The Sandman, Vol. 9: The Kindly Ones

The Sandman

by Neil Gaiman, Marc Hempel (Illustrator), Richard Case (Illustrator)

Libro usado en buenas condiciones, por su antiguedad podria contener señales normales de uso

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book

368 pages, Paperback

First published May 11, 1995

Reviews

[Alejandro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Superbly written but too long for what the story is about


Creative Team:

Writer: Neil Gaiman

Illustrators: Marc Hempel, Richard Case, D’Israeli, Glyn Dillon, Teddy Kristiansen, Charles Vess, Dean Ormston & Kevin Nowlan

Covers: Dave McKean

Letterer: Todd Klein


THE END IS NIGH

We do what we do because of who we are. If we did otherwise, we would not be ourselves.

Before of anything, I want to comment that it was very nice to find that The Kindly Ones TPB price remained in $19.99, the same as other previous TPBs. I mention this, since this ninth volume is easily twice the long, so it could be normal to be priced in a higher price. Maybe it was a request by Neil Gaiman, the author, or not. In any case, it was good to buy this TPB at the same price that the other previous ones.

How childish. Men!

The Kindly Ones was a tricky book to rate.

Since it’s the longest (so far) volume in the series, and certainly it was superbly written, but in my humble personal opinion, it’s too long once you get to the point of the story. Even, the trigger element for the following happening is odd and kinda clumsy, once the story unfolds.

However, in this ninth volume, if you can read between lines, some mysteries are revealed, specially one connected to the identity of someone who was close to the heart of Morpheus but you never got the chance of watching them together in The Dreaming and other characters when commented about the romance, they never say the name of the mysterious lady. Here, you can find it out, if you read carefully and certainly is surprising/awesome/powerful (pick your poison).

So, the dilemma remains. A story unnecesarily long, lacking excitement at the climax, beginning under a weak reason.

BUT...

...Also, a story wonderfully written, crafty use of current and previous characters in the series, promising a strong change in the status quo of the series for the next volume.

...ravens... Some were larger than eagles. Some were older than gods. They stayed in the shadows, kawwing and tokking. Waiting.

Hippolyta Hall returns to the series and now her son, Daniel, is missing and presumed dead. So, Lyta Hall goes berserk, losing her bonds to reality and making a journey to find the original Furies (that if you value your safety it’s better to refer to them as the “Kindly Ones”) looking for some people powerful enough to make suffer the one that Lyta blames for Daniel’s dissapearance...

...Morpheus, Lord of Dreams.

Nothing is too cute and sweet to be dangerous. Nothing is safe.

Based in that premise in the way that I had present it to you, it’s natural to think that this must be one heck of story. In certains ways it is, however, once the events unfold, and the volume comes to a closure, you are left with a sense that the story indeed has an odd and weak reason, that the development is just too slow and at the climax you were robbed of the expected excitement to be felt at that point.

It’s very likely that in the next volume, many things will be explained (I do hope!), but since I am not able to know it for certain, I can only work on what I found here in the ninth volume.

But, one thing is clear...

...things were never the same anymore!


OLD ACQUAINTANCES AND SOMETHING MORE

They’re just made-up people. They didn’t really exist.

That doesn’t mean they don’t have stories.

In the ninth volume, The Kindly Ones, as the title revealed, you will have this sharp trio of women that even gods are afraid of them, and with the power of take revenge of any blood-debt...

...not matter who is the guilty one...

...even a member of The Endless.

Obviously you have all the support characters who live in The Dreaming under command of Morpheus (even someone so lethal who you may think that will never return is back again!)

Moreover, you will have many great characters that you previously met in past volumes, like (as I mentioned before) Lyta Hall and her son Daniel, but also Rose Walker, Thessaly aka Larissa (easily my second favorite character in the series after Death), well Death is here too, Odin, Lucifer Morningstar, and some others that I opt of not mentioning to avoid some spoilers or cool surprises.

But, one thing is clear...

...this story is a crafty result of the interactions and decisions of many characters along the series that in the past you may not realizing the impact of that...

...until now.

It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes. But the half-wit remains half-wit, and the emperor remains an emperor.

[Sean Barrs · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A culture that doesn’t value its librarians doesn’t value ideas and without ideas, well, where are we?"

The more I read of Gaiman’s work the more I realise just how well-read he is. He clearly has read a huge number of books and has strong understanding of them. The number of literary allusions in his work is phenomenal.

This is clearly the key to his brilliance. He knows how stories work. I would go as far as to say, he is a reader before he is a writer. He is always defending books, libraries, and the power of words. And it is quite surprising how few writers go out on a whim to do this in their work. It is important. When Gaiman does it his stories seem self-aware, as they defend their very existence and place within the universe.

The point is libraries are vastly important because they contain a huge variety of writing and ideas. And this is what the Sandman series has always been, a series of interconnected concepts that feel vast. I have always felt that what we read in this series is just the mere essence of the characters and their stories. I am always left with the impression that the story continues beyond what is written, and not many writers actually achieve this level of depth in their world-building. The story usually ends when the writing stops, here is just begins.

It is starting to come full circle, great change is coming, as this brilliant dark fantasy comic reaches its concluding chapter, I know the ending will deliver.

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[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

You get your money's worth out of this one.
Issues 57–69!



So. It was a tad longish to say the very least. But in a somewhat understandable way.
Sandman was/is wildly popular and it's pointless to rush the ending.



I do feel a bit let down by the lack of anything coming to a head with Desire. There seemed (to me) to be something brewing between the siblings through all of these volumes. And I don't know exactly what I was expecting, but all the hinting around that Desire was a nemesis of epic proportions came to not much of anything at all.
I mean, there's one more volume to go, but...?



I know it's subjective but I found the art was somewhat awful in this volume.
And having to look at these panels while I was reading sucked a considerable amount of joy out of my life. If you like this style that's fine, but to me it just looks scratchy and cheap.



For the most part, though, I enjoyed seeing everything play out and thought the ending was pretty damn satisfying.

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember reading somewhere that Bleak House is one of Neil Gaiman’s favorite novels, and The Kindly Ones, the penultimate volume of The Sandman, reminded me a great deal of Bleak House. Like the typical Dickens novel, The Sandman series contains a multitude of characters and plot threads, and The Kindly Ones is the volume which, gathering these characters and threads together, brings them to climax (though not to conclusion, a matter reserved for the next volume, The Wake.) It is precisely this movement toward climax that reminded me of reading Bleak House: somewhere near the end of Dicken’s narrative, with about one hundred pages remaining, you can sense the characters arranging their final tableaux, the plot threads combining into a finished tapestry. This is a huge endeavor, and the reader can feel the novel, like a great engine, moving deliberatively forward, and the readers excitement increases, for he knows he has almost reached his destination.

This is the tale of Morpheus’ struggle with The Furies (known euphemistically as “The Kindly Ones") and a few other enemies Dream has acquired over the years: Loki, Peaseblossom, Hippolyta Hall (also a “Fury,” from DC Comics), and Thessaly (last of the 1,000 year old witches). It also resolves a few other stories, including those of Rose Walker and the fairy Cluracan.

It is sad to see this series brought to a close, but The Kindly Ones is an excellent beginning to what one can sense—as the great machine of the story moves forward—will be a satisfying ending.

[Nicolo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the penultimate arc in Neil Gaiman’s original Sandman run. The seeds for Dream’s ultimate fate has been foreshadowed in previous storylines, with its seeds reaching fruition here. The actual machinations for his demise are contained in this story as we see characters with a vendetta against Morpheus working towards his downfall. This is the longest arc in the title, with the appropriately thickest trade paperback, taking over a year to complete it. I thought that this was a bargain when I bought it, having a larger page count than say, World’s End, the eighth Sandman trade paperback.

I need not say more about Gaiman’s writing on Sandman. His work, to craft stories about stories for a mature readership was an impetus to the launch of Vertigo as a line to house Sandman and other titles from his peers with the same adult themes. His achievements in other literary forms notwithstanding, it would his work in this title that would define his career and be the his work that would be most fondly remembered.

Much furor was raised regarding the choice of Marc Hempel to provide the art for this critical chapter. His geometric and expressive style is a departure from the lush and realistic art of earlier stories. It was revealed that Hempel wasn’t the first choice of Gaiman for this story, but nevertheless the choice was inspired. How can one depict the death of an idea and the personification of stories? One could only hope to capture a rude impression of the titanic between blood vengeance and an abstract concept. The end came when Morpheus realized that even though he was set in his ways, change is inevitable. It will come even for him. He couldn’t abandon his duties as Dream Lord as his brother abandoned his own realm, so he welcomes the touch of his sister Death so that another aspect of him would rule his kingdom in his stead. Like stories, his end was only the beginning of another.

Postscript.

Gaiman revealed that Mike Mignola would have his first choice and it would’ve happened had his schedule allowed it. I for one would like to see Gaiman collaborate with Mignola. A pity it wouldn’t be on Sandman. But there are other stories and I’m pretty sure it is already in Lucien’s Library of Dreams.

PPS. (July 28, 2025)

On the verge of completing my viewing of season two of The Sandman on Netflix, decided to reread this volume before I finish the show. There were a lot of changes, but it mostly to fit the format. For example, it would have been weird if there were splotches of episodes without the eponymous character, because there were a lot of stories were Morpheus barely appeared. It worked for the serial nature of comics but not for a Netflix show.

One of the changes was adding more appearances of Johanna Constantine by Jenna Coleman, by folding her into the "Kindly One" arc. There're some changes in the Loki-Puck dynamic as well. I hope the producers include more of Gwendoline Christie's Lucifer. Oh, they also revealed the sire and dame of the Endless siblings.

Reading it again, I'm reminded how I underestimated Morpheus' guilt in his son's death. This really upset the Dream King so that he allowed the events that culminated with his final stand against the Kindly One.

[Algernon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most ambitious of all Sandman albums, the highpoint of the series, the convergence of all the random plot threads and part time characters into a spectacular denouement. The tragic nature of the story doesn't come as a surprise: the seeds were planted right from the start, with Morpheus imprisoned in a country manor in England in Preludes and Nocturnes and reflecting on his past mistakes and ways to redeem them. Every subsequent volume added to the morbid and apparently inevitable conflict that pits the Lord of Dreaming against persons he has mishandled, intentionally or not. A second source for Morpheus woes comes from his fascination with mortals and their brief lives, making him lose his immmortal detachment from the affairs of 'ants'.

The resolution is not a surprise, given the clear portents of doom that became quite explicit in the previous two volumes (The Orpheus story arc and the final images of the reality storm at the World's End Inn). What did surprise me was Morpheus apathy, his resignation and quasi passive acceptance of the events (he takes some counter measures initially through a resurrected Corinthian), watching the destruction of his castle and of his closest allies as if it was irrelevant to the inner conflict going on inside his mind. Thte most important question asked of Morpheus : with absolute power at your disposal, where are the restrains on that power coming from? Tradition? A Higher Power? Self-discipline? Remorse? Boredom?

The Kindly Ones from the title represent another incarnation of the Maid / Mother / Crone magic infused female entity, in this case inspired by Greek mythology as avatars of revenge. They have had many names: Erinyes, Furies, Fates, and are pictured knitting the threads of men's destinies and cutting them with scissors more or less arbitrarily. I believe they appear in a similar form in other Gaiman novels (Stardust?) and it is interesting to watch here how they relate to the Endless family : older? more powerful? more ruthless?

I must confess that I found some of the characters confusing at the beginning, partly because of the artwork (I will come back to this) and partly because I needed to go back to their initial story arc to remember where they come from and what their grudge against Morpheus is. In trying to link together and to close too many of the open plot lines, Gaiman diluted a little the impact of the main conflict between the Endless and the Furies. Or my short time memory is too feeble to keep track of what bugs Rose from The Doll's House , Thessaly from A Game of You , Lucifer and Loki from Season of Mists , Cluracan and Nuala from the Faerie realm, and so on. Most important to the plot turns out to be the former superhero Hipollyta Hall, whose husband was killed by Morpheus and whose son Daniel was born in the Dreaming. I did manage to remember them after three or four issues, and the later issues became compulsive reading, making this 13 issue album seem like one of the shortest. The story practically begs for a couple of re-reads to get at all the nuances and symbolism that maybe got lost in the rush to find out how the conflict is resolved and how each player fits in.

I liked the storytelling as much as ever. My four star rating comes courtesy of Marc Hempel, who got to draw the most important album in the collection. I can see, at a cold analytical level, why he was chosen and why his artwork might appeal to a younger generation of readers, who are more used than me with the modern, angular, deformed, manga inspired draughtsmanship that features so prominently on new Cartoon Network animations and new comic titles. To me it looks ugly and lazy, as if anatomical correctness and attention to detail are irrelevant to the raw energy needed to get noticed and be cool in the late 90's and early oughts. To give an example of what I actually like, my favorite arc in the album is the short story illustrated by Charles Vess, a smaller family drama centered on deceit, domestic violence and revenge with horror elements.

Conclusion : five stars for the story, three for the presentation, but don't mind me, I'm just an old-fashioned grinch, and out of sync with modern trends. A must read, but if you got so far into the Sandman, you are more than likely already a fan.

[Ginger · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Kindly Ones was the longest and most dark of the collection so far!

The Kindly Ones are The Furies. Three goddesses of vengeance and judgement.
Typically they are represented as the maiden, the mother and the old woman.



They punish men for crimes such as homicide, offenses against other Gods, and oaths not full-filled.

And The Furies are after Morpheus.

Knowing this plot theme while reading this addition will help with the overall flow.
The series revisits characters from earlier volumes and there's a lot going on!

I felt like the plot was all over the place, but not in a bad way. The plot had a hallucinogenic flow and I just needed to pay attention and keep up.
Because at the end, it all comes together and is pretty spectacular!

The art is also like this description. I think it all works together because it's suppose to be a bit dreamlike, like our main character and the overall theme of this whole series.

I’m really excited to read the last book in the collection, The Wake!

One last thing:
What I’ve loved the most about The Sandman series is how Neil Gaiman takes subjects from Greek and Norse mythology, old Gods from other countries, and meshes this all together to write something that’s original, otherworldly and just awesome!

[Sean Gibson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I guess it’s like Sammy Hagar sang (nay, emoted) in a criminally underrated deep cut* off the For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge album: dream another dream—this dream is over.

Sandman has never shied away from going into dark places; reading it is often akin to that time when you were a kid and were forced to go down into your grandmother’s unfinished basement to fetch a jar of homemade jam. Logically, you knew nothing bad would happen, but it was still terrifying to open the dingy door at the top of the stairs, flip the light switch and hear that single, low-watt yellow light bulb buzz to life, and work your way slowly down the creaky wooden steps, taking care to avoid the fifth stair, where the head of a nail stuck out just a little bit. You knew that your stockinged feet would struggle to find traction on the cement floor, and every shadowy shape—the boxes stuffed with Christmas decorations, your grandfather’s work boots, the old-fashioned hulk of a furnace squatting in the corner—looked menacing. As you slipped and slid your way across the floor toward the humming old refrigerator—pea green under the fluorescent light that you didn’t turn on, creepily gray in the half-light of the bulb above the stairs—you heard the house above you settle and groan, an inhuman exhalation, and a skittering sound—a mouse, perhaps, or maybe a roach; maybe nothing at all but your imagination—set you on edge. The fridge was hard to open, and you needed to tug hard once, twice, a third time, all the while wondering what it was you could feel lurking behind you. When you finally managed to get the door open, the jars of pickled vegetables looked more like the dismembered remains of your unfortunate preserve-seeking predecessors, and it was all you could do to steady your breath and focus on the task of finding the jar of strawberry jam you were sent into the underworld for. At last, you saw it, and you grabbed for it like it was Excalibur being thrust forth by the Lady of the Lake, a talisman to protect you from the suffocating shadows. Skittering back across the floor, the jar clutched tightly against your pounding heart to make sure it didn’t shatter if you fell, you stumbled back up the stairs, somehow staying mindful of that nail, and slammed the door behind you. With a sigh of relief, you handed the jar to your grandmother. With the light of day streaming in through the windows and the sight of plastic-covered couches and lace doilies awaiting you in the living room, you once again felt safe, and even silly. Of course there was nothing in this house that could hurt you. You decided to reward yourself with a cookie, so you went to the pantry, opened it, and walked in, only to find yourself face-to-face with the CREEPIEST CLOWN COOKIE JAR KNOWN TO MAN. You screamed, backed away frantically, and found your dour grandmother shaking her head at you and telling you no cookies before dinner.

That, my friends, is what reading Sandman—this volume in particular—is like. Here’s the funny part, though—that’s a GOOD thing. I’ll comment more extensively on the series as a whole in reviewing the concluding tenth volume, but suffice it to say that this volume got deep, dark, and intense. A good microcosm for the series as a whole, and more brilliant storytelling from Mr. Gaiman. Criminey.


*You know what’s NOT an underrated deep cut off the F.U.C.K. album? Spanked. Look, I love Sammy Hagar as much as anyone who I’m not related to and/or very good friends with—the guy’s my all-time favorite vocalist, and he’s one of the best pure entertainers I’ve ever seen (see him live and you’ll know what I’m talking about)—but the world was collectively made dumber by that bone(r) headed song about a phone sex line with lyrics like “all you bad, bad boys call her up on the spank line.” If Hagar hadn’t later written Returning of the Wish and somewhat restored the cosmic intellectual balance, I would demand an apology. As it stands, we’ll let it slide.

[Kerri · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I've been making a list of the things they don't teach you at school. They don't teach you how to love somebody. They don't teach you how to be famous. They don't teach you how to be rich or how to be poor. They don't teach you how to walk away from someone you don't love any longer. They don't teach you how to know what's going on in someone else's mind. They don't teach you what to say to someone who's dying. They don't teach you anything worth knowing.”

I know this isn't quite the end, but it kind of felt like the end. And I did cry. Even though I knew what was coming, I got very upset when it actually happened. There were so many losses, tragedy and heartbreak and wonderful moments when loose ends were tied up. I hadn't realised how much I cared about Lucifer, but those final pages with him were very touching. Once I have finished my initial Sandman journey, I think I will start reading Lucifer. Another unexpected discovery was I found myself caring about the Corinthian. He still terrifies me, but I've warmed up to him. I think it was the conversation he had with Matthew, about their nature. It made a weird kind of sense.

“We make choices. No one else can live our lives for us. And we must confront and accept the consequences of our actions.”
***
“Delirium: You use that word so much. Responsibilities. Do you ever think about what that means? I mean, what does it mean to you? In your head?

Dream: Well, I use it to refer to that area of existence over which I exert a certain amount of control or influence. In my case, the realm and action of dreaming.

Delirium: Hump. It's more than that. The things we do make echoes. S'pose, f'rinstance, you stop on a street corner and admire a brilliant fork of lightning--ZAP! Well for ages after people and things will stop on that very same corner, stare up at the sky. They wouldn't even know what they were looking for. Some of them might see a ghost bolt of lightning in the street. Some of them might even be killed by it. Our existence deforms the universe. THAT'S responsibility.”
***
“We do what we do, because of who we are. If we did otherwise, we would not be ourselves.”

This was a long volume, and there is almost too much to cover, so I'll probably leave out something that I thought was incredibly important! I loved all the issues, though the last two were challenging to read. I kept crying, and although they weren't that long, they took me a long time. It was the first time where I almost didn't want Death to appear. I felt so desperately sad for her too -- I loved the mirroring of her first appearance, but hated the circumstances. But of course it was beautifully done and felt like the right direction for the story to head in. I'm hoping to make a start on the next volume tonight if time allows, because those final pages are incredibly tempting, and I can't wait to read them. I had thought I would wait a while before rereading, but I'm already excited to finish so that I can go back to the beginning and read it with the knowledge of the story as a whole. I might add more thoughts to this later, but I've run out of time at the moment, so this will have to suffice for now!

“Can't say I've ever been too fond of beginnings, myself. Messy little things. Give me a good ending anytime. You know where you are with an ending.”

[Cesare Cantelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lo ricorderò come il punto di rottura, dove la magia si é spezzata. Lunghi mesi a prender polvere. Non doveva, o non é forse uno dei volumi, ai fini della trama, più importanti?
Ed effettivamente le ultime pagine tornano a tessere quella tela splendida su cui Sandman é stato cucito fino all’ottavo volume. C’è confusione, o forse ero solo io stanco?
Gli stili di disegno differenti, di autori diversi, che si sono susseguiti per tutte le opere sono di certo uno dei vantaggi più grandi dela serie.
Ma su Le Eumenidi troppo spesso mi son trovato a chiedermi se le tavole fossero state disegnate con una matita su per il culo.

[Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-read 9/3/20:

It's really hard to read this again without breaking into tears.

Everything that came before came home to roost.

There is nothing out of place. Anything that seemed odd or solitary or inconsequential from before has now just reared its head and has jump-scared me. Again.

This is no mild feat.



Original Review:

This one is probably the one that I love the most, but not because of the quick pace, the literary references, the art, or the final act. Or maybe it's because (or not because) of all of it.

No spoilers, but the furies can be a real bitch, and so is their puppet.

Then again, who's really pulling the strings?

This one brought me to tears both times I read it. It sneaks up on you. Even when you know it's coming from the previous volume's foreshadowing, it still sneaks up on you and you expect something else to occur and yet... it was always to be, wasn't it?

Fuck you, Destiny.
Fuck you to hell.

Oh my. I might be getting a little carried away with my emotions a little.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gaiman masterfully brings in characters from throughout the run of the book so far, juggling them handsomely. But the story goes on too long, especially for the amount of things that actually occur. I remember the book at this time being consistently late. That was probably the reason for the two issues of fill in art that are something of asides to the main story. Marc Hempel's contemporary art style didn't bother me nearly as much this time around as when I read this in single issues as it was coming out. I do miss Morpheus. Daniel in the hands of other writers hence has not been even close to Gaiman's deft hands.

[Johann (jobis89) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Got quite emotional towards the end, but also felt a little confused at times... I think a complete reread is required in future!!

[Trish · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's but three Furies found in spacious hell
But in a great man's breast three thousand dwell.

Oomph. What a volume!

At the end of the 8th volume we saw the funeral of an Endless and rightfully guessed that it was Morpheus'. Still, I believed there would be a way out for him. Apparently, so did he. I guess we were both wrong.
Because the titular Kindly Ones, also known as the The Furies - often seen as the Maiden, the Mother and the Crone - have a bone to pick with the Dream Lord for something he did in a previous volume.
And that, in general, is the brilliance of the series that is shown, more than ever, in this 9th volume: that EVERYTHING that's happened right from the start has had meaning, was always meant to have meaning. And consequences.

I shall not say much more since that would spoiler entirely too much. Suffice it to say that we see Lyta Hall, her son Daniel, as well as many other characters we know from previous stories.

The art was very ... schizophrenic in this one. *lol* At first I thought the artist might have had a breakdown or something, until I realized that it was his / their way of telling different parallel stories that would all come together in the end. Nevertheless, I actually liked much of the art in this volume. Though my favourite panels (see below) I loved less for the art itself and more for the beauty in storytelling they conveyed:

These next two I loved for the humour:


And this one because the trinity has always been one of my favourite story elements in mythology (it's interesting that they appear in so many different mythologies from around the world and Gaiman found the perfect way to highlight that, too):


A very nerve-wrecking volume that actually made me cry at least twice (Fiddler's Green and Abel). The impact it had, emotionally, just goes to show how deep a bond Gaiman and the artists managed to create between the reader and the series. Brilliant writing, as ever.

All around me darkness gathers,
Fading is the sun that shone,
We must speak of other matters,
You can be me when I'm gone

Flowers gathered in the morning,
Afternoon they blossom on,
Still are withered in the evening,
You can be me when I'm gone.

[TAP · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who wants to be blamed for creating the world?

The responsibility of choice is always weighted. And a story with a beginning must find an ending.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 5 out of 5]

A December 2020 reread, the penultimate book, and one of the great volumes of one of the greatest comics series of all time.

Original review, 12/7/14, revised a bit every time I read it: At more than 200 pages, this is the longest of the ten volume epic series, and pulls out all the stops to complete the story. I waited to write this review until after I finished the tenth and last volume, "The Wake," which I liked even better! This volume is about the variously named Furies, The Dirae, The Erinyes, the Eumenides: agents of vengeance, and if you see the final title, and you know who the series is basically about, well then you know the object of their vengeance and the result. In this tale we do get a conclusion, in ambitious, operatic fashion, introduced and described beautifully by Frank McConnell. (I don't love all aspects of the introductions, which are typically too long, describe too much, and--this especially--spend altogether too much time deifying Gaiman as the single greatest contribution to comics and Literature itself EVER). Still, Gaiman without question does make in this series one of the greatest contributions to comics and literature, but it makes one a little cynical to hear it page after page, intro after intro. Let the work stand fr itself! And yet I read it, I know).

In this volume (as with The Wake) you get visits from the principal cast of characters from all the volumes. The idea is to wrap things up, and end it as we know it must end, with gravitas and grace and lovely writing, and we get all that is promised. I don't like the artwork in this finish nearly as well as the work in The Wake. It's mainly from Marc Hempel, more contemporary, more stylized, but still impressive. I do ultimately like the idea of having different artists doing the art throughout, and Dave McKean, who never draws the stories, doing all the astonishing covers., certainly among the best covers of all time. I like the idea of all these diverse contributions, even if I don't always like all the unevenness of the styles. It gives one a sense of the variety of imagination, of the constructedness of the thing, as opposed to a sort of seamless artful tale.

For all of its artful variation and power, not so much really happens in the last long volume except the unimpeded march of the Furies, Dream's creation of the Corinthian--a real nightmare--and revisiting all the characters we have met to end their individual tales. It ends the story powerfully and quite neatly, Shakespeare-ianly, with all things coming together, as a great epic series must end and is maybe in a way foretold through various references to The Bard Himself throughout the series. For my money, though, The Wake is the greater ending to the series, the most moving, the most creative.

[Z. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought coming back to Sandman after a seven-month break would restore my waning interest, but nah, I just can't get the old excitement back. I'll read the last collection for completion's sake, but I won't be sad when it's done.

I've stuck with these books so long because in conception this series is really incredible: the blending of fantasy and mythology and history is super cool, and Gaiman of course knows this stuff like no one else. But in a story sense Sandman just so rarely comes together in a satisfying way. Instead of plot progression and meaningful character development Gaiman buries us in references and pseudo-philosophy and a toothless sort of edginess for edginess' sake. It wants desperately to be deep, but most of the time it just feels masturbatory.

This story arc, the longest of the whole series, is particularly dull in that way. From the very beginning we're teased with the prospect of a huge, climactic, series-defining event, but rather than delving into that Gaiman spends a truly unjustifiable number of pages (we're talking many entire issues) parading out every character who ever featured in a previous arc and then doing absolutely nothing of interest with them. We're supposed to be pleased that all the threads are coming together, but in reality it just feels like the final episode of a long-running sitcom when all the cast members who left five seasons ago reunite so we can enjoy remembering who they are. (Except more confusing than that, since everyone is also drawn differently now than when you last saw them and Gaiman has no interest in recapping any of the eight books' worth of material you might have forgotten in the interim.)

The big ending—when we finally get to it—is a letdown, but then that's been the case with almost every book in this series. I won't dwell on Marc Hempel's art for this arc, since there are already so many reviews bashing it, but it is way too zany and brightly colored for such goth subject matter. Beyond that, I just don't have much else to say.

Interesting that both two-star reviews I've given so far this year have been for Gaiman collabs (the other being Good Omens ). I think after Sandman #10 I'm gonna lay off him for a long, long time. Sometimes someone just isn't for you, no matter how hard you try to convince yourself otherwise. And in this case I've definitely tried.

----
See my reviews for the whole Sandman series here:

Preludes and Nocturnes (★★★★☆)
The Doll's House (★★★★☆)
Dream Country (★★★☆☆)
Season of Mists (★★★★☆)
A Game of You (★★★☆☆)
Fables and Reflections (★★★★☆)
Brief Lives (★★★☆☆)
World's End (★★☆☆☆)
The Kindly Ones (★★☆☆☆)
The Wake (★★★☆☆)

[Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've rated both this and The Sandman Vol. 7 Brief Lives 5 stars, but I think I liked Brief Lives better, for the sole reason that it contained more scenes with Delerium. Here, Delerium is searching for someone again, this time her talking dog Barnabas, and the scene where they're reunited was charming as all get out.

Practically every other character we've met along the way shows up in the Kindly Ones, and it was just more proof that Gaiman is the master of making everything he writes have a purpose. It was very, very impressive how it all tied together. I know that some people say you can read most of these as stand-alones, but the pay-off for following them in order is not to be missed.

I haven't mentioned Morpheous much in my reviews, despite the series being named after him. I'll take a moment now to say that his evolution as a character is very subtle, but very well done. The scene between him and his big sister Death towards the end were beyond touching.

I'm not sure how I waited so long to read this series (that is a lie, it took me forever to realize that libraries carry comics, and I couldn't afford to buy them all before), but thank goodness I finally did.

[Caro the Helmet Lady · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to learn how to draw a pentagram, into which I will catch Neil Gaiman to make ask him to tell me bedtime stories every night.

[Martin Iguaran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Antes de empezar esta reseña, debo aclarar que va a contener algunos spoilers. De modo que si no han leído este volumen o los anteriores, les recomiendo dejar de leer en este preciso instante.
Habiendo formulado esa aclaración, tengo varias cosas que decir sobre "The kindly ones". Por un lado, que leí con voracidad, ansioso por llegar al final. Por el otro, que quería demorar ese susodicho final, porque sabía que este volumen es prácticamente el final de "The Sandman", a excepción de una suerte de epílogo y una precuela.
"The Sandman", como ya sabemos, toma mucho prestado de diferentes mitologías, entre ellas la griega. Pero lo que podría haber pasado por un pastiche sin sentido, Neil Gaiman lo convierte en una historia trágica y muy rica. La mitología griega abunda en tragedias, y la historia de Sueño tiene muchas: tan solo la relación con su hijo, al cual desconoció y abandonó por miles de años para finalmente, terminar con su vida, es un ejemplo flagrante.
El final no me sorprendió mucho que digamos, porque el tono de los dos volúmenes anteriores ya presagiaba un desenlace funesto. Y también sabemos desde hace mucho tiempo que los Eternos no pueden derramar sangre de la familia: es una de las pocas reglas que deben respetar a rajatabla.
Lo que no dejo de preguntarme es si Gaiman planificó todo desde el principio con el pequeño Daniel, o si fue algo que se le ocurrió sobre la marcha. Daniel también es un personaje que lleva mucho tiempo sobrevolando la historia, pero nunca supimos porqué hasta este volumen.
Este es el volumen más extenso de The Sandman, y en algunas partes me perdía porque saltábamos de un personaje a otro, en algunos casos, personajes que no habían aparecido por muchos volúmenes. Y no todas las líneas argumentales son explicadas o cerradas aquí. Pero a pesar de ello-y de que el estilo artístico no fue precisamente de mi gusto-le doy cinco estrellas porque nos entrega algo muy raro y difícil de conseguir: una (especie de) final espectacular para un personaje también espectacular.
Como nota de color, a pesar del tenor general, tiene algunas escenas cómicas: ver a Mervyn Cabeza de Calabaza blandir un fusil de asalto como si fuera Rambo me arrancó una buena risa.

[Kyriaki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Αν και προϊδεασμένη από τον προηγούμενο τόμο, τελικά δεν ήμουν προετοιμασμένη για το τέλος. Ένα τέλος το οποίο, όπως είπε και η Death, σχεδιάζονταν πολύ καιρό πριν, σχεδόν από την αρχή της σειράς, και που ίσως κάποιος μπορούσε να υποψιαστεί από τα μικρά στοιχεία, τις μικρές λεπτομέρειες, τις ιστορίες που έμεναν ανοιχτές, όλα οδηγούν εδώ. Και παρ’ όλα αυτά μόνο ανώδυνο δεν είναι…..
Από τους πιο δυνατούς τόμους.
Πάω για τον δέκατο και τελευταίο, να δω τι απέμεινε…..


η άποψη μου για όλη τη σειρά εδώ:
https://wordpress64426.wordpress.com/...

[Ivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best Sandman volume so far. Sadly illustrations are worst in series and this is series that has pretty bad illustrations overall.

[Ronyell · Rating 5 out of 5]

6 stars!!!

Now, you are probably looking at the title of the ninth volume of Neil Gaiman’s fantastic “Sandman” series, which is called “The Kindly Ones” and you are probably thinking to yourself about how this volume will be all sunshine and roses. Definitely not! Do not let the innocent title of this volume fool you! The ninth volume “The Kindly Ones” is probably the darkest volume out of all the “Sandman” series since “A Game of You” and yet this is probably the best volume out of the entire “Sandman” series ever created!

Lyta Hall (also known as Hippolyta Hall) was always on edge when it came to taking care of her baby son Daniel, who was born after her husband Hector had died. One night however, when Lyta Hall decided to leave her baby son Daniel in the care of a babysitter while she went for a job application, she finds out that her baby son had been kidnapped as soon as she got home and she desperately wanted to find him. Unfortunately, when Lyta believes that the worse has happened to Daniel after there were no clues tracing to him, Lyta goes into an emotional shock and a deep rage where she confronts the “Kindly Ones” in the dream world and wants them to help her seek vengeance on Dream, the Sandman for she believed that Dream was the one who harmed her baby. Can Dream protect his dream realm from the forces of darkness?

Now I just have to say that this was the LONGEST volume I have ever read from the “Sandman” series as it was well over two hundred pages worth of disturbing scenes and plot development, but it was worth the read! Neil Gaiman’s writing is just as brilliant as ever in this volume as the story is exciting and creepy at the same time and it is like once you started reading this volume, you really cannot put this graphic novel down since there is so much excitement building up on each page regarding the mystery surrounding the “Kindly Ones.” I also loved the fact that all of the characters that we were introduced to in the “Sandman” series all make an appearance in this volume, sort of giving this volume a finale feel as everything is set in place for the huge battle that awaits the Sandman. I really loved the way that Neil Gaiman focused so much of the story on the characters as I was really interested in hearing about Matthew the Raven’s obsession about finding out what happened to the other ravens before him since I wanted to also find out about Matthew’s origins and his connections with the ravens. But probably the part about the graphic novel I was most impressed with was how Neil Gaiman developed the character Lyta Hall and it was apparent from the previous “Sandman” books that Lyta harbored a deep hatred for Dream because she believes that he killed her husband Hector in the Dream world. It was definitely a frightening and intense experience seeing how Lyta’s hatred for Dream could cause so much turmoil for everyone involved, even though it was based on her worst assumptions about what happened to her son Daniel. Marc Hempel, Richard Case, D’ Israeli, Teddy Kristiansen, Glyn Dillon, Charles Vess, Dean Ormston, and Kevin Nowlan’s artwork were brilliant creative in this novel and they all contributed well to the story at hand. I will admit that some of the artwork is a bit blocky and I would have expected epic illustrations to accompany this epic volume, but these illustrations do bring a sort of uniqueness to the story and I still really enjoyed the artwork being done in this volume.

Some of the problems I did had with this graphic novel is that some of the artwork looks a bit cartoony to me since some of the artwork made some of the characters have blocky heads, which made it hard for me to take the story seriously at times. Although, I will admit that the artwork did provide some creativity to the story. Also, there is so much disturbing content in this volume which involves a mother losing her son, which would be upsetting for any parent who has fears of losing their own children. There are also some gory images in this volume which involves birds pecking out people’s eyes out, which would be extremely disturbing to anyone who is not a fan of gory imagery.

Overall, “The Sandman: The Kindly Ones” is easily one of the best volumes in the “Sandman” series as it clearly seems like the true finale for the “Sandman” series and is full of disturbing and intense moments that will go down in history as the greatest moments in comic book history! Now that I am interested in seeing what will become of Dream and his crew, I will now start reading the tenth volume, The Sandman, Vol. 10: The Wake to find out!

[Tahmeed · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my lowest rating of the entire Sandman series thus far, and the main and only reason for this is that I absolutely hated the artwork in this volume. It was childish and very cartoon-ish and it prevented me from enjoying the story.

The story itself was quite good, well great in fact, although I feel that its length could have been curtailed somewhat. Rose Walker's story-line in particular felt forced, especially since it distracted from the main arc of the Kindly Ones hunting down dream. But other than that it was a finely crafted narrative with an emotionally satisfying conclusion.

I hate to go on about the artwork, but it was just down right atrocious. If the publishers ever decide to bring out another edition in the future, I would recommend them to commission another artist and do the artwork all over again. The final scenes between Death and Dream deserve a better portrayal.

[Paul Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Kindly Ones is quite simply the best graphic novel I have read, the bar is raised for a series that was already at the top limit of the vault. A true masterpiece that deserves 6 out of 5 stars, I read it twice which I have only ever done with the Lord of the Rings trilogy and that in itself says a great deal.
The thirteen episodes of this volume feature many characters that we have met in the series so far and significantly add to the excitement that builds almost page by page.

Lyta Hall leaves her son Daniel with a babysitter as she considers taking a job, during the interview she has a horrible feeling that something has happened to her son and rushes home to find he has been kidnapped. Believing Dream responsible she begs the Furies of Greek mythology, the Kindly Ones for vengeance. For this supposed crime the Furies cannot avenge but the Dream kings compassionate act of ending his sons life and shedding family blood gives them the power to hound the Dream realm and its Lord.
An intense and disturbing story that hints at the repercussions Hippolyta Hall will face for her actions leading to the demise of Dream and the elevation of her son who she will never see again.
Absolutely fantastic and a highly enjoyable read.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just about all the disparate plot lines and characters come together in this volume, even several that originally appeared to be random. In only this aspect (speaking of "aspect," the facet of a gemstone is my favorite image in this book), I was reminded of how while reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I was so amazed at how everything came together that immediately afterward I reread all the HP books just to see how Rowling did it.

As this is volume 9, it seems appropriate that there are three sets of three: the Erinyes, the Gorgons and the Fates. Though perhaps there are even more (a reference to the Hesperides; a mention of the Morrigan; the three women in a nursing home, one of whom tells a great fairytale/folktale) or perhaps there is merely one -- one entity revealing its various aspects at the appropriate time.

As I said of Gaiman's American Gods, if anything seems familiar to you (ex: Dream's motivation), it's because you know your (mythological) archetypes.

My one criticism is only female characters seem to have fallen in love with Dream (or have I forgotten someone? or is it that men dream differently than women). It seems to me that at least one of the male characters should be in love with Dream ... even if Death is cuter and perkier ...

[James DeSantis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A kind of bitter, sad, and hopeful ending this book gave me.

Really this story here is about acceptances and death. About knowing everything will eventually end, and facing that end, and what you can do with it. Multiple characters here deal with loss, including Dream and even Death herself. And it comes as a surprise how some characters face their final moments, some call backs to older characters, and how some characters get twisted so bad to be used as a weapon.

I'm being super vague because this is the accumulation of the entire run up to here. And it has some huge payoffs. Some wonderful character moments (I see you Matthew) and a ending that left me feeling...maybe a bit lost. Maybe because I myself fear death one day and this is so close to it every page you turn.

A fantastic volume and a huge step up from the disappointment of the last volume. A 5 out of 5.

[Himanshu Karmacharya · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Kindly Ones is a long volume, but the sheer amount of emotion and epicness packed within it makes it worth it.

Marc Hempel has a simple but unique artstyle which is aesthetically pleasing. Combine it with Neil Gaiman's amazing writing, and we've got ourselves a piece of art that will be remembered for a very long time.

[Calista · Rating 5 out of 5]

He took everything that came before and wove them together into this one story. He brings basically all the mythology of the world together in these books. Genius, it's the only word to describe it. This book was worth reading the whole series.

[Mohamed Metwally · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the things I like about this series is that every volume is done with a different team, so you're not only looking forward to the next part of the story, but also to the art as well
In this volume it all comes full circle, with the dream king facing the furies for killing his son, I guess now we know who's funeral it was in volume 8. One final volume to go in this amazing story..

MiM