Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

There was an episode of the Simpsons where the family’s front lawn was being used as a showdown ground between the Mafia and the Yakuza (I’m going somewhere with this…). Marge calls desperately to Homer to get into the house for his own safety, but Homer is hesitant. Throughout the fight, there’s been a small Yakuza thug dressed in white watching the whole fight with detached interest.

MARGE: Homie, maybe we should go inside.
HOMER: But, Marge, that little guy hasn't done anything yet. Look at him. He's going to do something and you know it's going to be good.
[Marge pulls him back into the house and shuts the door. A loud ninja yell is heard, followed by a thump]
HOMER: Aw...

So. What does this all have to do with one of the best fantasy novels I’ve read recently? I’m not sure, but Homer’s funny, isn’t he? But seriously… Elantris, the first novel by Brandon Sanderson, is much like the above scene. An amazing premise to start, a LOT of politics and socializing, followed by an astounding battle sequence to close the show. Sanderson keeps you hooked in and interested through all of the talk of government, trade organizations, religious disputes, and cultural clashes, because you know the payoff is going to be worth it. You’re not closing the door on this one. Elantris, simply put, is the city of the Gods. Inhabitants of the surrounding towns are “afflicted”, seemingly at random, by a process called the Shaod. The Shaod leaves them with shining skin, great hair, and the ability to perform magic and miracles. Those affected by the Shaod came together to form the city of Elantris, a peaceful, benevolent society built to serve the greater good of the land. As the tagline says, Elantrians “could live in bliss, rule in wisdom, and be worshipped for eternity. Eternity ended ten years ago.”

The Shaod was replaced by the Reod, an event that would leave all Elantrians weakened, crippled, and deformed. Their skin was dark and blotchy. Their hearts no longer beat. They could not die, nor could they heal. A small cut or a stubbed toe would never lose its initial pain. The accumulation of these injuries over time would drive Elantrians mad. Once the Reod hit, a new aristocracy arose, and the Elantrians were locked into their formerly glorious city, left there to rot and be forgotten.

One morning, Raoden, Prince of the city Kae, awakens to find himself “dead”, a victim of the Reod. He is led to Elantris and dumped, to be forgotten. Across the world, his arranged bride Sarene, whom he’s never met, was on her way to Kae. Upon learning of Raoden’s “death” Sarene does not shrink. She works against the harsh rule of Iadon and seeks a way to bring happiness and equality to the kingdom. Meanwhile, Raoden struggles to bring hope to the Elantrians, the most hopeless of all. He must first unite three warring gang factions while working to discover a cure for the Reod. The Kingdom of Kae must also contend with the fact that a strong religious country has designs to take over the nation, converting the world to their ways.

Most authors would have used their first book to tell part of this tale, but Sanderson has delivered an epic, one-volume masterpiece. The book will inevitably draw comparisons to Tolkien, but it wouldn’t be entirely fair to call Sanderson’s work derivative. Elantris is highly original, instantly engaging, and one of the top books of the year.