Legion: Lies of the Beholder (Legion, #1)

by Brandon Sanderson

Brandon Sanderson is one of the most significant fantasists to enter the field in a good many years. His ambitious, multi-volume epics and his stellar continuation of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series have earned both critical acclaim and a substantial popular following. In LEGION, a distinctly contemporary novella filled with suspense, humor, and an endless flow of invention, Sanderson reveals a startling new facet of his singular narrative talent.

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 specialised 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. The action ranges from the familiar environs of America to the ancient, divided city of Jerusalem. Along the way, Sanderson touches on a formidable assortment of complex questions: the nature of time, the mysteries of the human mind, the potential uses of technology, and the volatile connection between politics and faith. Resonant, intelligent, and thoroughly absorbing, LEGION is a provocative entertainment from a writer of great originality and seemingly limitless gifts.

Read by Oliver Wyman.

(p) 2012 Audible, Inc

• ISBN10: 159606885X
• ISBN13: 9781596068858
• Publish Date: 18 December 2018 (first published 31 August 2012)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 7 May 2021
• Imprint: Subterranean Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 152
• Language: English

Reviews

A very different (and interesting) Sanderson short story/novella.

[KitsuneBae]

If there's ever a chance that I'm going to suffer from hallucinations, I seriously hoped that it's the same as Stephen Leeds'. Come on, isn't it brilliant to have multiple hallucinations with one being a brilliant scholar, the second a badass Navy Seal, the third an awesome sort-of-detective, the fourth a linguist, and so forth and so on?

[adamfortuna]

This short story by Sanderson focuses on a guy with multiple personalities -- but where each aspect of himself can work together to solve crimes or whatever. I would've loved a bit more background on the main character, but this is a short story and meant to throw you right into the action.

[dokie80]

too short. hope there will be more series for this.

[jnikkir]

I love everything Brandon Sanderson writes, my gosh.

Stephen Leeds, AKA "Legion", is an expert in everything and nothing -- he is a schizophrenic whose hallucinations are specialists in different areas of knowledge (psychology, military combat, mechanics, languages, history, etc), and he uses their (his?) expertise to help solve various problems. In Legion, he is asked to help recover a camera that can reportedly take photos of the past.

In other words, Sanderson + timey-wimey plot + YET ANOTHER awesome "magic" system = I AM TOTALLY SOLD. (Shut up, Stephen's hallucinations do so count as magic.)

I'm not even sure how to classify this book. Is it sci-fi? Kind of... Urban fantasy? Maybe... Psychological thriller/mystery? Sorta...? Really, though, I couldn't care less what to call it. Whatever it is, it's awesome. I loved every minute of it, even though those minutes were much too few.

I am also dying for a follow-up novella/novel because how on earth are we supposed to be content with that ending I just don't understand--okay, no, sorry. This is a review, not wishful thinking. But I don't have much else to say: Loved it, loved it, really want more, loved it.



Random note: Legion reminded me a lot of The Dresden Files for some crazy reason. Something about the pacing and tone of the book, and the main character... ...No? Just me? Yeah that's what I thought.