Elantris

by Brandon Sanderson | 496 pages, published 2005

I hesitated to read another Brandon Sanderson book after finishing the Mistborn trilogy. Here’s why I’m reluctant to read more by an author I enjoyed: not every book is going to be great writing. Somewhere along they way, there’s going to be something mediocre. (It can happen because the editors gave the author too much leeway, like with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, or because the author wasn’t as experienced in his or her early days, or because sometimes mediocre books just get published.) I dearly love A Wrinkle in Time, and a lot of Madeleine L’Engle’s other work, but I read Many Waters last year and it was – you guessed it – mediocre. For that reason, I haven’t read any of Lloyd Alexander’s non-Prydain books. And I wasn’t convinced that I wanted to read any more Brandon Sanderson books, considering how much I liked Mistborn. I didn’t want to ruin my idea of him as a great author.

Fortunately, Elantris didn’t ruin it. Reluctant as I was, I loved the book. If you don’t want to spend time on a 1500+ page trilogy, Elantris is a wonderful stand-alone book with likable, believable characters, a really good magic system, and a great plot structure. So if you aren’t ready for the Mistborn trilogy, try Elantris! I don’t think you’ll regret it. I didn’t.

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Our Tragic Universe

by Scarlett Thomas | 384 pages, published 2010

Another book that I’m not sure who recommended it or how it ended up on my reading list. And, another one I wish I’d skipped and would enjoy having a paper copy to throw in the trash. (I read it on the Kindle.)

This is a story-within-a-story-within-a-story, but they’re all awful stories. The main character is a writer, but also a very philosophical individual who has long conversations with like-minded individuals in ways that I doubt real people ever converse. I don’t know anyone who I care to listen to paragraphs of without giving me a chance to ask questions or share my opinion. The conversations in the book end up being more like staged debates – lengthy ones – than anything realistic. I do enjoy discussing deep matters; I like talking with well-educated, opinionated people; I hated the conversations in the book.

I also hated the bigger and smaller stories. The book seemed to be written as a way of saying, “Look what non-story-format writing I can do because I’m a real author!” That was even the point of the main character’s writing. High-brow? I don’t know, I think maybe this was just a dumb idea. But it has great reviews on Amazon. What is wrong with the world? Or is something wrong with me?

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The Flame Alphabet

by Ben Marcus | 289 pgs, published 2012

I heard about this on NPR and was ridiculously excited to read it. Plot: the speech of children becomes toxic to adults, and parents must decide whether to stay with their kids or escape to safety. I went and got it from our right-down-the-street library the week after we moved into our new house.

Sadly, The Flame Alphabet was by far the worst book I read this year.

I had such high hopes, which may have been a contributing factor to my disappointment, but I think the book itself was just so terrible that it would have been impossible to enjoy even with lower expectations. First of all, the writing was sluggish, bland, and a little bit sickening. The descriptions of what happened to adults were just off-putting. Second, the characters were unlikable at best and leaned more toward detestable. I didn’t care if they all died – I wanted them to – and I had little interest in what happened to them. Third, there was no resolution in the book. Questions weren’t answered. I suspect the book was too high-brow for someone like me; it wasn’t intended to be an entertaining read where problems get solved and people end up happy. But I’m not the sort who likes writing for the sake of pompous writing.

The reviews on Amazon are interesting, as it looks like there are several other people who shared my opinion (something I love!) as well as people who think the author is a genius. You’d be better off reading the reviews than the book, if you ask me.

Oh, one final complaint: I was really happy to see the cover, until I got the copy from the library and realized it wasn’t really paper piecing, it was just designed to mimic the effect. I would have loved the design if it had been done with real paper.

Buy The Flame Alphabet on Amazon