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.