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gale_bruckner's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I will forever be in awe of how masterfully these stories were taken into audio form. I first knew them as comics and they're still incredibly layered wonderfully spun stories.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Body horror, Torture, and Transphobia
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
melodyseestrees's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Body horror, and Deadnaming
Moderate: Confinement, Child death, and Animal death
Minor: Infidelity, Torture, and Pregnancy
zsabella's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
overall story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2
performance: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
ratings for each arc & side story
➡️ season of mists ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
➡️ a game of you ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2
➡️ thermidor ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2
➡️ augustus ⭐️⭐️⭐️
➡️ three septembers and a january ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2
➡️ convergence (the hunt, parliament of rooks, soft places) ⭐️⭐️ 1/2
➡️ ramadan ⭐️⭐️⭐️
the biggest hurdle with act II is realizing morpheus, his endless siblings, and hell itself become significantly less of a major focus after season of mists. a game of you is just as well executed and adapted as season of mists, although it is initially hard to be invested in barbie as the lead if you aren’t expecting it. for me, barbie and wanda’s friendship was the highlight of AGOY which was written with a lot of love and care.
be forewarned your mileage will vary on the side stories in act II more often than in act I. I struggled reading half of them, but pushed through hoping these will make more sense once I complete reading the series. if you’re struggling to find any interest in these, I would definitely suggest giving three septembers and a january and thermidor more attention,which includes a full orchestral version of orpheus' lament that is incredibly gorgeous.
*sandman series reader notes: if you're listening to the audiobooks while following along with a hard copy, note that act II specifically covers season of mists, a game of you, and most of fables & reflections but NOT song of orpheus and winter’s edge.
performance: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
ratings for each arc & side story
➡️ season of mists ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
➡️ a game of you ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2
➡️ thermidor ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2
➡️ augustus ⭐️⭐️⭐️
➡️ three septembers and a january ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2
➡️ convergence (the hunt, parliament of rooks, soft places) ⭐️⭐️ 1/2
➡️ ramadan ⭐️⭐️⭐️
the biggest hurdle with act II is realizing morpheus, his endless siblings, and hell itself become significantly less of a major focus after season of mists. a game of you is just as well executed and adapted as season of mists, although it is initially hard to be invested in barbie as the lead if you aren’t expecting it. for me, barbie and wanda’s friendship was the highlight of AGOY which was written with a lot of love and care.
be forewarned your mileage will vary on the side stories in act II more often than in act I. I struggled reading half of them, but pushed through hoping these will make more sense once I complete reading the series. if you’re struggling to find any interest in these, I would definitely suggest giving three septembers and a january and thermidor more attention,
*sandman series reader notes: if you're listening to the audiobooks while following along with a hard copy, note that act II specifically covers season of mists, a game of you, and most of fables & reflections but NOT song of orpheus and winter’s edge.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Deadnaming, Body horror, and Transphobia
Moderate: Grief and Child death
mardana's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Violence, Physical abuse, Body horror, and Blood
Moderate: Murder, Sexual content, Transphobia, Sexism, and Pregnancy
Minor: Infidelity and Colonisation
The text is supportive of the LGBTQ+ - community. Still, those topics are sometimes addressed in a manner, that might hit "too close to home".emcatbee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Wonderful storytelling, but I wish Gaiman would use a sensitivity reader for his queer characters as he always tries to include them but misses the mark.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia and Body horror
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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