User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
So much fun!
I’m a huge fan of audiobooks, I listen to them all the time – more than music or podcasts, but not so much a full cast production. So I was a little hesitant to start this Audible original. But I loved the Sandman comics and graphic novels, really enjoy most anything by Neil Gaiman and am also a DC comics fan. So off I went.
The music, sound effects and multiple players added to the enjoyment of this production. Many talented voice actors and all delivering Gaiman’s splendidly surreal art.
I especially loved the many references to DC comic characters and am again enamored with the Sandman universe being connected to the larger DC universe.
Probably best for fans, this is still an exceptional work that most listeners of this genre will appreciate.
Rating: really liked it
*** 4.35 *** "...“What power would hell have if those imprisoned here would not be able to dream of heaven?”
― Neil Gaiman, Preludes & Nocturnes..." This is a very moody read for sure. It has those bleak and dark overtones, which I kind of expected, but it is a bit more... surreal than I thought. However, I am really liking the audio adaptation and can't wait to see what happens... It is like a series of short stories and it is easy going. I am planning on checking out the comic books too
"...“I only have two kinds of dreams: the bad and the terrible. Bad dreams I can cope with. They're just nightmares, and the end eventually. I wake up. The terrible dreams are the good dreams. In my terrible dreams, everything is fine. I am still with the company. I still look like me. None of the last five years ever happened. Sometimes I'm married. Once I even had kids. I even knew their names. Everything's wonderful and normal and fine. And then I wake up, and I'm still me. And I'm still here. And that is truly terrible.”
― Neil Gaiman, Preludes & Nocturnes..." Very psychedelic:):):):):) I enjoyed it and am interested if they make more of the series into audio. Loved that there were so many different little stories, and still there were common threads... The one with the Muse was very disturbing. I think my favorite one was about Rose Walker and her brother... I loved the one with the cats also. I really enjoyed most of them, some more than others. Glad I got to read them:)
"...“We don't have a clue what's really going down, we just kid ourselves that we're in control of our lives while a paper's thickness away things that would drive us mad if we thought about them for too long play with us, and move us around from room to room, and put us away at night when they're tired, or bored.”
― Neil Gaiman, The Doll's House..." I recommend it to all fans of Gaiman and DC Comics:)
"...“I'm not blessed, or merciful. I'm just me. I've got a job to do, and I do it. Listen: even as we're talking, I'm there for old and young, innocent and guilty, those who die together and those who die alone. I'm in cars and boats and planes; in hospitals and forests and abbatoirs. For some folks death is a release, and for others death is an abomination, a terrible thing. But in the end, I'm there for all of them.”
― Neil Gaiman, Dream Country..."
Rating: really liked it
Uuuuggg, four or five stars? How to judge! This masterfully rewritten, directed and crafted full cast audio version of the first Sandman comics (I’ve lent my first four to a friend so I can’t actually check if it’s two or three books) is so well done productionwise that it earns it five stars right there.
My reason for wanting to rate it four stars is that it doesn’t reach the brilliance of the actual comics. My main and personal complaint is all the dramatic, descriptive music, but such is this media I suppose. Reading the comics was a much calmer, and preferable experience, imo, where I was able to dwell on pages and images and facial expressions and let that move me. I couldn’t really be moved in that way here, with this dramatized reading. I did laugh out loud a few times, though, especially Taron Egerton’s Constantine was all kinds of lovable. The whole cast is brilliant for sure.
I’d always recommend the comics first and foremost, they’re a far more emotive, reflecting and wholesome experience, but as a whole the transference from comic to audio could not possibly have been better, so I have to grant it those five stars. Well done to everyone involved, and I look forward to the next part.
Rating: really liked it
Awesome Full Cast Audiobook Adaptation of the DC Comic Series!
The following ratings are out of 5:Narration: 🎙🎙🎙🎙🎙
Story/Plot: 📕📗📙📘📔
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌍🌏
Character development: 😤😥😊🤩😘
This was a full cast audiobook, including sound effects, background music and various famous actors and actresses as the cast of characters. It was written by Neil Gaimon and adapted and directed by Dirk Maggs. The Sandman is based on the DC Comic books and is soon to be a Netflix series. It definitely had the dark eeriness that exists in a lot of the DC comics, especially Batman and contained a lot of DC characters such as John Constantine, Dr. Destiny and more.
The number of characters in this one was huge and each was (or at least seemed to be voiced by different people), most notably James McAvoy as Dream (a.k.a Lord Morpheus; a.k.a. The Sandman), Kat Dennings as Death, Michael Sheen as Lucifer Morningstar, Riz Ahmed as The Corinthian, John Lithgow as Emporer Joshua Norton, David Tennant as Loki and so many more. It was definitely the most enjoyable audiobook I have listened to. If only all audiobooks were full cast audiobooks with music and background noise, they might just be worth the price charged for them.
There were characters from myth and legend (like Morpheus, Orpheus, Thessaly), Norse Gods (like Thor, Odin, Loki), Angels and Demons (including Death, Lucifer, Azazel), the DC comic world and many others including William Shakespeare. Of course I liked some of the characters much more than others, Dream, Death, John Constantine and Loki were my favorites as well as a few others.
The story started with a cult that wanted to summon and control Death so that they could change the world they mistakenly summon Dream instead and they imprison him for something like 70 years. They take the tools of his trade (source of his powers) including a ruby which holds parts of himself, a pouch of dreaming sand, the helmet of dreams which was crafted from the bones and spine of old gods.
The tools were lost and stolen over the years Morpheus was imprisoned and when he finally escapes he has to go and collect them to get his power back and restore his realm, which has been withering during his years away. The plot goes further as the book goes on and we see Morpheus throughout time. I don’t want to say more about the plot but to say it is interesting and the characters (and voices) make it an awesome listen. I can’t wait to see the first season on Netflix and compare. I did purchase the next audiobook, though I may wait to listen to it until just before the next season of the show on Netflix.
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Rating: really liked it
The announcement of this Audible adaptation of
The Sandman was what finally nudged me into giving Audible a go (a good decision so far) but prior to its release I decided that I wanted to read the series in it's entirety before I started this, something that I think worked well for me. I still have my own interpretations of the characters, but this builds beautifully on that. I would have listened to this faster, but certain chapters I would delay -- for example, I made a point to listen to
24 Hours during the day, when I had time to shake it off a bit. It was brilliant but awful, not something that I wanted to be playing in my head right before I was trying to get to sleep!
James McAvoy was superb. Dream has become yet another iconic character he has perfectly captured. I also really liked Kat Dennings' take on Death. Riz Ahmed as the Corinthian was almost too good. Creepy as hell without overdoing it. The more I listened, the more he got under my skin. I did
not enjoy the eating sound effects-- already a sound I dislike, but add to that the all too clear mental image of the Corinthian's choice of food and it was almost unbearable. That's a compliment in this context!
Collectors was one of my my favourite issues, and I loved (yet hated) listening to it.
I also thought Neil Gaiman's narration was wonderful.
I'm incredibly pleased to see they will be continuing with this, with the second being released later this year.
Rating: really liked it
not sure i understood anything but i respect the grind
Rating: really liked it
Recently, I have become fascinated by the comparisons of the mediums of comics and audiobooks. When a graphic novel is adapted to an audioplay, it makes for an interested mixture of visuals in one's mind with listening to actors playing out the story.
Audible's high-quality version of the classic Neil Gaiman fantasy series Sandman, is the ultimate adaptation in this regard. Dirk Maggs has done an exceptional job of turning every single story into another medium with real voices bringing this epic to life.
On that front, the main criticism seems to be that he was too faithful to the source material. Pretty much everything that happened in those issues happens exactly the same. It's all canon.
To be honest, though I love Sandman, I have always felt that the first book 'Preludes and Nocturnes' makes for a slow start. The primary problem is that Gaiman didn't quite know what his opus was going to be yet; it is sometimes more horror than fantasy for example. The worst sin of all is that it takes place in the DC Universe. It's one thing to take up obscure horror/fantasy elements from old comics, which often fits well (Destiny, Kirby's Sandman, anthology hosts Cain and Abel...), and it's another thing to start name-dropping the Justice League and a special appearance by the Martian Manhunter.
The latter doesn't work, and I wish it wasn't included in this edition. But it's canon, it's there, and it's as well done as possible all things considering.
That said, Sandman truly becomes a masterpiece by the time Death shows up and the complex Doll's House storyline begins. The acting, the sound effects, all exceptional storytelling that shows Gaiman's scriptwriting is perfect in any medium.
It also behooves me to mention the last chapter is A Midsummer Night's Dream from Sandman # 19, the tale that won the World Fantasy Award in 1991. Leaving on that note leaves the listener satisfied and makes up for any early bumps along the way...
Lastly, James McAvoy's Dream of the Endless isn't whispery voice I imagined but that's okay. There are many interpretations and his bold kingly take is eminently valid. There's also Neil himself who narrates much of the exposition, he has a nice voice and is experienced at public readings but I'd still like it if they hired another announcer. Still that's the fun of reading a book and seeing the movie--exploring another take of a well-crafted story! All versions still count.
I certainly hope they continue these until the end of the entire saga
Rating: really liked it
Chantal is having a relationship with a sentence. Just one of those things. A chance meeting that grew into something important for the both of them.
Solidly satisfying adaptation of one of my favourite graphic novels! This was a delightful way to revisit Dream.
This first volume tells, mostly, the tale of Morpheus (the powerful personification of dream) after he escapes a decades-long captivity. He must, in a quest-type fashion, regain his objects of power, muster his strength, and begin setting the long neglected Dreaming back into order. It is dark and gritty and so much fun.
While I generally feel that nothing could match the original graphic novel presentation, Gaiman and the team involved clearly put a huge amount of careful effort into this iteration and it shows. I'd absolutely recommend it all around (to adult audiences), and most especially for curious readers who don't love comics.
So very pleased to have this in my audiobook collection.
Rating: really liked it
Very satisfying.
Mind you, I've read the comics several times through, so I was apprehensive about how well it would have transformed into an audiobook format.
Fortunately, it worked brilliantly. I'm sure it required a great deal of re-imagining for the format, but this should come as no surprise since it will soon come out as a TV SERIES!!!!
Wooo!
But back to the story. This only takes on the narrative through the Midsummer Night's Tale. We can all expect more, later.
Just imagine.
The lord of stories, of narrative, of dream.
For all of you who have never read the comics and think you might like to get introduced to this?
Definitely. Listen away. It only gives you a taste of the full tale, but it's very, very fun.
Rating: really liked it
***5 stars***The audiobook version of these graphic novels is absolutely brilliant and deserves all the stars!!
Rating: really liked it
When I'm a fan, I'm a FAN (meaning I can read the same story several times and enjoy reading it in different formats). And Gaiman's
The Sandman certainly is a series to gush over. Sure, the art of the graphic novels often is downright ugly, but it somehow grows on you and usually fits the story. So when I heard that there would be an audiobook adaptation, I was simultaneously elated and dubious. Why dubious? Well, the story is agraphic novel - Gaiman thought it out and designed it as one so it was written in a way that the story is told half through Gaimans wonderful wordsmithery and half through the art. But in an audiobook, you don't have any art. Hm.
In the end, what won me over was also the impressive cast that had a few of my favourite actors playing key roles - and Gaiman himself being the narrator.
And let me tell you that it was absolutely worth it! This first part encompasses the first 4 volumes of comics so there will be more (yay). We are introduced to Morpheus, see him live through decades of captivity, what him being missing does to our universe, meet his siblings as well as some other well-known DC characters, witness mind-bending events in different realms (Hell being only one of them) and generally have a good time while being caught between fun and a looming / unsettling darkness.
For more information on the actual plot of the single story archs, see my reviews here:
Volume One - Preludes & Nocturnes
Volume Two - The Doll's House
Volume Three - Dream Country
Volume Four - Season of Mists
If you like full-cast audiobooks with some sound effects (though they are few and far in between, which I liked since I'm not too much of a fan of overblown sound effects drowning out the actual narration and acting) and are, like me, addicted to glorious storytelling, this is for you!
Rating: really liked it
This audio was so much fun!
It's done in episodes with a full cast production. There is music and sound effects here and there. I would recommend reading the graphic novels first, but even if you didn't, there's still a lot here, something for everyone.
Highly recommended!
Rating: really liked it
This book is for you if… you are ready to ascend to a new level of audiobook experience. Not suitable for young readers and people who are easily triggered. TW: r*pe, abduction, violence, child ab*se, imprisonment, p*dophilia.
⤐ Overall.Me raving about this book is not so much about the collected works of
The Sandman itself but rather this specific adaptation. The calibre of some of the narrators is incredible: starting with Neal himself to James McAvoy to Taron Egerton to the fabulous Justin Vivian Bond. The 'end credits' took up over four minutes to list the entire cast and that in itself is already marvellous.
If you're not used to dramatisations, the beginning might be a bit rough. At first, the background noises and music sometimes made it hard to concentrate on the plot for a while. It must also be noted that
this is merely a collection of the comics written by Neal so far and thus the narrative seems sorta chopped up. Once you've got a grip on that, though, you can enjoy the ride!
I haven't read too much of Neal's works but always admired him for his
rhythmic language that is poetic without annoying me to death with stupid, useless prose. Even when reading his books, you can see he is a very thoughtful writer that likes writing as much for the creation of stories as he enjoys using language as an adaptable tool to do just that. It is definitely evident that Dirk did his best to capture that aspect of
The Sandman and did a fantastic job getting the best out of all his narrators and sound crew.
Trump hugging the Murican flag is an accurate depiction of the feelings I have for this adaptation:
(using him in memes is so much more fun now that he finally was voted out.)
⤐ What’s happening. ‘The wind that blows between the worlds chills me as I fall. Suppose I fail? I cannot bluff demons as I bluffed the errant dreams with Constantine. But I have the pouch, I have a modicum of power.’
_____________________
5 STARS.Absolutely loved it. Memorable read that I'm likely to return to. Takes up space in my mind long after I've finished it. Oftentimes a particularly insightful read. Will recommend it with my last breath.
Rating: really liked it
I listened to this audio drama in ninety minute chunks once a week when cleaning the house. If that's not a detailed enough depiction of the context of my experience of the Dirk Maggs audio production of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman, then I'll be more specific: it was while vacuuming and mopping the floors of our house. Oh, and the vacuuming was done with a Dyson V9. Nice vacuum cleaner.
I mention all that because it's kind of a weird way to experience an audio drama. In between Morpheus fighting to retrieve his trademark insectoid mask and jewel, I was fighting to wedge the head of the vacuum into tough-to-reach parts of the carpet underneath the couch. That's a rather different way to interact with a story than, say, reading it every night before bed when all my attention (what little there is of it, anyway) is devoted to the book in my hands.
The Sandman audiobook is really a pastiche of dark fantasy stories, some featuring Morpheus himself, others in which he's merely a mentioned side player. The production values are phenomenal, with top-shelf actors like James McAvoy as Morpheus and a cast most feature films would envy. Dirk Maggs does an amazing job of making it feel like your spirit is fully immersed in the world – even when your physical body is trying to attach the damned wet Swiffer napkin-thing over the dratted rubber head-thing.
As for the stories themselves, well, they had a retro feel to me – as if they were intentionally calling back to the old radio dramas of the 1930's and 1940's. This is fun, sometimes, and a bit cliché at others. Mostly, though, it was the Sandman himself who left me feeling less than engaged in the stories. The character of Morpheus feels like Goth Superman to me, with powers that suggest he'll always win in the end because . . . dream magic. So while there's lots of twists and turns in the story, there was never much genuine jeopardy to me. The human characters are represented almost as archetypes themselves – variations of "everyperson" figures meant to represent slices of 1950's Americana. They come and they go, which means there's never much of a reason to become emotionally invested in any of them.
All that said, I still thought the writing was great and the production outstanding. So maybe the problem is that I was imposing my bias for novels onto what is really a short story collection – demanding a continuous set of emotional stakes when one is really meant to visit the world of the Sandman – like the world of Faery – on its own terms.
Or maybe it was just all the vacuuming. Either way, there's lots to love here so if dark fantasy fairy tales with a sort of 1950's/1960's vibe are your thing, give The Sandman audio drama a try.
Rating: really liked it
I've been circling the Sandman dramatization for what felt like
years, though Goodreads logs say it was only a month and a half. I blame my browser's news feed, that suddenly exploded with Sandman-related news, just because I read that one Buzzfeed article. Damn you Google and your stalkerish ways!
Story improvement over audio?I was hoping for an improvement on the 3rd volume's short stories, but
Midsummer Night's Dream performance to fairies didn't present much of a change. Although I guess I did get a different understanding by listening to the comments from the "peanut gallery". Unfortunately my overall favorite story, of the travelling cat-prophet lost some of its charm along the way. Or maybe, I just react better to
seeing the fluffy monsters, as opposed to listening to someone impersonate them...
Dramatization: yay or nay?If you already own the comics, I wouldn't shell out $15 a month, just to listen to the exact same story. Although, I do admit that Neil Gaiman is an excellent narrator, and could probably give reading the phonebook a go.
I'm still working on reconciling James McAvoy's voice with my mental "imagery" of Morpheus, but should I decide to move forward with the sequels I'll probably get used to it.
Score: 3.3 /5 starsAll in all, not a bad way to pass a couple of days, but if (like me) you already own the comics, I wouldn't call the dramatization a must have. I mean, ideally someone would create a fan video combining the audio with the relevant images from the comics, like some well-meaning BL manga fans have done with some of my favorite manga. That said, I will definitely check out the TV series.
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Review of the associated comic books:
Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes
Vol. 2: The Doll's House
Vol. 3: Dream Country
