Book notes: The Sandman, Act 3 by Neil Gaiman

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The Sandman, Act III by Neil Gaiman

Synopsis:

“The groundbreaking audio production of what Los Angeles Times Magazine called “the greatest epic in the history of comic books” continues. Leading perhaps the best cast ever assembled in audio, James McAvoy returns to voice Morpheus, the Lord of Dreams, in The Sandman: Act III, the third installment of the New York Times best-selling audio saga. Award-winning audio trailblazer Dirk Maggs adapts the blockbuster DC graphic novel series written by Neil Gaiman (Good Omens) into another fully immersive listening experience, presented for the first time in breathtaking 3D audio.

In Act III, we follow Morpheus on a grand journey to take care of family business. He visits with his son Orpheus (Bridgerton’s Regé-Jean Page), an act that brings with it profound consequences. Accompanied by Delirium (Kristen Schaal, Bob’s Burgers), he tracks down their estranged brother, Destruction (David Harewood, Supergirl), the only member of the Endless ever to abandon their post. And at an inn at the intersection of all worlds, a group of travelers are forced together by a storm that threatens to destroy reality itself, with grave repercussions for Morpheus and the rest of the Endless.” -Amazon

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Opening thoughts:

Picking up Act 3 of this series was an easy choice as I really enjoyed the first two in the series. I love the production quality and the voice acting. Everything is top notch and almost feels like a cinematic experience.

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Key notes:

Episode 1: The Song of Orpheus

• During his wedding, all of Orpheus’s uncles and aunts visited. However, his wife would be killed by a snake that night
• He goes to the underworld and makes a deal with Hades that he can return home with his wife if he can walk the path out of hell without turning around or deviating in any way
• Orpheus gets attacked after learning his parents split up. However, he can no longer die and is existing as a severed head

Episode 2: Fear of Falling

• Morpheus came to a man in his dreams and helped him get over his fear of falling

Episode 3: The Flowers of Romance

Episode 4: Brief Lives Part 1

Episode 5: Brief Lives Part 2

• Dream agreed to help Delirium find their long-lost brother who has been missing for 300 years 

Episode 6: Brief Lives Part 3

Episode 7: Brief Lives Part 4

• Morpheus recalls his last interaction with his brother Destruction a few hundred years ago
• Ruby their driver fell asleep while smoking in bed and her bed caught fire, lulling her and seeing the motel building on fire

Episode 8: Brief Lives Part 5

• Ishtar, the goddess of love who now works at a strip club, used to be Destruction’s lover centuries ago. Dream goes to visit her to ask but she doesn’t know where he is, then Dream warns her that she might be in danger

Episode 9: Brief Lives Part 6 

• Death convinced Dream to apologize to Deliruim and make things right. Also because they don’t want her to turn out like Destruction

Episode 10: Brief Lives Part 7

• Dream and Delirium visit Destiny for help finding their brother, but he is of no help
• They stopped by to see Dream’s son Orpheus and got from him the location of Destruction

Episode 11: Brief Lives Part 8

• Destruction tells them that he won’t return to his duties and that he prefers his current way of life. To live and take it one day at a time

Episode 12: Brief Lives Part 9

• Dream fulfills his promise and kills Orpheus his son. And then the Endless siblings depart shortly after Despair arrives

Episode 13: How They Met Themselves

• Desire caused a couple to lose their love and Lizzie the wife killed herself while desiring her husband’s love again

Episode 14: World’s End Part 1

• The man and woman who found themselves in a car accident ended up at a pub called Worlds’ End with strange creatures who were telling stories

Episode 15: World’s End Part 2

• The fairy who got imprisoned was freed by Morpheus who came on behalf of the fairy’s sister who works for Morpheus
• Dream did it as a favor to her since she was a good and faithful servant 

Episode 16: World’s End Part 3

• Margaret told her story about pretending to be a boy and sailing all over the world on different ships

Episode 17: World’s End Part 4

• Pres Ricard was the youngest and most successful and beloved president in U.S. history. However, he was tempted at certain times by Boss Smiley, an evil being, but resisted
• Pres Ricard was saved by Morpheus and granted freedom to go to different worlds as he was under Dream’s jurisdiction now

Episode 18: World’s End Part 5

• The Necro people told their stories about them and their town. How they learn and practice the art of burying the dead different customs

Episode 19: World’s End Part 6

• The innkeeper told them that this is a place between worlds, when some worlds’ end, or when a reality storm passes through and disrupts reality. Some people get lost or take refuge here from many different worlds
• Outside they noticed a funeral procession that included the Eternity siblings
• Brent, the man, also mentioned that he took one look at the woman in the back (Death) and he fell in love with her 

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Closing thoughts:

Honestly, it was a fun and solid collection of short stories, and a bit more cohesive than Act 2. Actually, I compared to Act 1, the last 2 acts weren’t too heavily focused on Dream, which I was a bit disappointed about. However, Act 3 did a better job staying on Dream than Act 2, which I appreciated.

Overall, great production quality, sound, and voice acting. I feel like the stories at this point are running out of steam and the author is running out of stories to tell that directly involve Dream. Which then causes Dream to simply make cameos in the stories instead of being really involved. Still a solid work and worth listening to if you enjoy the series.

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Nutshell:

Act II Iof The Sandman follows Morpheus, lord of dreams, in his journey to fulfill his duties. It also contains a collection of short stories happening in the world involving othere characters dreams and adventures.

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Similar books:

• The Sandman by Neil Gaiman
• Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
• Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A Heinlein
• Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
• A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

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Rating:

3/5

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