Reademption Literature

The craft that goes into weaving stories is majorly credited as the most astounding feat of the imagination, but it is also nonetheless laborious and altogether a vexing preoccupation. My own fascination for myths and legends started from an impressionable age which I pursued over the years ever since I discovered that I not only have an insatiable passion to read books but also an inclination to pen tales of my very own. And this is how Neil Gaiman's enduring series found me at the ripe age of nineteen. In 2009, I was also actively pursuing a scholastic career in writing as soon as I joined the student paper to become a literary writer. The current associate there then (who eventually became one of my best friends) introduced me to Neil Gaiman. He looked up to this author and even had a chance to interview the man himself and write a feature article for our magazine. Suffice to say, The Sandman shaped a lot about how I began to view the art of making myths and storytell...

Brief Lives was personally perfect in every way. It was the volume of The Sandman that solidified my love for the entire series. Not only was it a sublime story about brevity and forgiveness; it was an affirmation of what the Endless was supposed to stand for (and all seven of them too, because we finally get to meet the prodigal sibling who abandoned the responsibilities of his realm). Jill Thompson is the collaborative artist for this volume, and hers are my most favorite depictions of the Endless, their realms and the overall tone and atmosphere of Gaiman's settings. The thematic resonance of this volume was all about mortality and endings, and how each Endless functions in their duties, knowing that even they could only do so much for the lives of the creatures they govern and have the power to influence--even destroy. There are quite a number of secondary characters whose appearances in the subplots and major arc are highly suggestive of the titular significance its...

I was not a big fan of the third volume Dream Country which was composed of short stories. With the notable exception of A Midsummer's Night Dream , the rest of the stories did not interest me in the long-term. Thankfully enough, Fables and Reflections is an anthology which I thoroughly enjoyed. This volume had a lot to offer, and I devoured the tales with much content. My favorites are definitely Three Septembers and a January , The Parliament of Rooks , Soft Places and Ramadan . But the rest of the stories were also commendable. Stories like Thermidor , The Parliament of Rooks , and The Song of Orpheus are ones readers have to remember since chief characters there will make appearances in later volumes, particularly the Greek hero Orpheus whose connection to Dream is astonishing and yet very appropriate, if not tragically rendered on page. Meanwhile, August , The Hunt and Fear of Falling are all self-contained stories; the first one is a historical allusi...

In the next ten months of reading all of its volumes or so, I didn't really think it was possible for me to fall in love with The Sandman . I knew I was already a fan since The Doll's House , but my appreciation and affection for Gaiman's work were not as intense or as consuming as I initially thought they would become sooner of later (and that happened later on once I got my hands on Gaiman's collaborative volume with Jill Thompson, but I digress). I enjoyed what the previous volume Season of Mists had to offer. It was spectacular in scope, touching upon old faiths and religions and the complex interpretation of Lucifer Morningstar, as well as Dream's long overdue resolution with his former lover, Nada. My interest for this series of graphic novels was then maintained and I looked forward to what was in store. What I got in A Game of You was initially disheartening, only because I was once again thrown off balance from the major plot toward a self-co...

Since The Doll's House , I knew that Gaiman's The Sandman will soon have a special place in my heart. I was nineteen then, and this piece of literature was also a way for me to connect with my mentor (whom I was infatuated with as well). I was eager to get back to the major story arc with the Endless for Season of Mists , and I got exactly that; and a lot more than I anticipated. In this volume, I've learned more about the Endless (Destiny, Despair and my eventual favorite Delirium make their appearances here) since Gaiman has dedicated a single page to describe and illuminate each and their function/influence over human affairs and existence as a whole. Most notably, Dream's history with the African queen Nada from Doll's was expounded on, and the effects of his cruel punishment of sending her to Hell just because she chose not to be Dream's lover anymore. Desire may be manipulative and callous but it has a point and Death, much to Dream's surprise,...

After the multi-arc storylines present in the previous book The Dolls' House , I was not ready for this volume because it was vastly different from what I was getting accustomed to for this series. Instead of a continuation to the major plotlines, Dream Country was an anthology of short stories instead. There is not much to say about this volume because I frankly did not enjoy it in my first reading. Gradually, I did begin to appreciate the content, especially with Gaiman's delightful take on the Shakespearean story A Midsummer Night's Dream which won the World Fantasy Award. It was only when I started reading the analyses of this particular story in The Sandman Papers that I eventually liked the entirety of what it has to offer so I re-read it several times since and each time I would find a new layer of meaning. For this story, there are a lot of symbols and parodies written in the peculiar structure itself. The only story I thoroughly enjoyed in this volume e...

  Following the promising premise of Preludes and Nocturnes , this second volume became one of my favorite installments. I believe this is the book of The Sandman series that captured not only my heart but my imagination in varying ways I did not expect it could. This is also the first time that Gaiman explored the vitality and freshness of his material and the result was a provocative examination of the unconscious and often catastrophic desires of human beings that are caught up in fulfilling such dangerous things. Before the actual central story begins, the volume opens with Tales of the Sand , a short narrative pertaining to an African queen Nada who falls in love with the Dream king himself. It was considered unlawful for mortals to develop a romantic affiliation with an Endless so she was punished for it. This story able to cast a light on the nature of Nada's significance to Dream (she was first seen in Preludes , trapped in Hell because Dream was unable to forg...

Back in 2009, it was my second time to be a freshman in college (and my third course at that). To ensure that I stayed focused, I joined the student paper and there I met the associate editor who became my mentor in many ways than one; and he introduced me to Neil Gaiman's The Sandman series. I felt his excitement when he started to share this piece of literature with me, and I was greatly touched. I then ventured on with the knowledge that this is the first time I will ever consume the medium in a graphic novel form (that being collected into a single edition as oppose to monthly individual issues which I was more accustomed with in high school--I read a lot of X-Men back then). I have a pretty limited view of comic books before this; my doses of the medium are all about superheroes. So when I encountered this first volume of The Sandman , I was not expecting to find a delectable juxtaposition of gothic elements, cultural folklore, and historical fiction. But it's exactly ...