 "One of the definite best in this series" | 2009-09-10 |
| - Reviewed By queenmeowth |
| Dream Country was a fairly interesting and enjoyable volume, but this one really stands out. The array of characters and cameos here are awesome, as well as the storyline and dialogue themselves. I had always been wondering who that woman was in Vol 1 in Hell who was crying for him. It's horrible that he would send her to Hell for so long for what she did, but it was satisfying to see that she made the decision that she did. Fabulous, fabulous story!!! |
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| "piece of art" | 2009-08-25 |
| - Reviewed By User: A28JV6A349A2B4 |
I've read 4 volumes of Sandman, so far.
the first one was great! intro to the story and the characters, great. the second and third ones are good, not as good as the first one, though.
This fourth volume, I simply loved it. it's the best so far! it starts with a conclave of almost all the Endless and... the story is so deep and warm, so well written, from the first page to the last one, every single panel, every character, this book is definitely worth reading, period.
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 "Christian advocation for prisons and punishment as redemption?" | 2008-10-07 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1645F2T78Q44U |
| I have deep reservations for Seasons of Mists, br /br /1) Gaiman appears here to advocate a monotheistic creator God who is above the polytheistic pantheons of `Gods(esses)', this can be taken as a propagandistic christian idea. At the moment, having read the Sandman collection up to this point, this appears to be what Gaiman is saying. What makes the christian pantheon of a creator, hell, heaven, angels and the Devil above any other? The Sandman hands the angels the key because the creator has decided it is so.br /br /2) The final sequence of the book scares me to death, that people will be taught the of their ways, and will thank the angels in the end for this. Is Gaiman really advocating exactly what happens in Orwell's 1984? that terror and torture can be used to mend someone's evil ways? That imposed torture and punishment can be a means of redemption? Well for me if there happened to be a creator I'd be going to hell, for my freedom can never be subjugated, I have no need of a creator who decides good and evil, a platonic idea that Good and Evil exist behind actual actions.br /br /In rejecting that subjugation however does not make me free to decide the goodness and evilness of my actions for I am a being that's existence is dependent on the existence of other beings, for my identity is not in any sense a Cartesian thinker, a homunculus, for I am other beings as well as myself, and importantly beings who I can never know and must respect for that, and realise the finiteness of human understanding.br /br /Gaiman seems to hold at this moment many views that are the exact opposite of freedom. |
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 "Best Story Arc So Far" | 2008-09-05 |
| - Reviewed By User: ARMVAHWQQ9S8A |
Up until this point, I was unimpressed by Neil Gaiman's The Sandman story arcs. The larger stories that made up both Preludes and Nocturnes and The Doll's House were lacking, which really surprised me, seeing how much praise Gaiman gets for his work in this series. His one-shots were good, however, bordering on brilliant, which made the third volume in the series, Dream Country (a collection of one-shots), his best effort yet. Upon picking up this book, "Seasons of Mist," I was worried that I was in for yet another mediocre story arc, but in this one, Gaiman really came through.
The plot is quite inventive, featuring Lucifer giving up Hell and giving the key over to Morpheus. This causes a lot of trouble for the Dream King, because creatures and deities from all sorts of mythologies come to him in hopes to take Hell off of his hands. This is certainly the most well-written story arc in "The Sandman," and it's also the most intricate as far as characters featured in it, the way they speak, and the character development of Morpheus. While it is certainly epic in scale, it's the most personal we've seen the Dream King get. There was even a scene in the epilogue that made me tear up a little. Looks like I'm on for the long-run!
8/10 |
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| "A splendid story about Hell" | 2008-08-27 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1CQGAPQMN41LV |
The fourth Sandman collection finally follows up on the promise that Lucifer made to destroy Morpheus back in the opening collection. Destiny summons the Endless to a meeting, where we meet Delirium (who used to be Delight) for the first time and get some more information about the missing brother of the Endless. During the meeting Desire baits Dream about the treatment of his lover Nada, whom he banished to Hell for spurning him. Dream realises he/she is right, and resolves to travel to Hell and rescue his former lover, despite Lucifer's vow.
Season of Mists takes Dream on a journey into Hell and a confrontation with the Morningstar...but not the type of confrontation he was expecting. Dream ends up, slightly bemused, as the keeper of the key to Hell, and is soon being petitioned by gods and representatives from many pantheons (including the gods of Chaos and Order, and deities from the Egyptian, Norse and Japanese pantheons) anxious to get their hands on the finest plot of real estate in the multiverse, at the same time as he is also trying to find his missing love, and Death is attempting to repair the damage caused by countless legions of the dead suddenly being released back into the mortal world.
After the short story interlude of Dream Country, it's good to be back to a solid, long story arc. Although it's a reasonably long tale it's not the most dynamic story in the Sandman canon, and unusually most of it takes place in the Dreaming with only a few scenes set in the real world, and a longer chunk set in Hell. This allows us to see a bit more of the Dreaming and its inhabitants, but the meat of the story is seeing how the different pantheons interact together and who actually has the best claim on Hell.
As usual, Gaiman fills the story with neat little details and touches. The notion of there being a library in the Dreaming where all the books writers dreamed of writing but never got round to it is a fascinating one, and it's amusing to see books there such as Tolkien's The Lost Road (which was supposed to be a big story about his island kingdom of Numenor, but he abandoned it after a few pages). Elsewhere there are nods back to earlier stories: when Dream fears he may be destroyed in Hell, he decides to make time for a brief drink with his friend Hob Gadling, although they are not due to meet for another ninety-nine years. He also looks in on the newly-born son of Hector and Lyta Hall and gives him a name, Daniel, to Lyta's rage and horror. Elsewhere there's nice touches about the various gods, such as Chaos being personified as a young girl and Order as a carboard box, and Thor trying to impress some of the female deities present with his hammer, which gets bigger if you rub it (which is mythologically accurate)! Finally, we get a glimpse into the Sandman's collection of artefacts he has accumulated over the years, and see the skull of the Corinthian, a city trapped in a bottle and an old pocket watch, all of which are explored in future stories, in some cases years down the line.
As with previous collections, Gaiman interrupts the linear narrative of the story to give us a self-contained story in the middle of the collection which nevertheless comments on the action around it. A young boy left alone at boarding school for the holidays (after his father is among the hostages taken by Saddam Hussein in the build-up to the Gulf War) is suddenly joined by all those who died in the school over the previous century or so. It's a rather grim story, but ends on an interesting, optimistic note.
Season of Mists (****) isn't quite up there with the best of the Sandman collections. It is a tad overlong given its relative lack of actual incident, but for expanding our knowledge and understanding about Hell and the Dreaming, for introducing important new characters (particularly Daniel, Cluracan and Nuala) and for resolving the Nada storyline, it does a great job. The graphic novel is available from Titan in the UK and Vertigo in the USA, and forms the opening part of The Absolute Sandman, Volume II, available from Vertigo in the UK and USA. |
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| "THIS IS THE REAL DEAL" | 2008-04-05 |
| - Reviewed By tomgmoney |
This is my favorite comic book story. I was already a Gaiman fan, having read "Good Omens". But the intense intelligence and respect for the form of mythology in particular and story-telling in general, not to mention one of the all time great jumping off points (Lucifer's abdication of Hell), create a story that is breathtaking in it's scope and imagination.
AMAZING!
And I haven't even mentioned the stunning artwork, just beautiful, iconic and evocative.
All the "old gods" are represented and much intrigue and deal-brokering ensue.
These themes (the meaning and relevance of mythology) are further explored in at least 2 of his subsequent novels and many of his short stories.
This is still the definitive statement. Check it out, you will not be disappointed! |
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