Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Sandman by Neil Gaiman

22 reviews

nolimalumsedheroa's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-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? No

5.0

Phenomenal. Absolutely phenomenal. I rarely am able to stay focused enough to listen to an audio book. The Sandman, with its sound effects and full cast (kind of a modern radio play) managed to not only retain my attention, but also for the first time in years I listened to something at an almost normal speed. I want to know anything and everything about how the mind of Mr. Gaiman works. His story was absolutely enthralling 

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green_girl00's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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dododenise's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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julierl's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

I really enjoyed this! I always felt the Sandman stories were a bit inaccessible to me as someone who doesn't enjoy reading comics - where even would I start? - but I really enjoy Neil Gaiman's writing and his take on the supernatural. I was so happy to get an audio version, with fantastic actors! 


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frostbitsky's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This was part of the Included catalogue on Audible for a limited time and I decided why not listen to it as part as of my October/Halloween read. 

Side note: for days I had the song "Mr. Sandman" stuck in my head.

The production value is really good. I liked the sound effects (it helped visualizing scenes that's originally a graphic novel) and I liked the intro song. 

I loved James McAvoy's voice. He's an excellent narrator. Though I did not picture Morpheus as the image on the cover but as James McAvoy. 

I didn't realize the beginning would have a slight MacGuffin Plot. Even so, it was entertaining. 

Some things I liked:

- Michael Sheen as Lucifer. I pictured him as Aro in the Twilight Saga.
- Episode 10: "Men of Good Fortune". 
- The Vortex / Rose Walker 

I hated:
- "24 Hours" - way too sick and disturbing. I fast forwarded that story.
- "Collectors" - I didn't see the point of this one.

If Part 2 is ever available in the Included catalogue then I'll listen to that.

3.5 our of 5 Dreams.

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ggcd1981's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Rating: 4.0 estrelas 

TRIGER WARNING: Death, Murder, Moderate Gore, Child abuse, Anxiety, Depression, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Rape, Sexual Assault, Addiction, Confinement 

The Sandman foi minha primeira leitura de Neil Gaiman e talvez eu não tenha começado pelo livro certo pois, apesar de ter gostado, o livro foi uma leve decepção para mim. Porém é necessário acrescentar que esta decepção se deve a questões de gosto pessoal, The Sandman em si é um bom livro. 

Meus problemas com The Sandman, Volume I foram: Primeiramente eu acreditava que se tratava de um Graphic Novel com uma história continua, porém é na verdade uma coletânea de histórias curtas sobre o personagem Sandman em suas várias formas. Coletâneas de contos não são algo que me agrada, prefiro histórias longas, mas nesse caso foi falta de informação minha; Em segundo, algumas histórias estavam interligadas com o Universo de quadrinhos da DC. Assim houveram várias referências a acontecimentos dos quadrinhos dos quais eu não tinha conhecimento. Desta forma nessas histórias tive a impressão de ter compreensão apenas superficial do que era mencionado. Novamente, falta de informação minha e não culpa do livro. 

Tenho que falar dos pontos positivos do audiolivro que foram fortes: As performances do elenco foram ótimas com destaque para James McAvoy como The Sandman (McAvoy é sempre ótimo); como toda coletânea de contos alguns foram melhores que outros, mas em geral todas as histórias mantiveram a atmosfera Dark e caprichosa pela qual Gaiman é conhecido; por último, personagens intrigantes que contribuíram para o clima do livro e em alguns momentos despertaram sentimentos em mim (Abel por exemplo, apesar de ter um papel menor me fez sentir sua angustia e medo por ser assassinado de novo e de novo por seu irmão Cain). 

Em geral uma adaptação com excelentes performances, atmosfera e personagens fascinantes. Os problemas que tive foram por meu próprio desconhecimento do formato da obra e do universo em que a história existe. Dou 4 estrelas e tenho interesse em ler o Volume II. 


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ele08's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5


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kiwiknitter's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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thecatsmother's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The Sandman Audible Original is a multi-cast audiobook adaptation of the graphic novel series by Neil Gaiman. It was Audible’s free book of the month recently, and covers Act 1 of a series, with Act 2 coming out soon. I’ve never been into graphic novels - I don’t think I’ve read a comic since primary school - they just don’t interest me, so I didn’t know the main character, but have seen most of the recent DC Universe movies and some of the TV series. We wanted a change from our usual thrillers for our most recent car journeys - and it certainly is different! It’s exceptionally well read by the huge cast, including Gaiman himself as The Narrator, and supported by various sound effects which complemented the voices rather than getting in the way. Overall I enjoyed it - some parts rather more than others - but definitely would’ve got more from it if I already knew the series.

During WW1, Sleep, the Lord of Dreams, who goes by multiple different names, including Morpheus, is captured by the leader of an arcane cult and kept prisoner in the mansion’s basement for 70 years, despite never ceding any of his powers. His absence leads to global consequences - including an epidemic of Sleeping Sickness, and the release of horrific Nightmares into the world. Finally Sleep escapes, but before he can restore his kingdom, he must reclaim three objects invested with his power. Over twenty chapters across three volumes, we meet characters variously affected and interconnected by Morpheus throughout history - human, deity, superhero and myth - some brief self-contained stories, some extended plot arcs, many where he appears only briefly, but all linked in some way to the world of dreams & stories.

So what did I think? Considering this isn’t really my genre and I don’t know the source material, I was still able to follow and appreciate most of this. I didn’t like all of the stories - I suppose I was expecting a more traditional narrative arc, there’s a beginning but no end as this is only Act 1 so don’t expect a conventional story structure. The first part, about Sleep’s capture and subsequent escape, was brilliant. I did NOT like the Dr Destiny chapter - too dark and nasty for me (rape, necrophilia, self-mutilation...) and found some of the random ones like Hob the immortal soldier or the African coming of age story a bit tedious and pointless. Rose Walker’s quest to find her brother and gate-crashing the serial killer convention lifted my interest back up, and I was rapt by the Cat story (of course) until the traumatic scene with the kittens 😿


The voices - including some very well known actors - were superb: James McAvoy is perfect in the lead role, and there were wonderful surprise cameos like Joanna Lumley as John Constantine’s ancestor. I’m not sure if we’ll continue to Act 2 - I’ll see if The Cats’ Father is keen, but am definitely interested to see the upcoming TV adaptation, although hope it’s not too gory - we gave up on American Gods for that reason! Recommended to fans of the series even if you don’t normally listen to Audiobooks - having the creator tell the story himself is a definite coup!


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glorious_purpose's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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