ELANTRIS

Elantris is a stand-alone fantasy novel written by American author Brandon Sanderson. It was first published in April 2005 by Tor Books and is significant as Sanderson's first widely released book.

Elantris used to be a place of magic, and the Elantrians were gods in the eyes of people, able to heal people with a mere wave of the hand. But after a cataclysmic event, known as the "Reod", the inhabitants of the city became "cursed" and the city was sealed off from society. Anyone affected by the"Shaod", the random turning of a person into an Elantrian, is thrown into the city, to stay there for all eternity. Elantris has also been licensed for localized release in Russia, France, Germany, Thailand, Poland, Netherlands, Brazil and at least five other markets. The book gained generally positive reviews

The book focuses on three principal characters whose stories intertwine. Much of the book occurs in groupings of three chapters, one for each of the three main characters.

Raoden, the prince of Arelon, is transformed into an Elantrian at the beginning of the book. After the Reod, Elantrians got dark splotches on their skin and their hair falls out, and cannot die or be killed (except by drastic measures, such as burning or beheading) Their bodies do not repair themselves, so they continue to feel pain as minor injuries accumulate, those who suffer too much pain, known as the "Haod", are unable to move and can only repeat one sentence, whatever it was that they said right before turning into a Haod, over and over. Elantrians do not need to eat, but they feel hunger pains when they don't. Raoden is immediately sent to Elantris -once the wonder of the world, now a cursed ruin. Persons transformed into Elantrians are treated as dead by those outside Elantris. Raoden's storyline centers on his efforts to improve theElantrian way of life beyond the anarchy to which it succumbed when Elantris fell. He does thisby getting the Elantrians to focus on work, rather than their pains, and by getting rid of the gangs which were beating up new Elantrians upon their arrival.

Sarene, princess of Teod and Raoden's political bride-to-be whom he has never personally met, arrives in Arelon to discover that they are considered to have been married if either of them diesbefore the wedding. Widow of a supposedly dead prince and a new member of the mostly ill-suited Arelon nobility, she struggles to find out just what is going on, and to help the downtrodden common people - even those of Elantris. Sarene's storyline deals with her attemptsto stabilize and improve the monarchy, which encourages nobles to mistreat the peasants, and toprevent Hrathen's intended revolution.

Hrathen, a Derethi gyorn (high-ranking priest), arrives in Arelon with a mandate to convert the country to the Shu Dereth religion within three months' time, or his religion's armies will come to wipe out all of its citizens. Hrathen's storyline focuses on his efforts at political maneuvering to sway the Arelene aristocracy and place a converted Derethi on the throne, and on his struggles to come to terms with the religion he is supposed to believe.