Elantris

This fantasy fiction novel will suck you in. Elantris is one of the best standalone fantasy books in the genre. It's about addictive as chocolate and a whole lot healthier! .Normally, I prefer to avoid novelizations of myths such as Arthur or Atlantis. This book is no rewrite however. I didn't stop reading this one till my eye skimmed the last page. Sanderson's newer works are better in some ways, but Elantris, his debut novel, has quite a few wow movements. If you are tired of picking up yet another fat fantasy saga and want a well-drawn tale that's completed in one book, you won't go wrong reading Elantris. Apparently, Sanderson will be writing a sequel to Etlantris -- according to one of his 2014 blog posts.

Similar Recommendations

shadow
The obvious choice

if you like the "style" of writing in Elantris is to read Sanderson's other books (which sadly are NOT standalones, but series). He's got quite a few now. You could give his Mistborn series a go which features a very strong heroine like the one found in Elantris. For a more "end of the world" mega fantasy series in the vein of Robert Jordan, his new Stormlight Archive series (starts with The Way of Kings) looks like one of the most promising fantasy tales I've read to date.

For a somewhat

similar feel to Elantris (though a much more intricate and complicated tale than Elantris) in setting, you might look at Daniel Abraham's A Shadow in Summer (part of the Long Quartet series). There are some rich characterization, intelligent plotting, and some really ambitious ideas (literally and pun totally intended -- read the book to see what I mean).

Booklists having this book

shadow

Best Stand Alone Fantasy Books

Most of the books listed on this website's top fantasy lists have been part of a series, either because of the financial incentive behind publishing multiple books in the same... Read more

Top 100 Fantasy Books

This list continues directly from where  the Top 25 Best Fantasy List ends, starting from #26 and ending at #100 (yes, I know the list shows #1, but 1 = 26).Frankly, there are... Read more

Other books by Sanderson, Brandon

shadow

Elantris

This fantasy fiction novel will suck you in. Elantris is one of the best standalone fantasy books in the genre. It's about addictive as chocolate and a whole lot healthier!... Read more

Mistborn

A magnificent series of adventure, magic, and revenge with one of the most unique magic systems in the fantasy genre. Mistborn is the story of a band of wizards fighting... Read more

Well Of Ascension

 Read more

The Hero Of Ages

Fantasy roman. Read more

Allow Of Law

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, the Mistborn series is a heist story of political intrigue and magical, martial-arts action. Three hundred years after the events of... Read more

Mistborn

Though Sanderson's main criticism is a lack of character depth, it's hard to deny the satisfying coming of age stories in Mistborn. The novel describes a classic rags-to-riches story, Vin... Read more

The Stormlight Archive

Understandably, some readers prefer series more epic in their nature, and Sanderson also has that covered. Though it’s magic systemsaren’t quite as compelling as in Mistborn, The Stormlight Archive is... Read more

Words Of Radiance

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, Words of Radiance, Book Two of the Stormlight Archive, continues the immersive fantasy epic that The Way of Kings began. Expected... Read more

The Way Of Kings

The Stormlight Archive has for better or worse become the poster-boy for where (classic) epic fantasy is going. It's the evolution of the Tolkien-style fantasy -- a fantasy that was... Read more

The Stormlight Archive

If you like your epic fantasy big in the style of Wheel of Time, the closest you'll find to that style is The Storm Light Archive -- written by the... Read more

Skybreaker

A legendary ghost ship. An incredible treasure. A death-defying adventure. Forty years ago, the airship Hyperion vanished with untold riches in its hold. Now, accompanied by heiress Kate de Vries... Read more

Steelheart

While Sanderson excels at writing âepicâ fantasy, Steelheartwas a pleasant surprise. Sanderson takes on the âsuperheroâ fantasy genre andwrites a uniquely compelling tale about a band of ordinary humans whospecialize... Read more

Firefight

The #1 New York Times bestseller and sequel to Steelheart from Brandon Sanderson, the author of Oathbringer, coauthor of Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time series, and creator of the... Read more

Calamity

This exhaustive bibliographical reference will be the first stop for anyone looking for Calamity Jane in print, film, or photograph—and wanting to know how reliable those sources may be. Richard... Read more

Shadows Of Self

The #1 New York Times bestselling author returns to the world of Mistborn with his first novel in the series since The Alloy of Law. Read more

Bands Of Mourning

THE INTERNATIONAL PHENOMENON BEHIND THE COSMERE 300 YEARS AFTER THE EVENTS OF THE MISTBORN TRILOGY **** A reborn world... The new Mistborn books move the series into a richly imagined... Read more

Warbreaker

Brandon Sanderson proves his expertise in magic once more with Warbreaker, a story of two princesses, separated and each trying to prevent a war. In theShardworld of Nathis, every individual... Read more

The Stormlight Archive

Take one part of the Wheel of Time and two-parts Mistborn adding in more character building, an even grander vision of the world, a sophisticated magic system, and you have... Read more

Bands Of Mourning

Yet another Sanderson book. The second book to come out in 2016, and it's only March! Seriously, I don't know how Sanderson can write so prolifically – he writes two,... Read more

The Well Of Ascension

#1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson's epic Mistborn Trilogy continues with The Well of Ascension. They did the impossible, deposing the godlike being whose brutal rule had lasted... Read more

Secret History

Original publication and copyright date: 1992. Read more

Shadows Of Self

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, the Mistborn series is a heist story of political intrigue and magical, martial-arts action. Three hundred years after the events of... Read more

The Bands Of Mourning

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, the Mistborn series is a heist story of political intrigue and magical, martial-arts action. Three hundred years after the events of... Read more

Oathbringer: Book Three Of The Stormlight Archive

The eagerly awaited sequel to the #1 New York Times bestselling Words of Radiance, from epic fantasy author Brandon Sanderson at the top of his game.In Oathbringer, the third volume... Read more

Mistborn

Brandon Sanderson is well-known for his magic systems, and Mistborn standshigh above the rest. In the Final Empire, ash falls from the sky, mist moves unnaturally through the night, and... Read more

The Lost Metal

An all-new 120-page Stormlight Archive novella, "Edgedancer," will be the crown jewel of Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection, the first book of short fiction by #1 New York Times bestselling... Read more

Nightblood

Possessed by an evil spirit he had encountered in the jungles of Vietnam, veteran Chris Stiles serves as a medium of its vengeance Read more

The Rithamatist

The Rithmatist’s magic system has been likened to a real-time strategy game, if it incorporated chalk, and it was a life or death situation. Rithmastists use their magic to give... Read more

The Hero Of Ages

Now with over 10 million copies sold, The Mistborn Series has the thrills of a heist story, the twistiness of political intrigue, and the epic scale of a landmark fantasy... Read more

Nightblood

The explosive finale of the New York Times bestselling Frostblood Saga, perfect for fans of Three Dark Crowns, Red Queen, and A Court of Thorns and Roses. Ruby's world has... Read more

Oathbringer: Book Three Of The Stormlight Archive

The #1 New York Times bestseller, Oathbringer is the third volume of Brandon Sanderson\'s Stormlight Archive fantasy epic where humanity faces a new Desolation with the return of the Voidbringers,... Read more

News

shadow