Elantris | Review

I can see why this isn't Sandersons strongest book and considered his "rough" entry to his collection. But it still is fascinatingly well developed. Far better than most author's first novels.

(Before we begin let me point out this is my favorite of the UK cover Sanderson books. Greens a favorite color of mine and this cover really perfectly sets the scene for the book!)
Here are my cons and reason for a 4 star:

The Pacing:
I usually wish Sanderson could devise a way to make his books shorter as they are usually pretty chunky. But they usually serve their purpose with their page count. Unfortunately I don't think so with this one. I really feel like the first 50% is uncomfortably stretched too thin, though the last 50% hit pretty hard in a good way.

The World:
Funnily enough the world is also a pro, but for different reasons. Im more referring to the world at present as we read through it. Now granted the way he describes Elantris is interesting because its SUPPOSED to be awful. But besides that no other description of the the scenery or location was particularly interesting. This made the long read all the more painful.

The Side Characters:
Im not gonna lie, it probably has to do with the names?(But I read Stormlight and remember the characters better there) But I could not remember the difference between most of the characters. In one particular scene where s**** was hitting the fan I was getting completely confused who was doing what and such.

Yup, that's it, just those things. Without those it would definitely be a 5 star read. Its just unfortunate that these exact two things make rereading it unlikely.

The Pros |

The World: (We'll get to this first since we've already briefly talked about it.)
I felt the lore he created for the world was fascinating. I thought how religion played such a big part was unique. The idea behind the magic system and history of  the lands all were VERY interesting. Though I dont mind it I should point out that unless Im mistaken its entirely related to us through exposition. (I really dont mind it just because I dont know how else he would make us aware of it. I can atleast say I didnt feel like it was all at once and he it spread out, and even fed to us naturally through conversations between characters who are also not aware of the information that is being told.)

The Twisty Twists:
If this isnt your first Sanderson book you know that his reveals and twists are usually exquisite. Though this one doesnt hit as hard as other books of his it was still interesting to see things unfold as the characters solve the mystery. Speaking of which...

The Characters:
I quite enjoyed our main cast of characters. Raodin's wholesome outlook on his people was balanced by Sarene's intellectual maneuvering as we went back and forth between them.
I feel like the good twists come to us in the way the characters develop more so than the plot. In particular I think readers will appreciate how Sanderson handles his antagonist.

I think the stand out thought after finishing the book was I like how we can learn from the success as well as failures of the people in the story. (And the characters realize this as well.) I also very much like the gray area some characters take on. Maybe slight spoiler, but I dont think Ill see Severus Snape the same again after reading this book. I feel like it did what JK Rowling was trying to do with Snape but doesnt quite succeed with.