Legion: Skin Deep (#2)
It’s not his own genius that Stephen Leeds gets hired for. Clients want to tap into the imaginary experts that populate his mind—and it’s getting a bit crowded in there.
Now Stephen and his internal team of “aspects” have been hired to track down a stolen corpse—but it’s not the corpse that’s important, it’s what the corpse knows. The biotechnology company he worked for believes he encoded top-secret information in his DNA before he died, and if it falls into the wrong hands, that will mean disaster.
Meanwhile, Stephen’s uneasy peace with his own hallucinations is beginning to fray at the edges, as he strives to understand how one of them could possibly have used Stephen’s hand to shoot a real gun during the previous case. And some of those hallucinations think they know better than Stephen just how many aspects his mind should make room for. How long will he be able to hold himself together?
Reviews
“This quick, entertaining read has the pulse of a thriller and the hook of a fascinating hero balancing on the edge of psychosis. It reads like a ready-made tale for a TV show, and, indeed, one is in the works.”Library Journal
“Like the first Legion story, SKIN DEEP is creative and exciting […] I have and can recommend both.”Fantasy Literature
“The interplay between these inner voices and the ongoing plot twists is the source of both tension and humor […] The payoff is both credible and entertaining […] A fun read.”Asimov’s Science Fiction
“Sanderson proves he is the master of the craft, whether it’s the casual (and not overdone) self-aware humor, the drama created by the deadly corporate-hired assassin tracking Leeds (and how she is ultimately dealt with), or the way the narrative plays out and shows us new ways of looking at a situation.”
“The narration [was] top notch! It delivered very different and unique voices for all of the characters and hallucinatory characters that Leeds has. The dialogue between himself and his hallucinations is so much fun to listen to at times that I even went back and wrote some of them down for favorite quotes.”
“Sanderson captures the current state of technology and where it could actually realistically go in the future so well that I never had a moment of disbelief […] I’m really excited to see what Sanderson has in store for this series. (Also, how freaking impressive is it that this is his side project? […] SKIN DEEP is a very fun and fast ride. Sanderson packs a full plot into this novella along with some pretty awesome anticipation for where the series is going to go. Fans of Holmes-style heroes and near-future sci-fi definitely don’t want to miss SKIN DEEP or Legion!”On Starships & Dragonwings
“An engrossing and entertaining series. Brandon Sanderson remains ambitious as ever […] LEGION: SKIN DEEP will please Sanderson’s legions of fans and will probably gain him some new followers. God knows I’m looking forward to what comes next!”
“Just like the first novella, it was full of an interesting plot with a great mystery, complex characters, and an interesting world […] Leeds was still a great main character for this story. I loved getting to know him better and be along for the ride while he solved yet another mystery.”
“There’s plenty of humor, some suspense, and a good dash of very interesting cutting edge technology […] Put all together, it’s an excellent installment in this series […] Interesting core mystery; plenty of humor; very cool biotech […] it was a great book!“
“Brandon Sanderson is one of the most significant fantasists to enter the field in a good many years […] In Legion, a short, distinctly contemporary novella filled with suspense, humor, and an endless flow of invention, Sanderson revealed a startling new facet of his singular narrative talent. In the stunning sequel, LEGION: SKIN DEEP, that talent is on full display [...] LEGION: SKIN DEEP is speculative fiction at its most highly developed. It reaffirms Sanderson’s place as one of contemporary fiction’s most intelligent – and unpredictable – voices.“The Book Plank
Awards & Accolades
18,000 Audible downloads in the first two weeks