Everything ends ^ The thickest and in some ways most challenging Sandman collection, The Kindly Ones represents nothing less than Gaiman's efforts to wrap up every single storyline from the entire Sandman saga. Here's the incredible thing: he succeeds, all while creating one of the most poignant and quietly devastating arcs of the series. Anyone who's read the series to this point has to suspect what's coming, but even those who don't have to be aware of the elegiac, mournful tone to the whole collection. As Morpheus makes the rounds, greeting characters so familiar by now that we almost view them as friends, we can't help but know that we are coming to the end of things. Even so, as that end starts to come, and it turns out far more destructively than we might have imagined, we can't help but feel each death and assault stack up, all leading up to one final decision that leaves the reader a little stunned. I've been taking my time through this volume, parsing it more than normal; given how intricately Gaiman has structured it, how many allusions and references there are to Greek tragedy here, I'm almost wanting to go through it again. It would definitely merit it, but then again, so would every volume of this incredible series.
If it wasn't for Gaiman's amazing writing, the poor artwork would destroy this volume ^ Once again Gaiman is on his mark, as the writing and overall story is amazing. The artwork? Not so much. This is easily the poorest illustrated volume in the Sandman series. But the story is strong enough to not only make the reader feel depressed, but also feel hopeful with the next volume.
Three minor, supporting characters really shine in this volume - Matthew, The (new) Corinthian and Lucifer. These three characters alone have enough emotion to interest many people, and combined with the overarching story they really shine.
Again, the writing is top-notch Gaiman, and the storyline is fantastic. The artwork is at the very bottom of the series - but the writing alone makes up for the poor artwork. This is a volume that will change things for many people and should not be read unless many of the earlier volumes have been read.
Change Must Have Ramifications ^ The Kindly Ones encompasses the direct consequences of the earlier volume, Brief Lives. In Brief Lives, Lord Morpheus (Dream) changes, for better or for worse. The actions that lead to such change must have ramifications, and The Kindly Ones details such repercussions.
In The Kindly Ones, Lyta Hall, a character who has made sporadic appearances throughout The Sandman series, is convinced that Dream has stolen her baby, Daniel. She goes to the women known as the Kindly Ones for vengeance, and even she couldn't predict the outcome.
Making use of virtually every character in The Sandman mythos, The Kindly Ones is a truly epic tale that brings us to a point in Dream's existence that would seem, based upon Brief Lives, inevitable. At times The Kindly Ones gets a bit muddled and verbose, but in the end, it was all worth it.
I've had the privilege of reading The Sandman series in completion and for the first time in the last few months, and The Kindly Ones is testament to the genius of Neil Gaiman. I don't know if it was on purpose or a happy accident, but The Kindly Ones makes use of virtually every storyline preceding it and concludes such a mammoth story ... it's nearly unimaginable someone could dream up such a story.
My only suggestion: Skip the introduction and read it after you finish The Kindly Ones. It does reveal a fairly major plot point, which, upon retrospect seems obvious, but even so, I would have liked to have avoided the introduction's cataclysmic revelation.
~Scott William Foley, author of Souls Triumphant
Graphic SF Reader ^ Lyta Hall's son Daniel is taken from her. She shows that, when a superhero, she wasn't called Fury for nothing.
Finding her mythological namesakes, she decides to put an end to Morpheus, the Lord of Dream. Morpheus is not without his own plans and defenses, however, but a promise made to a former servant costs him dearly.
The Kindly Ones ^ This is my favorite volume of "The Sandman," by far (I still haven't read the last one, so I can't say it's my all time favorite yet). The artwork is very different from previous volumes, featuring Mark Hempel's work, which is very abstract, especially compared to the more realistic styles of other volumes. Still, I think it was well suited for such an emotional part of the story, because the expressions and moods of each character were excellently portrayed.
I don't see why a fan of "The Sandman" would ever not want to own this volume. It features the return of several past characters, including Rose Walker, Lyta Hall and her son, and Lucifer, among others. By tying in virtually all the previous volumes, it can be considered the climax of "The Sandman" storyline.
It's beautiful, poetic, heart-wrenching, and colorful; a masterpiece I can't help but flip through every time I pick it up.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
