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Skin Deep

(Legion #2)

Brandon Sanderson (Goodreads Author),

Jon Foster (Illustrator)

4.13 · Rating details · 19,012 ratings · 1,363 reviews

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 new story begins, Leeds and his “aspects” are hired by I3 (Innovative Information Incorporated) to recover a corpse stolen from the lo ...more

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Leather Bound, Signed Limited Edition, 208 pages

Published November 30th 2014 by Subterranean Press (first published November 24th 2014)

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Jan 29, 2015 Patrick rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audiobooks

A nice continuation of the series.

Longer than the first story, this answers some questions from the first story, expands our understanding of the main character and the mystery surrounding him, but it still leaves room for the the story to breathe. Without ambiguity, a story gets awfully stale.

I've really been enjoying these novella/short novel length pieces lately. I've never been a huge fan of shorter fiction before, but it looks like Sanderson and Scalzi might win me over to this new type o ...more

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Jul 31, 2018 Khurram rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

A great book. Legion is a great character. Is he a genius or a crazy person? Is he a hero or is he out for himself, and who is in control Steven Leeds or his Aspects? One thing he is not is boring. The book and plot are extremely well thought out.

The story finds Steven trying normal things like a blind date, they trouble is Steven is never alone and normal is not one of his qualities. The interaction between his and his aspects is great, and their own flaws simply make him/them more interesting ...more

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May 16, 2015 Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery, science-fiction, suspense

More fun with J.C., Ivy, Tobias and the gang! I like Stephen Leeds and I totally adore his gang of imaginary sidekicks, especially J.C., the ex-Navy SEAL security and weapons expert who has a hard time dealing with the fact that he's not real.

"Not zombies," I said, feeling cold. "Cancer. You created a virus that gives people cancer."

"It was an unintended result that is perfectly manageable," Laramie said, "and only dangerous if used malignly. And why would anyone want to do that?"

We all stared a

"Not zombies," I said, feeling cold. "Cancer. You created a virus that gives people cancer."

"It was an unintended result that is perfectly manageable," Laramie said, "and only dangerous if used malignly. And why would anyone want to do that?"

We all stared at him for a moment.

"Let's shoot him," J.C. said.

"Thank heavens," Tobias replied. "You haven't suggested we shoot someone in over an hour, J.C. I was beginning to think something was wrong."

"No, listen," J.C. said. "We can shoot Pinhead McWedgy over there, and it will teach everyone in this room an important life lesson. One about not being a stupid mad scientist."

This is the second in a series of short novels about Steve, a genius who consults for various people or companies who need complex problems solved. Steve has an intriguing mental illness: he hallucinates different personae (he's up to 47 now) who each take on a particular field of knowledge or skill that Steve has. And once he passes off his knowledge about, say, computers to a particular hallucinatory character, that knowledge is utterly unavailable to him unless the character tells him about it.

It's odd because they're so completely real to him, but at the same time he *knows* they're not real. And his hallucinations (mostly) also know they're not real, but so much of Steven's life depends on him, and them, acting like they're real. It's fascinating, and sometimes it gets really meta, which I love (good brain exercise).

"Just imagine your sense of accomplishment," I said. "You’re imaginary, so imaginary accomplishment should work for you."

"But if I’m imaginary, and I imagine something, it’s doubly unreal. Like using a copy machine to copy something that’s just been copied."

So. The plot. It's a mystery about a man who was a pioneer in biotechnology, and developed a method for storing massive amounts of information in the cells of the human body. He's believed to have stored some ground-breaking scientific information in his body before he died. And his corpse has now gone missing.

The mystery itself is just okay; the real pleasure in this book is reading about Steve and his hallucinatory alter egos. Brandon Sanderson handles it all with a deft, humorous hand. I just wish we'd gotten a few more answers about the mysterious Sandra, a psychologist who disappeared from Steve's life years ago and whom he desperately wants to find again. She keeps being dangled in front of us like a particularly annoying worm, but nothing really happened with that plotline at all. I also thought this second installation in the series would have benefited from more depth and detail; I'm not sure the novella length was the best choice.

Still, this was a fun, light read with some intriguing moments. I'll definitely read the next one in this series. ...more

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Aug 16, 2021 Nicole rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2021, novella

4.5 stars

I really enjoyed this novella! I read it in one sitting and I think it was an improvement from the first instalment. Reading about the multiple aspects is interesting and the whole story had a nice mystery addition, which I found believable (view spoiler) Sanderson never disappoints in delivering solid stories at ...more

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Jan 10, 2015 ✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, 2015, favourite-series

Stephen Leeds and his hallucinated hallucinations are back. Abandon your sanity ye who enter here.

You can now forget about eating, sleeping, drinking, socializing or whatever meaningless occupations you usually have. Don't plan on putting this book down until you finish it. You won't be able to.

“I’m not crazy, I’m compartmentalized.”

Stephen Leeds, 47 hallucinations, the most sensible guy you'll ever get to meet. Occupation: solving strange mysteries. A genius? No. He would tell you his aspec ...more

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Nov 25, 2014 Gene rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: scifi

Buddy read with Armina, Athena, Gavin, Desinka, Robin, Kat Stark, and Rhea.

Stephen Leeds is an interesting guy. For those unfamiliar with the first book the best explanation would be he is schizophrenic who imagines different people around himself. These imaginary people are really good at something, like scientific research, criminal investigations, foreign language proficiency, etc. It is possible to call the guy a genius, but from his own point of view his imaginary people are geniuses, while Buddy read with Armina, Athena, Gavin, Desinka, Robin, Kat Stark, and Rhea.

Stephen Leeds is an interesting guy. For those unfamiliar with the first book the best explanation would be he is schizophrenic who imagines different people around himself. These imaginary people are really good at something, like scientific research, criminal investigations, foreign language proficiency, etc. It is possible to call the guy a genius, but from his own point of view his imaginary people are geniuses, while he himself is only good at imagining a person with the right set of skills at a given moment.

This time the tale starts with Stephen on a date with hilarious comments from his imaginary helpers. The date gets scared and leaves, but Stephen receives a call from his friend in a big trouble asking for help. Stephen becomes involved in a corporate conspiracy with a mix of espionage and everything else it implies including a hit-man (a hit-woman is this case). Fun ensures.

I just mentioned fun: this is exactly how reading this book feels. It is actually more fun than a barrel full of monkeys - and I am saying this while not being the biggest fan of the author.

I thought I would give the novella 5 stars, but decided to settle on 4. There are several reasons for this. Stephen Leeds as a character is very bland - there is no nicer way to say it. He is made such intentionally as some of his imaginary friends are really good and colorful. Still, a novel with a so-so main character feels a little off, no matter what the reasons are.

Speaking about the imaginary characters, one of them really makes this novella: J.C. He is a military survivalist (think Rambo, but with interesting personality) and his speeches and actions are brilliant. It is no coincident that the only time I felt the story became slow and boring was exactly when J.C. was preoccupied. I did not really like this (albeit small) part, despite the mentioning of infinite Batmans - this was awesome.

I am judging the novella a little harsh and had it been written by a new author I would have given it 5 stars without a second thought, but Brandon Sanderson is a well-established and highly regarded writer. It is still recommended to everybody who thought the first book was at least passable; read and you will not regret it.

This review is a copy/paste of my LeafMarks one: https://www.leafmarks.com/lm/#/users/... ...more

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Jan 20, 2018 Nimrod Daniel rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, mystery

Another good novella by Sanderson!

This one is longer than the first story, which is good, because one of my criticism of book 1 was that it was too short. This one is about twice as long.
It’s a detective/mystery/thriller/crime story with interesting premise about biotechnology embedded storage device that has gone missing.

The story is a quite good, well-paced, and expands our understanding of Stephen and his different aspects. The different aspect of Stephen are all well-drawn, and they have an ...more

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Mar 06, 2014 Armina rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: buddy-reads, fantasy, audio, great-expectations, my-audios, sci-fi, short-stories, thriller

Buddy read with Desinka , Kat Stark , Robin , Athena , Rhea , Evgeny , Gavin .

4.5 STARS

The investigation and search for a stolen corpse in an alternate present-day USA is the focus in this sequel to Legion. Yol Chay, who owns Innovation Information Incorporated, sends Stephen Leeds, our beloved protagonist and genius extraordinaire, in search of Panos Maheras, a researcher and supporter of open source technology ideas, whose body may hold the key to stopping a well-inten ...more

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May 11, 2014 Robin (Bridge Four) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: bro-mantic, awesome-audio, super-sidekicks, fantastic-fantasy, 4-5-stars, uf-pnr, sci-fi

4.5 I'm Not Crazy Just a Touch Insane Stars

Buddy read with Athena, Armina, Gavin, Kat Stark, Evengy, Rhea and Desisnka Starting on Tuesday Nov 25

Legion Skin Deep Group Thread

You know that imaginary friend you had as a child, what if you grew up and you had 47 of them and each one was an expert in their field perspective field of study. Meet Stephen Leeds who isn’t so much crazy as insane. He has a very active imagination and in it live a collection of aspects that help him in his daily life.

” I’m not crazy, I’m compartmentalized. Unfortunately, my aspects . . . well, they tend to be a little unhinged..”

Last year I read Legion and loved this idea of a genius who was so smart he almost drove himself crazy. The solution, have ongoing hallucinations that interact with him and each other to solve mysteries. Seems the jury is still out on if that makes him Schizophrenic, Delusional or some new kind of insane but I don’t care because I think it is fantastic even if it makes trying to date hell. Trying to explain to your date that a few other people tagged along and she can’t see them is difficult.

“Like that guy,” she said. “In that movie.”
“Sure. Like that. Only he was crazy, and I’m not.”
“Oh, yeah,” Ivy said. “What a great way to put her at ease. Explain in depth how not crazy you are.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be a therapist?” I snapped back at her. “Less sarcasm would be delightful.” That was a tall order for Ivy. Sarcasm was kind of her native tongue, though she was fluent in “stern disappointment” and “light condescension” as well. She was also a good friend. Well, imaginary friend

But Steve is great at what he does and is the go-to guy for solving strange and unusual happenings. Like finding a missing body with information coded onto its DNA.

The inner workings of Stephen’s mind and hallucinations are explored a little more fully in this story as all forty-seven help in some way to solve this case. I was totally drawn into the idea of the science behind using human DNA to store information and what some of the ramifications of that could be. Given enough time and technological advances every human could be their own person computer, how awesome is that!!!

I like the mystery but the big draw for me in this series is Steve and all of his aspects. I love quirky characters and Stephen Leeds is the epitome of quirkiness. The conversations he has with all of his aspects and the interactions the aspects have with each other are so imaginative. Each aspect has a distinctive voice and personality. It is an amazing idea and I can’t get enough of it.

You would maybe think that because all of these aspects or hallucinations are Stephen’s creation that he might have some level of control over them but that doesn’t seem to be the case. They seem to have their own lives outside of Steve some with imaginary families, imaginary physiological issues, and relationships with each other that even Steve seems clueless to. Sometimes they even have philosophical discussion about being imaginary.

“Being an imaginary person makes it difficult to feel any real sense of accomplishment.”
“Just imagine your sense of accomplishment,” I said. “You’re imaginary, so imaginary accomplishment should work for you.”
“But if I’m imaginary, and I imagine something, it’s doubly unreal. Like using a copy machine to copy something that’s just been copied.”
“Actually,” Tobias said, strolling up, “theoretically the imaginary sense of accomplishment would have to be imagined by the primary imaginer, so it wouldn’t be an iteration as you suggest.”

My favorite breakout character in this book is totally J.C. the uber paranoid ex-Navy seal in charge of Steve’s security. He is one of the few hallucinations that doesn’t believe he is imaginary and his explanation of his existence is phenomenal. He is one of the aspects that seems to do whatever he wants and rarely follows the rules that Steve has in place for his hallucinations.

“Thank heavens,” Tobias replied. “You hadn’t suggested we shoot someone in over an hour, J.C. I was beginning to think something was wrong.”
“No, listen,” J.C. said. “We can shoot Pinhead McWedgy over there, and it will teach everyone in this room an important life lesson. One about not being a stupid mad scientist.”

This is a short novel and while you probably could read it without reading Legion first I really think that a little bit of the magic would be lost. So read Legion it’s only ~90pages and then jump right into the crazy fun ride this is.

Brandon Sanderson is my absolute favorite High Fantasy writer….But his more modern UF/Sci-Fi’s are really growing on me. If you are one of my few friends I haven’t pushed into reading a book by Brandon Sanderson then Start Here or read The Emperor's Soul. They aren’t huge page commitments but show just how talented Sanderson’s imagination is. ...more

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May 22, 2018 Deborah Obida rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: adult, science-fiction

Brandon Sanderson never ceases to surprise me, even though this book is a 100+ pages novella it still has amazing world building, great characters, amazing unpredictable plot. These three things is what I love in books, and add writing which I normally pair with the world building, how he does it I know not. Here are some of my favourite quotes in the book.

“What?” I asked him. “Is there something wrong?”
“He’s just paranoid,” Ivy said. “Remember when he thought the postman was a terrorist?”

So ...more

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Dec 26, 2014 Kaora rated it liked it · review of another edition

I am infinite batmans.

Despite that epic line coming from this book, I wasn't that impressed with it.

The story was good, but it wasn't great like I normally expect from Brandon Sanderson. And while I am still a huge fan of his, I was hoping for more from the follow up to Legion.

A corpse has gone missing that holds data within its cells, data that could be dangerous in the right hands. Legion or Stephen Leeds has been hired to attempt to recover the body, along with his aspects, imaginary people w ...more

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Mar 24, 2015 Niki Hawkes - The Obsessive Bookseller rated it really liked it

[4.5 stars] Both Legion novellas were absolutely delightful. The concept was unique (a brilliant man whose “not crazy”, but harbors several human aspects who help him store information and solve crimes), the mysteries were interesting, and the writing was superb – yup! It’s definitely a Sanderson. What I especially loved about Skin Deep was the humor – I laughed so much through the first half I went back and read it again – you can tell Sanderson had a lot of fun writing it. The resolution to th ...more

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Mar 06, 2014 Gavin rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

This was even better than the first Legion novella. I was really sucked into this fast paced and humorous story.

Stephen Leeds and his multitude of entertaining aspects were back with a new case to solve. He was hired to find a missing body with potentially dangerous experimental biotechnology data stored in its cells! The mystery was fun, but the real entertainment was provided by Stephen and his aspects. I love how they interact with each other and their witty banter was absolutely hilarious. ...more

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Jan 23, 2015 Carole (Carole's Random Life) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, audio-book, 2015

This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life.

4 Stars!

This is another wonderful story from Brandon Sanderson! I was lucky enough to grab this audio book from audible months ago when it was free. I didn't realize what kind of gem I had received at the time. This is a remarkable series that is so different than anything else I have had the chance to experience.

I love being in the mind of the main character, Steven Leeds. Sanderson has created a truly unique character set in this series th This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life.

4 Stars!

This is another wonderful story from Brandon Sanderson! I was lucky enough to grab this audio book from audible months ago when it was free. I didn't realize what kind of gem I had received at the time. This is a remarkable series that is so different than anything else I have had the chance to experience.

I love being in the mind of the main character, Steven Leeds. Sanderson has created a truly unique character set in this series that really drives the story. Many people would think that Steven is crazy. He has been studied and more than a few scientists would like to study how his mind works. Steven isn't crazy...but his aspects are. Steven lives in a large mansion with all of his aspects, or hallucinations. Each aspect is a has his or her own identity and set of expertise. The psychological aspect of this novel is absolutely amazing.

The narrator of the audiobook is the same as in the first story. I believe that Oliver Wyman brings a lot to this story. Each character has a separate voice and his voice is soothing. In my mind, he is the voice of Steven. His delivery of the story is absolutely wonderful.

The wonderful characters are paired with a complex and highly creative mystery. The mystery in this story is just as unique as the character of Steven Leeds. Steven is enlisted to help find a corpse. This isn't just a normal corpse though. This corpse holds a massive amount of data that needs to stay out of the wrong hands. Everything that happens is logical but very unexpected.

In this story, Steven is pushed to the limits in many ways and his sanity is threatened. He has specific rules that must be obeyed or his illusions shatter. Steven knows how vulnerable his ability to function in the world really is. He finds himself having to deal with several situations in this story that upset his delicate balance.

I would highly recommend this book to other. This is the second installment in the Legion series and while this story could be read as a stand alone. I would recommend that this series be read in order since the first installment is very short and does a fantastic job of introducing the characters. I look forward to see what challenges Steven and his aspects will face in the future. ...more

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Nov 24, 2014 seak rated it liked it

Shelves: 2015, audio

Brandon Sanderson's created a great character in Steven Leeds (listening to audiobook, excuse spellings). I like that Sanderson made almost a superpower out of what most would consider a disability. And it's a really incredible power at that. The ability to vaguely browse a book, the internet, you name it, and suddenly become an expert on it because an aspect of your mind turns up who has essentially memorized what you've hardly flipped through.

The problem I found is that I was kind of bored wit Brandon Sanderson's created a great character in Steven Leeds (listening to audiobook, excuse spellings). I like that Sanderson made almost a superpower out of what most would consider a disability. And it's a really incredible power at that. The ability to vaguely browse a book, the internet, you name it, and suddenly become an expert on it because an aspect of your mind turns up who has essentially memorized what you've hardly flipped through.

The problem I found is that I was kind of bored with this one. I mentioned in the last review I did for the first Legion book that I would be tired with any more of this concept and I think I may have reached it. I was referring to the length of the novel and thought sequels would do well for me, but I just didn't think there was that much too this book.

The aspects don't really do a whole lot this time. The last book was so much more exciting, and partially that's because it was a new concept, but they seemed to do so much more. It explored his aspects as it explained how things worked. Skin Deep explored them, but tries to take a different turn with it that didn't really make sense to me. Aspects developing relationships of their own outside the normal line-up didn't make me think twice. Can't they just be a part of the same aspect?

Then I started thinking about how a guy who seems to be altruistic, but becomes a private investigator type. Instead of say, focus on curing cancer and other diseases. If he can learn so quickly, why not focus his attention where a difference could be made. I realize this may not be as exciting of a book however.

Anyway, it's a fun book and I like the concept, but I was bored. I didn't love the plot all that much either and the resolution was just meh. There really wasn't a sense of urgency the entire time and then, like I said, meh. It was surprising and I have to admit, I've never seen a resolution like that, but still meh. Like, if in Gardians of the Galaxy, they decided to draft legal paperwork to contract for the Stone's future placement. You don't see it because it's boring.

3 out of 5 Stars (Sanderson can do better) ...more

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Nov 24, 2014 Lindsey Rey rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2014, novella

248190348190890148019x better than the first one! LOOOOOVED IT!

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Nov 25, 2014 Alienor ✘ French Frowner ✘ rated it really liked it

Recommended to Alienor ✘ French Frowner ✘ by: Kat Stark

Shelves: genre-scifi, 2015-reads

Why can I say with with absolute confidence that Skin Deep is an highly satisfying SF thriller?

Let's start a quick investigation...

Evidence #1 : ♟ The plot is brilliant.

"Yeah, great, whatever," J.C. said.
" Emotions and metaphors and stuff. Look, we've got a problem."

Captivating and fast-paced, this thriller kept me enthralled from the beginning to the end. I didn't guess who the bad guys were, well, to sum-up, I hadn't any clue of anything before Stephen.

What have we got here?

- Some ...more

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Apr 06, 2018 Tessy Ijachi rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, sci-fi

The time it takes for an author to captivate a reader is really important. Some are able to do it in fifty pages, others a hundred, a few twenty pages. Brandon Sanderson is able to do so with just a phrase. I absolutely adore this book and can't wait to read more about Stephen Leeds.

I usually don't read thrillers or mysteries but this book made me fall in love with that genre. ...more

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Jun 05, 2018 Manisha rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: pages-101-500, series-trilogy, sff-adult, genre-mystery-thriller, series-completed, genre-sci-fi, 4-star-reads

This is one of those books that would be great to watch visually. It's a quick, fun read that is entertaining enough to finish the book in one sitting. ...more

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Nov 02, 2015 Richard rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, sci-fi, fantasy

8/10

When I finally got to the second book in the Mistborn series it jogged my memory that last year the second book in the Legion “mini-series” (mini as in short in length) came out and I’d yet to listen to it. I soon rectified this and got Skin Deep and began to listen.

I don’t normally do audio books as I find my mind sometimes can wander (although with me being able to run again I’m looking to rectify that) but after getting a free copy of the first audiobook (only 2 hours) there was no way I ...more

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Nov 25, 2014 Athena Shardbearer rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fan-fucking-tastic, audiobook, buddy-read, epic, own, sandersonitis, re-read, mystery, short-stories, in-robin-i-trust

Buddy read Gavin Desinka Robin (Bridge Four) Armina, Kat Stark Evgeny Rhea

^Buddy reads Reviews

Legion Group Thread

You know, its not fair to read a book by author you love and not being able to write a review that does the book, the writing and the author justice. Let me just say that I suck at writing reviews, but that doesn't stop me from read amazing books and gushing over them. Sanderson, you are and will always be my top favorite authors. You create amazing characters that are likeable, reali ...more

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Jun 13, 2014 Mike rated it liked it

Shelves: reviewed, fantasy, thriller, novella

It is with a heavy heart that I give this book three stars. I think this is my first Sanderson work to have received such a low rating from me. I am a self described Sandersonaian and greatly enjoyed this book's predecessor Legion but found this installment failing short of the mark.

By most accounts this book is quite similar to Legion. It has some great "hallucination" characters, we learn more about Mr. Leeds's "condition", and are presented with a thriller-esque plotline. As always Sanderson It is with a heavy heart that I give this book three stars. I think this is my first Sanderson work to have received such a low rating from me. I am a self described Sandersonaian and greatly enjoyed this book's predecessor Legion but found this installment failing short of the mark.

By most accounts this book is quite similar to Legion. It has some great "hallucination" characters, we learn more about Mr. Leeds's "condition", and are presented with a thriller-esque plotline. As always Sanderson has some great, snappy dialogue between all the characters (but the best is among the hallucinations), he delves deeper into the book's "magic system" and does some spiffy things around it that put our hero at a disadvantage, and Sanderson delivers a fast paced story. In this case a biotech firm that has lost a body which could contain very dangerous information encoded in its cells. All in all the usual ingredients for a good Sanderson novella.

But where things went wrong was the ending. (view spoiler)

I am hoping this book merely suffers from Secondbookitis because I found it to be markedly below Sanderson's usual level of excellence. There were certainly plenty of seeds for neat future developments, but as a stand alone book this fell flat for me. ...more

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Jan 09, 2016 Kells Next Read rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: brandon-mull, fiction, ebook, adult

I'm not crazy, I'm compartmentalized. Unfortunately, my aspects....well, they tend to be a little unhinged.

I swear Sanderson can do no wrong. Every and anything he touches turns into Gold. Love it!!! I hope to get more about Mr Leeds and his bizarre but loveable aspects because there're so unique and entertaining.

...more

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Aug 25, 2015 Paige Bookdragon rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-2015, mild-mind-fuck, almost-a-fave, love-the-hero, adult, favorite-author, favorites, friendship, mr-nice-guy

Look who's back!!!

description

I'm sorry it took awhile for me to be active again in GR. Friends keep dying, work keeps on interrupting and cats are demanding so I haven't been able to read new books and give reviews like I used to before. But I'm happy that you guys didn't removed me from your friend's list yet.

Here's a hug for you guys.

description

Review:

I love Brandon Sanderson. I haven't read any of his books that I didn't like yet. From the dystopian book Steelheart to the fantasy realm of The Final Empire to th ...more

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Dec 26, 2018 Anish Kohli rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

10/9/19: Full review up

Book number 3 from Mr. Sanderson and I am still very impressed. I think with all the hype around him, I’ll keep a track of what works I read from him and in what order so I can pin-point where it went wrong and why, although I hope the need never arises.

Since it’s such a short book (although GR says it is 200+ pages but honestly while reading it felt much shorter; goes to show how well paced the book is), I will not delve into any synopsis or plot summaries lest I might sp ...more

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Jan 05, 2019 Azeez rated it liked it

As usual love every word written by brandon sanderson

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Feb 10, 2017 Connor rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, short-fiction

[4.5 Stars]

Video Review:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9SaM...

Woah, this was a big step up from the first one for me. I found the plot a lot more compelling and the side characters (hallucinations) much more interesting a enjoyable to read about. I hope the next installment comes out in the next couple of years! ...more

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Nov 25, 2014 Kitty G Books rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is a 4.5* book in my opinion which is an improvement on the first one in the series to which I awarded only 4*s. Again in this storyline we follow the characters of Stephen Leeds (the main character) and his hallucinations (which he calls aspects) such as JC, Ivy, Tobias etc. Each of the hallucinations have their own skill set and Stephen can create new hallucinations fairly easily by simply researching into a subject or doing some reading into a topic. This is his way of quickly acquiring This is a 4.5* book in my opinion which is an improvement on the first one in the series to which I awarded only 4*s. Again in this storyline we follow the characters of Stephen Leeds (the main character) and his hallucinations (which he calls aspects) such as JC, Ivy, Tobias etc. Each of the hallucinations have their own skill set and Stephen can create new hallucinations fairly easily by simply researching into a subject or doing some reading into a topic. This is his way of quickly acquiring information and becoming a super genius, but without his hallucinations he'd be a rather unremarkable character in his mid 30s.

I think this would be classed as a crime fantasy series as there's the mystical element of the Aspects and their awesomeness mixed with the mastermind of Stephen which is oh so helpful for sticky situations. In this volume Stephen is approached by a man who works for a big company and he's told that there's been an issue. One member of the staff has recently died and that member was working on some highly secret and dangerous chemical ways to store information within body cells. The company s worried about what will happen if this becomes common knowledge, and they don't know what to do when the body of this research member suddenly vanishes without explanation.

This series so far seems to be a sequential series which you don't really have to have read the first book to understand, but it does help a lot to give context and background to what's happening. I really enjoy the light-heartedness of this series and the fact that it's quite different to a lot of Sanderson's other books and series. He's a very talented author to be able to create a very different style within this series to those other ones, and I love that it's more crime / thriller in theme because I don't often like Crime, but this is a sort of gateway into that genre with added fantasy, and that makes everything much more interesting :)

I love the aspects the most, whilst Stephen is a good character the only reason for that is that he's made up of such wonderful and varied personalities. Without each of his hallucinations he's a bit of a mess and he can't really function normally when he's away from them. It's also a great look at a possible reality of how things could really be for people with psychosis and it makes the reader consider and think just what it would be like and how helpful and confusing that situation could be.

JC is my favourite o the Aspects because he's charming and funny, but also hugely in denial over the fact that he is merely a hallucination. He's focused on the idea of military, guns, scope outs and missions and he's a very fun character for these things. He loves any weapon, and he's good at getting Stephen out of bad situations (although he can sometimes miss a trick and he berates himself, which only makes him more loveable). I think he's a great creation as are all of the aspects. Each one has their quirks and together they make for a great load of banter and joking no matter the content of the storyline or mystery.

I'd certainly recommend this series and I look forward to future books :) Also, if you get the audiobook then I did enjoy the narration and felt that each character was distinct which helped bring the story to life!
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Apr 29, 2014 Eric rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: Fans of Stephen 'Legion' Leeds

Shelves: short-stories, science-fiction, brandon-sanderson

I'd been excited about this novella since reading this tweet from Brandon Sanderson in April. While I did enjoy it, and still look forward to reading more about Stephen Leeds, aka Legion, and his world, I did not like it as much as the first -- probably because the concept, which was the highlight of the first story, was no longer new.

It certainly wasn't because this story wasn't interesting. There was a unique, layered mystery involving the intersection of science and religion -- a theme in bo I'd been excited about this novella since reading this tweet from Brandon Sanderson in April. While I did enjoy it, and still look forward to reading more about Stephen Leeds, aka Legion, and his world, I did not like it as much as the first -- probably because the concept, which was the highlight of the first story, was no longer new.

It certainly wasn't because this story wasn't interesting. There was a unique, layered mystery involving the intersection of science and religion -- a theme in both Legion stories -- with implications far beyond any simple theft. Leeds' psyche, which seems to be evolving -- or fraying at the edges, depending on your perspective -- is also put into more focus in this longer second installment, and new "aspects" of his personality are introduced, along with the return of those from the first story. This is definitely worth a read for any fan of the first, but I definitely wouldn't recommend starting with this one.

As a mostly unrelated aside, this novella has my new favorite piece of existential religious advice:

"Anything that is possible is actually reality, given infinity. So, not only will you return, but your every iteration of possibility will play out. Sometimes you’ll be rich. Sometimes you’ll be poor. In fact, it’s plausible that because of a brain defect, sometime in the future you’ll have the memories you have now, even if in that future time you never lived those memories. So you’ll be you again, completely, and not because of some mystical nonsense -- but because of simple mathematics. Even the smallest chance multiplied by infinity is, itself, infinite... Every variation of possibility, Dion. At some point, you -- the same you, with the same thought processes -- will be born to a wealthy family. Your parents will be killed, and you will decide to fight against injustice. It has happened. It will happen. You asked for comfort, Dion? Well, when the fear of death seizes you -- when the dark thoughts come -- you stare the darkness right back, and you tell it, 'I will not listen to you, for I am infinite Batmans.'"

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Nov 24, 2014 Nicholas Talty rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, science-fiction, 2014-reads

"If time is infinite, then anything that can happen, will happen, and has happened. That means you've happened before, Dion. We all have. Even if there is no God, even supposing there are no answers; no divinity out there, we're immortal."

He frowned.

"Think about it," I said. "The universe rolled its cosmic dice and ended up with you; a semi-random collection of atoms, synapses, and chemicals. Together those create your personality, memories, and very existence. But if time continues forever, tha ...more

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About Brandon Sanderson

Brandon Sanderson

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Brandon’s major books for the second half of 2016 are The Dark Talent, the final volume in Alcatraz Smedry’s autobiographical account of his battle against the Evil Librarians who secretly rule our world, and Arcanum Unbounded, the collection of short fiction in the Cosmere universe that includes the Mistborn series and the Stormlight
Archive, among others. This collection features The Emperor’s S ...more

Other books in the series

Legion (4 books)

Books by Brandon Sanderson

The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1)

Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, #2)

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Quotes from Skin Deep

“Well, when the fear of death seizes you—when the dark thoughts come—you stare the darkness right back, and you tell it, ‘I will not listen to you, for I am infinite Batmans.” — 26 likes

“Are you kidding? You just told her that an invisible man who tells you to kill people just showed up when you didn’t want him to.” “Not one of our smoothest interactions,” Tobias agreed.” — 5 likes

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