Rating: 
Summary: Gaiman raises the bar yet again
Review: A rather simple premise: for all her muddled state, Dream's younger sister, Delirium, demonstrates a surprising amount of constancy in determining to find her errant brother, Destruction. Although Dream had agreed to help her find Destruction (after Delirium has been rejected by two of her other siblings, Desire and Despair), he initially lacks much of Delirium's resolve. The narrative that ensues takes a surprising amount of twists and turns before it settles on an ending in tune with the tenor of the book. Not surprisingly, this collection is generally esteemed as the best of all the Sandman books: not only are the central characters (Delirium, Destruction- who is possibly the most likeable and paradoxical of the Endless) exceptionally well constructed here, Gaiman reaches a high point in his abilities as a storyteller where each of the stories fit perfectly well within the book as a whole. Without revealing too much, Gaiman resolves several important questions in this collection that had been previously lingering. There are no 'filler' pages or plotlines here: each of the stories contribute to the book's meditations on change (note Gaiman's pun on the various meanings of 'change' throughout) and death, including the frailty and brevity of life. While Gaiman's at his most philosophic and raises some particularly thought-provoking questions (is having all knowledge a burden; need we continue with our responsibilities once we realize our roles in life are replaceable?), never does he sacrifice the quality of the stories by soapboxing. Peter Straub's Afterword is well written and ably discusses the various themes of Brief Lives. I'm not a big fan of Jill Thompson's artwork; I didn't like her sparse style in Fables and Reflections and I generally don't like it here, either. However, because there is only one artist in Brief Lives, there is a continuity that lacked in some of the previous Sandman titles that often had four or five artists. Thompson does have her moments, though: I enjoyed the change in inking style she employed in Chapter 5 when the events of the story shift to a strip club (yes, Gaiman's quirky imagination runs the full gamut). One can see with Brief Lives that Gaiman is starting to wind the series up and this is rather bittersweet. While Gaiman is clearly reaching his zenith as a writer, one realizes that the ride that created the greatest graphic novel series ever will be over soon. Nonetheless, I'll take such mixed emotions anytime. Well done, Neil.
Rating: 
Summary: The best Sandman story arch
Review: Each story arch of Sandman, Neil Gaiman's adult-orientated comic book starring Morpheus, an amalgamation of morose twenty-something and Greek God, is excellent. But Brief Lives, in which Morpheus' loopy kid sister, Delirium drags him on a quest to find their long-lost brother, Destruction, may be the series' pinnacle. This is for several reasons. Firstly, the story brings the resolution of the series' biggest mystery: the identity of the lost sibling in Morpheus' family (a group of mystic beings called the The Endless who all rule over some "realm" of consciousness) and his reason for disappearing. Yet, the collective little scenes in each Sandman story arch are always just as important as the underlining storyline itself and Brief Lives has many of the series' best little scenes: Delirium (one of Gaiman's most unforgettable characters) trying to remember the proper name of eye-gunk; Barnabas, Destruction's talking dog, slamming his paintings and poetry; Mervyn, a pumpkin-headed nightmare of Morpheus' creation, explaining why his boss is a flake. Another reason why this may be the definitive best Sandman volume is that Jill Thompson may be the definitive Sandman artist. Thompson's simple, cartoon-ish pictures and her flair for telling facial expressions have a way of tenderly assisting the story without letting overly detailed imagery get in the way (a major problem in the Jim Lee era of comics). But the best reason why this is the best Sandman story arch is what is at the heart of the story. Brief Lives is, godlike entities and talking animals aside, a simple, touching story of love and family. There is something about Delirium's naïve attempt to make The Endless "one big happy family again" and the tenderness and grace by which Gaiman writes it that makes Brief Lives an exceptional part of an exceptional series.
Rating:
Summary: This is definitely one of the best of the Sandman series...
Review: I am steadily working my way through the entire series, in rough chronlogical order, and I must say that I am most impressed with 'Brief Lives'. The artwork is varied, humourous and colourful, yet unintrusive. The oddly charming character of Delirum is truly fascinating and Dream is finally revealed to have somewhat of a soft side. Additionally, it has the coherance the earlier volumes lack. 'Brief Lives' returns to or introduces a staggering amount of characters. One must admire the manner in which Gaiman introduces 'brief lives' of new characters, and later disposes of them, yet tells us just enough to build our affections. This is particularly evident in this member of the series. For example, the character of Isatar is meerly alluded to, and yet her wisdom, dance sequence (and the change in the artwork) is delightful. As is the devoted cynicism of Destruction's dog. While it may not be the best introduction to Sandman, it is certainly one to look forward to while reading the earlier editions.
Rating:
Summary: The best of the bunch - and with this crowd that means "wow"
Review: I have a soft spot of the Kindly Ones because that was my introduction to Neil Gaiman (I had read about him in Wizard, the monthly bible of the comic book world, but I was young, and stupid, and my ignorance kept me away from revelation), and for The Wake because Micheal Zulli's pencils are exquisite - but whenever I _need_ exactly what it is the Sandman has to offer I turn to Brief Lives. It's the distilliation - the essence - of what Sandman is about. Some might argue that Fables and Reflections or even Dream Country would be a better representative, a series of stunning vignettes whose swirling, mythic and dream like quality (I'm thinking of the fabulous Ramadan story) are about horror, fate, the depths of humanity and all that good stuff in the great traditions of fire-side story tellers. But Brief Lives is something even better. As Mikal Gilmore noted in his introduction to the graphic novel edition of The Wake, one of the seminal joys of the Sandman is hearing Gaiman's voice grow clearer with each passing issue. The progression from "The Sleep of the Just" to "The Tempest" is an astounding one; watching him grow makes any burgeoning and would-be writer both jealous and elated. The entire idea of the Sandman was revolutionary and different and pregnant with greatness (yes, a dangerous term, but applicable) - but it wasn't until Brief Lives that we _really_ saw what this thing could be capable of. Some argue that point occurred in "The Sound of Her Wings" in the first story arc, or perhaps Seasons of Mists, but _anyone_ who has read Brief Lives understands the truth.... This story is breathtaking. It's a romp. It's a ride. It blows you away, grabs you, throws you down forever into the endless sky with a wild rush of words and images (the matching of Jill Thompson to this story is once more pure genius), it picks up a fatal and final inertia that doesn't slow down until the final page is turned - that is, the final page of the last issue of the series. It's from this point that the story picks up speed and urgency. Everything revolves around the central act of kindness that concludes Brief Lives, and all the tragedy and death and destruction and redemption that occur later on are merely a reflection of that single act. This is _the_ story. Everything before was technically brilliant, possessed of a fresh and blindingly new verve that the comic books medium hadn't seen in quite some time - but it was somehow _distant_. Brief Lives is full of a passionate proximity, a feeling of the here and now, a sense of both the confusion of every day life and miraculously together with that, the grand rush of scope. This is where Gaiman gets his chops. I can't recommend this book enough. It's got a winding, willowy wisdom (how's that for alliteration?) that stays with you beyond the waking realms, the kind of gift you return to as the years pass by, something that grows with you as oppossed to on you. Each time I read it I read something new and fresh, and each time I read it I never fail to be moved and inspired. Brief Lives is what it's all about. Peter Straub couldn't have said it any better when he wrote in his afterword.... "If this isn't literature, nothing is."
Rating:
Summary: excellent
Review: I'm a hard-core Gaiman fan and I believe that this is his masterpiece. The main characters, Dream and Delirium, are searching for their brother. Dream is trying to forget a recent romance and Delirium misses her brother. The artwork in this novel is the best of all the series. It is humorous and makes you actually feel things, which is why I love this book. There were no disagreable things in this book to make it less than a ten. If you're looking for more sandman works, I rate the Kindly Ones and World's End as runner-ups to this one. Also ten material.
Rating:
Summary: Enriching the Sandman's world
Review: I'm a late-comer to the Sandman, and I don't read the collections in proper narrative order. "Brief Lives" is among the first of the Sandman books I've read, and it gives me a much better appreciation of the mythology behind this series. The artwork is what usually attracts me first. This volume's artwork carries the story in a very capable way. It's consistent enough for continuity but varied enough to express the dreaminess that pervades the series. I like the art in this volume, but it's the story that dominates. How does an immortal quit his job? I won't tell, but it's hard on the mortals who become involved - those are the "brief lives." This book also makes an interesting point: an infinite life may have a definite beginning, then go on eternally. Likewise, an infinite life with an infinite past may have a definite end. I'm not sure what to make of a main character in this book, Delirium. Her former role (not depicted here) was Desire. That clue helps me distinguish Delirium from madness, and Despair has clearly different character. Perhaps, as I work my way through the series, I'll learn more. For now, I'll just enjoy the character's ambiguity. This title certainly gives me reason to read the rest of the seies.
Rating:
Summary: I LOVE the Dream King
Review: I'm a recent fan, having been introduced to the series by my younger sister. She has me reading all of the Sandman Library in consequential order, and the seventh installment, "Brief Lives," is quite possibly the best of them all. Certainly it's the only one that made me cry. Delirium, the youngest of the seven eternal siblings known as the Endless, gets an idea in her mixed-up little head to go and search for Destruction, her missing brother. Three hundred years ago, Destruction decided that his realm could function quite well without him to oversee things, so he essentially quit his job and set off in pursuit of more artistic ambitions. Delirium, to whom Destruction was always especially kind, misses her older brother and wants to find him. She approaches the twins, Desire and Despair, who refuse to accompany her; at some length Dream, the thin, serious brother who is the main character of the series, agrees to go along. He is hoping that this quest might distract him from the misery he's been in since his most recent love interest left him. The King of Dreams and the Queen of Madness then descend into the waking mortal world in search of those who have befriended Destruction through the centuries, hoping that one of them may know his present whereabouts. How they ultimately resolve this quest, and the results of the search, is achingly brilliant. Gaiman is a master storyteller, and the artistry in this book (particularly of Delirium, who never looks the same from one scene to the next) is almost too good for a comic book. This book is also of interest in that it is one of only two in the series to have all seven of the Endless appear somewhere within its pages. No true fan of the Sandman should go without reading this book!
Rating:
Summary: The Best of the Sandman
Review: The only reason I gave this story 5 stars is because there wasn't six, or ten, or a hundred available as choices. Simply put, the Sandman is one of the greatest, most involving, most touching, (even for a hard to touch person such as myself) work of literature (yes, despite being a mere comic book it is literature, or as Peter Stuab says, nothing is) in the past century, perhaps in the past several centuries. And Brief Lives is the best volume in the Sandman series, hands down. The story, plot wise, is about a quest to find a missing brother. The story is really about so many things more; about death, fate, redemption, mercy, terrible kindness, the meddling of gods and endless in human affairs, what happens to a family when the person that is its glue leaves, what it means to have a conscience, pride, honor, and much more. Brief Lives is, even more than the other Sandman volumes, rich with beauty, imagery, imagination, and scenes that fire the imagination and touch the heart. Who cannot be moved by the anguish of Delirium and Despair, who is not awestruck by the scenes in the garden of Destiny or the conversation with Destruction, who is not genuinely saddened by the death of Orpheus and at Dream's terrible grief after the act, and who cannot be uplifted by the ending and the bond of love between Orpheus and his servant. As an aspiring writer, I can honestly say that Brief Lives is both an inspiration and a goal; I hope that I may be able to write a single work that compares to it. I will admit to being initially reluctant to pick up Brief Lives, perhaps because I sensed where Gaiman would take the Sandman in the last four issues, the inevitable turn to tragedy. Brief Lives is like the last warm day before winter or the last flash of light and color at sunset. The course of the Sandman was always destined to be a tragic one, and Brief Lives is the beginning of the end, the movement from dreamy stories to true tragedy, and watching it happen to an incredible character like Dream only makes it that much more affecting. Towards the end of the story, Desire, foretelling the future, says that Dream was wreck waiting to happen, and that has been true. Dream has been a wreck waiting to happen since he escaped his captivity, or maybe since Orpheus went down to Hades, or maybe before that. Up till now, though, there was always the chance that things would go another way, that there was a way around that destiny, but after Brief Lives, that is no longer the case. There is only one possible outcome, and it is only a matter of time. That knowledge, heart wrenching as it is, is what makes this the best of all the Sandman series, and the best story, of any type or genre that I've read in quite some time.
Rating:
Summary: a beautifully, ingeniously woven tale
Review: The words above pretty much epitomize this book of The Sandman series. This is, quite possibly, the best one among the ten Sandman books, and with good reason. The plot is simple enough, and it's a plot that we've all been waiting expectantly to see since we read the words "about the prodigal one?" or anything of the like. This is the book wherein they look for their missing brother. This is also the book where we see Morpheus' path to self-destruction, his willingness to face this. This is the book that opens what we have all been dreading, but somehow, knew was coming. This is the beginning of the end of Lord Morpheus. In this one, we are able to see more of most of the characters, are introduced to more facets of their personalities. For instance - we are able to see Delirium more composed, more sensical, when a distraught Dream falls apart for passing moments. Seeing Dream fall apart is a new facet of his personality in itself. This is simply a foretaste of what else you will see in this magical, masterful tale. Destruction, the prodigal brother, is introduced here as well, along with a rather interesting dog, and many other characters. This book was an utter masterpiece. This is the defining tale in the Sandman series. This is the story that made Neil Gaiman my absolute idol, even my hero.
Rating:
Summary: A Priceless Story About Change and all things Ending.
Review: This is my first Sandman book, and it has not only hooked me onto the series, it's given me something I can't stop thinking about. The story begins with a slightly lost Delerium wandering the streets, talking to homeless people, going to night clubs, and trying to recall what the "gunky stuff in people's eyes" is called. At this night club Desire makes a very poetically laid-out first appearance, and kindly takes Del back to her/his realm. And that's when Delerium gets a funny little idea: she wants to look for Destruction. And she wants someone to come with her... The answer from Desire is very blunt: "No." And then she asks Despair: "No." Then, very reluctantly, because her big brother can be VERY scary, she asks Dream. After much hesitation, Dream says yes. As their journey through the human world takes way, we watch what is possibly the oddest possible pairing of two of the Endless traveling together, and at first it is, surprisingly, very funny, just like all of the Sandman comics tend to sneak in a little humor here and there. Though possibly Dream and Delirium themselves are unaware of it, we know that there is some bonding between the two of them, even throughout a conflict they must overcome before continuing on the journey later. The last three or four chapters are the most touching, as Dream's son Orpheus, who he has before sworn to never speak to again, is brought into the ending for a very sad conclusion. The intriguing thing about the ending is that almost all of the characters, save Destiny and Death who have nothing to hide, show us a different part of them that we haven't really seen before. Particularly Dream, who swallows his pride and does the right thing in the end, a very selfless act on his behalf. To conclude, here's a quote-one of my favorites-from Brief Lives: "Your life is your own. Your death, likewise. Always and forever, your own. Farewell..."
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