from Laura:

The Sandman and I got off to a questionable start, as the first few graphic novels are pretty full of dark and disturbing imagery, and I just don't do too well with that sort of stuff, Neil Gaiman or not. I stuck with it, though, and now understand why this series is so highly regarded. I don't want it to end. I feel like I will need to read all the volumes again, and soon, in order to get a fuller appreciation of the story.

Each issue in this volume features a different artist, which I found to be a little visually jarring, but it's also cool to see different interpretations of the characters. Luckily, the lettering has remained the same throughout the series, so it's easy to tell who is speaking and what kinds of qualities their voices might have. ( )

I'm still trucking along on my many years project of reading Sandman. I will state that since the allegations against the writer, reading them has lost luster a bit. Very sad. In this one, there are MANY plates spinning. I can't imagine reading each chapter within each book so separated in time if you don't have the big collection in front of you of Volume #9. So many characters revisiting from the past books, that it seems to become a bit of the point... to have all the characters reappear.... but maybe really that was the point of the books before this one... to introduce characters that would appear together in this book. The art in this collection is a little more abstract, I think, than previous books. Which makes me a bit less of a fan. The story was a complex glorious mess though. It will be interesting to see what happens in the final book.... ( )

I'm obv binging through The Sandman. I've read collections #6-#10 in like 20ish days. And for the first five, I needed a whole year.
This was a nice collection, it started off strong, lost me a bit in the middle, and ended on a strong note. It's definitely among the best ones. Ad wow, I only have six more issues left to read.

#57-8
#58-9
#59-9
#60-10
#61-10
#62-8
#63-8
#64-9
#65-10
#66-10
#67-10
#68-10
#69-10
( )

Finally, the end of the journey. This is where it all culminates, all small plot strings join into the grand finale. This is probably the best book of the series... or a close second! ( )

I haven't written a review of the previous books in this series, because I was mentally treating them all as one bigger story. After reading this one, though, I needed to get my thoughts down.

I've enjoyed the stories so far - interesting, slightly disturbing, and yet entrancing. It is really interesting to see the different artists and their portrayals of the characters across the different books and stories.

I have to say that this was my favourite book so far (only two left to go). I knew what was coming, and it made the journey sad to read. The part that really struck me was that even though there were characters that had full faces and eyes and details and emotions (I'm thinking of Lyta, here), the artists did a phenomenal job of portraying the sadness and despair and strength of Dream without having to use details like eyes, etc. Very impressive, and beautiful.

I'll miss him when I'm finished reading, but he is already entrenched in my psyche. After a night of bad dreams in my house, the first thought I had was that the Sandman was upset about something. It's great when a character has that kind of effect on your thoughts. ( )