I wanted to like this book. Truly, I did. It was the last of the Cosmere books on my to-read list, and I’ve enjoyed almost everything else of Sanderson’s that I’ve read so far. But I did not enjoy Elantris. Despite the fact that I was reading it last, it was one of his first published books, and unfortunately it shows. The writing was clunky and exposition-y, as though the author doesn’t trust his reader to pick up on anything and so has to TELL you that a character is being clever or subtle or inspired or what-have-you. So many of the features I’ve come to associate with a Sanderson novel – extensive and nuanced explorations of hard-magic systems, unique voices for the various characters, elaborate worldbuilding on an epic scale – are simply lacking from this book. If it had been the only Sanderson I’d read, I don’t know that I’d have continued reading his other works, which would have been a shame. The only reason I forced myself to finish this one (I nearly DNFed at 30%, and started skimming at 50%) was because I know Sanderson is planning to write sequels and I want to have read the original first. But really, of all the Cosmere books, you can probably skip this one, at least for now. Go read Mistborn – it’s much better.