I should start this review by saying that I started this book but then some books came off of hold from the library so I put it down to read my books on hold. It took me a bit to get back into the book and what was happening but once I did I quickly sunk into the story’s universe.
Sandman is a comic book series that launched Neil Gaiman into the star writer he is today. It tells the story of Morpheus, King of Dreams. While trying to capture Death an occult group led my a magician captures Morpheus instead. After almost 70 years of captivity Dream is able to escape and tries to seek revenge and get back his items he lost. This includes meeting up with John Contantine and Martian Manhunter and a trip to Hell. The most disturbing plot however is his battle with Doctor Destiny to retrieve his ruby. One whole issue revolves around Doctor Destiny using the ruby to drive a group of humans in a diner mad and do unspeakable things. Gaiman describes this issues as one of the most horrific things he has written and I have to agree it was difficult to read.
This series has been on my to read list since I was a semi goth high school student. I have always heard it is a great series and many of my high school friends had read it. In some ways I am glad I waited because from years of reading I was able to pick up on more references than I would have in high school (and those I didn’t were a quick Google on my phone as opposed to getting on the massive desktop when I was in high school). In some ways I wish I hadn’t because it was hard to live up to the expectations that had.
I did like the first collection though and I plan on reading the rest. As stated above the section with Doctor Destiny was hard to read but knowing it was the worst makes it easier to go into the rest. All the references to mythology, literature, and DC comics made the tale enjoyable. Morpheus is a character you want to learn more about and the introduction of Death at the end of the first collection also gave me an incentive to keep reading.
If this has been on your to read list I would suggest you start reading it, especially before the Netflix series premieres if you don’t want a lot of spoilers.
