When a trusted fellow blogger of audiobooks, The Guilded Earlobe, writes that he loved an audio so much he'd give it "a manly bear hug without bothering to take a moment to glance awkwardly around for witnesses," I pretty much knew that I'd have to download Legion, a two-hour audiobook (free on Audible.com until the end of 2012) immediately. And he was so right!
I've not experienced Brandon Sanderson's work previously, but his epic fantasy novels are ones that I have on my list and cannot wait to dive into. In Legion, Stephen Leeds is a fixer of many things and is well-paid to do so. What separates him from the rest of the fixers and investigators in this sci-fi/time travel tale is that Stephen has the help of an excellent team who are experts in everything from psychology, body language, military survival tactics, history, and linguistics. The only thing is that each member of his crack team are all parts of his multiple personalities, or as he calls them, aspects. He can see them, they talk to him, they are fully developed characters, and they are awesome. When Stephen is hired to find a missing person who has taken something that could have greater implications for all of humanity, the truth behind all religion, science, and more, the race is on, and Stephen and his aspects travel all the way to Israel to uncover the truth.
At only two hours long and narrated by one of the best audiobook narrators I've ever listened to, Legion is escapism literature at its finest. When the aspects are much more fully developed characters than in chunkster books I've read, you know it's going to be one of those stories that you make excuses to spend one-on-one time with, and no breaks to stop the flow. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in trying sci-fi, time travel, and speculative fiction, but don't want one that is highly confusing with a lot of separate story lines that you have to keep track of. This was a perfectly easy story to listen to, with such a unique approach that I, like The Guilded Earlobe, just wanted more. I wonder if he'll ever branch this out into a full book? I can only hope.
Others said:
The Guilded Earlobe (audio review)
Publisher: Audible Frontiers
Audio Time: 2 hours, 8 minutes
Release Date: 10/2/12
Narrator: Oliver Wyman
FTC Disclosure: I download this from Audible.com for free with their offer to all members that will expire at the end of this year. Hurry up and download this!
Audio Notes: Click here to listen to the incredible sample of Oliver Wyman. He was incredible! My favorite character, or favorite aspect of Stephen's, was Tobias, an older gentleman full of wisdom and historical knowledge. Or maybe it was JC, the military survival guy, who was absolutely hilarious in several scenes. I can't pick! The story and characters were so well-written, and with Oliver Wyman knocking it out of the park on audio, I just can't do a virtual standing ovation long enough!
About the Author
Brandon Sanderson is an American fantasy author with almost a decade of published work. With the wildly popular Mistborn series I plan to dive into soon, he is also known for his stellar work in completing Robert Jordan's epic fantasy series, The Wheel of Time, another series I have on my list.
Visit the author:
- On his website
- On his LiveJournal
- On his main blog
- On Facebook
- On Twitter
About the Narrator
Oliver Wyman is an established audio narrator with an extensive selection available on Audible.com. Click here to see all of the options. He has voiced a wide range of options including sci-fi, fantasy, and even memoirs, particularly with Audie Award Winner It's Not About the Bike, by Lance Armstrong.
I don't read science fiction or fantasy often, but you've made this sound so good, I'm tempted to give it a try.
ReplyDeleteI have tried audiobooks, but they never have worked for me. But you make me want to try this one :) Off to download it.
ReplyDeleteI should start listening to audiobooks again...But I fear that I will continue to be obsessed with Christmas music for the rest of the month!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed this one. :)
Escapism is great. I used to listen to an audio book at the gym (which I haven't gone to in a while) as in the car on the ride to work and back. But with the radio stations playing all this Christmas music, I've been listening to that instead and have fallen behind on my reading.
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