The Sandman

by Neil Gaiman

I finally got around to reading this series! I'm so proud of myself! :D

A friend was kind enough to offer to lend them to me when he heard I was reading American Gods and I jumped at the chance. Except for the last two, I returned them as soon as I finished them, which turned out to be slightly problematic when I wanted to flip back and check something that had happened in a previous book. It didn't help that reading this series took way longer than I had anticipated, due largely to the fact that May and June tend to be so busy.

Nevertheless, I was usually able to recognize when the story was referencing itself. I'm terrible with names, but I did eventually learn to recognize the recurring characters like Danny and Rose Walker, and I enjoyed watching the stories of those characters progress. Just when I thought Gaiman was giving us another story that wouldn't go anywhere in the context of the larger story, he would surprise me. I would really like to re-read it at some point to make sure I didn't miss anything.

Now that I've finally finished the series, I'm not entirely sure what to think of it. It was certainly interesting to see Dream's funeral, but I wonder how much his death means if he just gets reincarnated. Since he's one of the Endless, it makes sense that he would never really die, but why kill off your main character, just to bring him back right away? Doesn't that make his sacrifice less meaningful? I understand that the new incarnation of Dream is not exactly like the original Dream, but he had all of the same memories and knowledge and he certainly talked the same, so he was basically back, for all intents and purposes.

It just really confused me to see everyone mourning Dream when the new and improved Dream was right there. How can you mourn someone who isn't really gone?

On a completely unrelated note, I have to say how much I loved Delirium. She is my favorite forever. Not just because she is entertaining in the way that she is constantly losing track of reality, but because she's pugnacious, and persistent despite her shaky grasp of reality. Her determination to find Destruction, with or without help, was actually pretty impressive. She may wander off topic for a bit, but if she really wants something, she always comes back to it.