The Sandman: A Game Of You (The Sandman #5) by Neil Gaiman

"The story of Barbie (former wife of Ken and fellow boarder with Rose Walker in Florida) and what her dreams are made of, literally. Though I'm sure it will end up being connected to the series in the grand scheme of things, this volume just felt like filler and just didn't feel necessary."

2 Stars

Pros: The connection between Barbie/Foxglove and previous volumes was interesting but it didn't make it interesting enough to make me fly through this volume.

Cons: It didn't felt connected to the storyline as a whole, it just felt like Dream Country, shoved in the middle of the series for no real reason that I can see.

Full Review:

Lucien announces to Morpheus that a small islet in the Dreaming is dying. It turns out that this islet is "the Land" which has been what Barbie (the former wife of Ken and fellow boarder with Rose Walker earlier in the series) has dreamed her entire life.

After the Vortex was destroyed, Barbie admits to no longer having dreams. And it turns out that the creatures in her dreams, longtime friends such as Martin Tenbones and others, and the evil entity in "the land" the Cuckoo are suffering because she isn't dreaming. The Land is dying, the Cuckoo is determined to flee and take over the dreams of others. The Porpentine, which is a recurring item in Barbie's dream is actually a Dream stone and when Barbie falls asleep the night after seeing Martin Tenbones, in the flesh, in New York, she finds herself trapped in her dreams.

The other boarders in her house, a couple Hazel and Foxglove and a quiet, mysterious woman named Thessaly, travel into Barbie's dream to try and save her. Morpheus shows up at the end, letting "the land" die and fade away into so much sand. And he offers Barbie a boon. She asks that they all be able to return home, safe and sound and for the most part, that's what happens.

The consequences to the waking world are a different matter though.

Though this volume connected to earlier volumes because it dealt with Barbie, for the most part, this just felt like filler. There was no real story, nothing that felt connected to anything else aside from the fact that Barbie knew Rose Walker. In the same vein that Dream Country was just a collection of stories, this too felt kind of out of place and like it was just shoved in there for no real reason.

It wasn't my favorite installment but I have a feeling that it will somehow connect later events, so I'll keep on reading.

Comments

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...

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 ...

Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King

“The tale of Andy Dufresne and how he served his time at Shawshank prison, as told through the eyes of his friend and fellow inmate, Red. Dark and disturbing but also compulsively readbale. I finished it in 2 days. Also enjoyable is Frank Darabont's 1994 film adaptation, "The Shawshank Redemption." ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pros : Red has a soothing, drawl, making the reading easy and flowing/Since I saw the film first, I couldn't help but compare the book though I was pleased to find that the two were very similar. Cons : Things got a bit rambling a bit at the beginning/Since I saw the film first I couldn't help but compare the book but this ended up not being a con. Full Review: The state of Maine has a prison. Shawshank Redemption. And Red is the guy that can get you things. He also happens to be the only guilty man in Shawshank but that's netiher here nor there. He meets Andy Dufresne for business purposes at first and he finds him to be a calm, cool man and Red likes him i...

All the Books.

Search This Blog