I really enjoyed The Sandman, on Netflix. It was definitely one of my favourite shows from this year.
I knew I would. Its Neil Gaiman. I love Neil Gaiman. He’s one of the authors I admire, with his wonderful writing, beautiful descriptions, excellent characters and brilliant ideas. He’s someone I look up to, that I wish I could write like, someone who inspires me to try new things. I hadn’t read the comic books The Sandman is from. But I’ve read everything else he’s written, ever since chancing on The Graveyard Book in a school library, and enjoyed them all. I’m currently rereading American Gods on Audible, returning to books I love to find some inspiration for defeating a goddess in my novella.
Like I said, I hadn’t read the comics. So I wasn’t sure what to expect. But the reviews sounded good. And I trusted Neil Gaiman to give me something wonderful and wacky, like he always does. And by the stars, he did. It was another series I binged, that I couldn’t get enough of.
It tells the wild story of Dream, a god like character who rules over the realm of dreams, who is captured in the 1900s by Charles Dance (who is always a wickedly wonderful actor) and has his prize items stolen. He goes on a quest to rediscover his items, fights the Devil, and discovers there might be more to life than ruling a kingdom after all.
But it wasn’t just about him. It was about people. How humanity lives, dreams, breathes, laughs, does amazing things, despite being human. It had some wonderful characters, with actors like David Thewlis and Gwendoline Christie giving their heart to performances. It had some stunning scenery, lovely music, and quieter fight scenes. It was a wild and wacky story, but it worked, and had some terrific villains like the Corinthian. It was beautifully told, and it trusted you to figure things out for yourself, to explore these realms with Dream. One of the best scenes has to be the fight with Lucifer, with Gaiman proving his genius at language, that was so delicately done and shimmered, the metaphors entrancing you in an almost orgasmic way. Or when a Fiddlers Green erupted into his true form, life in death, snow becoming green. I wasn’t sure about the ending, with the cats. But it was my only quibble, and I can let it go.
It was a stunning series, and I really hope there is going to be a second.
