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booknerd_therapist's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Audio book only - a dramatized version of 21 comics of The Sandman, roughly 30 mins each.
STELLAR cast and incredible storytelling. I LOVED hearing the voices of David Tennant and John Lithgow which were added for Act II. James McAvoy continues to amaze as Morpheus.
Trigger warnings for: rape, child abuse, murder, pretty much any and all violence, substances
I am past the point in my life where I write long reviews (if I write reviews at all) but this is totally worth your time if you are a Neil Gaiman fan.
STELLAR cast and incredible storytelling. I LOVED hearing the voices of David Tennant and John Lithgow which were added for Act II. James McAvoy continues to amaze as Morpheus.
Trigger warnings for: rape, child abuse, murder, pretty much any and all violence, substances
I am past the point in my life where I write long reviews (if I write reviews at all) but this is totally worth your time if you are a Neil Gaiman fan.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Rape, Violence, Body horror, Child abuse, Blood, Death, Cursing, Gore, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, and Physical abuse
hannahmframe's review
Too much unnecessary gore, little discernable plot. Disappointing after reading the first act.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Torture
billyjepma's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
The core story that takes up the first half of this is stellar, epic, wildly imaginative fantasy and world building. There are so many cool ideas thrown around, and it’s a treat seeing Gaiman’s plot unfold and reveal how Morpheus resolves the lofty dilemma bestowed on him. So much cool stuff.
It’s the 5-7 hours that bring this down. The 14-hour audio production is front-loaded with all of the best stuff, and while the latter half isn’t devoid of imagination, the anthology approach it adopts is wildly inconsistent. The first volume of the The Sandman audio production also had this problem, but to a lesser degree because it used the one-off stories in the latter half to develop Morpheus’ lore and history. This time around, the series of tales are only loosely connected to Morpheus and the Dreaming, and the plots aren’t rich enough to compare. Even the longer plot, The Story of You, barely kept me interested, an issue only exacerbated by Gaiman’s clumsy (but I believe well-intentioned) handling of the story’s LGBTQ+ characters. There’s some good stuff in there, but I struggled to care.
The quality of the audio production itself remains top-tier, though. Excellent vocal performances—McAvoy is chillingly compelling, and David Tennant’s brief role as Loki was a treat—and appropriately operatic sound design and music. There are very few people putting out “audiobooks” like this, and it’s a treat to listen to, even when the stories were lacking.
It’s the 5-7 hours that bring this down. The 14-hour audio production is front-loaded with all of the best stuff, and while the latter half isn’t devoid of imagination, the anthology approach it adopts is wildly inconsistent. The first volume of the The Sandman audio production also had this problem, but to a lesser degree because it used the one-off stories in the latter half to develop Morpheus’ lore and history. This time around, the series of tales are only loosely connected to Morpheus and the Dreaming, and the plots aren’t rich enough to compare. Even the longer plot, The Story of You, barely kept me interested, an issue only exacerbated by Gaiman’s clumsy (but I believe well-intentioned) handling of the story’s LGBTQ+ characters. There’s some good stuff in there, but I struggled to care.
The quality of the audio production itself remains top-tier, though. Excellent vocal performances—McAvoy is chillingly compelling, and David Tennant’s brief role as Loki was a treat—and appropriately operatic sound design and music. There are very few people putting out “audiobooks” like this, and it’s a treat to listen to, even when the stories were lacking.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Confinement, Body horror, Gore, Death, and Child death
Minor: Torture, Pregnancy, and Infidelity
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