Dirk Maggs

It's been years since I've read the novel, so I'm sure there were things that were cut out for the sake of time etc. I did see a dramatization of Neverwhere put on by a local theater group in DC last year, so I have the highlights of the plot pretty fresh in my head. And the BBC dramatization had the same highlights, so I can't think that any important bits were cut out.

I really like the story, and I appreciated that this was produced. The cast was absolutely fantastic and perfect for their show more roles. There were some audio issues, though, where one actor would be significantly quieter than the others in a particular scene, and I'd have to fiddle with the volume to catch what he or she was saying, and then immediately turn it down again. This happened several times and was a bit annoying.

However, the actors brought the story to life. Though I feel I was at a bit of a disadvantage because my mental visuals were of the playhouse production I saw, which had been excellent, but was a bit distracting for me personally. Because of this, I don't know if my three-star rating was because of the production or because of me personally.

However, if you're a fan of the book, this is definitely worth a listen. show less

This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: The Sandman

Captured by a cult for nefarious reasons, the King of the Dream realm lies within a crystal prison. Morpheus bides his time, denying the cult even the sound of his voice. After all, what is a human life to one of the endless? But as Morpheus waits for his chance to escape, his realm is collapsing. When at long last the moment of escape arrives, Morpheus finds he has much work to do. Revenge is only the beginning of his tale. show more Morpheus must collect his stolen tools, rebuild the Realm of Dreams, and capture his freed nightmares.

The audiobook for The Sandman was remarkable. While the story is primarily dialogue-based due to its origins as a graphic novel, there was no confusion or lack of detail evident in the audio recording. The settings were created by a combination of ambient sounds and vocal clues from the characters within them. And the voice acting was so well done, bringing the various characters and creatures to life with unique dialects and accents. There were some moments I found it hard to understand certain characters due to their way of speech, but it made them feel all the more authentic.

The Sandman is not a tale for those faint of heart. Neil Gaiman spares no details as he dives into the dark side of humanity. From humans that will create nightmares to amuse themselves, to the nightmares themselves that use humans for entertainment. There are many facets of savagery and violence shown. Morpheus does what he can to amend the wrongs brought to those undeserving. However, if anyone so much as crosses Morpheus or brings harm to innocents, he will not hesitate to bring about his form of justice. Some may even find themselves living an eternal nightmare.

A few plot lines are left hanging in the balance by the end of this collection. Any story with planned sequels should have some amount of mystery left to solve. But there are characters introduced early on who did not quite line up with the story direction. For instance, there is the universe’s attempt at creating a Sandman when Morpheus is imprisoned. The new hero is a mortal who puts villains to sleep for a swift capture. But as Morpheus’ story progresses, the Sandman fades away. In later chapters, Morpheus takes up the title instead. I hope to see some of the loose ends tied up in later volumes. There is much left to explore in the world of The Sandman.

While I am not a graphic novel reader, I enjoyed the tie-in to the DC Universe. Fans of DC will certainly enjoy the cameo appearances of familiar characters. The Sandman is a thrilling and fast-paced adventure into the heart of humanity’s darkness. With much lore left to discover and a cast of characters yet to be fully realized, I look forward to the second audiobook. show less

#AudioBookReview

The Sandman
Author: Neil Gaiman
Producer: Dirk Maggs
Narrators: Multi-cast performance

The Sandman, an exclusive Audible presentation, is a full-cast audio drama comprising the first three volumes of the Sandman Library – Preludes and Nocturnes, The Doll's House and Dream Country.

If you've read the Sandman, you will know that it was never a simple or straightforward comic. It's a journey through darkness, myths, horror and terror. Not in your wildest dreams can you conceive a show more world in which the Endless and the other creatures abide. It is an epic, to say the least. To take that same gargantuan imagination and compress it into an audio format isn't easy. Needless to say then that there are some gains and some losses.

Where the audio works wonderfully is in its production standard. The brilliance that is the hallmark of every Gaiman audio production exists in this audiobook too. The background music, sound effects, and narrative performance all are impeccable. With a cast that reads like the who's who of the audiobook world, the performance shouldn't come as a surprise. The voice cast includes Gaiman himself as The Narrator, James McAvoy as Dream, Kat Dennings as Death, Taron Egerton as John Constantine, Michael Sheen as Lucifer, Riz Ahmed as The Corinthian, Andy Serkis as Matthew the Raven, Samantha Morton as Urania Blackwell, and Bebe Neuwirth as The Siamese Cat. Every single voice actor (lead and secondary) is cast to perfection, including the MAN himself, the one and only Neil Gaiman, who infuses thrills and chills in you with his narration. The enunciation, the expressions, the overall performance itself is so captivating that your mind stays hooked.

The dialogues are taken more or less directly from the book, so no worries about the story being edited or modified to fit the audio format. The essence of Sandman is kept intact. A big benefit of having the author as the executive producer of the audio version.

Where the audiobook falls short is in the visualisation, as expected. The beauty of the Sandman series wasn't just in its mind-blowing storytelling but also the out-of-the-world illustrations. The graphics were so hypnotic in their appeal that every panel held your attention even beyond the speech bubbles. That visual impact is obviously missing in the audiobook.

Some of the elements of the comics transmuted beautifully to the audiobook: the kidnapping and release of Morpheus, his struggles to regain his three dream tools: the helm, the pouch and the ruby, the entire Unity Kincaid and Rose Wheeler arc. Some more stories such as the Corinthian arc, the Richard Madoc arc, and the Urania Blackwell arc are good enough in the audiobook but they were fabulous in the comics. The Lyta Hall arc, Midsummer Night’s Dream, the Doctor Destiny arc, and the Robert Gadling arc weren’t my favourites to hear. These were all visual stories and hence worked much better in the book, though the voice performance by the narrators was outstanding.

To put it in brief, the audiobook is almost 11 hours of magic. But I honestly feel that the comics ought to be read first, and heard later if desired. After all, would you rather hear a dream or see it? show less

Ah, now THIS is what a radioplay should be! Fantastic characters, perfectly embodied by actors who know how to not over- or under-do it; just enough soundeffects to make the story more than just voices; and of course a wonderfully drafted story, condensed from the original, but not so much as to lose the overarching tone of the original. After having heard the characters in this format, I kind of wish that they woud do another film/tv version of the Neverwhere story, since I think that these show more voice actors are so well-suited to the characters. Someday, maybe, since the original tv series never really made itself well-known, and if the upcoming Gaiman-based screen adaptations do well enough, I can see a reboot happening. If not I'll at least be satisfied with what we have! show less