Rating: 
Summary: My favorite of the series
Review: "Brief Lives" was my introduction to the Sandman mythos, and it still stands as my favorite. This is a terrific story that is very different than Gaiman's other story arcs. This one is less about dreams than it is about people, families, and the relationships between them all. Delirium takes Dream into the waking world and we see Dream as more human than ever before. Delirium is a delight to be around, her lack of linear thoughts is amusing. The whole idea of Dream and Delirium going on a road trip with Matthew the Raven offering driving tips is hysterical. Neil always creates a cast of interesting characters and throws in a lot of various mythologies. The end of this story is truly an ending with Delirium and Dream having found their missing brother and they learn that all things must change. This was the climax of Gaiman's series and the stories that followed lacked the surprise and irreverence of this one. I would recommend this book and the terrific "Fables and Reflections" to any new Sandman readers. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: My favorite of the series
Review: "Brief Lives" was my introduction to the Sandman mythos, and it still stands as my favorite. This is a terrific story that is very different than Gaiman's other story arcs. This one is less about dreams than it is about people, families, and the relationships between them all. Delirium takes Dream into the waking world and we see Dream as more human than ever before. Delirium is a delight to be around, her lack of linear thoughts is amusing. The whole idea of Dream and Delirium going on a road trip with Matthew the Raven offering driving tips is hysterical. Neil always creates a cast of interesting characters and throws in a lot of various mythologies. The end of this story is truly an ending with Delirium and Dream having found their missing brother and they learn that all things must change. This was the climax of Gaiman's series and the stories that followed lacked the surprise and irreverence of this one. I would recommend this book and the terrific "Fables and Reflections" to any new Sandman readers. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Be carfeul what you search for; you might find it.
Review: "You cannot seek destruction and return unscathed." This line spoken by Despair sums up this tale. Delerium decides to search for he missing brother, and after being rebuffed by Desire and Despair she convinces Deam to go with her. Originally Dream goes to escape the pain of another ill-fated love affair, but becomes more deeply involved much to his regret. The true nature of responsibility, family and mortality are all dealt with here, and in a fashion that truly makes the reader think.
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: My Pick of the Series
Review: Back in 1994, my brother was very much into comic books. Not wanting to buy my brother something wihtout buying me something, and knowing my flare for the dramatic and mythological, my father bought me one of the installments of Sandman: Brief Lives...and it changed my life forever. I hungrily started to read anything I could get my hands on by Neil Gaiman...but the haunting images and statements that I received from that book are still with me. It was the episode in which Dream comes face to face with his son after many many years...and agrees to a deadly boon. There are not enough adjectives dealing with "wonder" to describe Gaiman's work. He redefines the mythologies we are all familiar with and creates some new ones. But this is the catalyst installment...Brief Lives is when Dream truly cannot go back...when he passes the cusp of fate into the inevitable. Up until this point, Dream has a choice, but following his decisions in this book, he can no longer retreat to safety. He had become a part of my personal pantheon, as his brothers and sisters have. He's with me for the rest of my life.
Rating:
Summary: A Real Portrait of the Lord of Dreams
Review: Brief Lives is simply breathtaking. It gives you a wonderful personal view of Morpheus. In this book we see the relationship between Dream and his son, as well as the rest of the Endless. This is one of the most incredible books of the series, which is saying a lot. I have rarely seen as well thought out a character as Dream in any genre.
Rating:
Summary: The most human...and the most beautiful
Review: Brief Lives, the sixth volume in the momentous, blindingly brilliant Sandman series, is the best yet. Though it's really hard to imagine anything better than A Game of You, which in turn was a shock to be better than A Season of Mists, it really DOES take one step up. Gaiman was better than them all before, but now he's a leap above himself again. In Brief Lives, Delirium, the youngest of the Endless, who was once Delight, sees the painful side of existence and concludes that it is due to the fact the the Endless are incomplete: Destruction left 300 years ago. She misses him and drags Morpheus into assisting her in finding their wayward brother. Things are never that easy, however, and they both learn quite a few valuable lessons in their travels, not least that all lives, even eternal ones, are brief and should thus be celebrated, cherished, and mourned. The whole thing is framed in two different ways of saying the same thing: "It is, of course, a miracle." and "It is going to be a beautiful day." All days are beautiful, no more and no less, and Gaiman never lets us forget it. Though this one deals with the Endless more than usually, it is, paradoxically, the most human one so far. Everyone feels the same way that this one does.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best SANDMAN stories
Review: Delirium is so beautifully drawn in this collection, and the colors throughout are incredible. I love how the little bit of Tori Amos lyrics got thrown in at the beginning. I feel closer to Del than any other member of the Endless, and this beautiful, touching story is one that I'll keep with me forever.
Rating:
Summary: My favourate of the series
Review: Delirium, the youngest of the Endless, who was once Delight, needs a change. She decides to find her missing "prodigal" brother. She begs Dream to accompany her and surprisingly, (for reasons we don't discover til later) he agrees. But their prodigal brother is none other than Destruction, and as Dream and Delirium soon learn, few can seek Destruction unscathed. One of Gaiman's many skills is the use of doublespeak, and this story is no exception. It is a brilliant interplay of past accounts and current journeys, mirroring each other. "What's the name of the word for things not being the same always.....there must be a word for it. The thing that let's you know time is happening. Is there a word?" "Change" replies Dream, and that is the basis for this story. It marks the realization of what Dream boths needs and yet cannot accomplish - he must change to survive, or cast about the seeds of his own future destruction. "Brief Lives" is the glory of an already impeccable series. It is for me, the jewel in the crown of the entire Sandman saga. It manages to be haunting, thrilling and hysterical all at the same time.
Rating:
Summary: My favourate of the series
Review: Delirium, the youngest of the Endless, who was once Delight, needs a change. She decides to find her missing "prodigal" brother. She begs Dream to accompany her and surprisingly, (for reasons we don't discover til later) he agrees. But their prodigal brother is none other than Destruction, and as Dream and Delirium soon learn, few can seek Destruction unscathed. One of Gaiman's many skills is the use of doublespeak, and this story is no exception. It is a brilliant interplay of past accounts and current journeys, mirroring each other. "What's the name of the word for things not being the same always.....there must be a word for it. The thing that let's you know time is happening. Is there a word?" "Change" replies Dream, and that is the basis for this story. It marks the realization of what Dream boths needs and yet cannot accomplish - he must change to survive, or cast about the seeds of his own future destruction. "Brief Lives" is the glory of an already impeccable series. It is for me, the jewel in the crown of the entire Sandman saga. It manages to be haunting, thrilling and hysterical all at the same time.
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