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h3dakota's review against another edition
4.0
I would have given this 5 stars if it had been a full novel. I totally love this story !
stlorca's review against another edition
4.0
Brandon Sanderson's Legion is a novella about detective Stephen Leeds, suffering from multiple personalities—whose different identities not only coexist but present themselves at the same time.
At the same time they're self-aware: they know they're hallucinations, but they still band together to help the prime personality solve crimes. Each identity has an area of specialization: "J.C." is a weapons specialist; "Ivy" is able to instantly piece together clues from any situation to tell if someone is lying, or to recreate a crime; "Kalmaya" is a linguist, able to master any language after a few hours' study...you get the idea. What's unique is that Leeds perceives them as a group of people talking to him and to each other.
Leeds is engaged by Monica, a scientist at a high-tech development company, to find and return the inventor of a camera that can take photos of any event in the history of the world. (There's a certain amount of hand-waving about this, but I'm just quibbling.) Thanks to his unique gift, Leeds pretty much instantly divines what's up and with that, the game is afoot.
Very entertaining and written in a breezy style, it's a great read for a trip or a vacation. It would make a pretty interesting TV show. I give it a solid B.
At the same time they're self-aware: they know they're hallucinations, but they still band together to help the prime personality solve crimes. Each identity has an area of specialization: "J.C." is a weapons specialist; "Ivy" is able to instantly piece together clues from any situation to tell if someone is lying, or to recreate a crime; "Kalmaya" is a linguist, able to master any language after a few hours' study...you get the idea. What's unique is that Leeds perceives them as a group of people talking to him and to each other.
Leeds is engaged by Monica, a scientist at a high-tech development company, to find and return the inventor of a camera that can take photos of any event in the history of the world. (There's a certain amount of hand-waving about this, but I'm just quibbling.) Thanks to his unique gift, Leeds pretty much instantly divines what's up and with that, the game is afoot.
Very entertaining and written in a breezy style, it's a great read for a trip or a vacation. It would make a pretty interesting TV show. I give it a solid B.
topherisswell's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
aethenea's review against another edition
3.0
I listened to Legion on Audio book and I really wasn't able to pay attention to it so I was extremely lost in the story. I guess I'll reread it someday in the future as I tend to love Sanderson. The audio was probably a bad way of reading this book.
aeluard's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
dawn_marie's review against another edition
4.0
Legion, a short novella by Brandon Sanderson about Stephen Leeds AKA “Legion” a man whose unique mental condition allows him to fracture his mind into hallucinations called aspects. Each aspect is a fully realized person with a distinctive skill set allowing Leeds to solve mysteries. In this story he is hunting down a camera that allows the operator to take “pictures” of past events. Sanderson does a great job developing characters, a plot, and interesting twists; I especially like his exploration of insanity versus sanity. My only complaint is that the novella was too short!
mollysticks's review against another edition
4.0
What a fascinating read, too short though. It had me from the beginning which is partly why I enjoy novellas.
pretend_like_youre_asleep's review against another edition
Incredibly interesting concept, but the execution just wasn’t there for me.