Legion by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Synopsis:
Stephen Leeds is a genius. He is such a genius that his brain cannot contain all his knowledge, so he creates “aspects”, or hallucinations, to help compartmentalize his many areas of expertise. He has a hallucination, for example, who is a psychiatrist, and one who is a philosopher. There is a computer science hallucination, and another that is a forensic scientist. He knows that these “aspects” are all hallucinations, but he has to treat them like real people in order to maintain his sanity. Unfortunately, his interactions with them make him look as though he has completely lost his sanity.
Plot:
This book was SO interesting!!! I loved the psychology of it all and the premise was unique and intriguing. While it is broken down into 3 short stories, the plot still wove them all together enough that they felt like one whole. And I just have to say, I totally called the ending of Legion! Not because it was predictable, but because I am a writer. (That comment will make more sense if you’ve read the book.) I don’t want to spoil anything, but suffice it to say, I found myself sympathizing and understanding Stephen more than I expected. His hallucinations are real to him, like my characters are real to me.
Side note: throughout this entire book, I could not help but think that this would be a REALLY cool movie!
Writing:
Brandon is obviously a fabulous writer. I love that this was such a cohesive story, despite the fact that it was just a side project. I wouldn’t say the writing in this is the most beautiful prose I’ve ever read, but it didn’t exactly call for that. It was just an authentic story, not trying to be anything special, and I appreciated that. You can always tell when a writer is trying too hard, and I think the fact that this was initially a side project allowed it to simply be a story he wrote for himself. I love that! Those make the best stories, because they are the most real. Odd that a story about a man out of touch with reality would feel so real to me. I wonder what that says about me…
Characters:
What an interesting cast of characters. I really enjoyed them. I enjoyed them so much, I felt bad that the majority of them weren’t even real. (Yes, I understand that the fact that Legion is a fictional story which already makes them not real, but they were real to Stephen.) I think Sanderson did a great job at creating a variety of characters. I enjoyed Stephen as well. I can’t quite tell you why I liked him as a character so much, because other than being hallucinatory and a genius, he’s just a normal guy. I guess he just had an earnestness to him that I found compelling.
Overall:
I would totally recommend this book. If you are interested in psychology, or if you are a writer, you would especially appreciate Legion. I’m glad that I read it đŸ™‚