[.ca] Sandman (ISBN 0380817705)

Taking the good with the bad:
Sandman, Neil Gaiman's wonderful creation, is the concept that this group of stories is based on. Like any story collection, this one has its hits and misses. Hits: "Chain Home, Low" What happened to those affected by Dream's disappearance? "Each Damp Thing" Barbara Hambly has a good grasp of Gaiman's cast of characters. Set in The Dreaming this one would have made a good comic. "Seven Nights in Slumberland" Little Nemo? Now Windsor McCay's work makes more sense. I think. Both Wanda stories. A character that certainly warranted more examination than the comic allowed. "Endless Sestina" For the sheer nerve of it. "The Gate of Gold" The flip side of "The Writer's Child," but much more fulfilling. There really are "good" dreams. "A Bone Dry Place" Dream and Delirium together again. "The Mender of Broken Dreams" The concept is not new, but it is so well written you won't care. "Valosag and Elet" There are so few folktales being written anymore. At least good ones. "Stopp't-Clock Yard" Captures the true essence of Gaiman's creation. This is another one that Gaiman could have written. Misses: Desire stories. This character is tedious as all stories end up being variations on the same theme. Especially "The Witch's Heart" it goes on and on.... "The Birth Day" A clever idea but not fully developed. "Splatter" A little obvious. "The Writer's Child" Ditto. "Ain't You 'Most Done?" 32 pages long and I couldn't remember what it was about by the time I finished the book. And it's one of the last stories. Advertising Clive Barker's participation. It's a frontispiece and it's Death not Dream. Taking an existing character, whose popularity lies in a graphic medium and using him and his supporting cast as the basis of an anthology is a risky proposition. While this book is not entirely successful, it's definitely worth a read for the Sandman fan.