false4373821563892057978156389205954932The Sandman Vol. 9: The Kindly Oneshttp://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174766606m/437382.jpg
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/437382.The_Sandman_Vol_9_The_Kindly_Ones
1221698Neil Gaiman2823182612530falseWed Oct 21 00:00:00 -0700 2009Thu Sep 17 22:00:11 -0700 2009Thu Oct 22 16:21:59 -0700 2009 F to this volume's introduction. F F F F F F it. There is the most giant spoiler in this introduction, and I didn't even read it. I'm so annoyed. It's just sitting there in a conspicuous spot on the page, and I think that's on purpose. I saw it as I flipped past and my jaw dropped, so then I stared at it, and ugh. This guy. It is just the most flippant and obnoxious way to drop a spoiler. So there! NOW YOU KNOW. Isn't it just like Hamlet!?
It made turning the page to start the actual book into the saddest, crappiest feeling. SERIOUSLY. I preferred to PUT THE BOOK DOWN and come out here and RANT ON THE INTERNET, it made the start so sour. BAD JOB, dude.
I don't know. I'm not trying to be a whiner and claim the experience is really "spoiled", but I am just not in the mood for it. It's the wrong type of story for this. Why not have the jaw drop at its appropriate time? Why not grapple with the idea when I know what it is for? You're forcing me to read it your way, and that sucks.
If you want to compare it to Hamlet that is great. If you think it is awesome that the book ends the way it ends, THAT'S FANTASTIC. Then why don't you introduce Book 10! Or, I mean Book 7 didn't even have anything special happen and they moved the introduction to the end to preserve the story. I don't get it. A dick move.
Anyway. Interested how this will shake out, but I wish it could just feel like a normal story I will probably like. Now it's all ANGSTY.
Ha ha get it.
.
Well. My issues with the spoiler aside, this was a pretty good read. I think I'm going to let my thoughts on the ending simmer until I read the next book, so no spoilers, this time, from me.
I'm having a small crisis because I really want to round this up to 4 stars, but I can't justify it. It's a really important part of the series, and it's long and a lot of interesting things are going on -- but also, a lot of it doesn't make sense. I don't exactly know what everyone was doing there, or even what actually happened or why. It might be enigma to unfold in the last volumes? But I feel like it's not.
There was a nice best-of quality to the story. It was really, really nice to see Rose Walker again, who made Book 2 awesome awesome. (But I'm so annoyed with the issues drawn by the guy who makes her look like a softcore schoolgirl. What is up with them?) Also great to see Thessaly again, from Book 5 which I loved, matter-of-fact and fixing things up, but being really creepy about it. Not that I understood what she was doing? But hey.
The main story with Hippolyta seeking her baby was ok, though in a familiar mold. The clue that something weird is going on, her occasional super-strength, isn't quite present enough to make me very interested, and I still don't quite understand it. The part with the Gorgons is neat. The Furies/Fates are ok. I guess it's all right to moosh them together into the same entities? I think that's what was up? Man this book was unclear.