Finished The Sandman: Brief Lives by Neil Gaiman.

In this one, Dream and his sister, Delirium, go searching for their brother Destruction, who abandoned his kingdom three hundred years ago. I don’t particularly care for the character of Delirium — she just seems rather silly and pointless to me. (I like Death much better). And I really don’t like how Delirium’s dialogue is presented. The little squiggly words can be really hard to read sometimes.

But the story was interesting, and it was nice to finally meet the last of the Endless — Destruction, who spends his time creating bad paintings and even worse poetry.

So, thumbs up.

Up next: More Sandman.

Finished The Sandman: Fables and Reflections by Neil Gaiman.

This one doesn’t have a continuing storyline, but is rather a collection of stories in which Dream appears, however briefly. Probably my favorite is Three Septembers and a January, in which a homeless man becomes the Emperor of the United States. There are also stories about Marco Polo, Cain and Abel, and various other Sandman characters.

So, thumbs up.

Up next: More Sandman. (I’m almost done with them).

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.