Elantris

I read Elantris by Brandon Sanderson on the recommendation of Nathan and Jelaire. It was Jelaire's first fantasy novel and she really liked it. I completely agree with her. It's a very well-written story with a couple of great storylines interwoven. It's basically the story of a fallen city called Elantris that was populated by people who had, at random, been taken by the shaod. This would just happen to people of all sorts and then they would move to Elantris where they would learn to manipulate different symbols in mid-air to accomplish different acts of magic. About 10 years before the story takes place, Elantris is completely transformed overnight and now enemy kingdoms are seeking to fill the void left by the lack of protection that Elantris used to guarantee. Great book and I was able to read it in a few days.