Rating: 
Summary: The end?
Review: Neil Gaiman attempts to tie up all the Sandman tales in this gargantuan storyline. Yes, most of it works thanks to seeing familiar faces like Rose Walker, Lyta and Daniel Hall, Lucifer, and the reborn Corinthian. Also the artwork is fantastic as is the way Neil ties all the characters together. However for all those astute readers, you could see this coming all along. This is "Kindly Ones" downfall. While it is amazing that Neil has remembered virtually every character from some 50 issues, there still feels like there are little surprises as to Dream's fate. Which brings me to another problem, this story drags. It starts off well paced and plotted but it really starts to drag and although the end is great, there are at least 2 or 3 issues in between that could have been seriously shortened. Comics are a continuing medium and when one issue ends with a cliffhanger, we are supposed to be all excited about what will happen next issue. That feeling of suspense is gone in "Kindly Ones." Neil seems to be going through the motions, telling a story that has to be told because of all that has gone before. And "Kindly Ones" suffers because of that. However, few can do what Neil does. He brings obscure mythologies and long ago forgotten fairy tales to weave a rich, if slow tapestry.
Rating: 
Summary: Just astonishingly good!
Review: Neil Gaiman's literary aspirations in the Sandman cycle are downright Joycean, and his accomplishments are worthy of his lofty goals. This is the volume that really makes that clear; it is just astonishingly good. But it is not the place to begin. Begin at the beginning (Preludes and Nocturnes), or perhaps with volume 2 (The Doll's House), since the first is probably the weakest of the series, and certainly the most conventional. Other comic books operating in a basically mainstream genre have managed to transcend their genres-The Watchmen, for instance. But no other comic work of which I am aware has so deftly blended the purely literary with elements of genre storytelling-these books are set in the "D.C. universe", more or less, and yet their level of literary playfulness and sophistication is on a par with Nabokov. This is classical tragedy and epic wrapped into one for the Post-Modern era. Just keep your dictionary handy, and don't be afraid to turn to the annotations online at http://rtt.colorado.edu/~jnmiller/Sandman.html.
Rating:
Summary: BUY IT, IT IS GOOD.
Review: Sandman:The Kindly Ones has got to be one of the most comprehensive books Neil Gaiman has ever written. Nearly Every character from the pantheon is here and you see them all doing the jobs and playing the roles for which they were meant. Buy it, you won't regret it.
Rating:
Summary: We do what we do because of who we are.
Review: Simply put, "The Kindly Ones" is a study of Morpheus' collapse, and, as such, follows the conventions of tragedy. And in true tragic fashion, Morpheus' downfall is precipitated from within: in this case, an unerring commitment to his office and the responsibilities contained therein, even when adhering to those principles ensures his inevitable demise. Clever as he is, Gaiman never truly indicates why Dream so resolutely marches towards this fate: is Morpheus punishing himself for the sins of his past; does he believe we all have predestined ends, and his particular position obligates him to make choices consistent with it, consequences be damned; is he simply not as insightful as he appears, and naively making choices that are destroying him? Although, by this point, he has appeared in nine volumes, Dream continues to elude facile generalizations of his character and remains deliciously enigmatic. Even the lot of Morpheus at the end of this volume is uncertain; death and life appearing to be rather fluid and interchangeable concepts, much like the ankh symbol worn by his adorable, and equally paradoxical, older sister, Death. As Mikal Gilmore notes in this insightful Introduction to "The Wake," the title not only points to those 'kindly' ladies, the Furies, but others whose acts of kindness (Hippolyta, Thessaly, even Morpheus) similarly precipitate Morpheus' fall, either purposely or not. It is remarkable Gaiman has constructed a character whose humanization and kindness eventually destroys him. You certainly won't find this level of psychological sophistication in your average run-of-the-mill comic title or novel. This volume gets my vote for the pick of the series; not an easy task when you consider the immense quality of its predecessors. But there's a sense of urgency in the unfolding of the plot, a self-awareness that things are coming to an end, leading to the inescapable conclusion that this title is the crescendo of the Sandman library. All the unresolved plotlines in the earlier volumes flourish here and result in the climactic conclusion. We learn that the fate of Morpheus is intertwined with the fate of the series itself, and I for one can't think of a more appropriate ending.
Rating:
Summary: My favorite book ever...and it's a comic book
Review: The Kindly Ones is the climax of the series. I'm not going to talk about that part of the story. It's too huge, too--agh! You'll have to find out for yourself. This, the climax, is, of course, the most important thing in the storyline, but if I try to put words on the feeling it gives me I will miserably fail. Instead, I'm going to talk about the little reasons besides that main reason which, for me, make The Kindly Ones the best. 1) The Corinthian is in it: my favorite Sandman character second only to Dream himself. I can't quite say why, but I just love this character. Since The Doll's House I've found him absolutely fascinating, a creation of genius. And when he came back in Brief Lives, I practically jumped for joy. Unfortunately, that was only about three pages plus one panel. But now he's back again, and--yes! --He's a major character! And he's way more interesting in The Kindly Ones than he was in The Doll's House--this is a new Corinthian. Yes! 2) Delirium is in it, my second favorite of the Endless. She always brightens up a story; luckily, she doesn't steal the attention from Dream in this storyline, as she did in Brief Lives (although that was the right thing for that story, and not a drawback). Here, she's searching for her doggie and following her fish. 3) Thessaly's back! Dream's mystery lover from Brief Lives, last seen in A Game of You. I adore this character. (I also like her name very much, as you can tell since I stole it for my handle.) I always found her one of the most intriguing characters in the series, and I still wish I knew more about her...This is one of the great things about Sandman. Everyone finds their own favorite things to hook onto, a favorite issue, favorite character, that might not mean much to someone else, but somehow is really fascinating to you. Some people love Death or Nuala or Hob Gadling or Mervyn; for me, it's The Corinthian and Thessaly, and I love Brief Lives 3 and 9, A Game of You part 3 and 5, Season of Mists Epilogue, and Ramadan, to name a few. (Not to mention all of The Kindly Ones.) And you, no doubt, have your own favorites, or will have, once you read the series. If you haven't, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? One other reason why The Kindly Ones is the greatest: Marc Hempel's art. Some people hate it. I love it. I love the way he's managed to capture the look and expression of all the old characters while doing it in such a different, simplified style. I'm really glad that this crucial volume of Sandman was illustrated by someone with such talent, such a particular mood to his work. I really can't express what _The Kindly Ones_ is in this brief review; read Sandman for yourself and find out. (I can't stress this enough. Read Sandman. Now. If you want me to tell you again, e-mail me and I will rant on and on about it.) However, being the ninth of ten volumes, this is NOT the place to start--go to Preludes and Nocturnes (Book 1) or The Doll's House (2) for that.
Rating:
Summary: Read Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comics"
Review: The only negative comments on this (at the time I posted this review) came from a person who objected to the artwork, which he said was "cartoonish." In fact, if you read Scott McCloud's book, "Understanding Comics", you will gain some insight into the stle of drawing chosen for this storyline. McCloud's book was published shortly before this storyline began, and as I noticed Mr. Gaiman had a blurb praising McCloud on the cover, I cannot help but conclude that McCloud's book influenced Neil's decisions on which direction to take the art in the Sandman. It was a conscious decision to make the story-telling more powerful; to those ends, I think it worked. This is a beautifully-rendered book.
Rating:
Summary: The Best of the Best.
Review: This book is perhaps the most engrossing book I've ever read, with the possible exception of the Gaiman/McKean MASTERPIECE, Mr. Punch. This was the 2nd Sandman book I read, though I have since completed the series, and trust me, though it's amazing on its own, once you recognize the themes and motifs that have been continued throughout the series (The triple Goddess/Kindly Ones theme has been in every single Sandman collection; look it up if you don't believe me.) as well as the insights into the motivations of all the characters, this is nothing short of a masterpeice. I can't possibly say enough good things about this book, or the entire series. Added bonus: for the first time, the art is ALMOST equal to the story. Don't get me wrong, Jill Thomson, Shaun McManus, Mike Dirginberg, etc, did some great work, but up until now that kind of "comic book-y" style has dominated the series, whereas Mark Hempel's smooth lines and more abstract, angular style compliment Gaiman's writing much better, to my mind. Overall, this is, I'll say it again, an AMAZING book. Buy it. Please. For your own sake.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful story, interesting art.
Review: This book tells the story of Dream's death. Dream fights his fate, but almost absent-mindedly. He seems resigned to watch that which he knows he could change. This is where his fatal flaw is revealed--his sense of responsibility. Had Desire had this happen to him/her, she would have done everything in her power to stop it. Yet Dream barely wants to, and in the end gives in to the Furies. This book is beautiful, and I have read it perhaps 5 times. Each time something new pops up, something unseen. It is subtle, and it shows the dire consequences of accepting one's fate without action. This is Gaiman at his personal best in the series.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful story, interesting art.
Review: This book tells the story of Dream's death. Dream fights his fate, but almost absent-mindedly. He seems resigned to watch that which he knows he could change. This is where his fatal flaw is revealed--his sense of responsibility. Had Desire had this happen to him/her, she would have done everything in her power to stop it. Yet Dream barely wants to, and in the end gives in to the Furies. This book is beautiful, and I have read it perhaps 5 times. Each time something new pops up, something unseen. It is subtle, and it shows the dire consequences of accepting one's fate without action. This is Gaiman at his personal best in the series.
Rating: 
Summary: Going out with a whimper
Review: This is a tough nut to crack, really. I love the Sandman series dearly, and consider it one of the finest things ever written. However this is far from the ideal ending to it. The series itself is brilliant. Buy, oh, say, _Preludes and Nocturnes_ now, if you haven't already. It's the ending that's the problem. First of all, the art is a major failing here. For a series that has been spectacular in the way of art, especially in _Preludes and Nocturnes_, _The Wake_, and _A Doll's House_, this was a huge disappointment. The entire book came off looking like a rather low-quality cartoon, when its subject matter, the death of Morpheus, required so much more. Where was the anguish and the impending sense of doom that was so integral to the story? Where was the terror inspired by the Corinthian, or the horror as the Furies slaughter the inhabitants of the Dreaming one by one? Perhaps it was meant to be deft and experimental art, but it wound up seriously hindering the story, a story that could not afford to be hindered. The second problem with it was that it tried to hard to end the series. After a stunning build-up in the first books, this had to be the culmination of what was a spectacular story. While it is not the last book in the series, it is the last book in Morpheus's story, a story which capitvated many, many readers for quite a while. However, rather than ending it with a spectacular and tragic finale, Gaiman wound up having to try entirely too hard to wrap up a lot of the loose ends, and to introduce characters who had no relevance to the plot. (Though I enjoyed it, what was the point of the entire Lucifer subplot? Why did Desire close of it's realm?) Though Gaiman said that he was deliberately leaving things unanswered, there were just too many unanswered questions. This is not to say the book was not good. The book did, if nothing else, raise some absolutely brilliant questions about the nature of Dream's death. Did he, as some suggest, die out of responsibility? Or did he just have really bad luck? Or, more interestingly, was his death more or less a suicide? If you've already read a few of the Sandman books, and enjoyed them a lot, by all means, by the Kindly Ones. It's a necessary part of the story, and a pretty good read. But if you're a casual fan, or just getting started, go for one of the other collections, because this one is really a somewhat weak link in the series, at a place where a weak link can not afford to exist.
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