The Sandman Vol. 9: The Kindly Ones (1996)

This one is probably the one that I love the most, but not because of the quick pace, the literary references, the art, or the final act. Or maybe it's because (or not because) of all of it.

No spoilers, but the furies can be a real bitch, and so is their puppet.

Then again, who's really pulling the strings?

This one brought me to tears both times I read it. It sneaks up on you. Even when you know it's coming from the previous volume's foreshadowing, it still sneaks up on you and you expect something else to occur and yet... it was always to be, wasn't it?

Fuck you, Destiny.
Fuck you to hell.

Oh my. I might be getting a little carried away with my emotions a little. ( )

I hereby declare Sandman a part of me; so whoever loves Sandman loves me.


Wasn't it really inevitable, that the story of Dream had to end this way? I knew what was coming at every step I took towards the end of the story, and yet I read on.

And Gaiman didn't disappoint. It was not some grand battle, it was like how a fire dies, little by little till you cannot remember where.

Still, I loved the little moments of artistry, where the writing touches your heart and kills you at the same time. It was like being granted love and having it taken away - it's hard on you but, you would go through it all over again.
( )

The ninth in the Sandman series gathers a number of threads, some started as far back as the second book in the series, and brings them to a conclusion. Morpheus is a stubborn character, someone who is not always prepared to compromise, and sometimes makes difficult choices. Characters from earlier books, including Hippolyta Hall, three witches, a Norse god and Thessaly are determined to settle those grudges
But there is a cohesive and separate storyline in the book too. A child is taken, and the mother thinks it is Morpheus and is set on destroying him. She turns to two ladies, The Kindly Ones, who she persuades to help her in this quest. Faced with the greatest challenge in his life, Morpheus confronts his foes and fears from a high and desolate peak surrounded and may have to make the greatest sacrifice yet.

"It's never what they want, and if we give them what they think they want, they like it less than ever."

The longest so far of the books, this is follows in the same vein as the last couple in the series, in that it has a set of stories that all hang together. Still dark though, but this time with an intensity and sinister and other worldly elements that make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Sadly the artwork was not up to the quality of the previous books, not totally sure why, just lacked the detail. Other than that great book.
( )

Marc Hempel's art just doesn't do it for me this volume. ( )

First, a warning: Don't read the introduction of this book if you haven't read the book yet. Here there be spoilers.

What an incredible denouement to the Sandman story arc. Characters long since forgotten appear again with new significance. Elements from every preceding volume suddenly tie together in unforeseen ways. It's exciting and inevitable yet nonetheless surprising.

The art took me aback at first. I didn't quite like it. I didn't hate it, but it definitely didn't appeal. However, as I sank deeper and deeper into the story, it grew on me, and in the end, I can't imagine this book drawn any other way. ( )