The Sandman: Book of Dreams

I've been in a very Sandman mood lately, and this collection did a decent job of satisfying that feeling. My favorite story in the collection was “Chain Home, Low,” which barely features the Endless except in tone, but in that style is more powerful than ones where Death just sort of drops in as she does. Maybe it's because I'm so used to the comic format, but it is harder to accept the Endless milling about among mortals in prose than it is to literally see them in the background. A lot of the pieces are pretty forgettable, but a Sandman aficionado will definitely find something to entertain (lots of Wanda!).

Some of the stories were amazing, other fell a little flat. I enjoyed the stories that had the Endless in them more prominently more so. Glad to have an extra taste of the Sandman universe, though.

In a way, the author was right with his final parting words, that this is a goodbye of sorts. This final volume is really more of an epilogue, with the real ending in volume 9. I found this volume to be both an ending and a beginning. I feel like it's a nostalgic visit to the stories that have gone by, and also a celebration of a continuation and more to come. As the wake and the funeral draws to a close, we are served up with closure for Hob Gadling, a new plot about an old minister of China sent into exile, and a final arc with William Shapespeare. I can't help but feel like there are deeper meanings in these arcs; like there are things just underneath teasing to be found out. It's difficult to articulate, but I feel that this is a worthy end to the whole series; the final arc provides a rather profound sort of closure. Reviews can't really begin to describe the journey.