3 stars for Legion (Legion book 1) by Brandon Sanderson.
Reading Legion reminds me of this book, A Beautiful Mind written by economist and journalist Sylvia Nasar, a biography of John Forbes Nash, a mathematical genius whose career is cut short by schizophrenia and who, after three decades of devastating mental illness, miraculously recovers and is honoured with a Nobel Prize. In a way, these two stories are similar yet very different.
In Legion, the lead character and narrator, Stephen Leeds declares himself to be perfectly sane and repeatedly states that he is totally aware of what is real and not even though he confesses to being a schizophrenic and having hallucinations all the time. It is very interesting to see how Stephen carries his conversations, both externally with real people and internally with his imaginary friends. And being a genius albeit an eccentric one, Stephen is hired to retrieve an object from a scientist who has gone missing, and that is where things start to heat up.
The story is smooth flowing, fast-paced and packed with actions with a great central character (Stephen) and some secondary characters (Ivy, Tobias, J.C.) of equal importance. However, being thrown into the world of imaginations with no cause for beginning, I cannot help but feel that the lack of background somehow compromises the world building. It feels like watching the fate of a cucumber unfolding right before it is being consumed: both ends sliced off to be rubbed against the cucumber to remove its bitter taste. Without the head and tail, there is no history to comprehend the past with and no future to hope for. The only consolation is, the middle section with its bitterness removed serves well as food for thought. Lastly, some ideas made in regard to religious groups and their beliefs do not sit well with me. In fact, reading them give me the heebies-jeebies.
Overall, with 80+ pages in print, Legion is an easy and quick read that serves its purpose well to entertain.
Publisher: Dragonsteel Entertainment, LLC; 1 edition
Publication date: 11 Sep 2012
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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. 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.
*Blurb from author's website*
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