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4.51 AVERAGE
4.51 AVERAGE
A return to the grand interplay of the Endless, which is always so interesting, and especially here. Pure pleasure to read this.
GREAT SANDMAN REREAD 2015!
7 volumes in and Gaiman starts gathering up all the carefully laid threads of the last 6 volumes. It's pretty impressive and signals that The Sandman is beginning a new arc. We finally get to spend some time with Destruction, some more tantalizing info on Delirium (who used to be Delight), and even get a better understanding of Despair.
It also contains what for me is one of the defining scenes of THE SANDMAN - a 15,000 year old man realizing he's about to die only has enough time to think "Not yet..." and then is standing there with the smiling, beautiful aspect of Death, first unbelieving then accepting. She reassures him "YOU LIVED WHAT ABYBODY GETS, BERNIE. YOU GOT A LIFETIME. NO MORE. NO LESS. YOU GOT A LIFETIME." For some reason over the years I had conflated this scene with another memorable scene from earlier in the series, where Dream is accompanying Death on her rounds and watches her collect a baby from its crib. The baby in her arms ask unbelieving "BUT... IS THAT ALL THERE WAS? IS THAT ALL I GET?" and she replies "YES, I'M AFRAID SO."
7 volumes in and Gaiman starts gathering up all the carefully laid threads of the last 6 volumes. It's pretty impressive and signals that The Sandman is beginning a new arc. We finally get to spend some time with Destruction, some more tantalizing info on Delirium (who used to be Delight), and even get a better understanding of Despair.
It also contains what for me is one of the defining scenes of THE SANDMAN - a 15,000 year old man realizing he's about to die only has enough time to think "Not yet..." and then is standing there with the smiling, beautiful aspect of Death, first unbelieving then accepting. She reassures him "YOU LIVED WHAT ABYBODY GETS, BERNIE. YOU GOT A LIFETIME. NO MORE. NO LESS. YOU GOT A LIFETIME." For some reason over the years I had conflated this scene with another memorable scene from earlier in the series, where Dream is accompanying Death on her rounds and watches her collect a baby from its crib. The baby in her arms ask unbelieving "BUT... IS THAT ALL THERE WAS? IS THAT ALL I GET?" and she replies "YES, I'M AFRAID SO."
Finally a Sandman story worth reading. The art still mostly stinks of expediency, but the bit in the strip club looks great.
Family, eh? Such a wonderful volume, sad and lovely and hopeful all at the same time. Much love for Delirium and, of course, Destruction.
9/10
Just reread this series for the first time in many years and it does not disappoint. It's truly the most stunning, imaginative, and enjoyable graphic novel I've ever read.
Just reread this series for the first time in many years and it does not disappoint. It's truly the most stunning, imaginative, and enjoyable graphic novel I've ever read.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-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
Neil Gaiman is just SO. GOOD. at what he does. This series is fantastic.
This is what I knew must be coming. This is what imprinted on my soul the first time I read it, such that I couldn't remember anything about it except for what it made me feel.
Why can't he always write like this? No guile, no ego, no metatextual masturbation. Just good, heartfelt storytelling. Magical.
Why can't he always write like this? No guile, no ego, no metatextual masturbation. Just good, heartfelt storytelling. Magical.
2.5 stars, but I'll round up because I think I am being cranky. I lost some patience with this after a point. I didn't enjoy Delirium very much, and their journey looked somewhat pointless after a while. I just didn't really get an impact out of the story -- it felt as if I'd skipped an entire volume, which would have explained Dream's broken heart and why he felt the other things he expressed, about Orpheus, and the "need" to find his brother. There was a lot of portent without a lot of connection to me. A little humdrum, compared to the crazed detail of other Sandman stories.
I think this is my favorite Sandman volume. I think the afterword/forward has it perfectly correct, this is the turning point of no return. There are changes here, helped along by smaller changes before that cause the greatest change to the endless in- kind of forever. Its of when a dream changes and takes a new path. Its like when you dream that you're flying and suddenly you realize, you're actually swimming under water. Its disorienting, disturbing, and a little scary. But it makes more sense as you move along.
In this volume, we see the most of Delirium, and Destruction, and of course Dream. Death, Desire and Despair all have their roads and parts to play, importantly, but also briefly. The brief lives title for a long time eluded me in meaning, but I think I have figured it out, in part. We have the span of a life, 1 year, 18, 10,0000 years. What is enough time? What is the measure of a lifetime? The endless have no measure, they do not have lives, though they live. The love, they lose, they die, they become something new.
In this volume, we see the most of Delirium, and Destruction, and of course Dream. Death, Desire and Despair all have their roads and parts to play, importantly, but also briefly. The brief lives title for a long time eluded me in meaning, but I think I have figured it out, in part. We have the span of a life, 1 year, 18, 10,0000 years. What is enough time? What is the measure of a lifetime? The endless have no measure, they do not have lives, though they live. The love, they lose, they die, they become something new.