If you love fantasy books then this is a MUST-READ for you. I was going to try and explain the story for you, but then got a better idea. Here is the synopsis from the author himself, Brandon Sanderson.
"Tor classifies this book as an epic fantasy. I'm not sure if that's actually the case. There is no quest in this book, nor is it about the end of the world. It takes place (as many of my books do) in one city, and is a mixture of political intrigue, interesting magic, and character dynamics.
The setting is the city of Elantris and the surrounding suburbs. There's a force in Arelon known as the Dor that randomly chooses people and grants them divine powers. Elantris was once the city of the gods, where anyone who was 'chosen' went to live. Ten years ago, the Elantrians lost their powers and caught a terrible disease instead. From that point on, Elantris became a prison city/contamination zone for any who caught that disease--for the Dor continues to choose people and curse them.
The book follows the experiences of three people as they interact with the people of Elantris. Raoden, a prince, catches the disease in chapter one and is thrown into the city by his own father. Sarene, Raoden's sight-unseen fiancee from a political treaty, arrives in the city and gets involved in schemes, troubles, and politics involving Elantris. Hrathen, a priest and missionary, is sent to convert the people of Arelon--and is told that if he fails, the people of the country will need to be killed instead.
The three stories intertwine as the truth of what happened to Elantris, and its inhabitants, ten years ago is unearthed."
If that didn't catch your interest then just read it anyway. You will not be disappointed. Not that I'm an expert on fantasy novels or anything, but just trust me.
It's kind of funny how I stumbled upon it in the first place. My wife is a hair stylist and happens to cut Brandon's hair. Small world right? Anyway, she wanted to get me a good x-mas present and had no idea what to get. After some small talk with Brandon, she decided to buy Elantris and have him sign it. An excellent present indeed. (It's not always about the cost after all.) They decided on Elantris because it is written very much in the style of Orson Scott Card who happens to be my favorite author. I'm a fairly slow reader, but I finished it over the weekend. A pretty amazing feat for me considering its around 500 pages.
I'm lucky to have "stumbled" upon this book. It was out for 2 years before I had ever heard of it, and I'm a local. Hopefully somebody else will find their way to this blog and be inspired to read a good book.
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