Scan barcode
midici's review against another edition
4.0
I think this is the first time I've had really mixed feelings on one of the Sandman books. Overall, I really enjoyed it. But there are some parts, and some aspects that I really disliked.
The overall set up is lovely; an inn at World's End, which is not so much a place as it is a place in between other places, where travellers find themselves when they are in need of sanctuary. In this case the inn is almost full to bursting, as people from several worlds and times are caught in a reality storm, and are staying at the inn until it passes.
The set up is an old, familiar, "stories around a campfire" set up. The travellers decide to pass the time by telling stories. Sometimes the stories are about themselves, other times it is stories they were told and sometimes it's a combination of the two.
Most of the stories contain completely new characters, but some have familiar figures. Cluracan, one of the fairies, is saved from a potentially disastrous situation when his sister Nuala, who serves Morpheus, begs Morpheus to intervene. Death makes an appearance in Golden Boy - despite the fact that she is one of my favourite characters that is not enough to save Golden Boy from being the absolute worst part of this book and the series as a whole.
At the end of the book we get a glimpse of what cause the reality storm. It's a funeral, being led by Destiny. Others of the Endless are in attendance, like Death and Delirium and Despair. But many of the figures walking behind the casket are Morpheus' creations and charges and denizens of his world. The implication that it is Morpheus who has died is more than a bit worrying...
So yes, I liked the set up and the storytelling. I hated Golden Boy; there were so many interesting stories happening on so many different levels that this one was just jarring in how much I disliked it.
The other issue is the one Charlene brings up, which is that overwhelmingly these stories did not have women in it. The only women who told a story was Jim, and as Charlene says, the entire point of Jim's story is to hide the fact that there is a women involved. And the stories are, almost entirely about men as well. It's always frustrating that when you have great stories about men they aren't considered "men's stories" - they are great works of literature, or epic tales, or wonderful examples in their genres. So these stories covered all sorts of typical genres from ghost tales to adventure. Women's stories, on the other hand(for women or about women), regardless of their genre or purpose, tend to get thrown into "Women's Lit." So it was nice to have Charlene point it out, and stick to her opinion, and decide to stay at the inn instead of returning to her life; but Charlene isn't even the narrator of her story/this volume, Brant is! This isn't a criticism of Neil Gaiman really because he writes excellent women characters and has had more than one volume written with a women character as the focal point. It just seemed unnecessary to make it this way. I think if Charlene had been the main/first narrator I might have found the whole thing less annoying, as Brant served almost no purpose whatsoever, and his 'falling in love with Death' comment took away from the otherwise great description of the solemnity and grief of the funeral.
The overall set up is lovely; an inn at World's End, which is not so much a place as it is a place in between other places, where travellers find themselves when they are in need of sanctuary. In this case the inn is almost full to bursting, as people from several worlds and times are caught in a reality storm, and are staying at the inn until it passes.
The set up is an old, familiar, "stories around a campfire" set up. The travellers decide to pass the time by telling stories. Sometimes the stories are about themselves, other times it is stories they were told and sometimes it's a combination of the two.
Most of the stories contain completely new characters, but some have familiar figures. Cluracan, one of the fairies, is saved from a potentially disastrous situation when his sister Nuala, who serves Morpheus, begs Morpheus to intervene. Death makes an appearance in Golden Boy - despite the fact that she is one of my favourite characters that is not enough to save Golden Boy from being the absolute worst part of this book and the series as a whole.
At the end of the book we get a glimpse of what cause the reality storm. It's a funeral, being led by Destiny. Others of the Endless are in attendance, like Death and Delirium and Despair. But many of the figures walking behind the casket are Morpheus' creations and charges and denizens of his world. The implication that it is Morpheus who has died is more than a bit worrying...
So yes, I liked the set up and the storytelling. I hated Golden Boy; there were so many interesting stories happening on so many different levels that this one was just jarring in how much I disliked it.
The other issue is the one Charlene brings up, which is that overwhelmingly these stories did not have women in it. The only women who told a story was Jim, and as Charlene says, the entire point of Jim's story is to hide the fact that there is a women involved. And the stories are, almost entirely about men as well. It's always frustrating that when you have great stories about men they aren't considered "men's stories" - they are great works of literature, or epic tales, or wonderful examples in their genres. So these stories covered all sorts of typical genres from ghost tales to adventure. Women's stories, on the other hand(for women or about women), regardless of their genre or purpose, tend to get thrown into "Women's Lit." So it was nice to have Charlene point it out, and stick to her opinion, and decide to stay at the inn instead of returning to her life; but Charlene isn't even the narrator of her story/this volume, Brant is! This isn't a criticism of Neil Gaiman really because he writes excellent women characters and has had more than one volume written with a women character as the focal point. It just seemed unnecessary to make it this way. I think if Charlene had been the main/first narrator I might have found the whole thing less annoying, as Brant served almost no purpose whatsoever, and his 'falling in love with Death' comment took away from the otherwise great description of the solemnity and grief of the funeral.
orangebubble's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
knod78's review against another edition
3.0
More like 3.5-4 stars. It was confusing most of the time and lots of stories within stories. But it ended it really well and I have a feeling this will lead to something else.
toothcake's review against another edition
5.0
Awesome! Love the short stories. "Stories within stories" .. kept getting lost in them.
What's up with the funeral procession at the end?
What's up with the funeral procession at the end?
zalida's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
hann_thea's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
adastrame's review against another edition
3.0
While the previous volume was one of my favorites, this is probably my least favorite of the series. It just seems way too random, and the things that contribute to the overall storyline are too few and far between... I get the general idea of this volume, but I still didn't enjoy most of it very much.