Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds
By Brandon Sanderson
Published Year: 2018
Page Count: 340 pages
Medium Used: Paperback
Genre : Science Fiction, Mental Illness, Schizophrenia, Hallucinations, Adventure, Virtual Reality, 2025-read.
Rating : 5/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫
Very compelling till the end. This book comprises the three Legion novellas of Brandon Sanderson. While the first two deal with cases that Stephen Leeds handles as an expert detective, the last one deals in how he becomes free of his hallucinations and gets to that point. And what does it mean to be free of hallucinations ? Does it mean putting them in a container and not looking ? Or setting them free and trying not to control them, so whatever happens to them,remaining at peace and thereby, not becoming dependant on them?
Stephen Leeds is a super smart guy and one of the best known living detectives. But he is a schizoprenic. He hears voices in his head and sees people who are not real. He uses them to aide him in solving high tech cases. When he learns a new skill, he imprints that knowledge into a new 'aspect' or an existing 'aspect'. When the time for its application comes, he simply employs the aspect to come help him. He solves a couple of cases in a real mind bending way with the help of a psychology specialist aspect and hand writing expert aspect. The first case is about a camera that can take snaps of events that occurred in the past. The second case is about gene splicing and storing information in cells. A man has somehow devised a mechanism to store that information in his cells and then his corpse/dead body goes missing. Leeds with his aides in tow recover the corpse and also not only get the key to that data but also where it is stored. Its simply superb the way it all goes.
If everything is fine and he is not lacking in anything, where is the problem? Well, he can't control all his aspects. It not only gives him headaches but also makes him unstable. He is bursting at the seams and there are some new 'aspects' coming without his knowledge, some going violent and killing others .. eventually draining his mental strength. He enters a world of virtual reality when his old friend and confidant texts him that she has found a solution.. a permanent one.. to their issues with hallucinations and aspects. He is lured but not fooled. I just loved everything about this book. I wish I have the skills of Leeds without his issues with hallucinations.
This is a new way to look at Schizophrenia, I feel. How to make it work for you rather than become a slave to meds or become commited to an insane asylum. I have read the fantasy works of Brandon Sanderson but he has a masterful touch on the scifi genre as well. The pacing is fast and character development is mind blowing. I liked all the main aspects.. J.C, Ivy, Tobias and Stephen Leeds himself.
Some other things like how if time is infinite, then whether a person believes in God or not, whatever combination created a person would eventually do it and keep doing it .. makes a lot of sense. Also how due to earth's motion, a person standing at a place can't go back to the exact same location in the past simply by standing and holding a camera there. These are thought provoking and mind bending I feel. Highly recommend !!
Comments
Post a Comment