In amongst all the Sandman reading, I also finished Heart Quest by Robin D. Owens.

This is book five in Owens’s popular Celta series about Heart Mates on a remote planet. I don’t usually like fantasy/sci-fi hybrids, but I enjoy Owens’s world, with its mix of technology and magic (aka flair). Also, she has talking animals. And who doesn’t love a good talking animal? :scooby:

This one is about Black Ilex Winterberry, the middle class guard who’s assigned to deal with the First Families (aka bigtime powers) of Celta. Winterberry knows that his destined Heart Mate is Trif Clover, who’s several years his junior. Through his flair, Winterberry has seen his own death, so he doesn’t want to get involved with Trif, since Heart Mates rarely live longer than a year after their spouse passes. But Trif is determined to find her Heart Mate no matter what. Add in some nasty murders, and you’ve got lots of conflict.

There was a lot to like about this book, especially the way Owens refers to characters in previous books, while introducing new, future couples. I also like her haughty cat characters, although they can be a bit grating after a while.

I liked Winterberry’s character a lot, but I didn’t really connect with Trif that much. I kept wanted to shake her and say “He’s right in front of you!” I wish Trif had been a little more mature and not so naive, but that was her character.

Still, thumbs up.

Up next: You guessed it. More Sandman.

Finished The Sandman: A Game of You by Neil Gaiman.

Dream is a minor character in much of this collection. Instead, the story focuses on Barbie, a character who appeared in The Doll’s House. In A Game of You, Barbie realizes the imaginary kingdom she’s been dreaming of is a little more real that she thought — and that it’s up to her to save it from the mysterious Cuckoo.

This one was weird, but not quite as gory as some of the other Sandmans. I liked Gaiman’s idea that dreams are a part of us, but I thought he went a little overboard with the cuckoo symbolism. There’s a lot about cuckoos in the collection. And it didn’t seem like much was resolved in the end.

So, I’m going thumbs down on this one.

Up next: Heart Quest by Robin D. Owens.

Finished The Sandman: Seasons of Mists by Neil Gaiman.

In this collection, Dream visits Hell to free Nada, his former lover who’s been imprisoned there for ten thousand years. (Dream can hold a grudge, I’ll give him that.) What Dream finds surprises him — Lucifer has decided to close down hell and give Dream the key to the empty wasteland. Naturally, all the other gods want the key and Hell, and they all converge in Dream’s kingdom to threaten, bribe, and otherwise cajole him into giving them the key.

This is my favorite of the Sandman series so far. I thought the story was interesting, and it was fascinating to see Gaiman and the artists’ take on what the other gods would act and look like. Thor, for example, is a muscle-bound, drunken lout.

So, thumbs up.

Up next: Yet another Sandman.

Finished The Sandman: Dream Country by Neil Gaiman.

This volume features four stories — a muse is forced to provide ideas to a writer, a cat wants to change the world through dreams, actors perform a Shakespeare play for demons, and a comic book character longs for death.

I really liked the writer story. Who hasn’t wished for a muse you could call on any time? But the muse is abused and raped during the story, which really, really disturbed me. I also just didn’t get the Shakespeare story, and the cat story was just bizarre. So, was the last story about a comic book character wishing for death. Overall, not as interesting as the other books/stories in the series.

So, thumbs down.

Up next: More Sandman.