Not a new idea but one well done., 30 Aug 2000

Though at times the Sandman series smacked of extending the series and avoiding the main plot simply for the sake of it, when Gaimans on form noone, in any genre, can beat him for pure storytelling.

One for the collection. But better off with the Dolls House or Brief Lives if your new to this.

 Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)

Wonderful, 18 Mar 2006

Connecting all these stories is the Worlds’ End, an inn that lies between the worlds and which a collection of travellers from different times and worlds find themselves stranded at during a reality storm. As they are unable to leave until the storm is over, they amuse themselves by telling stories.

The stories are told in a variety of styles, with art just as varied. We have stories within stories several layers deep, with a variety of characters, many we’ve met in previous issues of The Sandman. Some of the stories will hit the mark, and some may miss, but it’s not essential to be familiar with the series to enjoy this book – although people who are familiar will read much more significance into certain pieces of information we pick up.

Worlds’ End does tie into the main narrative of The Sandman, but although we are given a lot of clues it isn’t revealed exactly how until the next book – The Kindly Ones. And although it isn’t essential to read it to understand the main plot, it does give us a surprising amount extra information – as well as a selection of entertaining stories.

And it has an introduction by Steven King, if you like that kind of thing. He has the poor taste to quote his own work to make a point, but there you go. You can always skip it and go straight to the stories.

 Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)