Elantris (2005)

Elantris is a fantasy novel written by American fantasy and science fiction writer Brandon Sanderson. The book was first published on April 21, 2005 by Tor Books, which is based in New York City, and was Sanderson's first published book.

It is licensed for localized release in Russia, France, Germany, Thailand, Poland, Netherlands, Brazil and at least five other markets. The book gained generally positive reviews.

Synopsis
Elantris was the capital of Arelon: gigantic, beautiful, literally radiant, filled with benevolent 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.

Part One: The Shadow of Elantris
The events of Elantris take place predominantly in the country of Arelon from three separate points of view: Prince Raoden, Princess Sarene and Gyorn Hrathen. Raoden is the crown prince of Arelon and is first in line to inherit the throne from his father, King Iadon. He is engaged to Princess Sarene of neighboring Teod with the hope that their marriage will strengthen ties between their countries in the face of external aggression from the Fjorden Empire from which Hrathen hails.

Raoden wakes up in the morning before Sarene's arrival to find that he has been taken by the Shaod. He is thrown into the city of Elantris where he befriends Galladon, a fellow Elantrian who is originally from Duladen. Galladon describes the terrible lives that Elantrians live but Raoden believes that there must be a better way. He starts a new, more optimistic, society to help newcomers to Elantris. In the process he converts Karata and Taan, two Elantrian gang leaders to his cause. The third gang leader, Shaor, proves to be more difficult and his men's constant attacks are barely held off by the New Elantrians.

Meanwhile, Sarene arrives in Arelon to find the country in mourning for Prince Raoden. Under the conditions of their wedding contract, she must stay in Arelon. However she is suspicious of the circumstances surrounding his death. With no husband, Sarene throws herself into Arelene political life only to find King Iadon expects her to stay out of such matters. Sarene quickly allies herself to a group of nobles, including her uncle Kiin, who are dissatisfied with the king's leadership. Together they scheme to overthrow him.

At the same time, Hrathen begins his campaign to convert the population of Arelon to the Derethi religion. His propaganda involves speeches persuading the Arelenes to hate Elantris in the hope of turning them against Shu-Korath, as well as more discreet meetings with the nobility. Hrathen singles out Telrii, a greedy but influential noble, to try and place on the throne, thinking him to be a Derethi sympathiser. However, Hrathen's plans are often stalled by Dilaf, his overzealous odiv, who seems to oppose him at every turn.

Sensing that Hrathen is a danger to Arelon, Sarene also attempts to disturb his schemes. In a change of previous plans, Sarene stabilizes Iadon's rule, fearing that Telrii would be an even more incompetent ruler. Additionally, she enters Elantris with food to show the rest of Arelon that the Elantrians are mostly harmless, not realising she is disrupting Raoden's plans for New Elantris in the process.

With his plans falling apart, Hrathen has to take drastic action and drinks a potion that imitates the effects of the Shaod.

Part Two: The Call of Elantris
After several attempts, Raoden eventually convinces Shaor's gang to join New Elantris. He also finds a mysterious pool where the nearly immortal Elantrians can go to die. Over a number of days, the New Elantrians observe Hrathen being locked into Elantris, being "healed" of the Shaod and subsequently released.

Outside Elantris, Sarene, noticing strange behaviour from Iadon, follows him when he disappears early from a ball. She is horrified to find Iadon ritually sacrificing his palace staff in observance of the Jeskeri Mysteries. He is arrested, but hangs himself in jail.

Claiming his recovery from the Shaod was due to his devotion to Shu-Dereth, Hrathen regains the upper hand over Dilaf. He is also pleased at the death of Iadon as this gives Telrii a clear path to the throne. Realising this, Sarene plans to marry Duke Roial because, together, they have a more legitimate claim to the throne than Telrii does. However on the day of the wedding Sarene appears to be struck by the Shaod, though in reality it is another dose of Hrathen's potion. Without Sarene, Roial's claim to the throne vanishes and Telrii is crowned king of Arelon.

Once in Elantris, Sarene spends a lot of time with Raoden, though she does not realise who he is. Together, they manage to work out what is wrong with AonDor, which has not worked for the past ten years. However, even with the addition of the chasm line to the Aons, AonDor does not seem as strong as it should.

Sarene rapidly heals from the shaod, as Hrathen did, and reunites with Roial, Kiin and the rest of the nobles. They decide to assassinate Telrii for the good of the country when one of their number betrays them. Telrii, with a number of guards, turns up to their meeting and orders Roial killed. Later in the evening, Eondel kills Telrii in revenge, leaving Hrathen's plans in ruins once again.

Part Three: The Spirit of Elantris
Tensions rise as a detachment of fifty Elantric City Guards gallop towards Kiin's house, with Sarene and her friends convinced the guards will attempt to arrest them for treason against the king. Instead, they request that Raoden become their new king. Within the hour his coronation commences. However, Dilaf dispels the illusion Raoden has been keeping up to appear human. The nobles don't appear as shocked as Dilaf would have hoped. In their apathy they merely appear dejected, until Sarene rallies them behind the idea that Raoden is still the man who loved them before his exile.

Dilaf stalks angrily from the palace, lassoing Hrathen into stalking the arteth. Following him to the market district, Hrathen witnesses the Dakhor monks burst from the tents. Asleep in Roial's mansion, Raoden awakens to a disturbance and goes downstairs, only to find Dilaf, who knocks Raoden unconscious. Sarene is caught up in the Dakhor monks' attack when her carriage is assaulted on the way back from Elantris. Fortunately, she is saved by Kiin and Lukel, who take her back to Kiin's manor and barricade themselves in. Dragging Raoden to the manor, Dilaf uses him to capture Sarene. Done with his bait, Dilaf runs Raoden through with his sword and takes Sarene and Hrathen to Teod.

Emerging from their hiding place, Galladon and Karata approach Raoden to find the Hoed remnants of a man who was once their friend. Galladon is determined to give Raoden peace in the embrace of the pool atop the mountain; he will then also give himself the same peace. Karata only acquiesces. While Galladon and Karata carry Raoden towards oblivion, Lukel and the other captives are being marched to the pyres built for them within Elantris. As a revelation assaults Raoden's mind, he struggles to regain control of his body. Startling Galladon and Karata he dashes back down the mountain to Kae, grabs a stick and draws out the chasm line in the ground. It explodes with the power of the Dor as he completes it, revealing Elantris and its surrounding cities to be one massive Aon Rao.

As these events take place, Shuden and Lukel lead a fight against their captors, and Dilaf moves to crush Teod. Hrathen overhears Dilaf musing to Sarene that he is going to kill her in front of her father, motivating Hrathen to warn Eventeo of the Fjordell invasion and attack Dilaf. Fighting off the other monks, Hrathen escapes with Sarene. Lukel and the others are beaten but hope is restored with Raoden's intervention. Elantris and Arelon are secure but Ashe appears with grave news of Teod.

Hrathen is assassinated in the streets of Teod. Aided by a now lucid Adien, Raoden teleports to Teod to save Sarene from Dilaf. Galladon and the other Elantrians arrive in time to save Raoden and Sarene, fighting off more than fifty Dakhor monks with AonDor. Seeing Dilaf chase after Eventeo, Raoden pursues only to walk into Dilaf's ambush. Hrathen makes a miraculous appearance during the fight, revealing his partial-Dakhor secret, which he uses to kill Dilaf before succumbing to his own wounds.

With the war over and Teod managing to hold back the Fjordell army, Sarene has one thing left on her mind: marrying Raoden. She is not about to let him out of her sight this time, marching him down the aisle where they are married. A week after their marriage a great funeral is arranged for the people that died during the invasion of Arelon, Elantris, and Teod. Sarene speaks for Hrathen, asking all to remember him as the savior who put what was right before his own ambitions. (summery from 17th Shard, Coppermind Wiki.)

Releases

 * First release by Tor Books (April 2005)
 * This was Brandon Sanderson's first book release
 * Science Fiction Bookclub (May 2005)
 * Tor Books paperback (May 2006)
 * Ebook (2007)
 * Tenth anniversary author's definitive edition (October, 2015)
 * 10,000 words worth of bonus content
 * Tenth anniversary dragonsteel leather edition (December, 2015)
 * Contained new colored art and maps.

Languages
Elantris has been released in Turkish, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Polish, Japanese, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, German, Dutch, French, Czech, Bulgarian, and Chinese.

Audiobooks
Elantris has several Audio books relased through out the years, including dramatized adaptations with a full cast of voice actors.


 * Elantris Tenth Anniversery Special Edition (Nov 10, 2015)
 * Elantris (original, Nov 24, 2005)
 * Elantris, full and unabridged (Jul, 1, 2012)
 * Elantris, Dramatized Adaptation (Aug 11, 2021)
 * Elantris, Dramatized Adaptation (Jul 7-Dec 16, 2020)
 * Consists of 3 parts. The first part was released in July and parts 2 and 3 were released in December.
 * The Emperors Soul (Nov 2, 2012)
 * The Emperors Soul, Dramatized Adaptation (Jan 7, 2020)
 * The Hope of Elantris, Dramatized Adaptation (Dec 16, 2020)

Reception
Elantris is Brandon Sanderson's 6th finished novel and his first published book. Elantris was received with an incredibly positive reaction being praised for its well done pacing and development.

Aons
In Elantris, Aons were used as a logographic writing system for the Aonic people. They also served as a magic system for the Elantrians, they were used by writing the symbols in the air. Below are just a few examples of Aons.