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
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.
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
Best Stand Alone Fantasy Books
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Top 100 Fantasy Books
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Other books by Sanderson, Brandon
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
The Hero Of Ages
Allow Of Law
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
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
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Skybreaker
Steelheart
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Firefight
Calamity
Shadows Of Self
Bands Of Mourning
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
Secret History
Shadows Of Self
The Bands Of Mourning
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
Nightblood
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
Nightblood
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
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