A review by atnea
The Sandman, Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman

4.0

Rating: 4 / 5 stars
Short review: Dark, gritty and full of awesomeness. Initially, though, very confusing.

I've wanted to read this graphic novel for a long while. Thankfully, it was available on Kindle Unlimited, and I did not hesitate to make it my first KU read. And I'm glad I did.

Essentially, this graphic is just really awesome. A great, dark and mysterious main character, in a dark, cool setting, involving dreams and all these mysterious and mythological themes. Really, it's just my cup of tea. Add a few superheroes references with a dash of crossover, and it's even better.

And that's without mentioning the amazing art style brought into the story, with a lot of colors and dynamic panels that really brought a different tone to each character and each setting, making the experience very complete.

My one problem, though, was how confusing the initial part of the volume is. After all, Gaiman drops us in the story without any warning or acknowledgment, and halfway through I still found myself wondering what certain panels meant and what exactly was going on. He didn't really explain anything about the story and, instead, just started telling it, which meant that I had to constantly catch up and wonder what the purpose of each event and character was. This, nonetheless, is only prominent in the first issues of the volume, and didn't bother me much by the end of it.

Spoiler

Another thing that felt out of place was the whole sequence with Morpheus's sister, Death. That is, the story had already finished, and it felt, initially, like something else was starting. I definitely liked the character and the development to the MC that it brought, but it felt a bit detached from the overall story.

In general, it was a really great read, and I'm excited to continue reading the next issues to and see what's in store for our MC. I'm still hesitant if I will read all 10 volumes, but, for now, I'll definitely continue.