The Sandman, Vol. 2: The Doll's House

Part was a 2, part was a 4. I'll settle on 3 stars.

It still jumps around a lot, but now we have the basis for some of the characters. I really liked the character who cheats death, but don't see how he tied in with the rest of the story. The girl and her brother were interesting but the ending was lackluster. There's potential. It could either really improve our fall flat on its face. I'll try one or two more volumes. They're quicker reads than books.

Dream is one of the Endless. Picking up after he regained his home and power in the first volume, Gaiman dives deeper into the creepy gothic horror angle as we follow the seemingly-normal Rose, who is in fact a dream vortex, find an unknown grandmother and search for her long-lost younger brother. This was honestly the least intriguing part for me, with the many characters occupying her “doll's house” not being developed enough for me to be interested in them. However, I love how layered the story was, with a larger doll's house being seen from Desire's perspective (hearts pop up a lot in this graphic novel!), dreams themselves being structured as doll's houses, and whether the Endless are puppets of mortals or vice versa. The plot varied in personal interest, with the best issues being the oral tale from the ancient tribe in the prologue, the surprisingly profound century-woven interlude Men of Good Fortune, and the shiver-inducing Cereal Convention in later parts. Despite how trippy everything could be (art was amazing and sometimes flipped 90 degrees), I appreciated Gaiman retaining some structure through Sandman tracing his four missing servants Brute, Glob, Corinthian and Fiddler's Green. Also, loved that Edgar Allan Poe inspired raven/ dude Matthew.

I think I'm in the minority of actually liking the first volume more than the second (only two so far). I think it's due to the fact that this set of stories doesn't focus as much on Dream, but rather in the events surrounding Rose Walker. Of course that's not to say i didn't enjoy it. I liked it very much, especially “Men of Good Fortune” and “Tales in the Sand”, which showcases Dream in different eras and times.

The stories revolving around Rose Walker brought forth creepy yet interesting and impressive characters. They were darkly themed with murders and psychopaths, but still made for very enjoyable reading. The highlight, for me, is the introduction to Desire. Yes! Tell me more of the Endless! There's cameos of Death, Despair, and Delirium as well.

Volume 3 coming right up!

As a fan of the first volume of the series, which took me by surprise considering the (in my opinion) lackluster start - I was anticipating reading this, preparing myself for the wildly imaginative macabre world Gaiman crafts. And on that front he delivers, expanding the scope of the world.

But where the story faulters is Rose, the teenage girl who happens to be the vortex to the dream world. She was much too passive to be an interesting character, and the story suffers because of her lack of compelling traits. She loves her brother, but it only serves as motivation rather than something essential to her (which is seriously brushed off by the end). It is such a disappointing follow-up considering the great character in the previous volume.

The story is so dense with its ideas that it becomes cluttered. And while the story does somehow wrap up in a satisfying way, it has its highs and lows in getting there - suffering from a meandering story and inconsistent pacing.

I enjoyed this volume, but my hype for volume 3 of this series has waned a bit. Unfortunate, because the art and creativity behind this is awesome.

This review is really for the entire Sandman series.
I'm not sure I've ever found it so difficult to review something. I feel like I've been on a long bizarre journey and have just woken up. I'm pretty sure that was what Neil Gaiman was aiming for from the start, the series centering around the Lord of Dreams, Morpheus himself. While we follow Morpheus around and through interweaving tales we get amazing insights about the importance of stories, the human condition, family, mythology, nightmares, dreams, religion, faith, madness, life & death and the list could go on. There is so much packed in this series that I can't even put it into a category, it really is a category all its own. I haven't ever read anything like it and doubt I will ever again. It is fantasy of the highest sense. Poetic, meaningful, dark, funny, sad (okay in the last few there is a lot of sad), but also a lot about hope and new beginnings and changes. I feel like Dream, Destiny, Desire, Delirium, Despair, Death and Destruction are a pantheon of mythos I will never quite shake from my mind. Like the Greek gods, they will forever be apart of a mythology in the fabric of people's consciousness. They live there now in the back of my mind and when I encounter these things in my life, I won't be able to help but think back on Neil Gaiman's amazing story and colourful characters.
The artwork was always great and even surprising sometimes and inventive. I especially loved the Dreaming and it's heart where Morpheus' surreal and ever changing castle was. I feel like now that the journey is over, I need to start it over again, so that I can pick out all the things I missed the first time. See all the hints about where it was headed, to put characters into perspective now that I know their fates. I feel like I missed a lot, because there were stories within stories that I didn't realize were significant until after the fact. I can only marvel at its intricacy.
The imagination on display is vast and mind blowing and the way in which Gaiman can take flawed creatures or humans and give them hearts and voices and emotions that you carry with you through the entire series, is a testament to his character-building. I never thought I'd shed a tear for a pumpkin-head or raven or for a place that doesn't even exist, although I really wish it did.
I could go on and on about this series, but I'll do the only thing I can do and that is to recommend it to everyone, just as the comic book store employee recommended it to me. I have read very few graphic novels, so I can't compare to it to other graphic novels, but as a story completely on its own and of its own merits, I highly, highly recommend you give The Sandman series a read. Even if you only do it once, it will be worth it. You will see storytelling in a different way and it will stick with long after you finish the last volume.