NAT.orious reads ☾'s Reviews > The Sandman: Act I

This book is for you if… you are ready to ascend to a new level of audiobook experience. Not suitable for young readers and people who are easily triggered. TW: r*pe, abduction, violence, child ab*se, imprisonment, p*dophilia.

⤐ Overall.
Me raving about this book is not so much about the collected works of The Sandman itself but rather this specific adaptation. The calibre of some of the narrators is incredible: starting with Neal himself to James McAvoy to Taron Egerton to the fabulous Justin Vivian Bond. The 'end credits' took up over four minutes to list the entire cast and that in itself is already marvellous.


If you're not used to dramatisations, the beginning might be a bit rough. At first, the background noises and music sometimes made it hard to concentrate on the plot for a while. It must also be noted that this is merely a collection of the comics written by Neal so far and thus the narrative seems sorta chopped up. Once you've got a grip on that, though, you can enjoy the ride!


I haven't read too much of Neal's works but always admired him for his rhythmic language that is poetic without annoying me to death with stupid, useless prose. Even when reading his books, you can see he is a very thoughtful writer that likes writing as much for the creation of stories as he enjoys using language as an adaptable tool to do just that. It is definitely evident that Dirk did his best to capture that aspect of The Sandman and did a fantastic job getting the best out of all his narrators and sound crew.

Trump hugging the Murican flag is an accurate depiction of the feelings I have for this adaptation:

(using him in memes is so much more fun now that he finally was voted out.)

⤐ What’s happening.

‘The wind that blows between the worlds chills me as I fall. Suppose I fail? I cannot bluff demons as I bluffed the errant dreams with Constantine. But I have the pouch, I have a modicum of power.’

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5 STARS.Absolutely loved it. Memorable read that I'm likely to return to. Takes up space in my mind long after I've finished it. Oftentimes a particularly insightful read. Will recommend it with my last breath.