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4.27 AVERAGE
4.27 AVERAGE
Some stories were 5 stars and others just 3 and so this is an average for the whole book!
Really liked the stories of Orpheus but all the stories are great.
A misstep
This one feels like a misstep in the Sandman series. The stories are disjointed and forgettable. The tales do little to reveal more aspects of the main character. This feels like it was forced.
This one feels like a misstep in the Sandman series. The stories are disjointed and forgettable. The tales do little to reveal more aspects of the main character. This feels like it was forced.
Both the artwork and the concept (9 separate tales touching on various historical figures and/or myths) never quite meshed with me. Still fascinating and well-written, but my least favorite volume in the series thus far. "The Hunt" stood out to me as my favorite of the 9 stories in this collection.
Is it just me or does the Lord of Dreams look suspiciously like Robert Smith?
Is it just me or does the Lord of Dreams look suspiciously like Robert Smith?
This was again a collection of stories taking place through diverse historical periods, only connected by the vague presence of Morpheus (except two that were also connected). There was a lot of speeches by men about greatness and Morpheus making them reconsider, but I was never really grabbed by the story or the characters.
A collection (outside of original publication order, including some specials/spin-offs) of short stories within the Sandman universe. Better, on the whole, than previous one-offs; there's still some duds, and the historical cameos and retellings grow repetitive, but there's a frequent, strong sense of magic (like the central concept of "Soft Places"), occasionally brought to life by unusual panel arrangement or strong imagery (as in "Ramadan"). I do wish Dream/the Endless had more prominent or interesting roles, especially in longer stories like "The Song of Orpheus," but that's my usual complaint with this series.
There's not much point in me reviewing this after over a thousand already have. Admittedly, I mainly read it because it was free on Kindle Unlimited, and I read few graphic novels. I don't have much to compare this volume to. I made Sandman a bit of an exception lately, because I remember when they first came out, I was studying at uni and decided graphic novels were just way too expensive for me, although I enjoyed reading my friends' copies.
On the other hand, I'm now shocked reading the latest negative review here, a woman who was "bored" by it. Of course, she intends on reading more. lol It reminds me of Deadheads back in the day, who loved to say individual performances of the Dead were bad or mediocre, which was a backhanded way of bragging that they had heard so many shows that they were able to compare them, put them into hierarchies, while being totally devoted and enamored of the band itself. lol
I thought the tale of Baghdad especially poignant, because the city was only starting to be destroyed in Desert Storm. It suffered a lot of damage for long after, as if Neil were prophetic, knowing the "dream" city of legend was truly lost in time. Not to say I've ever traveled to that part of the world, and there's also perhaps some cultural appropriation here, since the Baghdad of "Arabian Nights" has always been distant and exotic to Westerners, and the "dream" has always been detached from reality. Yet at the same time, this story is not "woke", even as it wallows in the dream version, it just continues to emphasize the harsh realities by contrast, even hitting us over our heads with it, that American (and British) military forces were pummeling Iraq for both oil supplies and strategic transport, while our governments brazenly pretended it was about weapons of mass destruction. Truly both a city of dreams, and nightmares.
Well, that's enough about that. I liked other stories too, and am amazed at how some reviews here gravitate to very different ones. Although, I don't understand why some criticize the collection for lack of coherence and unevenness. This is a series about the God of Dreams, after all. How can anyone expect the stories (I have difficulty thinking of them as "issues"), not to also have dream qualities? What were you expecting?
On the other hand, I'm now shocked reading the latest negative review here, a woman who was "bored" by it. Of course, she intends on reading more. lol It reminds me of Deadheads back in the day, who loved to say individual performances of the Dead were bad or mediocre, which was a backhanded way of bragging that they had heard so many shows that they were able to compare them, put them into hierarchies, while being totally devoted and enamored of the band itself. lol
I thought the tale of Baghdad especially poignant, because the city was only starting to be destroyed in Desert Storm. It suffered a lot of damage for long after, as if Neil were prophetic, knowing the "dream" city of legend was truly lost in time. Not to say I've ever traveled to that part of the world, and there's also perhaps some cultural appropriation here, since the Baghdad of "Arabian Nights" has always been distant and exotic to Westerners, and the "dream" has always been detached from reality. Yet at the same time, this story is not "woke", even as it wallows in the dream version, it just continues to emphasize the harsh realities by contrast, even hitting us over our heads with it, that American (and British) military forces were pummeling Iraq for both oil supplies and strategic transport, while our governments brazenly pretended it was about weapons of mass destruction. Truly both a city of dreams, and nightmares.
Well, that's enough about that. I liked other stories too, and am amazed at how some reviews here gravitate to very different ones. Although, I don't understand why some criticize the collection for lack of coherence and unevenness. This is a series about the God of Dreams, after all. How can anyone expect the stories (I have difficulty thinking of them as "issues"), not to also have dream qualities? What were you expecting?
Trigger warning: Rape
I liked this one though Dream feels like a bit player in most of these stories. There's is a darkness in all of these stories though. I don't know which one affected me the most, probably the story of Augustus Caesar. I am going to rate these stories separately since they really do feel like a series of short stories that are just taking place in the world of The Sandman.
"Fear of Falling" (3.5 stars)-Not a bad start. We all have had those dreams where we are falling and we always know that if we touch the ground we die. I am a weirdo though, I always know it's a dream and I say you will fly and I do or I bounce. Anyway, back to this tale, we follow a playwright (I think) who is worried about staging his upcoming play. He gets some encouragement (if you want to call it that) from Dream.
"Three Septembers and a January" (5 stars)-So this is weird. I recall hearing about this man (Joshua Abraham Norton) but maybe in a grad school class, and like as an anecdote. Gaiman has us follow Joshua as he becomes the subject of a bet between Despair and Dream. Norton gets what he wishes for (via Dream) to be Emperor of the United States. We get to see Dream, Despair, and even Desire roam throughout this story as some of bit players like others like Joshua, Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) come in and out. I ended up looking up Norton after this tale and thought his story though a bit sad, was also kind of heart warming in some aspects. Especially with how the people of San Francisco treated him.
"Thermidor" (4.5 stars)-The only reason why I gave this 4.5 stars was that some of the panels were so hard to read. It's just the way the cursive text looks and it makes me have to hold the graphic novel up close to my face. When it's more or less in print I can see quite fine. Anyway, this story revolving around Lady Johanna Constantine and her doing what she can to help Dream with a favor. We also get to see Dream's son Orpheus in this. This story ends up setting up things nicely for another tale in the series.
"The Hunt" (4 stars)-A grandfather tries to tell his uninterested teen granddaughter a story involving werewolves. Not going to lie, my mind wandered a bit here and there.
"August" (5 stars)-A really dark tale of August Caesar. We find out why the Emperor chooses to dress as a beggar one day a year and how it all ties back to his uncle.
"Soft Places" (3.5 stars)-Marco Polo gets lost and meets Dream.
"The Song of Orpheus" (5 stars)-In this retelling, we have Orpheus as the son of Dream and Calliope. We follow Orpheus upon his marriage to Eurydice. I think most of us know this Greek tale, but this one is given new life with the illustrations and the almost sad end of Orpheus. You get to see how Death and Destruction got caught up in this and why Dream and Calliope had a big falling out.
"The Parliament of Rooks" (5 stars)-Baby Daniel who we all met in Season of Mists returns and visits (via a Dream) Cain, Abel, Eve, and Matthew. FYI, Cain has some anger issues. And I liked Abel, though I do want him to kick the crap out of Abel once in a while. I also liked the introduction of Adam and his three wives in this tale.
"Ramadan" (5 stars)-Caliph Harun al-Rashid rules Baghdad, but wants to make a deal with Dream so it can stay as perfect as it is forever. Of course things are never what they seem. I liked this as an ending of these tales.
I liked this one though Dream feels like a bit player in most of these stories. There's is a darkness in all of these stories though. I don't know which one affected me the most, probably the story of Augustus Caesar. I am going to rate these stories separately since they really do feel like a series of short stories that are just taking place in the world of The Sandman.
"Fear of Falling" (3.5 stars)-Not a bad start. We all have had those dreams where we are falling and we always know that if we touch the ground we die. I am a weirdo though, I always know it's a dream and I say you will fly and I do or I bounce. Anyway, back to this tale, we follow a playwright (I think) who is worried about staging his upcoming play. He gets some encouragement (if you want to call it that) from Dream.
"Three Septembers and a January" (5 stars)-So this is weird. I recall hearing about this man (Joshua Abraham Norton) but maybe in a grad school class, and like as an anecdote. Gaiman has us follow Joshua as he becomes the subject of a bet between Despair and Dream. Norton gets what he wishes for (via Dream) to be Emperor of the United States. We get to see Dream, Despair, and even Desire roam throughout this story as some of bit players like others like Joshua, Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) come in and out. I ended up looking up Norton after this tale and thought his story though a bit sad, was also kind of heart warming in some aspects. Especially with how the people of San Francisco treated him.
"Thermidor" (4.5 stars)-The only reason why I gave this 4.5 stars was that some of the panels were so hard to read. It's just the way the cursive text looks and it makes me have to hold the graphic novel up close to my face. When it's more or less in print I can see quite fine. Anyway, this story revolving around Lady Johanna Constantine and her doing what she can to help Dream with a favor. We also get to see Dream's son Orpheus in this. This story ends up setting up things nicely for another tale in the series.
"The Hunt" (4 stars)-A grandfather tries to tell his uninterested teen granddaughter a story involving werewolves. Not going to lie, my mind wandered a bit here and there.
"August" (5 stars)-A really dark tale of August Caesar. We find out why the Emperor chooses to dress as a beggar one day a year and how it all ties back to his uncle.
"Soft Places" (3.5 stars)-Marco Polo gets lost and meets Dream.
"The Song of Orpheus" (5 stars)-In this retelling, we have Orpheus as the son of Dream and Calliope. We follow Orpheus upon his marriage to Eurydice. I think most of us know this Greek tale, but this one is given new life with the illustrations and the almost sad end of Orpheus. You get to see how Death and Destruction got caught up in this and why Dream and Calliope had a big falling out.
"The Parliament of Rooks" (5 stars)-Baby Daniel who we all met in Season of Mists returns and visits (via a Dream) Cain, Abel, Eve, and Matthew. FYI, Cain has some anger issues. And I liked Abel, though I do want him to kick the crap out of Abel once in a while. I also liked the introduction of Adam and his three wives in this tale.
"Ramadan" (5 stars)-Caliph Harun al-Rashid rules Baghdad, but wants to make a deal with Dream so it can stay as perfect as it is forever. Of course things are never what they seem. I liked this as an ending of these tales.
This collection takes the anthology approach of "Dream Country" and packs the considerable narrative heft of "Season of Mists" into each individual story arc. It seems impossible that everything here could function as well as it does, but I guess we are in the realm of dreams after all.
I don't know if I have a personal favorite story, especially considering they're all so well drawn, but "The Song of Orpheus" certainly feels like the most fully conceived of the bunch. Especially as presented on the heels of the 2nd story in this collection, in which the severed head of Orpheus plays a role, the air of tragedy Gaiman cultivates here is frankly peerless.
Anyway, I love this. It's the longest collection in the series so far (I think), but I'll follow Gaiman's explorations of this world anywhere they lead him.
I don't know if I have a personal favorite story, especially considering they're all so well drawn, but "The Song of Orpheus" certainly feels like the most fully conceived of the bunch. Especially as presented on the heels of the 2nd story in this collection, in which the severed head of Orpheus plays a role, the air of tragedy Gaiman cultivates here is frankly peerless.
Anyway, I love this. It's the longest collection in the series so far (I think), but I'll follow Gaiman's explorations of this world anywhere they lead him.