On The Nightstand – Elantris – 7/3/2018

This is a bit of a retro post – going back to a book published in 2005 – but I feel compelled to pound out a short note.  Early in June, I read a wonderful, little novella by Brandon Sanderson called “The Emperor’s Soul”:

http://booksofbrian.com/on-the-nightstand-the-emperors-soul-6-23-2018/

It was my first chance to read anything by Sanderson and I really enjoyed it – his writing style, his characters, the world he created – it was a brief but intense pleasure.  I also mentioned in the post – having enjoyed “The Emperor’s Soul” as much as I had – that I planned to go back to his debut and see what he was like at the beginning.  Since I’d finished everything on my June Release List plus a bit more – I did just that and wanted to take the chance to finish out the trip.

First – and I caveat this by acknowledging that I haven’t experienced much of his work – I suspect that anyone who goes back to this book after reading Sanderson’s later work will notice a difference.  It’s not as tight as it should be – he dawdles a bit with his narrative – some of the content and some of his characters are a bit cliched – the ultimate reveal was a bit obvious to me early on in the story – there are too many red herrings and plot cul-de-sacs.  Still – I have to say it was fun and, for a lengthy book, it was a relatively fast read.  One of the reasons it went quickly was because this isn’t the type of book that compelled me to focus and pay attention to each word – a reflection of some of the earlier criticisms – but that really hurt the experience for me.

Sanderson has a novel concept and he writes into it in a very engaging way.  What really shines through and what I think I enjoyed is the way Sanderson’s two protagonists – Raoden and Sarene – are so unavoidably endearing.  They just ooze goodness in everything they do – Sanderson obviously wanted them both to reflect an uncompromising decency, courage and heroism and he was thoroughly successful.  As they develop and grow, you can’t help but root for them and want them to win.  While some might find them a bit too sugary sweet – it didn’t bother me – I’m a sucker for a true good guy or girl.

I actually found one of Sanderson’s secondary characters – Galladon – to be more effectively constructed and more interesting.  His worldliness and cynicism were a welcome counter to Raoden’s purity.  While he was a bit cliched – I also enjoyed his antagonist – Hrathen – a conflicted villain trying to do as little bad as he could – one who eventually finds redemption.

Overall, I’m very glad “The Emperor’s Soul” led me to Elantris.  It was an impressive enough debut – even with the small blemishes – that I feel like I have to move on to his “Stormlight Archives”.  If nothing else, my sis won’t be able to shake her head at me any more about not having experienced Sanderson’s works. 🙂