Legion (Legion #1)by Brandon Sanderson
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Synopsis:
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.
Now, that was pretty awesome.
Wow. Stephen Leeds is the most intriguing and fascinating character I’ve read about for a very long time. Slightly disturbing – but in a good way, if that’s possible, as he kept my interest with his multi-layered personality that we can’t easily simplify. Now that I think about it, he gives a whole new meaning to the word multi-layered.
“The thing is, I’m really only the reclusive part. And maybe, admittedly, the jerk part. When you have that mix, people generally assume you don’t have morals either.”
I was hooked at this : “I didn’t know what would happen if one of my hallucinations shot me.”
Oh, yeah, that’s on page two. That was that striking. *nods vigorously*
Moreover, that was fast-paced, and the thriller kept me enthralled, despite the fact that what enraptured me the most was definitely his hallucinations.
Can I have some hallucinations too? What? I’m so jealous right now. I totally want :
– Ivy to tell me if my pupils are lying
– Tobias to help me remember of all the books I read – and to help me during some dinners, yes, that would be great. Oh, and he could totally be useful as a travel guide.
– Audrey to run writing investigations.
– Kalyani or any translator to – well, The possibilities are endless, right?
– Armando because. Hum. Not sure I want him actually. I don’t think that I have room for Megalomania in my life.
“Can I shoot him?” JC asked me softly. “You know, in a place that’s not important? A foot, maybe?“
– Sigh. Yeah, JC, you can come too because you cracked me up. But NO GUNS IN THE HOUSE. No, I don’t know how we’ll deal with intruders. No, even not that little one. I said no gun. End of story. You can have darts if you want. I know that’s not the same thing, I – Oh, whatever.
“I’m not going more mad, ” I said. “I’ve stabilized. I’m practically normal. Even my non-hallucinatory psychiatrist acknowledges that.”
Basically, it is a short story which does not fall into the traps of the lack of characterization or others shortcuts, and that’s why I loved it. Oh, and because that was deliciously funny.
Oh, and am I the only one to think about Bruce Wayne? Must the mansion. Or an obsession. And, of course, Sherlock. Sigh.
What is it that decides you’re insane by the way?
Edit : For all the French readers out there who want to read in French for a change, I ordered the French version for my BF and you know what? The translation is pretty good (yeah, because that’s not always the case, by far). So no excuses. Read it.
