5
Mar
2010
The Sandman: The Doll’s House by Neil Gaiman
Even though I’d just read the first of the Sandman graphic novels a week ago, I appreciated the summary in the beginning of Volume 2. Instead of really refreshing things for me, it served more to better my understanding.
What I realized is that there is so much going on in these books, so much up and down and back and forth, and so many details and references that I occasionally miss something.
Not that that is a bad thing. I don’t normally reread books, but because of the nature of graphic novels, I sometimes reread them.
Anyways, Doll’s House. Nothing to do with the now defunct Joss Whedon Show (damn you FOX!). It has to do with two different houses–Unity Kinkaid’s, and the house her granddaughter stays in in Florida, while trying to find her long lost little brother.
You might recall that Unity Kinkaid was one of the people who fell asleep when Morpheus was taken prisoner in the beginning of the first book. She’s the one who had a baby while in the non-dreaming sleep state.
Well, now Unity is awake, and has tracked down her now adult baby and her granddaughter as well.
Meanwhile, Dream is concerned about vortex that threatens to destroy all of the Dreaming. Plus, a few of the residents of the Dreaming can not be tracked down.
I guarantee you these are connected, and how it all turns out is rather delightful.
Especially when the prologue is finally explained–somewhat–at the end. The prologue takes a detour from, well, everything so far, and we are plunged into the hot plains of Africa, where a man tells a boy a story, about a great city that was once there, the queen who ruled it, and the city’s demise.
Buy The Sandman Vol. 2: The Doll’s House on Amazon
If you like this book/author, you might like:
(my reviews in blue)
Watchmen by Alan Moore
Fables Vol. 1: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham
The Unwritten by Mike Carey and Peter Gross
Sandman Presents, The: The Furies by Mike Carey
Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud
The Power of Comics: History, Form and Culture by Randy Duncan
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller, Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley
Other works by Neil Gaiman:
The Dangerous Alphabet
The Facts In The Case Of The Departure Of Miss Finch
Black Orchid
InterWorld
M Is for Magic
Signal to Noise
The Last Temptation
Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fictions and Illusions
Death: The High Cost of Living
Death: The Time of Your Life
Midnight Days
Harlequin Valentine
Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders
Anansi Boys
Neverwhere: A Novel
Stardust
MirrorMask: The Illustrated Film Script of the Motion Picture
The Alchemy of MirrorMask
Don’t Panic: Douglas Adams & The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Angels and Visitations: A Miscellany
The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish
Odd & the Frost Giants
The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes
The Sandman Vol. 3: Dream Country
The Sandman Vol. 4: Season of Mists
The Sandman Vol. 5: A Game of You
The Sandman Vol. 6: Fables and Reflections
The Sandman Vol. 7: Brief Lives
The Sandman Vol. 8: Worlds’ End
The Sandman Vol. 9: The Kindly Ones
The Sandman Vol. 10: The Wake
The Sandman: Endless Nights
A Walking Tour of the Shambles
The Books of Magic
Adventures in the Dream Trade
Creatures Of The Night
Violent Cases
Coraline
Coraline: The Graphic Novel
The Graveyard Book
Absolute Death
Marvel 1602 Premiere HC
The Wolves in the Walls
Mr. Punch
American Gods: A Novel
With P. Craig Russel
With Terry Pratchett:
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
With Stepehn Jones (editors):
Related posts:
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- The Sandman: Fables and Reflections by Neil Gaiman Here we have Fables & Reflections the 6th volume of the Sandman series. This is one of those volumes that doesn’t have an over-arcing storyline, so...
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The interweaving nature of these stories is wonderful, like out of order snapshots delivered in the mail that ultimately form a beautiful image. I’m glad you are enjoying the series.
I loved reading Sandman for the first time! The fourth volume, Season of Mists, harks back to this volume in a big way. I think it’s incredibly how self-referential the Sandman managed to be throughout its run in spite of the fact that it was published over seven years. Love.
I need to give this series a try.
I was going to say that now you’re only one book away from Seasons of Mist! That’s one of my favourites, and the first one that made my head SERIOUSLY explode
And yeah, all the references, the layers, everything…it’s amazing stuff. I don’t know how he did it!
love gaiman’s works. i read book 1 of the sandman series – twice from the library. but got sidetracked and haven’t gotten to this one yet. really considering getting the series to be able to sit and read them properly. sometimes i find myself going through graphic novels too fast because the text is short. but really the images provide depth as well.