Review: Legion
Title: LegionAuthor: Brandon Sanderson
Genre: Science fiction, mystery, contemporary, novella
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Goodreads Summary:
Stephen Leeds, AKA 'Legion,' is a man whose unique mental condition allows him to generate a multitude of personae: hallucinatory entities with a wide variety of personal characteristics and a vast array of highly specialized skills. As the story begins, Leeds and his 'aspects' are drawn into the search for the missing Balubal Razon, inventor of a camera whose astonishing properties could alter our understanding of human history and change the very structure of society.
I read this in one sitting - short and sweet!
This book is very different from Sanderson's usual high fantasy, but I'm coming to see that Sanderson is a jack-of-all-trades and can spin an amazing story in any genre. Even if this is a novella, it has everything you'd expect from a Sanderson novel: eclectic characters, fascinating technology or magic, and secrets buried within secrets that you didn't even know where hiding under your nose.
Legion is about Stephen Leeds, an average man who hallucinates brilliant and eccentric "aspects" or a brilliant man who deludes himself by believing his aspects are real. It all depends on who you ask. Stephen is under the firm impression that the characters and their special skills are real, but is also certain that they aren't just manifestations of himself. Everyone else seems to have their own theories...
I really enjoyed this novella. It's part mystery, part psychological thriller, part time travel...it really defies being categorized into any one genre. The story was a lot of fun to read, and all of the aspects were so lovable! All of the characters were intriguing, and as I got more clues about Stephen's "aspects", the less sure I was if they were real or not. The only thing I'm sure about is that Sanderson definitely has something up his sleeve.
I'm looking forward to reading the sequel!
Weeee! We basically felt the exact same way about this one! I haven't stopped thinking about this once since so I really need to get a move on and pick up the sequel :D We'll have to compare notes once we're both caught up! I'm still not sure what to make of Stephen's aspects...they sure aren't the usual 'multiple personality' type, I'll say that much. At this point, all I know for sure is that there is NOTHING Sanderson can't do.
ReplyDeleteYey, I'm so glad you enjoyed this one :D. You are completely right that it seems like Sanderson can pull off any genre! I get the impression that his brain is filled to the brim with ideas and he just doesn't have time to get them all written on paper, ha!
ReplyDeleteThanks Micheline! I have the audio of the sequel but I haven't gotten around to it yet. I was thinking the same thing about the aspects! I don't know what exactly is happening, but I do know that when it is explained I will be mindblown :)
ReplyDeleteNow that you've said that I can't help but think you're exactly right! If someone can have so many different brilliant ideas, there must be many more where that came from!
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