Rating: 
Summary: "Ssso let's have a big hand for--Mister Sandman!"
Review: This is one of the most disturbing things I have ever read.
It is also one of the most brilliant.This is the first Neil Gaiman book I read. After I finished it (two hours after I started it), I was both frightened and intruiged. I was drawn into the realm of Dreams, and I didn't want to leave so quickly. Needless to say, I will never think of nightmares in the same way again. This is an amazing read, something no fan of the fantastic should miss out on. Oh, and for those Bible buffs out there, you'll never guess what became of Cain and Abel....
Rating: 
Summary: This is Going to be Good...
Review: Any fan of Alan Moore's work on 'Swamp Thing' should enjoy Neil Gaimen's 1st entry into his 10 volume Sandman series. 'Preludes and Nocturnes' is horror with depth and substance that initially resides just outside the know framework of the DC Universe before it sets out on its own. There are familiar faces from John Constantine, Etrigan, Dr. Destiny, Cain & Abel and familiar places -House of Mystery, Arkham Asylum, Hell. The art has a taste reminiscent of 70's horror comics, but much like the writing is not limited by it. I recommend this as the entry point into Gaimen's magical dreamscape world -it gets better from here.
Rating:
Summary: Morpheus, Dream of the Endless
Review: In rereading this first volume of the Sandman stories after so long a time, it hit me both how much the character evolved, as well as, how much stayed the same. Indeed, you actually have hints and echos of the ultimate fate of Morpheus in this first book.
In the first part, "Sleep of the Just", you might be forgiven for thinking of Morpheus as some sort of vengeful, dream vampire- a lord of nightmare over dreams. Already in "Imperfect Hosts", you find introduced the triple goddess who will later figure so prominently in the dream king's fate many volumes later in "the Kindly Ones." In "Dream a Little Dream of Me" we get our first hint of the depth of compassion and mercy of the character. This is followed by the revelation in "A Hope in Hell" that the king of dreams must also of necessity be the giver of hope to mankind (i.e. even Lucifer acknowledges that without the ability to dream of heaven, hell itself would have no hold on it's inmates.) Then, in "Passengers" and "24 Hours", we have, frankly, the most horrendous, sadistic, sickening, blood bath in the history of D.C. Comics. Then, all is put right by Morpheus in "Sound and Fury", as a demonstration of the difference between a wise and compassionate Lord of Dreams, and the Insanity of a true Lord of Nightmare. The character of Morpheus is now firmly and sympathetically established. Finally, in "The Sound of Her Wings", we meet the first of Dream's family- beautiful, compassionate, humorous, Death. We also get just a hint of the dissatisfaction and ennui that will ultimately guide Morpheus's fate.
If you have never read this series of the finest of graphic literature, then I envy you. You have nine more volumes that will rivet your attention and transport you to another world- the world of dreams.
Rating:
Summary: "...an impressive start to the imaginative epic..."
Review: Sandman is commonly regarded as one of the best comic book series' ever told. Spanning 75 issues, it's not as big as Superman, Batman or Spider-Man, but it's a completey different kind of story. Neil Gaiman's imagination and style are amazing, which is evident in his ability to create interesting characters, truly gothic locations and one of the most inventive plots ever. The story starts out a bit too quickly for it's own good. At first glance, it will appear to be a jumbled bunch of different tidbits and plotlines which appear to be going nowhere. However, after the first chapter, or issue, the last six included in this book will get clearer and more fluid as they progress. By the end, you'll have a definite feel for the Sandman universe, being introduced to a few of the main characters and locations, along with the key story elements. However, this is merely an introduction to the vast tale to come after. An impressive start to an imaginative epic, Preludes and Nocturnes is exactly what the title implies. It's short enough to leave you wanting more, and maybe even feeling a tad unsatisfied, but it's long enough and important enough to act as an essential doorway to the amazing series. Another drawback here, aside from the semi-sketchy start is the length. The book is only just over 200 pages...Luckily, Amazon is offering it for a few bucks cheaper, but because it's a comic book, it will probably only take you as long as it would take to read a 100 page book, if that...It's definitely a great read, and you'll likely enjoy every minute of it, but as with many graphic novels, the price is steep for what you get, so be warned. The art is amazing stuff, but inconsistent. Because a variety of different illustrators were used in the writing of the comics, the style will skip around often. The most noticeable change is how much the Sandman himself changes in appearance, which can be a tad annoying. For example, I vastly prefer the final chapter to the first, visually. The general look is always the same, but I wish they would've stuck with one illustrator for the entire series. It's not only this book in the series which does this--another disappointment. Overall, if you're going to read the others, you HAVE to read this one. And, while flawed, it's where the story starts, and if you don't read it, you'll be pathetically lost. It's vastly enjoyable and will keep the pages turning, if not for long. Fans of comic-books may not be changed by this book, but anyone who likes dark fantasy or horror will most likely find this a very unique and immersive read.
Rating:
Summary: Good stuff
Review: Here's a dissection of each of the 8 issues to be found in this book: Sleep of the Just - The origin. Brilliant stuff. Imperfect Hosts - Starts on a humorous note. Introduces us to a lot of characters. Quite interesting. Dream a Little Dream of Me- Disturbing to an extent - Sandman gets his pouch of sand back. John Constantine is a cool character. A Hope in Hell - One of the cooler issues. The art is great and the 'battle' is unique. The 2-page spread is phenomenal too and it's a shame it isn't used more often. Passengers - Doctor Dee escapes. I like the brief cameo Jonathon Crane makes. The initial dream is cool and the entire car episode is nice though the end shocked me quite a bit. I love the art in the last couple pages once Sandman finds the ruby. 24 Hours - Undoubtedly the best and most mortifying of all the issues. I couldn't imagine anything bad happening to the characters in the beginning but Gaiman soon reveals the dark side and Doctor Dee does some truly terrible things to these poor souls. The impact starts coming in around the 17th hour once they start driving nails into each other's hands as they lather out confessions. Phenomenal. Sound and Fury - The art is great throughout. Doctor Dee's murderous rampage is finally stopped as he accidentally does something and Sandman regains his strength. The Sound of Her Wings - I love this issue too. Death is introduced and she takes Dream through numerous scenarios. I really really like the ending for this one. In the end Preludes & Nocturnes is a great start for a classic series and any fan of comics should pick it up.
Rating: 
Summary: When Dream and Day unite
Review: What happens when a group of mystics ensnare the King of Dreams and keep him imprisoned for over seventy years?
So begins Neil Gaiman's epic, sweeping vision that constitutes the Sandman series. The first book concerns itself with Morpheus's eventual escape and quest to find the accoutrements with which he used to rule his dream kingdom. This is no ordinary comic series; Gaiman brilliantly exploits the sequential art medium to provide us with provocative- and often disturbing- images that underline the thrust of the words. "24 Hours," for example, just wouldn't be the same if it was produced as your normal, everyday novel. Actually seeing, in Dr. Dee's eyes, the products of his warped fantasies in graphic form adds a layer to the narrative Gaiman wouldn't ordinarily have. And these are visual characters; Morpheus and the celebrated Death, with their Gothic, ultra cool look are so easily identifiable and indelibly imprint themselves in the reader's mind. Their visual representation also reinforces their uniqueness; Death's Ankh talisman, for example, perfectly enscapulates the paradoxical nature of the wearer, where death is a positive, life-affirming state.
Notwithstanding the consistent high quality quality of the art (I especially love that astounding, two-page image in "A Hope in Hell," where Dream, Lucifer, Azazel and Beezelbub stand atop a summit overlooking all of Hell's denizens, and Lucifer, with the slightest touch of humour, asks Morpheus if he can pick out the creature that stole his helm) and some very good stories("24 Hours" and "The Sound of Her Wings"), I can't help but get the impression that, as a whole, _Preludes_ is a forced effort. As Gaiman himself later acknowledged, and many are quick to critique, Gaiman's attempts at intertextuality fall flat. The bringing in of characters from other storylines (Cain and Abel, John Constantine, Scott Free, J'onn, etc.) gives the narrative a campy, tawdry look. It's a ridiculous marketing ploy that really robs the narrative of its uniqueness. Gaiman is at his best when the tenor of _Sandman_ matches that of its protagonist; dark, brooding, enigmatic. To Gaiman's credit, this "failed experiment" never went beyond _Preludes_ and helps to explain why subsequent titles are so much better than this one.
I think that it's necessary to start with this title, however. The summary of _Preludes_ at the beginning of _The Doll's House_ robs the reader of some important contextualizations and impressions that can only be made by actually reading the book. Despite its faults, _Preludes_ is better than 95% of graphic novels and comic books out there. And it only gets better....
Rating:
Summary: Like nothing I've ever seen before.
Review: A complex, moving storyline. Emotional, engrossing, imaginative, totally absorbing. The *whole series* is a must. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: perfect intro
Review: this is a great intro into the rest of neil gaiman's sandman series. it's probably just me but dr.destiney is realy funny. The part with the kids show in the cafe is hilarious. also he is so funny in the way he stands in the middle of the road with a gun to get a ride.
Rating:
Summary: And so it begins....
Review: The strangest thing for me about Sandman, and in particular, this book, also serves quite nicely as a review of the book's merits. When I originally bought Preludes, on a whim, I expected not to like it, but was quickly blown away...by the characters, the writing, and indeed the entire world. However, several weeks later, after exhausting my after-christmas cash buying and reading the next three volumes of the series, I decided to reread Preludes.... And came away surprisingly disappointed. Oh, the book is good. Make no mistake of that. The book is quite excellent. It's simply that the rest of the Sandman series is so far beyond excellent it's sailing the seas of genius, and Preludes, where Neil Gaiman was still perfecting his craft and settling into his world, can't quite reach their level. But if Preludes isn't quite the crown jewels, it's still quite a gem, and an essential gem at that. It's in this that the stage is set, where we meet Dream of the Endless, one of the seven beings who I would call God-like, except for the fact that it's gone into in the series just how the Endless and Gods differ. And in the first story in this book occurs the event which will ultimately go on to shape the rest of the series: Dream's lengthy imprisonment. His escape and struggle to reclaim his lost Kingdom and stolen tools form the bulk of the rest of the book, and are sprinkled lavishly with cameos from such widely ranging parties as John Constantine, Lucifer, and the JLI. This is also the book when, as Neil Gaiman's style finally cemented, we are also introduced to Dream's sister Death, who is almost resoundingly acknowledged as one of the best characters in the series. Preludes also features an overtone of horror that grows fainter and more infrequent as the books go on, so any horror fan should definitely try this one: in addition to the much-mentioned 24 Hours, I found Imperfect Host's scenes of Cain and Abel to be particularly creepy. So my recommendation is to, by all means, start with Preludes & Nocturnes. Just don't *stop* with it; the ride only gets better after this. It might be worth only 4 stars to me in comparison with the rest of the series, but it's worth 5 in comparison to anything else.
Rating:
Summary: Great literature in every sense of the term
Review: Neil Gaiman's Sandman series is clearly one of the outstanding works of literature in English in the 20th century. The range of topics and concerns and motifs he covers throughout the series is astounding, yet he links his stories together with the mysterious, moody, proud, Byronic, ultra-responsible, and self-absorbed figure of Dream, aka Lord Morpheus, the Lord of the Dreamworld. Gaiman effortlessly rewrites mythology, inserting his Immortal characters ingeniously into a variety of myths, particularly the story of Orpheus. His topics range from the helplessness of captivity to the guilt of performing a necessary act of mercy, to the sibling rivalry of a set of seven Immortal siblings, to cycles of renewal and change, and the desirability or undesirablity of immortality. Gaiman's characters are simultaneously larger-than-life represenations of such ideas as Death and Desire *and* quarrelsome cantankerous eccentrics who as siblings often don't get along. His supreme achievement besides Dream, is Dream's sister Death, and the story "The Sound of Her Wings" is a true tour de force. Gaiman's most thoughtful and moving subplot, IMO, involves Shakespeare and the price he has paid for his creative power. The dialog between Dream and Shakespeare in "The Wake" is one of the most stunningly insightful examinations of the dilemma of being an artist. Dream reminds us "Things need not have happened to be true. Tales and dreams are the shadow truths that will endure when mere facts are dust and ashes and forgot." Amen. Ultimately that's what the Sandman series is about.
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