Sandman, The: The Wake - Book X

With appearances by most of the characters that have appeared in this series, this is a fitting epilogue to one of the greatest stories ever told in this medium. While the new personification of The Sandman waits, his family performs the final ceremony for their departed sibling. Like all wakes, it is a time for stories, for people to renew lost acquaintances, and to say goodbye. Michael Zulli's wonderful art gives the reader a clear picture of the events and Gaiman's final farewell to the character is most appropriate.

When I heard the rumor that Dream would die, I fought against it utterly...until I picked up and read (and nearly lost to several friends after lending it out) The Wake. I knew that Dream was truly dead...though not really...just a new incarnation. But what I didn't understand before reading is how Gaiman could possibly make me love our beloved and brooding Sandman more. But he did. The new Dream is not un-Dreamlike. He is thoughtful and somewhat brooding, like his pretocesor...but unlike the old Dream, he is more capable of compassion and feeling. He is as beautiful as the old Dream, but more a Dream for a new millennium. I do wish that the story didn't have to end so soon...but at least I have my dreams. And in them the story does go on. Thank you, Neil. I'll join you and Tori in hanging out with your Dream King any time.

That is the phrase both me and the character Matthew the Raven were uttering as I picked up the soft cover of one of my least anticipated Sandman novelas. I say this in the realization that I was in such a state in denial to the death of Morpheus that I hated Neil for ever doing so. I bought it more out of spite than out of love and after reading it realized that yes, all good things must come to an end....and it was a good ending indeed. But before buying it I would come across it in Barnes and Noble and pick it up sneering that such a concoction had run across the great mind of Mr. Gaiman. I would sneer at the artist and at the way the pages begged to be read and decided to buy it, to prove that I was right becuase to me, it was a great sin to ever hate a book by Neil...I nearly worship the fellow....and it would kill me to have any notion against him go unscathed. I read at first, in great triumph which, as my reading became more frequent, began to dissolve into mere wonderment. Everything that I wanted it to be was unexpected. This is how it should be. This is why I can't help liking Neil Gaiman novels. This is why I actually wept from reading it. Don't get me wrong...this collection isn't all that sad. The ending I'm sure you'll find one of the most joyous that you've read, and the extra stories quite amusing. It is a MUST read...even if your concious is telling you any different! I would also like to say a special thanks to the author...who has filled my mind into believing that it holds more imagination than meets the eye. And that all great stories, do indeed end. I am happy now with it read, that it did.

The first three chapters in this graphic novel are the story of the funeral for the King of Dreams, mostly seen through the beady, little smart-assed eyes of the raven who was once Matthew Cable. Delirium manages to steal the show a bit in the first act, but there's plenty for everyone. Just about everyone puts in an appearance here, from the lovely, self-absorbed and funny Rose Walker, who adjusts to her `condtion' with the help of her estranged brother Jed; to the immortal Indian King talked about in World's End (who makes a Winnie the Pooh reference, so's you know it's good). The convention of Morpheus' old lovers is nice. Good Queen Titania refuses to disclose any specifics about their rumored relationship, Larissa/Thessaly comes to tears speaking about Morpheus (wasn't she directly responsible for him getting killed in the first place, though?), and Calliope's speech about her gratefulness to Dream for the mercy-killing of their son, was strangely beautiful. Meager words, however, cannot possibly describe the eulogies of Morpheus' family and friends, nor the mystical funeral barge that Dream's final voyage is taken on. It IS the stuff dreams are made of.But, celebrity guest stars aside, this is the story of the late Dream King's best friend and right-hand bird, Matthew, coming to grips with his boss' death, the option of ending his own life, and the new Dream on the throne. Dream/Daniel Hall has a busy time too. Fear over meeting the rest of his family, The Endless, over dinner, and his quiet moments with the palace guards, show that, despite however much of Morpheus there may be in him, this time, Dream is more human than ever. But, as Destruction's visit proves, Morpheus is still very much a part of Daniel. Evidenced especially when he pardons his mother, Lyta Hall, for her involvement in the Kindly Ones affair, something Morpheus probably would never have done. Finally, Matthew learns a lesson that Dream tried to impart to his son, Orpheus, and had he learned it, none of the tragedy in the series would need have happened. "When the dead are gone, you mourn, and go on living." Or words to that effect. Long live the King.The Epilogue, Sunday Mourning, chronicles the immortal Hob Gadling's day spent at a renaissance festival with his latest girlfriend, Gwen. Miserable, and feeling his age (635), Hob gets into an argument about English slaving practices with Gewn, and argues about what the English Renaissance era was REALLY like with a puppeteer. Then he gets drunk. Or at least tries to. Hob's description of American beer has to be read in context to be believed, but it made me split my sides. Then Death shows up. She brings Hob the news of her brother's passing, and asks if he's ready to call it a day. Hob's anguish over whether to choose a poetic death over a degrading life is a great, moving literary moment.Michael Zulli illustrates these four parts of the novel. The faces, the colors, the emotion in e

A fitting title to one of the best comic series ever printed. The reader who has followed the Sandman series finally wakes up from the incredible 5 year 'dream' saga. It is not as heavy to read as some of the other earlier collections since it is made up of short stories. This collection wraps up the loose bits and pieces to the Sandman series. The first part sees the wake for Morpheus and Daniel taking up the mantle as the new Dream. The rest are individual stories. We see Hob's reaction to the departure of his friend, a story of a traveller trapped in The Dreaming and finally concludes, appropriately, with Neil Gaiman's take on Shakespere's "The Tempest". To really understand and appreciate this book, the reader would be have to have read at least "The Kindly Ones". As for me, I really liked this book and would have given it a 10 if I didn't have to wake up from this fantastic dream Gaiman has taken me, and countless others to.