characters.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Elantris - outstanding story by Brandon Sanderson now comes to life on the big screen.

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