The Sandman Vol 3: Dream Country

The Sandman Vol 3: Dream Country (1990) Neil Gaiman

Dream Country is the third book in the Sandman series. In this collection of short stories, Dream is peripheral character for the most part, though in “Facade” Death appears instead.

I’m particularly fond of “A Dream of a Thousand Cats.” We have two cats, and I’m pretty sure that the older (and smarter) of the two thinks that he deserves to be ruling the world. I’ll just have to hope that he doesn’t find a thousand other cats to dream with him.

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is also one that I really like. I’m not good at reading Shakespeare, but I like listening to it, and watching it, so I really enjoyed this story.

“Calliope” is another story I found disturbing to read, however it also lays down important bits for later in the series. It’s disturbing to consider whether someone would really act like that, to their muse, if they thought it would help them.

“Facade” is a very interesting story, and not just because it’s about Death instead of Dream. Would the CIA sacrifice (in a way) agents to an old God if it thought it gave them an advantage? Would they then leave those agents to waste away in solitude when they no longer needed them? And where did Rainie go, in the end?
Rating: 7/10

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