Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A calm before the proverbial and literal storm about to happen in The Kindly Ones.
4.5 stars
The tales in the Worlds' End tavern were so completely absorbing. Veltis's sojourn into the catacombs put me in mind of the Gilded Age underworld that supposedly exists in or beneath the NYC subway system, but with a touch of ghosties. Fabulous.
And that thing I said in the last volume about the various artists across the series putting together a full, cohesive Thing? Yeah, that kind of got turned on its head this time thanks to the myriad of artists who worked on this specific volume. But in the best way.
The tales in the Worlds' End tavern were so completely absorbing. Veltis's sojourn into the catacombs put me in mind of the Gilded Age underworld that supposedly exists in or beneath the NYC subway system, but with a touch of ghosties. Fabulous.
And that thing I said in the last volume about the various artists across the series putting together a full, cohesive Thing? Yeah, that kind of got turned on its head this time thanks to the myriad of artists who worked on this specific volume. But in the best way.
Another excellent volume by [a:Neil Gaiman|1221698|Neil Gaiman|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1234150163p2/1221698.jpg]. My partner has told me that another comic book series that he reads, [b:House of Mystery, Vol. 1: Room and Boredom|3754399|House of Mystery, Vol. 1 Room and Boredom|Matthew Sturges|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320519139s/3754399.jpg|3798263], seems to be based on this edition of Sandman, and I have to agree.
Of the tales that were told, I think the one about the sleeping cities is what I enjoyed the most. Also the story of Prez, the youngest president, was interesting with Boss Smiley. And then there was the story of the young woman on the Sea Witch... and the idea that the fruit of life was eaten by the Indian man aboard the ship.
This story is slightly askew of the main Sandman plot, but it's still part of the lore.
Of the tales that were told, I think the one about the sleeping cities is what I enjoyed the most. Also the story of Prez, the youngest president, was interesting with Boss Smiley. And then there was the story of the young woman on the Sea Witch... and the idea that the fruit of life was eaten by the Indian man aboard the ship.
This story is slightly askew of the main Sandman plot, but it's still part of the lore.
This is definitely where Sandman gets way up its own ass. Like colonoscopy deep in there.
A bunch of people gather at a magical tavern and swap stories, and we even get stories within stories within the story, which is going too far for my stupid brain.
I get it, the Sandman can be a framework for telling other stories. But this ends up feeling like a short story anthology, which is always hit and miss. Some of the stories are aight, and some are totally a snooze.
I'm starting to feel like my impression of Sandman is becoming more solid, like this book was something very new and different at one time, but once people realized you could sort of tell any story you wanted in comics form, it went in more interesting directions.
A bunch of people gather at a magical tavern and swap stories, and we even get stories within stories within the story, which is going too far for my stupid brain.
I get it, the Sandman can be a framework for telling other stories. But this ends up feeling like a short story anthology, which is always hit and miss. Some of the stories are aight, and some are totally a snooze.
I'm starting to feel like my impression of Sandman is becoming more solid, like this book was something very new and different at one time, but once people realized you could sort of tell any story you wanted in comics form, it went in more interesting directions.
Sandman, Volume 8: World's End is not one of my favorite in the series, but it's still enjoyable. In this volume, a varied group of people from different worlds and times get stuck in an inn and end up telling stories to pass the time. The stories were only mildly interesting but the end made up for it and did a great job tying everything together. I can't say more without possibly spoiling things but it should make the next couple volumes very interesting.
After a brief period of disillusionment with Neil Gaiman, this restored my opinion of him. I read American Gods between the last volume of Sandman and this, and that totally killed it for me. I was not impressed, and I felt like I was able to see through Gaiman as a writer of mostly style, not much substance, in that particular novel (I hadn't been impressed by Stardust, but I hadn't been ANNOYED by it). Sandman, however, is still awesome, and this is one of the best volumes of it I've read so far. Maybe Gaiman's just more of a graphic novel guy, maybe it doesn't translate to literature, but regardless, this is worth reading.
The stories the characters tell are fantastic, particular the City Dream story and the sailor story, and Gaiman wraps up as many tales as he can into what I THINK is the shortest of the Sandman volumes. It is not at all disappointing. Check the whole series out.
The stories the characters tell are fantastic, particular the City Dream story and the sailor story, and Gaiman wraps up as many tales as he can into what I THINK is the shortest of the Sandman volumes. It is not at all disappointing. Check the whole series out.
emotional
funny
mysterious
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:
Yes
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No