Skip to main content

The Sandman: Seasons of Mist (The Sandman #4) by Neil Gaiman

"After a disturbing message is delivered to him from the Triple Goddess in his garden, the oldest of the Endless, Destiny, calls a meeting of his siblings. Dream, Death, Desire, Despair and Delirium all gather to discuss next steps. During this meeting, Dream's imprisonment of his scorned lover, Nada in Hell is mentioned and he decides it's high time to right that wrong he committed. This volume closed up some loose ends while opening up a few other avenues for interesting stories."

5 Stars. 

Pros: We see all the members of the Endless and learn a bit more about their family dynamic, which I enjoy/Lucifer on the beach in Australia talking to the old man about how only a kind God can create such beautiful sunsets is an entertaining bit. 

Cons: Some of the dialogue was almost impossible to read, especially when Ramiel the Angel spoke but other than that, it was a good collection. 

Full Review: 

While walking in his garden, the oldest of the Endless, Destiny, is visited by the Triple Goddess. Disturbed by their message, he calls a meeting of his siblings, the other members of the Endless. We meet the rest of the Endless, aside from Death and Dream, Desire, Despair, Delirium and we hear mention of their sibling who has since given up their power and disappeared. During this meeting, Desire, always ready to pick a fight, gets a dig in at Dream about locking his scorned lover, Nada away in Hell for 10,000 years because she denied him. The rest of the Endless, for once, agree with Desire, that Dream's actions were rather drastic. So he decides to go back to Hell and forgive Nada, but he knows that Lucifer will not grant him an easy audience, since the last time he was in Hell, he publicly humiliated the Morningstar. 

Much to his surprise, when he enters Hell, he finds it empty. Lucifer has decided that he's just too damned tired of ruling in Hell, so he's closing up shop. He gives the key to Hell over to Dream and says that it's his problem now. And now ambassadors from all over, the realm of Faerie, the disposed of Hell, Nippon and the land of the dead in Egypt etc are all coming to the Dreaming to try and convince Morpheus to give them the key. 

It's an interesting volume that ties up some loose ends. We again, see that Dream is not necessarily a cruel God, he's sympathetic but can definitely hold a grudge, as with Nada. But he eventually owns up and admits that he was wrong and she accepts his apology. The volume also opens up two more interesting avenues, that of Daniel, Hippolyta's son, who was created in the Dreaming while Morpheus was imprisoned, and also of Nuala, the servant from Faerie, who was given to Dream as a gift. What will their stories be? It's been refreshing to re-read the series, as it's been a long time. Gaiman et al take entities that exist in all sorts of lore and seamlessly meld them together. This was not "action packed" but it was entertaining and filled in a few gaps from earlier Volumes. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick

“Rick Deckard is a Bounty Hunter who's on the trail of six "Andys" (Androids) who have come to Earth illegally. His job is to track them down and "retire" them. Something he found easy to do until he met her, Rachael Rosen. The Android that does the impossible, passes the "Voight-Kampff" test. The story quickly devolves into a slow, drawn out and frankly boring mystery that was putting me to sleep by the end."    ⭐⭐ Pros: I was more interested in comparing it to the film, "Bladerunner."/At first I kind of liked the drab, dreary atmostphere but it soon became soporific.  Cons: I had no real idea what was going on with Mercerism/The end there had me blinking in bewilderment, like with Herbert's 29th Dune Book/There was a lot of idle chit-chat while they were in murderous/intense situations, it just seemed odd.  Full Review:  Rick Deckard, a Bounty Hunter, contracted with the San Francisco Police Department hunts down and retires rogue ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury

"Obviously targeted to writers but honestly, anyone could benefit from Bradbury's practical yet poetic advice, this was a collection of esasys by Bradbury about his writing process and reflections on some of his greatest works."   ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pros: Bradbury, duh, though I'm biased, to me, the man's prose is pure poetry, every word beautiful/Since writing is not my career, it was an interesting way to view Bradbury's life. Writing was his job and he was the only income. If he did not produce material, he would not get paid. It help put things into perspective.  Cons: The man can go on for a bit 😂/Bradbury's insane work ethic and endless endurance to just produce story after story seems insane and overwhelming but then again, this was his livelihood, so I'm sure it was insane and overwhelming. If he didn't write and get paid, they'd starve, so, it was a life or death situation. Full Review:  This was essentially a collection of essays written by Bra...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Glutton by A. K. Blakemore

"Though dark, disturbing and at times, truly disgusting, Blakemore has created an unforgettable character in Tarare and his sad, sordid tale. This is a book that will stay with me for a long time for many different reasons and to me, that's a sign of a great read."  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐ Pros: Tarare wasn't a monster, it just seemed that the world was against him/I liked Lozeau and his strange band of misfits/Dr. Dupuis seemed like a genuinely good person, or at least, he had his moments.  Cons: Some of the timeline/people of the French Revolution were just white noise to me/Courville was a despicable man.  Full Review:  The Bottomless man, the Glutton of Lyon, Tarare the Terrible. The man who has many titles but who's name is simply, Tarare, is dying in a hospital in Versailles. Citizen Doctor Tissier has written to his friend, Dupuis, in hopes that he'll be able to cure this mysterious illness that plagues Tarare. For now though, he lays, chained to his bed and waits for...
Post a Comment
Read more