All the Books.

"The volume follows Morpheus as he goes to deal with four dreams/nightmares/creatures the escaped the Dreaming while he was imprisoned. They're all surprisingly interconnected but Gaiman handles all the threads with grace and delicacy and in the end, Morpheus does what he has to do and continues to be the kind but no nonsense ruler of the Dreaming." 5 Stars Pros:  The interlude that introduces Hob Gadling, a man who decides that he will never die, is a funny, heartfelt and interesting look at how our lives are just one big roller coaster and sometimes it helps to have friends along the way/The Corinthian is truly horrifying/Gilbert is so easy to love and just such a kind, gentle character after all and you can't blame him for doing what he did and neither does Morpheus.  Cons:  The "Cereal" Convention was truly horrific, though unfortunately I'm sure there are places like that and "conventions" like that, that take place. It's frightening h...

"With the impending release of the Netflix show, it was good to re-read this and remember why I love this series so much. The introduction to the King of Dreams, Morpheus and his subsequent imprisonment, escape and journey to get his tools back, is so well done, well written and complete, that once you read it, this character and the rest will stay in your memory forever. It's a subtle introduction to the Endless, the siblings, Destiny, Desire, Death, Dream et al that leaves you wondering more about them and thus, curious as to what the rest of the series entails. Dream, himself, is quiet, sullen but compassionate. He's not a charming, charismatic, "off to save the day" Superman type hero, but he's a hero, in his own quiet, subtle way."  5 Stars Pros:  A memorable introduction to an iconic character, the Sandman, Dream, one of the Endless/From his imprisonment/escape/journey to get his tools back, Gaiman leaves nothing out/Dream is sullen, yes, but he...

"Lyra's adventures continue as she follows her Father across the bridge in the sky to a different world, where she meets Will. A tenacious, determined young man, about her own age, but whose from a different world. It's a similar world like hers, but exactly the same. He's on a mission to find his Father, who disappeared 12 years ago on an expedition in the North. And of course, though they try their best to work together, there are forces at play in this brewing war that Lyra and Will can't even comprehend, let alone fight against. It's truly a cliffhanger and I'm interested to see how it all ends." 3 Stars Pros:  More or less the same cast of character so not too many new people to remember/Will is passionate, straightforward and caring, in his own gruff way and he helps Lyra learn how to see the world from others view, and not just through her own self centeredness. They make each other better.  Cons:  It all seems very convenient that people like L...

"A unique, thought provoking and entertaining read that explores a world that exists beside our own, where peoples souls are represented in physical form as Daemons, where Dust settles only on Adults and other strange concepts such as reaching worlds through the Aurora Borealis and exploring what the whole concept of Original Sin. It's hard to describe, it's something that has to be experienced to appreciate it."  4 Stars.  Pros:  The idea of Daemons, kind of an actual physical representation of your soul, is an interesting idea, my Daemon would most definitely be a cat.  Cons:  Some of Lyra's slang is a little cringe worthy but you eventually get used to it/Asriel's monologue at the end, for God's sake, stop talking and just do what you're going to do! Full Review:  Lyra's spent her entire childhood at Jordan College. The only relative she knows of is her demanding, ambitious and distant Uncle, Lord Asriel. When she's sneaking around the Retir...

"A heartfelt and satisfying ending to an entertaining, fast paced, exciting and interesting series. Mahurin's world of Belterra is complex and intricate one and it seems that she'll be expanding on it in her next novel. Perhaps I'll read the next novel for now, I've finished the series and am content to take a break from Belterra for now." 5 Stars Pros:  Same cast of characters, so there weren't too many people to remember/The scenes with Ansel were heart wrenching/All the characters have an amusing and entertaining repartee and it's fun to have them all together.   Cons:  Mahurin has a tendency to overuse terms, such as "my legs grew roots" as in, the character was rooted to the spot, so that was somewhat irritating/I wish Mahurin had expounded upon what exactly happened to Claud Deveraux but perhaps that's for another book.  Full Review:  Our weary travelers are on their way to Chateau Le Blanc, to face Morgane on her own turf. After th...

"Attention getting simply because you have to find out "who dun it" but the characters were so one dimensional and the ever shifting narrator left me feeling frustrated and confused as to who's view I was looking through and why I should care. Entertaining for what it was but forgettable in the end." 2 Stars Pros:  It did catch my attention cause it's a suspense novel so of course you have to find out "who dun it."  Cons:  The identical twins/triplet thing was confusing/The constantly changing narrator was confusing as well, since none of the characters were fleshed out enough for me to remember who they were.  Full Review:  At a routine follow up appointment, Jennifer receives horrible news. She has an inoperable brain tumor and only has weeks to live. While she's sitting in her car, trying to process this horrible news, she sees lab results from her last annual physical and is puzzled by the frighteningly high level of lead in her blood. At t...