-EDIT-
After reviewing the preview excerpt, Macmillan-Tor/Forge granted me a full review copy through NetGalley.
The third and final story did not disappoint! I would have liked it if the part about (view spoiler) was explained in more detail, but overall this was a great conclusion to Legion.

-Original excerpt review-

I have read several of Brandon Sandersons books & short stories and the Legion ones are among my favorites. The concept peeked my interest and Sandersons fast-paced writing style pulled me in. I am looking forward to reading the new story in this series.

Thanks to Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley for the preview excerpt.

This was a great collection of three novellas from the prolific Brandon Sanderson with a premise that was very original and entertaining. Stephen Leeds has various hallucinations (called aspects) that take the form of individuals that provide him with information enabling him to solve crimes and puzzles with aplomb. Sanderson's prose is always very accessible, and it was nice for me to read some of his work set in our own world. The aspects are fascinating, all of them following given stereotypical behaviours and each having their own unique psychoses. The plotting of all three novellas was well paced and compelling and whilst I wasn't always wholly convinced by the narrative, I was always entertained. All in all, these were enjoyable and quick reads that I would recommend to anyone needing a boost out of a reading slump or for those who like fantasy based in the real world.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Algunas veces tengo la sensación de ir contracorriente y esta no es una excepción. Cuando todo el mundo habla de Skyward, la nueva novela de Brandon Sanderson, yo me descuelgo con la reseña de Legion : The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds, un ómnibus que recoge las tres publicaciones que tiene el autor sobre este personaje.
Como ya reseñé la primera y la segunda, creo que será mejor centrarnos en la tercera entrega, que es la causa principal de haberme hecho con la recopilación.
Desde el principio de la narración, el autor ha estado preparando este acto final, dejándonos caer que alguien del pasado de Stephen le ayudó a controlar su paranoia mediante la creación de aspectos de su personalidad. Resulta por tanto bastante obvio que en este acto final tendría que hacer su aparición esta persona.
La prosa de Sanderson sigue fluyendo con facilidad a lo largo de las páginas y hay que reconocer que en esta ocasión no faltan escenas de acción. El juego entre la realidad percibida por Leeds, la realidad virtual creada en el entorno y la realidad "auténtica" sustenta todo el juego de confusiones en el que pivota la historia, de forma muy acertada.
Pero como final de una historia, me parece un poco precipitado. La forma en que los avatares comienzan a actuar de forma no previsible puede ser una indicación de la pérdida de control del protagonista, pero es muy selectiva, es un descenso a los infiernos en escalera mecánica y con música chill out. Sigo pensando que la mejor entrega de las tres es la primera, pero al menos le recupera el pulso a la narración ofreciendo un final abierto y correcto.
La edición en ómnibus me parece todo un acierto, ya que por un precio bastante razonable tendremos acceso a una obra conclusa (de momento), con una calidad media aceptable y que nos permite conocer a Brandon Sanderson en una faceta distinta a su habitual ambientación fantástica. Aunque claro, lo mismo ahora se descuelga con que el señor Leeds también forma parte del Cosmere, quién sabe.

I'd read the first two in the Legion series previously, but I ended up just rereading them because it'd been a while (2014 I believe? Whenever the second one came out). Anyway - I remember really enjoying them. The plot, the characters, the way it all came together, and I was excited to see what happened in the third part.

And I was not disappointed. I wish it had ended differently, but I think that's just because of my personal bias of wanting more of these characters. Which, obviously, I don't think we're getting either way because I believe 1-3 was the plan. Of course, with Sanderson, anything is possible (but, also, selfishly I'd rather he focus on Cosmere things).

Either way, though, these are definitely worth your time. They're so much fun and interesting, with characters that might not be strictly real, even in their world, but that you'll still fall for, anyway. With, of course, Sanderson's fantastic writing and brilliant plots. I might be biased, something about his writing/work just really clicks with me - I've got 2 tattoos from Stormlight Archives so far, if that show you how much - but I still think, even separate from that bias, I can say these are good books.

They're fun, weird, make you think about weird psychological things. I, also, highly recommend the audiobook, it's very well done.

Brilliant. Now I have read the whole thing. I enjoyed this trilogy a whole lot. The stories are unpredictable and highly satisfying. Overall ending was unexpected but made sense, which was a highlight of the trilogy. I recommend to people who are into mysteries, psychology and sci-fi, or are into Brandon Sanderson works.

I think we have all established that Brandon Sanderson's writing acumen makes his every story stand out. So it should come as no surprise that I love this book and would recommend it to anyone and everyone who likes to read. That being said, what makes these novellas stand out even more is his absolutely fantastic execution of such a complex idea that I feel like some authors have tried to tackle in the past but shied away from fully exploring. Our protagonist, Stephen Leeds is a genius but a quite eccentric individual (and I'm not talking Sheldon Cooper bizarre which should be telling). Our human brain can only comprehend reality (or what we consider reality) a certain way and expects and interprets normalcy very conservatively. Leeds' level of genius is so astounding to his own brain that he creates aspects/personalities of himself that he considers as repositories for the knowledge he collects by briefly skimming over news, articles, books, TV, any source of information you can think of. Imagine having a brain that can understand and retain an audiobook on say, cryptography at 5x speed. Imagine being able to excel at any skill by just dedicating a fraction of your day's time researching about it. Now imagine this level of brilliance while trying to stay sane. Mind-boggling, innit? And somehow Sanderson thought it was acceptable to tantalize us with this amazing concept in a novella. RUDE! Well, 3 novellas but I shall and will complain! . Add to this some more intriguing, futuristic-yet-believable tech trying to upheaval the world while Leeds uses his "skills" to save the world and you have an unforgettable, intense, captivating read.

Even though there are many things I adore about this series, the psychology aspect is the most scintillating IMO. My favorite aspect of Sanderson's character development (in general) is his genuine love of exploring the intricacies of the human psyche. He just has this way of making each and every character resonate with some part of you; frankly, it's quite uncanny. In Leeds' case though, it's so fascinating to see just one character have so many distinct, strong personalities yet not really have one of his own. I don't think I'm able to articulate my thoughts well here but if you've read the books you might know what I mean. One can argue that Leeds personality is an amalgamation of all his aspects but the way his character is portrayed, it's easy to forget that. You see him as a middleman doing what his 47 aspects (yes, 47!!!!) tell him to do. In the first novella, he is so dependent on Ivy, Tobias and JC that you see him forget how to act normal if they're absent. And then as the novellas progress, you see him lose himself some more, go berserk and then finally, blessedly, accept his insanity and become his own person. It's truly a beautiful journey and I'm so very proud of Leeds after that ending.

Seriously, just read it to find out for yourself. If after my nonsensical rambling, you're still not convinced that this book is worth your time, I don't know what to tell you. I'll send you cookies? And if you like it, you send me back better cookies? Fair trade, eh?

Anyhoo, I'm so glad I reread the first two novellas because I'd forgotten pretty much everything. It was a delightful read and I will definitely be doing a reread in the future.

Give this book all the bloody stars!

A typically over-the-top Sanderson premise: a man hallucinates, and knows that he hallucinates, other people who possess knowledge and skills that he does not have conscious access to. He's perfectly sane; but his "aspects" have all kinds of psychological problems.

The author hints pretty clearly in his introduction that this is based on his own experience as an author - that his own characters help to keep him sane, by being safe carriers of his issues, as well as being able to do things that he can't. He takes the idea in some fun, interesting, and ultimately thought-provoking directions.

I've seen Sanderson dismissed as being merely the ultimate commercial writer, following the market's demands and expectations, but he's much more than that. Not only does he have wildly original ideas and develop them in ways that nobody else would think of, but there's a degree of emotional and psychological depth to his recent work in particular that isn't found in many authors. He hand-crafts his books, he doesn't stamp them out of a mould. While the first in these three connected novels shows the central character as a kind of superpowered detective, the following two increasingly follow his psychological struggles and internal, as well as external, challenges, and bring out philosophical questions while not neglecting action and conflict. The collection ends with a complex, but hopeful, conclusion.

I'd already read the original novella, I think in a collection, and eagerly requested this version via Netgalley when I saw it there. Thanks to the publisher for granting my request; it's one of the best books I've read this year.

I love Brandon Sanderson writing! This is a combination of three novellas centered around a man named Stephen Leeds. He's a genius and can learn anything, very quickly. To store his information he creates hallucinatory people, he calls aspects, and they then become experts in that field. He can talk to and interact with the aspects, and to him they seem real, except they're not. He then calls on whoever he needs to help solve problems for both himself and other people.

This was a really cool and original concept. I've never read anything based on this idea before. It was wonderfully written. The plot was very fast paced, with experts following clues to try and solve a case. I blew through these novellas very fast! It was also surprisingly funny in places too due to the banter back and forth between Leeds and his aspects.

The psychology of these nevellas was definitely my favorite part. The relationships with his aspects were very interesting. I loved thinking about why he gave the aspects the personality and character traits that he did. Like they are used to protect him from the hard things in life he feels he can't face on his own or to highlight the good things that make him feel happy and calm. It reminds me of the many faces people in real life put on in different situations: our work face, our out with our friends face, our parenting one. Just to a much more extreme degree. I found the debate on his sanity quite interesting. He didn't believe he was crazy because he knows the aspects aren't real. He purposely uses them to help store and retrieve his knowledge. It's just a coping mechanism to prevent him from becoming overwhelmed with all of the information in his head. However, he does spend all of his time interacting with people who aren't actually there. So. The debate.

I'm often not very into novellas as they're too short and I can't really get invested in the characers. If I read the first novella as a separate book, I think I might have felt this way. I definitely recommend reading this version with all three novellas together to really understand and connect with the characters.

This was an ARC received through netgalley and the release date is today; September 18th!

This book consists of three novellas, two of which have already been published before. This book binds those two together, and includes the third and final story in the series. I will discuss all the stories separately in this review.

Legion (#1) – I read this story before and it has always stuck with me. Even though it is so short, it manages to raise several very interesting questions, as well as create a complex and well-developed main character (and side characters…). This story does feel like it is too short, but only in the sense that I want to see more of Stephen, his aspects and their banter (so jeey for this bind-up of all 3 stories). The storyline itself is actually a great length and gets wrapped up nicely – though with definite space for continuation. 4.5*

Skin Deep (#2) – This story was a lot longer than the first one, and although still very enjoyable, it wasn’t nearly as good as the first. We are introduced to many new apsects and see them work together, which was awesome. The mystery however wasn’t done very well. Things considering solving it were moving along a bit too slow for my liking, with very few new clues introduced. The solving of the case actually happens between chapters, with a clue we were never aware of. There is also no progress made on the finding Sandra issue that was raised in the first story. Lastly, the questions asked and discussed in this story weren’t nearly as interesting as in the first story. 3.5*

Lies of the Beholder (#3) – Sanderson is at it again! Somehow he managed to make me feel all the feels in the span of only 150 pages. Shit goes down in this book, and Sanderson is not afraid to kill of some beloved characters. This was a great conclusion to the series. Although I don’t agree with the issues discussed in here, it did make for an interesting setting. We see some new aspects and their talents, and further implications of Stephens ‘condition’ which was very interesting. Also, Sandra… 4.5*

Overall this is a great series (as one may expect from Sanderson) with amazing characters and just briliant writing. The plot is not as intricate and overwhelming as some of his fantasy books, but still very interesting and entertaining. Highly recommend it.

Brandon Sanderson is kind of hit-or-miss for me as an author; sometimes I really like his books, and other times I can’t quite connect with his characters. This compendium of novellas I liked, because I thought the concept was intriguing.

Despite the similarity in name to the Marvel comic, the premise of Sanderson’s Legion is slightly different. Stephen Leeds doesn’t have dissociative identity disorder but is rather a genius who isolates the voices he hears in his head into different “aspects”—individual imaginary people who are repositories of the knowledge he collects. Drawing on the expertise of his aspects, he uses that knowledge to solve cases of various kinds. In the first part of the book, Stephen is asked to find a missing camera that takes pictures of the future, while in the second he must discover who took the body of a scientist who may have encoded important data into his cells. In the final novella, Stephen is given the opportunity to rid himself of the delusions incorporated in his aspects, but the cost of doing so may be too high.

Part of what makes these stories work is the fact that Stephen views himself as sane, even though by most people’s standards he is not. He is continually at pains to point out to others that he can function even if his life isn’t what most people would consider to be normal. Sanderson maintains a constant balance in the narrative between Stephen’s knowledge that the people is talking to aren’t real and the reality of their existence as perceived by Stephen. It’s very well done, to the point that I found it hard at times to keep track of who was “real” and who wasn’t as I read. It also plays into the twist at the end of the final story.

If the idea of the book sounds interesting to you, I’d recommend giving it a try.

A copy of this book was provided through NetGalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

Seeing that Sanderson was the author, I grabbed the book before realizing that this seems to be very different from his usual fantasy genre. I'm glad I gave it a try. Sometimes authors aren't as good in different fields, but Sanderson kept up his witty banter and fantastic plot, and managed to sneak lots of fantasy ideas into our mundane type of life.

The MC here reminds me a bit of BBC's Sherlock Holmes. Stephen solves mysteries, has his own brand of craziness, and is very entertaining.

Stephen's insanity (not that he calls it that) creates imaginary characters that use Stephen's broad knowledge and brilliant deductions to solve mysteries, whether psychological, technical, or anything. At the same time, Stephen constantly fights to retain control over his sanity, which adds a great psychological element.

His imaginary characters are very interesting (and funny) individual personalities. They keep things entertaining while Stephen solves cases, and tries to distinguish between reality and the imaginary world his brain creates.

This isn't the typical fantasy book, but the way the MC operates, with his extraordinary brilliance and imaginary characters, makes it part of the genre. I enjoyed the relationships Stephen had with each of his aspects, and his interactions with them. I'm not sure I'd rush to reread this like I do Mistborn, but it was very enjoyable. I recommend it for any of Sanderson's fans and especially for fantasy/mystery readers.

If you have a choice, I definitely recommend reading the novellas consecutively. They're too short to be fully enjoyable on their own, but at the same time, it's nice to have perfect breaks set up, while still feeling like a complete book.

I received a copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Blurring the lines between reality and imagination and between sanity and its opposite, Sanderson offers us three interlinked novellas, two of which were previously published. Stephen Leeds is a genius, but he is crawling along a tightrope perched precariously over a steep drop. In order to solve cases such as missing corpses, he calls upon his aspects or hallucinations, forty varied and extraordinary beings who no one can see but him. Although he sets chairs out for them. Offers them drinks. Hears about their awkward social lives. It’s like schizophrenia on steroids and then some. Lots of voices. Like Alia Atriedes calling on her past genetic ancestors. Sort of. But, anytime Leeds needs help he can plug into their vast knowledge like Neo plugging into computer files in Matrix. It’s an exciting concept and the raw banter between Leeds and his aspects is the best part of these stories.

Every time I start a Brandon Sanderson book I know it' s going to be amazing. And Legjobb: the many lövés of Stephen Leeds is truly an amazing book. It contains three novellas about Stephen. When I started reading the first two sentence pulled meg right ín. " My name is Stephen Leeds, and I am perfectly sane. My hallucinations, however, are all quite mad." The stories show us what this first two sentences mean.

The greatest thing about the book is the way Sanderson developed the characters. Each and every aspect (or hallucinations, Stephen calls them aspects) has a very definite personality. Three is a phsychologist, there is a computer nerd and a security expert and a whole lot more. And we have Stephen himself. He is a genius really. Not at all insane.

Legion is a must read if you are a Brandon Sanderson fan and a must read if you havent read anything by hím yet.