brandon sanderson legion the many lives of stephen leeds

Asimov also wrote a story about a camera that sees into the past. The issues in “Legion” and the troubled yet brilliant problem solver aren’t exactly original material. “Legion” isn’t without its faults, though. Hopefully, “Legion” is the first of many novellas, or maybe Sanderson will expand the story into a full novel, comic, or some other form. Readers will get the sense that there is a much larger back story here, and “Legion” offers us only a small glimpse of a much larger, well developed world. In fact, this novella has a comic book’s or action movie’s pacing.īut it’s not all mindless fluff and action. These issues propel the story forward at a fast clip. Sanderson also packs a number of compelling issues into such a short story: science, faith, corporate espionage, and terrorism, just to name a few. And yet Sanderson tells Leeds’s story with a sense of humor and wonder. “Legion” is told using first person point of view, so Sanderson lets you see through the eyes of a man who is very aware of his unique condition, the implications of it, and the struggles to keep control of his mind. In “Legion,” Sanderson has created a unique character (or should I say characters?). If they can’t find him, those photos may rewrite history and religions, sparking a conflict who knows how large. In this case, Leeds and his aspects try to track down a missing inventor who disappeared with a camera that takes pictures of the past. Away from the researchers and psychologists who want to get to the bottom of his abilities.īut even some riddles are too intriguing for Leeds and his aspects to ignore. Alone with his hallucinations, or “aspects” would be more accurate. Although he’s quite good at what he does, Leeds would rather be left alone.

Not just brilliant, but crazy good, you might say, because Leeds relies upon a menagerie of hallucinations (each possessing a unique skill) to solve those problems. “Legion” is the story of Stephen Leeds, AKA Legion, a man who has a reputation as a brilliant problem solver. I’m glad to say that Sanderson’s novella, “Legion,” is a successful novella experiment. And for added difficulty, he is selling a story that is not only much shorter, but also in a different subgenre. But will this new experiment work for all authors?īrandon Sanderson, a notoriously productive bestselling author, who is known for epic fantasies that span several volumes each containing hundreds of thousands words, decided to give it a try. Instead of abandoning these in-between stories, authors can sell them directly to consumers. However, the rise of ebooks is changing the market for novellas. Along with its misfit sister format the novelette, novellas can be difficult to sell.

There has never really been a thriving market for novellas.

Brandon sanderson legion the many lives of stephen leeds