Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
17th out of 50 books
—
228 voters
The Sandman: Book of Dreams (The Sandman)
by
Neil Gaiman (Goodreads Author) ,
Edward F. Kramer , Colin Greenland (Goodreads Author), John M. Ford, Lisa Goldstein, Brenda W. Clough, Barbara Hambly (Goodreads Author), Will Shetterly (Goodreads Author)
,
more…
There is a dark king who rules our dreams from a place of shadows and fantastic things. He is Morpheus, the lord of story. Older than humankind itself, he inhabits -- along with Destiny, Death, Destruction, Desire, Despair, and Delirium, his Endless sisters and brothers -- the realm of human consciousness. His powers are myth and nightmare -- inspirations, pleasures, and p...more
Paperback, 402 pages
Published
January 8th 2002
by HarperTorch
(first published 1996)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
3,000)
Like most anthologies, this is a mixed bag, i.e. some stories are better than others. However, even the best don't measure up to the standards of the Sandman comics, so I don't recommend it; at the very least, it's a book to borrow rather than buy.
My favourite story is "Splatter" (by Will Shetterly), set during The Sandman, Vol. 4: Season of Mists. It works well on its own merits, but it doesn't quite fit with the source material. (view spoiler)...more
My favourite story is "Splatter" (by Will Shetterly), set during The Sandman, Vol. 4: Season of Mists. It works well on its own merits, but it doesn't quite fit with the source material. (view spoiler)...more
I recently grabbed this book off my shelf, intending to just reread my favorite story "An Extra Smidge of Eternity" by Robert Rodi. And somehow ending up rereading the whole thing. I'm AMAZED at how much I'd forgotten from the last time I read it, because they're certainly not forgettable. I think I had as much fun reading this as I did the very first time I read it.
"Splatter" by Will Shetterly is pretty disturbing, but it's wonderful for all of us who wanted to hear just a teeny bit more about...more
"Splatter" by Will Shetterly is pretty disturbing, but it's wonderful for all of us who wanted to hear just a teeny bit more about...more
Ho hum, ho hum, after the absolute power house that was The Sandman I find myself assured in my beliefs that no one but Neil himself should ever write for the series. Over all this was a very bland collection of stories hat at times had very little to do with any of The Endless that ranged from mediocre to down right painful for the most of the book. However there were a few good pieces in here that definitely made it worth while to drudge through the lesser parts.
Masquerade & High Water, A...more
Masquerade & High Water, A...more
For eight years, Gaiman mined this rich vein, only to stop at the height of the series' popularity, at a point in time when he felt the story he had in mind from the beginning had reached its natural conclusion. Gaiman's creations live on however, in DC's new series "The Dreaming", and in this anthology, written by several mainstream (i.e., non-comic book) writers.
Of Morpheus, from the Preface by Frank McConnell: "He is not a god; he is older than all the gods, and is their cause. He is the hum...more
Of Morpheus, from the Preface by Frank McConnell: "He is not a god; he is older than all the gods, and is their cause. He is the hum...more
I’ll be blunt—this is perhaps not the best anthology of short stories about Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman graphic novels. They are not on par with the quality of the original series, although that’s not saying this collection is totally unreadable. It's just...dominated with duds. There are some shorts that are so engrossing like “Each Damp Thing,” “Splatter,” (my favorite!) and “Stoppt Clock Yard.” I also liked Tori Amos’ epilogue about Death, although technically it’s more like a personal reflecti...more
A mixed bag, to be honest. There were some real winners, like Robert Rodi's "An Extra Smidgen of Eternity" and Delia Sherman's "The Witch's Heart". It was nice to see Susannah Clarke's story as well; I started reading her work because Neil Gaiman had said in an interview that she was an author he enjoyed. I didn't care for Lawrence Schimel's "Endless Sestina", but I don't, as a rule, like a lot of poetry. According to wikipedia, several other authors (including Harlan Ellison, Jane Yolen, Charle...more
I rather liked this book of various written takes on Gaiman's Sandman. I thought it'd be fun, but actually found it to much more entertaining than I expected. The best thing about it was the Preface by Frank McConnell. If anything in here made me want to reread the graphic novels it was his take on it. Otherwise, this kind of rolls in flux like the comic does, lighthearted and comic to dark and disturbing. The stories usually have more to do with The Dreaming than Morpheus. Dream is also a more...more
Got this book as a birthday present from my sister :D
Agak kecewa karena disini Neil Gaiman sama sekali tidak menyumbangkan tulisan apapun -_-.
Buku ini adalah kumpulan cerita pendek dengan tema sentral tentang mimpi *as you can see from the title: Book of DREAMS*. Dan namanya saja kumpulan cerita, some are good, some are mediocre, some are not quite good. Some of the stories hooked me, while some others, I barely finished it.
I find "Splatter" was quite enjoyable. The others that I also like were...more
Agak kecewa karena disini Neil Gaiman sama sekali tidak menyumbangkan tulisan apapun -_-.
Buku ini adalah kumpulan cerita pendek dengan tema sentral tentang mimpi *as you can see from the title: Book of DREAMS*. Dan namanya saja kumpulan cerita, some are good, some are mediocre, some are not quite good. Some of the stories hooked me, while some others, I barely finished it.
I find "Splatter" was quite enjoyable. The others that I also like were...more
As comics and graphic novels go: the 'Sandman' series is the best I've read so far. Neil Gaiman's writing is fantastic and surreal in. The art, as well as the maligned and mixed panels on many pages, lend themselves to this novel's seemless blend of myth, dream, and our fleeting reality. Archetypes abound in this story, and you can either read into it, or enjoy the sheer horror and fantasy of The Sandman's plight. I believe 'Sandman' was Gaiman's first fictional work, and it was interesting to s...more
The best thing I can say about this collection of stories is that it makes the source material that much better in comparison.
La grandezza di un autore si vede, ovviamente, anzitutto da come scrive e dalle sue idee.Ci sono autori che sfornano una sola grande idea e poi non riescono più a replicare il primo grande successo, ce ne sono altri che probabilmente scriverebbero qualcosa di simile ad un capolavoro anche facendo la lista della spesa.Ma un altro aspetto della grandezza di un autore si misura quando personaggi frutto della sua mente e delle sue idee riescono a prendere vita propria ed a continuare a vivere anche...more
I don't know if the newer printed edition of this (paperback, and with a different cover) is in any way different from this edition (hardcover with a yellow and blue cover with a raven). But I don't think they are, and this was the only the library had available.
It is strange to read stories in prose based in this universe made by Neil Gaiman. I've read the Dreaming and Destiny graphic novels after finishing the series (and the two Death graphic novels and the one drawn by Yoshitaka Amano) so sw...more
It is strange to read stories in prose based in this universe made by Neil Gaiman. I've read the Dreaming and Destiny graphic novels after finishing the series (and the two Death graphic novels and the one drawn by Yoshitaka Amano) so sw...more
This is the first book I read with Gaiman's name on the cover. Big mistake. I used to enjoy picking up books of short stories because I figured it gave me a glimpse into lots of potential authors I could end up reading and liking. So it's not that I minded that there doesn't seem to be a single story by Gaiman in this collection (as far as I remember - I sold the book to a used bookstore ages ago).
No, what bothered me is that these stories were all about Gaiman's fictional world. Now, I've belo...more
No, what bothered me is that these stories were all about Gaiman's fictional world. Now, I've belo...more
I got this book as a christmas gift from my best friend. I loved every last bit of it! My favorite stories were The Witch's Heart and The Writer's Child. It was nice to actually read the stories rather than see them in a graphic novel. I do enjoy a good graphic novel, but I feel that in some ways things are missing in the translation from plain written word to graphic novel. The Sandman is the best one I have ever read, though. This book is a definite must for Sandman fans.
It's a short story grab-bag of stories, which means you take the good with the bad. For me, there was very little good, a whole heaping of mediocre, and only some bad. Still, it means that it wasn't that memorable. I found that I only greatly liked three of the stories and two involved Desire, the other being the short fable of Dream and Death. Some played with narrative too much for my liking, some seemed without point, and some were trying too hard to evoke Gaiman and fell short or slightly of...more
I really couldn't get into this book. I realize all the characters were symbolic of different things in life and I realize each story had a theme. Most of the stories, I would get half way through and just give up. I couldn't develop a connection with any of the stories which is a shame because by reading the description of the book, this should be right up my alley.
Apr 02, 2011
D.M.
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
mindless fans of fantasy
This was only the second time I'd read this, and I couldn't get farther than the third story before admitting I wasn't enjoying a moment of it. This is a book for people who think things like the comic series The Dreaming or Books of Magic were as good as their source material. In other words, dull crap that wouldn't exist without a genuinely imaginative work from which to draw ideas. I won't be keeping my copy.
Nov 25, 2012
Cora Neille
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
přečteno-scifi-a-fantasy
Pěti hvězdičkami neříkám, že všechny povídky mě zvedly ze židle (nebo do ní přikovaly, dle preferencí), ale to, že ta kniha byla neuvěřitelně... ponoukající. Střídavě mě (a kolikrát i během jedné stránky) nutila vytáhnout blok a tužku, anebo naopak knihu odložit, zírat na procházející lidi (na tom náměstí jsem strávila něco přes hodinu) a vymýšlet jim příběhy. Každému. Neuvěřitelné. Inspirativní. Dech beroucí.
Měla bych se přiznat, že Sandmana jsem stále ještě nečetla. Ty obrázkové knížky mi pros...more
Měla bych se přiznat, že Sandmana jsem stále ještě nečetla. Ty obrázkové knížky mi pros...more
Really this should be 4 1/2 stars!!! I really did love this book - it's a collection of short stories about Sandman & because the writing styles are different for everyone who contributed - this is the ONLY reason I'm not giving it 5 stars. But as someone who has read the graphic novels by Mr. Gaiman, I could see all the scenes played out in my head as if it were a graphic novel as I read. I strongely recommend this book for anyone who enjoys the Sandman series - & if you're hestitant to...more
Short stories on a theme with a persistent cast of characters across the works. Fantasy stories are a genre specialty, no dragons nor knights, just allegory and mythos. Read it for what it is and expect no more.
This anthology was a nice re-visiting of Gaiman's universe of the Endless. I agree with other reviewers here on Goodreads that most of the stories neither achieve the level of sophistication nor the quality of the original comic. Also, it is not recommended for those who are as yet unacquainted with the original comic series, since many stories either presuppose a certain knowledge of the setting and the principal characters or (at least to my mind) rely on the reader's readiness to "get into th...more
In the middle of moving from one place to another (a hundred year old, obviously haunted house) re-reading this fine anthology seemed strangely appropriate. A reunion with old friends and other strangers.
Short stories by various authors, based on the Sandman graphic series. I may not have actually read every story, as I was illicitly reading this at a bookstore in Oxford without purchasing it.
Had some very good stories that supplemented the original series well. Most of it was just okay though. Didn't really meet my expectations. Wish Neil had added something himself to the collection.
Never having read the Sandman series, I have nothing to compare this to. I simply didn't care for the stories and found myself skipping whole pages just to get through the book. Sigh.
As with many collections, the stories were hit and miss. Overall, I liked the book though I found some stories verging on unreadable. There were enough very good ones to balance it out.
An excellant collection of short stories by some of my most favorite authors. I highly recommend this book to those while small amounts of time to read, a wonderful traveling companion.
Surrealistic. Prelude to inception perhaps? but basically if on reads 'The Endless', its connected. This is Morpheus realm, along with all the sandman illustrated series.
¡He registrado un libro en BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/10365447
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/10365447
As with most short story collections some pieces worked better than others, but those that were good were really, really good and they were in the majority.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“Rules and responsibilities: these are the ties that bind us. We do what we do, because of who we are. If we did otherwise, we would not be ourselves. I will do what I have to do. And I will do what I must.”
—
92 people liked it
“I don't know. I had to be something, didn't I?”
—
28 people liked it
More quotes…
