Rating: 
Summary: Endless Questions
Review: Silly ol' me. There's a book so popular by sales and demand by readers and critics, and I had the urge to get this, not knowing on the concept and construction that this hardcover graphic novel contains. Whatever, I guess I'll have to experience the magic and mystery that revolves around the world of "The Sandman", going by its alternate title, "Endless Nights"; this book describes itself to be a side story to "The Sandman" series, I presume. If there is one word I would like to describe about the good AND the bad about "Endless Nights", it would be this: Depth.An accomplished author, two-time best-seller in books, Neil Gaiman really has some special charm that got many readers selling his authorized novels like hotcakes. I expected his charm to grab my full interest when I got this as a first from his work. What have I gotten myself into? Honestly, the understanding and enjoyment for someone to get into "Endless Nights" is a two-way street: either someone would go to the "get-it" side, or the "don't-get-it" side. For me, I took the "don't-get-it" side, and I don't seem to find a way to get into the right direction. One graphic novel, seven chapters, each related to this one being...thing...whatever, by the name of Endless. And by the names of these chapters (Dream, Death, Despair, etc.), either Gaiman likes to names his chapters that start with a 'D', or these names represents a feeling or action that deals with the Endless itself, that maybe the Endless is, metaphorically, "one of many things"...yeah, that's what I presume. The back cover says that "The Sandman: Endless Nights will be a delight to...newcomers to the graphic novel", but maybe because there's too much symbolism and mind-boggling unresolvement, I don't see how many newcomers, unless they excel at poetry and literature, would understand the meaning to the whole purpose with these tales. Here's what a literal reader would say when he or she reads "Endless Nights", "Oh God! What's going on? I don't have a clue where it's going. Ah, my head hurts!" The book looks dark, creppy, but downright amazing. Each tale was done by a different artist, and each has his own unique visual style that is twisted and puree. The tale that grabbed me by its visuals, and confuses me the most, is 'Despair' done by Barron Storey. 15 portraits on one tale, and each has its own story to tell while portraying the texted-story with abstracts that are scary, yet in need to appreciate the value of these designs; I can't help but give a positive remark to Storey's work of visuals. This graphic novel has some nifty extras: Biographies of Neil Gaiman and the artists that illustrated Gaiman's authorization of the book, and The Sandman Library, which is a discography of the past "Sandman" novels and books related to the series. The Sandman Library helped me to almost known a little better about the history of the Endless. Almost. The Book is slow, but not in a rewarding kind-of way. Even though it's over 150 pages long, the pacing I have to deal with reading this book is like reading a harry potter novel; I don't like to read books THAT slow. I can't explain what occurs in "Endless Nights", because I haven't read a book that deals with so much interpretation like this. Maybe this is truly meant for readers who've had history with reading "The Sandman" series, and if so, I can't give this a complete recommendation for novices, like myself. I appreciate this, but depth-wise, I'm just not ready for this graphic novel; it's too "advance" for my taste.
Rating: 
Summary: A sub-par entry into the Sandman bibliography
Review: The Sandman storyline by Neal Gaiman has been a comic industry high standard mark; only perhaps Alan Moore's the Watchman and Frank Millers the Dark Knight Returns are on the same level. In part this is why he ended the series after 75 issues. He could have kept churning out stories but he chose not to potentially lower the quality of the story arc he so carefully wove. I have collected the sandman since 1989. I used to march to the comic store monthly to buy the Sandman along with any other related sandman material. The only time I felt the quality of the story suffered was during "The Game is You." I loved the artwork but the story was just so distant and sexual in nature without any real purpose. Sadly, this new hardcover is more in line with "The game is you," there seems to be someone having intercourse on every other page. Nothing is really left to the imagination. I honestly, really couldn't believe that Neil Gaiman had put this out. It is sad when other Vertigo titles are far more interesting than what the man who laid the foundation for Vertigo can put out. A better choice for a Sandman fix would be the Y LAst man on EARth, the Transmetropolitan, or Hellblazer. The artwork is great and Mkean's cover is excellent as always. But those who are thinking they are getting book they will reread, will be sorely disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Nearly Excellent, Still Exquisite
Review: This collection barrels out of the gate with great story after great story. I was ready to annoit this book five stars, but then I crossed the halfway point and the genius in the writing muted, then fluttered. The art throughout is great, brilliant, and just about perfect. After finishing each of the first three stories (Death, Desire, and Dream) I had to take a break, I was so struck by what I read. Each of those tales demanded I stop and ruminate on them. They are simply that great. The fourth story, Despair, isn't really a story, but a series of thoughts on the meaning of despair. It's very well done and affecting, but not quite what I was expecting after the first three stories. The fifth story, Delirium had me lost for most of the story, but respecting Gaiman's skill by the end. Very well done, but the fire had cooled in me by this point. The sixth story, Destruction, just didn't make any sense to me. It was good, but both the story and the art seemed pedestrian and very out of synch with the creators' past efforts. The closing tale isn't really a story, but rather an character sketch of Destiny. The art is breathtaking, but again, this is a story that isn't really a story. Still, this is a great collection, if only for the initial three stories. And don't overlook the art. It is really to be savored.
Rating: 
Summary: An Artist's Tribute
Review: This fascinating, newest work of Gaiman's is great for newcomers to Sandman and die-hard Sandman fans alike. For the followers of Sandman, this offers insight into the characters that they have come to know, love, and/or (in the case of Desire, for me) despise. This is especially true in the tale of Dream's, which takes us farther back than we have ever been, chronilogically speaking, for any of the Sandman works. This takes us back to a time when the Endless were young, Desire was Morpheous' favorite sibling, and Death was clinically depressed. My, how time changes things! From Death's patient vigal outside a infinately looping day to Delirium's strange collapse into herself (is she changing again? And is that white figure in the shadows Daniel?), these stories are more complex and compacted (as individual stories) than their predescessors, and pull back the curtain concealing the shadowy mystery of the Endless a little bit more. Another standout to me of the seven story graphic novel was Despair's story. "The Fifteen Portraits of Despair" takes a swing away from Gaiman's usual, if not linear, at least more-or-less-straightforward, story-telling style. This is where you can most clearly tell what Gaiman wanted to do in Endless Nights, provide stories for artists to illustrate. The artwork of Barron Storey is tortured and fragmented, perfect for the prose poems of Gaiman's, portraying perhaps better than the words themselves the sickening hopelessness, agony, and yes, despair, of each character's situations. My favorite poem (also the most repulsive and sickening to me, funny how that works) in "Portraits" is the story of the man and the cats. The artwork is what shines, for the artwork is what Gaiman wanted to showcase, as he states in the forward of the book. But it doesn't outshine or diminish the glory of the writing. Instead of the writing framing the artwork, as it normal with comic books and graphic novels (that is, the writing completes the artwork, making it better) the artwork frames the writing, perfecting it. The artwork, already perfect and able to stand alone, stands underneath the stories, supporting them, but is still the main focal point of the book. I highly reccomend to new Gaiman fans and old. I am sure that all will have their own unique appreciation of the book, for whatever reason.
Rating:
Summary: A great return, a great intro for newcomers.
Review: Those of us who are long time fans of Gaiman's work should be well pleased with this, a full set of stories (one for each family member), all new and original. Each story is told in its own style- not just as straight narratives, that let the reader enjoy some of the breadth that comics as a medium can do. Gaiman wrote each story to suit the artists, or chose the artists specifically, and it really shines through. Barron Storey's "Fifteen Portraits of Despair" is a personal favorite, and wherever I think the art is sometimes less than awesome (for me, Manara), the writing holds it up. DC really pulled out all the stops on this, the book itself is beautiful, oversize, and just nice to own. If you're a long time fan, its a great book and it'll help tie you over the wait till a Delirium story in a few years time, and if you're brand new to the characters, the stories are structured to let you in on the ground floor w/o any back knowledge necessary. Almost makes me wish I could read it all new again.
Rating:
Summary: Close to perfect
Review: Thrilled to see new Sandman material at all, it is honest to say that my standards for this book were probably rather low: I've reached the point of Sandman withdrawal where any Sandman is good Sandman... which I do believe is true, however. Endless Nights is a worthy chapter in the saga of the Endless, and tells stories that did not, perhaps, *need* to be told, but do give some insight to the characters. As a reader, I walked away still curious, but pleased. Two major complaints. The Destiny story was disappointing to me; the artwork was excellent but there seemed no other purpose to the piece. And -- when, oh when, will we ever learn how Delight became Delirium?
Rating:
Summary: Gaiman returns to Sandman with mixed results
Review: When I heard that Neil Gaiman was working on a new Sandman graphic novel, I was skeptical. The seventy-five issue comic book series began, proceeded and ended just fine. With dozens of spin-off mini-series, an illustrated Sandman prose novel, a "companion" book, a collection of quotes and a book of covers, the amount of peripheral volumes has become excessive. Then there are the posters, statues, and action figures. Even an artist as genuine as Gaiman can be tempted by the right amount of money and publicity and I feared Sandman: Endless Nights was just another part of the small marketing blitz that has accompanied Sandman's lasting popularity. Now that I have read Endless Nights I am not sure. There are fantastic stories in here that are superb additions to the Sandman saga and there are also stories that seem like they did not need to be told. Perhaps the reason Endless Nights is hit-or-miss is its format. In Sandman, seven all-powerful siblings, called The Endless, each have a different role in regulating conscious experience. The main character was the morose Dream, but the saga also featured the omniscient Destiny, the upbeat yet intelligent Death, the easy-going Destruction, the stoic Despair, the condescending Desire and the loopy Delirium. Endless Nights consists of seven chapters, each drawn by a different illustrator and each devoted to a different sibling. The problem is that these characters are defined by their mysteriousness and strangeness and do not easily lend themselves to central roles (Even Dream, the member of The Endless who readers knew best, played a role other than protagonist more often than not during the run of the comic series). In three cases, Endless Nights adapts with structures as abstract as its characters. "Fifteen Portraits of Despair" consists of bizarre sketches showing Despair's unsightly body, surrounded by anecdotes about miserable people. "Destiny" is a Biblical-sounding description of Destiny's realm and duties drawn in big, splashy illustrations. "Going Inside" features Dream recruiting five mentally ill people to rescue Delirium from a sticky situation she has gotten herself into in her realm. This chapter is told in a blend of computer-generated images and cartoony artwork that can only be described as breathe-taking. In fact, all these chapters feature gorgeous visuals but the stories, while original, seem clumsy and underdeveloped; as if having one chapter devoted to each of the Endless and experimental art techniques were most important and the plots were throw together secondarily. The better chapters are the ones that adapt to the nature of The Endless by putting someone else in the lead. In "What I've Tasted of Desire," a story from olden times, a maiden is transformed by Desire into a crafty seductress. In "Death and Venice," (a Sandman-style "Masque of the Red Death") an American GI helps Death enter a masked ball that a sixteenth century Count has kept frozen in time. In "Destruction on the Peninsula," an archeologist uncovers a strange phenomena related to Destruction and Delirium vacationing nearby (This chapter follows-up "Going Inside" yet leaves much unsolved. Is Gaiman contemplating another Sandman project?). The very best chapter is "The Heart of a Star." At the dawn of time, stars could live, breath, speak and love and one loved Dream. The surreally beautiful story tells much about history of The Endless and is the biggest treat for longtime readers. The artwork of these four tales is less grand than that of the other three, but certainly has its own merits. Endless Nights has its ups and downs and I cannot say fully that it was a bad idea for Gaiman to reopen the world of Sandman. The Endless are fascinating and there are countless tales that could be told about them. Let's just hope that if Gaiman plans on extending his return to Sandman, the quality of his stories is more consistent.
Rating:
Summary: The Series Continued.
Review: with high expectations, it was inevitable that i would be disappointed, i think. it's not that the stories are, in themselves, bad, because they're not. but they reminded me of the single issues in the sandman series, where the endless were a theme, a concept that held the story together, rather than the focus of the story. at times this works well. the best example of this is the barron storey illustrated 'fifteen portraits of despair'. with fifteen vignettes linked together through the notion of despair, it's easily the most successful and emotional story within the book. dave mckean also designed the page layouts. but mostly, the stories feel like single issues taken from the larger run. the exception of this is the miguelanxo prado illustrated story 'the heart of a star' in which we are offered visions of delight, a dark death, and dream and desire being friends. it's easily the most interesting of the stories in the book, and i felt that these visions could have been expanded and linked outwards, to create a more cohesive whole. endless nights isn't a cohesive whole, in the way that graphic novels like mr punch or even the sandman: brief lives are. ultimately, this proves to be a weakness within the book as a whole. what is more, is that when gaiman should have focused upon the endless characters more, as in delirium and destruction's linked stories, he doesn't. he walks around the edges of the story, focusing on the secondary characters, allowing the thematic nature of delirium, or destruction, to be the focus of the pieces. which is a shame, as none of the characters that gaiman presents outside the endless are as interesting as the endless themselves--and what is more, often the new characters presented by gaiman are related so closely to the thematic concerns of the endless, that they are one note characters, focused on death, or desire, or destruction, and so on and so forth. this is not to say that the book isn't worth buying. the stories are all good--gaiman has reached a stage now where it's a rare day when he presents a dud story. and the art for each is, really, quite suited. it's had to image anyone by glenn fabry illustration 'on the peninsula', and in addition to that, it is easily the finest sequential work i've seen from fabry in years. even frank quitely, more suited to superheroes, finds his place in the final piece of the book, 'endless nights'. endless nights is, i think, not that accessible to people who haven't read the previous works. there are two dreams, a destruction that isn't part of the endless, an early despair, an unhappy death, and a delight instead of a delirium. they all appear, outside a brief introduction from gaiman, without much explanation as to their place in the huge tapestry of the work--and indeed, perhaps that is its success and failure, because endless nights, ultimately, is a continuation of the sandman: seven new issues that follow upon the first seventy five or so.
Rating:
Summary: Leaves You Hungry for More
Review: Without even reading the text, this book is absolutely gorgeous. I would have liked to have seen Dave McKean to be an illustrator for this, or any Sandman story, rather than just be the graphic artist who designed the logo, covers, and miscellaneous pages of the book. The choice of artists is very good and the artwork they do is absolutely beautiful. The stories, in typical Sandman fashion actually don't have that much of the Endless IN them. They are parts of the worlds they live in, not the centers of them. This was definitely the case of "Sandman The Dream Hunters," as the Sandman himself doesn't come into the story until near the very end. Thankfully, the Endless are much more involved (but never as much as I'd like) in Endless Nights. This is a good introduction to the Sandman for first time readers, but Sandman fanatics may be a little dissapointed. It's nothing that they have not read before, nothing that'll blow them away, since they're already familiar with the Endless characters and the Sandman stories.
Rating:
Summary: Great for fans, but not as good as the rest of the series
Review: _Endless Nights_ contains 7 chapters, each of which includes one of the Endless as a character. If you've already read the Sandman series, you'll understand who the Endless are. If not, this book may not make sense to you. Neil Gaiman can usually tell a good story; one whose characters, emotions, and plot involve the reader. Here he succeeds with "Desire," apparently set in pre-Roman Gaul, and in "Destruction," apparently contemporary and set on a barren Mediterranean peninsula. He suceeds to some extent, though not quite as well, with "Dream," which arouses cosmic awe but which is not strong on plot or character. And with "Death," which has a fascinating 18th-century world but a modern narrator who contributes little. However, with "Delirium," "Despair," and "Destiny," Gaiman fails. "Delirium" has a sort of plot, but not much of one, and although it tries to be sentimental it fails to be emotionally engaging. "Destiny" has no plot. The chapter just shows him in his garden, where we've all seen him before. "Despair" doesn't even try to be a story. I think it's a series of prose poems, but it doesn't work. As with Sandman, the art is very colorful, and by different artists. I'm sure many Sandman fans will buy this, and if they're fannish enough it won't disappoint them. I just wish the rest of the stories met the standards of the best three.
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