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jenjamin's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Started off well but became boring very quickly. The main character and his hallucinations are just annoying.
eesh25's review against another edition
5.0
Stephen Leeds, or Legion, is a genius. He has a condition akin to schizophrenia, but not exactly like it, because to which he hallucinates a wide variety of people who he refers to as aspects. Each aspect has an area of expertise. With the help of his aspects, Stephen occasionally takes investigative cases. In this novella, the case is finding the missing investor of an extraordinary camara.
Both the mystery and the characters are written very cleverly. The mystery has just enough hints dropped to keep the reader thinking and to give that click feeling when the case is finally solved.
But… that was not the highlight. That was most definitely Stephen and his various aspects. Stephen has to be one of the most interesting characters I’ve read about. And his interactions with his aspects? Pure gold. Because you see, the aspects not only have different fields of knowledge, they also have very different personalities and different disorders. Tobias is a nice, wise man. He’s a historian and someone who calms Stephen down. Tobias is also a schizophrenic and has a hallucination, Stan, who’s an astronaut travelling around the earth in a satellite and who tells him about the weather. Stephen can’t see Stan, only Tobias can.
Then we have Ivy, a psychologist, and Stephen’s therapist. He has a real one too, though. Then there’s J.C., the ex-Navy SEAL who’s very fond of guns. And using them. He also doesn’t accept the fact that he isn’t real and is a ton of fun. There are many others and you’ll meet them, but these three are the most prominent.
The dialogue between the aspects, and between them and Stephen, is fantastic. That’s the best part about having so many different characters together, even if only one of them is real. Though you shouldn’t underestimate the real one. All the aspects come from him, don’t they? They’re a part of him.
Sanderson has created a fascinating character that I think everyone should get to know. To end, I shall leave you with one of the best first lines a book has ever had:
Both the mystery and the characters are written very cleverly. The mystery has just enough hints dropped to keep the reader thinking and to give that click feeling when the case is finally solved.
But… that was not the highlight. That was most definitely Stephen and his various aspects. Stephen has to be one of the most interesting characters I’ve read about. And his interactions with his aspects? Pure gold. Because you see, the aspects not only have different fields of knowledge, they also have very different personalities and different disorders. Tobias is a nice, wise man. He’s a historian and someone who calms Stephen down. Tobias is also a schizophrenic and has a hallucination, Stan, who’s an astronaut travelling around the earth in a satellite and who tells him about the weather. Stephen can’t see Stan, only Tobias can.
Then we have Ivy, a psychologist, and Stephen’s therapist. He has a real one too, though. Then there’s J.C., the ex-Navy SEAL who’s very fond of guns. And using them. He also doesn’t accept the fact that he isn’t real and is a ton of fun. There are many others and you’ll meet them, but these three are the most prominent.
The dialogue between the aspects, and between them and Stephen, is fantastic. That’s the best part about having so many different characters together, even if only one of them is real. Though you shouldn’t underestimate the real one. All the aspects come from him, don’t they? They’re a part of him.
Sanderson has created a fascinating character that I think everyone should get to know. To end, I shall leave you with one of the best first lines a book has ever had:
My name is Stephen Leeds, and I am perfectly sane. My hallucinations, however, are all quite mad.
narcissia's review against another edition
4.0
This is an entertaining little novella. I'm not entirely certain what I was expecting, but what I got was fun, fun, fun.
mightyjor's review against another edition
4.0
Fun and quick read. There’s an interesting little mystery here, but takes a bit of a turn for the more boring near the end I think. There were a lot of really cool ideas that didn’t really get fleshed out all that much regarding the powers of the camera. No idea if this is continued in future books, but I hope so. Overall I’d say it was definitely worth the read.
zenduck's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
aceinit's review against another edition
2.0
I seem to be in the minority opinion, judging by the high Goodreads rating and stellar reviews, but “Legion” is a story that didn’t quite do it for me. I have read masterful short fiction from Sanderson, such as “Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell,” which prove that the man doesn’t need several hundred pages to breathe life into story, but this particular work never escaped the feeling of first draft status.
“Legion” is a technically proficient story. It has all the things you need. Eccentric characters, an interesting premise, action, intrigue, hints at a broader story to set up for that inevitable sequel. But, for me, that’s all “Legion” was: technically proficient.
Despite a strong opening paragraph, the characteristic life that Sanderson can breathe into his stories and characters barely exists here. The story is moved along primarily by dialogue which, again, is just enough to get you where you need to go. Even the action sequences involving gunfights and grenades don’t thrill. From beginning to end, the story barely ventures beyond dry prose.
What I read feels like a rushed, rough draft; a bare-bones story jotted down as a “get it out on paper” draft to be fleshed out into a full story later. But that fleshing out never happens and despite being readable, “Legion,” never moves beyond that into “good” or “great” territory.
“Legion” is a technically proficient story. It has all the things you need. Eccentric characters, an interesting premise, action, intrigue, hints at a broader story to set up for that inevitable sequel. But, for me, that’s all “Legion” was: technically proficient.
Despite a strong opening paragraph, the characteristic life that Sanderson can breathe into his stories and characters barely exists here. The story is moved along primarily by dialogue which, again, is just enough to get you where you need to go. Even the action sequences involving gunfights and grenades don’t thrill. From beginning to end, the story barely ventures beyond dry prose.
What I read feels like a rushed, rough draft; a bare-bones story jotted down as a “get it out on paper” draft to be fleshed out into a full story later. But that fleshing out never happens and despite being readable, “Legion,” never moves beyond that into “good” or “great” territory.
bluejaybooks's review against another edition
4.0
This novella was a lot of fun, and very creative. The Emperor’s Soul remains my favorite of Sanderson’s novellas, but I’m interested to see what direction the sequel takes.
unfortunatesoul's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
whimsymusings's review against another edition
3.0
The characters in this novella are quite remarkable. The plot itself was interesting and fast paced, but it was the characters that drew me in from page one and kept me turning page after page until I have finished the whole novella. I was left feeling the need to know more, to read more about those characters. Thus, I would certainly hunt down any books that are released as part of this series just so I can spend more time with those characters.