The Sandman Vol 1: Preludes and Nocturnes

The Sandman Vol 1: Preludes and Nocturnes (1989) Neil Gaiman

The first volume in the Sandman series, Preludes and Nocturnes tells of Dreams capture by Roderick Burgess, his eventual escape, and his recovery of his bag of sand, his mask, and his ruby.

This collection especially makes me feel as if there’s stuff I’m missing, not having grow up reading comics. John Constantine is a major character in the story “Dream a Little Dream of Me” and although I understand perfectly what is happening, I am pretty sure it would be more if I had read other comics about him.

“A Hope in Hell” I rather liked. And re-reading this makes me wonder if I might like the “Lucifier” series, because I find the character of Lucifer interesting. But I’m not certain I’ll like it, and I also really like Steven Brust’s To Reign in Hell, and wonder if the series would pale in comparison. Oddly enough, it doesn’t bother me too much, despite the fact that it’s set in Hell, and Hell is not a nice place.

However, as I’ve read the Sandman series twice before, I skipped the story “24 Hours” because that I do find too disturbing and upsetting to read. It’s good, but I’ll stick with knowing what happened without having to read it again.

However my favorite story is the last, “The Sound of her Wings.” It is as much a Death story as a Dream story–Death helps Dream get his head back together. I particularly liked the bit about Harry, I just find it satisfying–maybe because he didn’t really die alone, because she was there. It’s a nice thought, that at the end, even if you’re alone, you won’t really be.

Interestingly, I like reading the series again, because now I see character that will return, like Nada. We get little glimpses of these characters, which makes them seem more familiar when we return to them later. The series is a nice change of pace from what I’ve been reading, and Neil Gamian’s writing is always enjoyable.
Rating: 7/10

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