A devout supporter of abandoning books one isn't enjoying for those more enjoyable (because life is too short), I had put this one down after about 100 pages in. But because I had already ordered a book (The Emperor's Soul) set in the Elantris world I figured I should probably finish reading Elantris before diving into 'The Emperor's Soul.' I'm glad I did. 
 Granted, the issues I had in the beginning I still had later on, but on the same token I enjoyed myself overall. I don't know if I'll ever read a Sanderson book and give it less than three stars (three stars on Goodreads meaning 'liked it') and that's why I'll continue to pick up the rest of his books. It is interesting to read some later works of an author first and then read their first work later, or in Elantris' case, his first published work (though his sixth written novel). You can see his growth, as a writer, in Mistborn since Elantris - which I find pretty cool, to see the 'beginnings' of an author and where they've come since. I wouldn't recommend this as a first book, for those wanting to get into the writings of Sanderson, but I'd still recommend reading it. 
 And while the magic system wasn't as fleshed out, vital or interesting as Mistorn; the premise/main conflict (of converting all to said religion or otherwise conquering if not converted) wasn't my cup of tea, and, like with the later Mistborn books, there was too much repetition of fact and/or description and dragging at times (and a bit heavy handed in the politics, for me), what got me to enjoy it were the side characters. This was the first time I've read a book where the side characters were those I connected most with, rooted for, loved and made me laugh. That and I thought Elantris, its mystery, its history and the idea of it is pretty fascinating. Worth it for those latter reasons.