anna_amo's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

So this one I enjoyed even more than the first. It got well, well dark. The bit in the diner with Dr Dee. The Cereal Convention. Jed locked in the basement. A couple of times I just couldn't believe how horrible it was. I did kind of enjoy the Cereal Convention though, espeically things like the Religious Panel.

My favourite chapter by far was Dream meeting Hobb once every 100 years, that whole thing was really really fun and well laid out and cheeky as well as clever. I can't quite think right now how it all fits in with the rest of the book but I really enjoyed seeing Death there as well.

I'm loving seeing more of the Endless. Desire seems like a right twat. I love how there's the big guns, Dream, Destiny and Death and it seems like some of the others are kinda lesser.

Yay, now the library just has to hurry up and find me the next one!

brandiraefong's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

I still can't believe it has taken me so long to start reading this series...

kartana's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

Once again very creepy, but also a bit more exciting than book 1. Feels like the story is growing

chrissych's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

Congratulations, Neil Gaiman, I wasn't sure you had it in you but you've proven me wrong: I am completely enthralled. Both the art and the writing really come to life in this collection, and for once Gaiman gives characters and ideas the full treatment they deserve. The story is a complicated web with a beautiful arc that plays out in perfect pacing, finishing with a sense of resolution that withholds just enough information to keep the reader in thrall and in anticipation of future issues. Can't wait to read the next one!

decoygirl's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

A beautiful and disturbing mind trip.

simonlitton's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Much more confident than the previous volume, with finer artwork and a more consistent tone, despite the variety of strytelling devices and styles.The stand-alone piece about the human Death decides to make immortal isn't as interesting as it could have been (despite living for over half a millenium the guy doesn't seem to learn very much), and as for the main plot I think Gaiman finds serial killers more fascinating than I do, but still, it's full of memorable images, characters and narrative twists and turns.

juushika's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

Rose Walker is a mortal woman reuniting with her grandmother; she is also a vortex, with the potential to destroy Dream's domain. The shift away from Dream is an interesting one; giving him a background role preserves his mystique, but other characters can't quite fill his place and, while Rose's identity is engaging, her emotional arc is predictable. But this is a tighter volume than the first; the uninspired questing framework is rescued by the interwoven plotlines, and the reliance on coincidence works in a mythic story like this one. It turns out that I've read this volume before too (I'm not sure when or how) and what I remember of it, the Cereal Convention, is less interesting than the narrative decisions at work. Ultimately, this isn't amazing but it is successful.

teacherrunner42's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

better than the first!

obsidian_blue's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

So this is the great Sandman I have been hearing about for years. I liked it. But can't say I was blown away by it though. Probably because for the most part I found the colors muddled and it was hard to read sometimes what characters were saying. And when I had to turn the graphic novel sideways to continue reading it that got annoying. Since thought bubbles tended to go over their individual panels I sometimes read things out of order too and had to go back a few times.

I am going to have to read Volume 1 next though. My friend mistakenly told me this was the first one to start with, but I hate reading things out of order.

This starts off with an introduction by Clive Barker. And then Neil Gaiman takes over and from there we hear of Morpheus (the Sandman) and how he ended up entrapped. Then it transitions to an older African village and a father telling his son a story about a city made of glass. I loved the imagery it evoked and could picture the city in my mind, as well as the Queen, Nada. I will say though we get the beginning of Morpheus's cruelty when the story tells us sort of what happened to her when she refused to marry Morpheus. I wish we heard about her more in this volume, but my friend tells me we do hear of her again.

From there it is 'present day' with Morpheus trying to stop a vortex (Rose Walker). And Rose Walker is giving warnings about what is coming for her if she doesn't stay vigilant. The first few issues of Rose going back to the states to find her missing brother Jed were interesting. But once again here's where I got confused, how did she and her mother lose him? Also how the heck did Rose's grandmother just magically find them through investigators like that. I had a hard time with her mother letting her go while she stayed with Rose's grandmother, but I let that go.

Once Rose moves in and meets her new housemates I was just resigned to everyone being quirky. I wanted the story to get moving and found parts to be slow. Why I am glad I got a volume so I didn't read this issue by issue.

I found things more smooth when we followed Morpheus around. I started to find myself bored by Rose. I didn't get the serial (cereal) killer guy at all (yes even after his reveal) and the eyes thing is going to haunt me.

And the ending was kind of a cheat I thought. Don't ask me how that whole thing worked, but I guess Gaiman wanted a happy ending. This graphic novel hints at something larger with regards to Rose and her family, so I'm curious enough to keep reading.

sarahkfitz89's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

I couldn't put this one down. I'm liking the Sandman series so much and I only just finished the second one.