The Sandman

Preludes & Nocturnes 30th Anniversary Edition Sandman, #1

by Neil Gaiman

Paperback, 240 pages

English language

Published Oct. 30, 2018 by Vertigo.

ISBN:: 978-1-4012-8477-0

(40 reviews)

Preludes and Nocturnes collects the first eight issues of The Sandman comic by Neil Gaiman published by DC Vertigo. The series centers on Morpheus (Dream of the Endless). Dream is imprisoned for decades by an occultist seeking immortality. Upon escaping, he must reclaim his objects of power while still in a weakened state, confronting an addict to his dream powder, the legions of Hell, and an all-powerful madman (Doctor Destiny) in the process.

13 editions

Onlyfiction reviewed Preludes & Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman (The Sandman, Vol. 1)

“Some things are too big to be seen; some emotions too huge to be felt.”

3 stars

Morpheus, one of the Endless, is kidnapped and upon escaping discovers the world has changed. The first volume is about him trying to regain his power. The book introduces characters, places, and plots.

There is something I need to confess. Neil Gaiman’s books have never really appealed to me. I am completely baffled by them. When he tells a story, I never know where it will go.

In this volume, there is an overwhelming amount of happening. Some characters (both new and recycled) ended up being flat and boring because there were too many. Although I didn’t find the main character to be bad, he became flat and boring as the story progressed. Among them, only John Constantine really appealed to me.

There was also a lot of confusion and overwhelming in the plot. The author presented many ideas, some of which were overlooked and left you wishing for more …

There is something I need to confess. Neil Gaiman’s books have never really appealed to me. I am completely baffled by them. When he tells a story, I never know where it will go.

There was also a lot of confusion and overwhelming in the plot. The author presented many ideas, some of which were overlooked and left you wishing for more elaboration. I’ll be interested to see how the second volume improves on the overall story.

Carmela reviewed The Sandman by Neil Gaiman (Sandman, #1)

The comic that made me love comics

5 stars

I have read this when I was in highschool. Re-read it again in time for the Netflix series. I loved it more. It takes time, your may not like it at first but give it another try. It will be rewarding.

4thace reviewed Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman (The Sandman, #1)

Review of 'Preludes and Nocturnes' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

This is the very first in the Sandman series put together while the worlds of the Endless and the Dreaming were still being put together, and as such there are sections of exciting discovery along with patches which are roughly put together. I read this (as an ebook) at the same time I listened to the first audiobook presentation of Sandman, which was a goood way to compare the strengths of each medium. A good deal of this first installment concerns the imprisonment, release, and restoration of Dream whose personality is still largely being sketched out. There are plenty of places for content warnings- these are pulpy situations being depicted, but I think a reader should have a pretty good idea of that going in.

cherold@bookwyrm.social reviewed The Sandman by Neil Gaiman

Review of 'The Sandman' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Whenever I review a graphic novel I have to begin by mentioning I'm not much of an enthusiast for the genre. But this was on the giveaway shelf in my building's laundry room and Neil Gaiman is pretty famous so I figure I'd take a look.

As graphic novels go, this one's pretty decent. The story kept me interested, it has some fine vignettes, and the drawing is quite good.

I know I'm rating this low relative to what genre fans give it, but for me, for a graphic novel, this is me saying it's good for what it is.

Orlion reviewed The sandman by Neil Gaiman (The Sandman, Vol. 1)

Review of 'The sandman' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

So back in yonder years I rated this as one star. I believe I thought it was pretty stupid and unengaging.

Flash forward a few years later and that Kevin is dead and the bookstore in which he read the comic has been closed for months. So how does the current Kevin like it? Current Kevin kinda liked it...a lot.

So why the three stars? Because it acknowledged a larger DC universe full of Batmans and Martian Manhunters and other such nonsense. Sandman, much like Swamp Thing, thrives when it is self contained and is not beholden to an unwieldy comic multiverse.

Luckily, there was plenty of creepy horror and strangeness that will compel me to seek out the other volumes this time around.