The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes

by Neil Gaiman | Graphic Novels |
ISBN: Global Overview for this book
Registered by LilyKlip of Leipzig, Sachsen Germany on 8/14/2010
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11 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by LilyKlip from Leipzig, Sachsen Germany on Saturday, August 14, 2010
Some conspirators act out an old ritual that is supposed to trap Death. Instead they trap Dream and the world falls into chaos - until he manages to break free...and he's not a happy chap ;)
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The first book of the amazing Sandman Series which contains 10 books altogether as well as a kind of unofficial 11th book.

I would like to make the whole series a Ring Spiral. The "rules" are as follows:

- There will be a maximum of 10 participants from as many different EU-countries as possible.
- I will select participants according to their own bc activity. I would prefer people who have hosted or are hosting their own rings and who are active on the forums. This is to prevent the books from being lost on their journey - they were simply too expensive and I love them too much.

- I will send the first book out to the first participant who will then pass it on to Nr. 2 and so on.
- As soon as the first book is released by the 5th participant I will send out the 2nd book.
- As soon as the first book is back with me I will send out book 3 and so on...
So the faster you pass them on the sooner you will get the next one.
- Before I send out the next book in the series I might contact all participants whether they are still interested in the next round.

- Please keep the books for a maximum of three weeks. They are all graphic novels and don't take that long to read. If you are too busy once it is your turn please PM me and I will move you further to the end. I cannot do this too often though as that would mess up the spiral system.

- It kind of goes without saying but please please handle the books with great care. Thank you!

- As this will be a long term commitment if you want to read all 11 books please consider carefully before signing up. If you change your mind along the way please let me know.

- I'm afraid I will have to cancel the spiral though if one book gets lost. I can afford to replace one book but don't want to pay for more.


participants (order will slightly change for each book in the series):

1. SerendipityN (Germany)
2. Xirxe (Germany)
3. Tsjara (Netherlands) please post to Nr. 5: KiwiinEngland!
(4. Esme-Weatherwax (Ireland) only Season of Mists (Book 4), World's End (Book 8) and Endless Nights (Book 11))
5. KiwiinEngland (Ireland/UK) kindly offered to take the books across the UK/Ireland border
6. Nell-Lu (UK)
7. MKtiny (UK)
8. Vekiki (UK)
9. Lunacia (Norway)
10. Appelsiini (Finland)
11. vedranaster (Croatia)

and back to me

Link to The Sandman Vol. 2: The Doll's House

Journal Entry 2 by LilyKlip at Leipzig, Sachsen Germany on Friday, August 20, 2010

Released 13 yrs ago (8/21/2010 UTC) at Leipzig, Sachsen Germany

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Will send it to the first participant tomorrow.

Journal Entry 3 by wingSerendipityNwing at Wuppertal, Nordrhein-Westfalen Germany on Thursday, August 26, 2010
I collected it from the post office today. I'm SO looking forward to reading this. :)

Journal Entry 4 by wingSerendipityNwing at Wuppertal, Nordrhein-Westfalen Germany on Monday, August 30, 2010
Yesterday, I spent the rainy Sunday afternoon with a cup of tea and The Sandman.

In the book store I used to work I was responsible for the manga and comics section. Unfortunately we didn't have the space or the customers to sell comics and/or graphic novels of this kind. Flipping through the catalogues of publishing houses like Panini, Cross Cult or Splitter I discovered a lot of things I found very intriguing, though. The first thing I got was the first part of the adaption of Stephen King's The Stand, but apart from that I hadn't read any graphic novels yet.

So I'd really been looking forward to reading this and I wasn't disappointed. The story's interesting and gripping. It reminded me of how I used to read and love ghost story comics when I was younger. I was surprised at the number of other comic book characters which appear in the Sandman's story. Some I recognized (like John Constantine or Jonathan Crane; in white cause I don't wanna spoil the surprise) but I guess there are some references I didn't get.

Tomorrow I'll send the book on to Xirxe. Luckily I have enough other stuff to read until the next volume begins its journey.

Thank you very much for the ring!

Journal Entry 5 by wingSerendipityNwing at Wuppertal, Nordrhein-Westfalen Germany on Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Released 13 yrs ago (8/31/2010 UTC) at Wuppertal, Nordrhein-Westfalen Germany

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Continues its journey today.

Journal Entry 6 by wingXirxewing at Hannover, Niedersachsen Germany on Friday, September 3, 2010
Today the postwoman gave me the first part of 'The Sandman'. Thanx a lot for this ring!!

26. September 2010
Finally! Here my comment:
Neil Gaiman was known to me first as a children's book author, before I came into contact with his novels through a friend. I was enthusiastic and so came to the Sandman series, which did not disappoint likewise.
A megalomaniacal cult leader tried to capture death, but instead ends up Dream, The Sandman in his captivity. People feel that something strange is going on, but no one is aware why. After a seemingly endless time The Sandman manages to escape and he begins to search for his gear ...
The story is a wonderful melange of reality and mysticism, fantasy at its best, soon you realize how incredibly important for everybody individual dreams are. The accompanying images drawn in a congenial way simply to designate as a comic is a gross understatement. These are incredibly detailed pictures, down to the last tiny precise which exactly reflect the atmosphere and the content of the text. Some of the drawings could almost be described as paintings. I'm looking forward to the next books I will read and view in any case.
With all the enthusiasm, why not the full score? Some of the stories seemed a little too intendendly, the inclusion of all the superheroes, for example. But eventually these are only trifles...:-)

Journal Entry 7 by wingXirxewing at By mail, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Released 13 yrs ago (9/7/2010 UTC) at By mail, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases

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'The Sandman' set off to Tsjara from Netherlands.
Enjoy reading it!

Journal Entry 8 by Tsjara at Assendelft, Noord-Holland Netherlands on Monday, September 13, 2010
Arrived here safely. Thanks for sending Xirxe (and the beautiful stamps and card)! Looking forward to this, as I have heard a lot about the Sandman series, though I haven't many graphic novels. Thanks a lot for sharing LilyKlip!

Journal Entry 9 by Tsjara at Assendelft, Noord-Holland Netherlands on Monday, October 4, 2010
This was quite an interesting read, and I liked it a lot.. even though there were some gory bits :p The drawings were nice, but I like the style in the last part better I think. And the references to other stories, myths were great, though I didn't get them all. Looking forward to see what will happen next :)
(Hmm.. and I don't know why, but when I saw the sandman, I thought that was how Neil Gaiman must look like in a cartoon :p) Oh and the last story was my favorite (Death is very funny).

I have KiwiinEngland's address, will mail it out this week.

Journal Entry 10 by Tsjara at Assendelft, Noord-Holland Netherlands on Friday, October 8, 2010

Released 13 yrs ago (10/8/2010 UTC) at Assendelft, Noord-Holland Netherlands

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Mailed this yesterday to KiwiinEngland.
Happy reading!

Journal Entry 11 by kiwiinengland at Dublin, Co. Dublin Ireland on Monday, October 11, 2010
Safely arrived in sunny Ireland. Thanks for sending it on Tsjara - love the stickers on the envelope!

Journal Entry 12 by kiwiinengland at Dublin, Co. Dublin Ireland on Thursday, November 4, 2010
It took me a bit of time to get used to reading a graphic novel, but I did enjoy it. The stories were mainly interesting but the coda seemed unnecessary (probably because I wasn't reading them as a monthly publication and therefore didn't need a complete summary of what I'd just read).

I am looking forward to seeing how the story continues and the author/drawers develop.

I really didn't like the foreword piece (actually, I just didn't understand it. The person was saying Gaiman wanted to create the Sandman series but wasn't allowed too, yet here we have the Sandman series book.) And the piece at the end by Gaiman seemed to be a get out clause.

Journal Entry 13 by kiwiinengland at Manchester, Greater Manchester United Kingdom on Thursday, November 4, 2010

Released 13 yrs ago (11/5/2010 UTC) at Manchester, Greater Manchester United Kingdom

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Posting to Nell-Lu in Edinburgh on Guy Fawkes day.

Remember, remember the fifth of November,
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
We see no reason
Why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot!

Journal Entry 14 by Nell-Lu at Edinburgh, Scotland United Kingdom on Tuesday, November 9, 2010
This arrived today - as part of a package of chocolatey, bookish gloriousness. Thank you Kiwi! The chocolate was so exactly right (well remembered!) that it didn't last past elevensies time. I'm looking forward to flicking through the City of Literature pull-out (and I'll pass it on to the City of Lit people here to show them what the competition's up to in Dublin).

Oh, and I'm excited to finally get the chance to read The Sandman. I've been meaning to for ages. It's next up to be read. Thanks for sharing, LilyKlip.

Journal Entry 15 by Nell-Lu at Edinburgh, Scotland United Kingdom on Friday, November 12, 2010
I enjoyed Preludes & Nocturnes, although it did feel a little as if Gaiman and his collaborators hadn't quite got into their stride. (Which seemed to be what the introduction and afterword were saying - I agree with KiwiinEngland in not thinking these added to the book.)

I liked the final story ("The Sound of her Wings") for the appearance of Death, who is very cool, as I'd been looking forward to that since she was mentioned in the introduction. I also rather enjoyed "A Hope in Hell" for the triumvirate ruling Hell, although I thought Dream's mission was achieved a little too easily. Overall, the format of each of the monthly comics means that story arcs are shorter than I'd prefer, but Gaiman does a good job of keeping the overall arc going throughout.

I don't know the DC world, so references that weren't completely obvious were totally wasted on me. I liked the Batman stand-up comedy routine, though...

Journal Entry 16 by Nell-Lu at Edinburgh, Scotland United Kingdom on Friday, November 12, 2010

Released 13 yrs ago (11/12/2010 UTC) at Edinburgh, Scotland United Kingdom

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This book is all packaged up and ready to take to the Post Office for the next leg of its bookring journey. Happy reading, all!

Journal Entry 17 by MKtiny at Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire United Kingdom on Monday, November 22, 2010
Arrived safely this morning from Nell-Lu with a lovely postcard and poetry book.

Journal Entry 18 by MKtiny at Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire United Kingdom on Thursday, December 9, 2010
I haven't read any graphic novels before, but I'm a fan of Neil Gaiman, so I though I'd give these books a go. I'm glad I did. I found it a little confusing in places, but I enjoyed it. Like Nell - Lu my favourite was the last story. Looking forward to the next one.

Sent off to Vekiki yesterday. Thanks for sharing, LilyKlip

Arrived with me. Excited to read it :) Thanks so much for sharing

Just to reassure you - book is still in tip top condition, I would never have guessed I was so far down the ray.

I posted this on the 30th, so hopefully it should be there soon. Sorry for the delay in JE - I had forgotten that LilyKlip made a journal explaining the hold up over christmas and have only just managed to find the virtual book on the shelf!

I really enjoyed this, and am very much looking forward to more. It;s my first graphic novel that I;ve read all the way through - I have tried others and given up - but thsis was really excellent, very readable, interesting - some excellent images (to my untutored eye) and, whilst not the most earth-breaking overall plot - told with some new idea thrown in

Journal Entry 21 by winglunaciawing at Hammerfest, Finnmark fylke Norway on Friday, January 7, 2011
Hurrah! Found this in my mailbox when I got home from work today. :D Looking forward to rereading this.

Just a not to previous readers: Please make sure the books don't smell of perfume. :( This does, and I'm reacting to it. :((( (I'm allergic).

Journal Entry 22 by winglunaciawing at Hammerfest, Finnmark fylke Norway on Monday, January 24, 2011
This was a lovely reread. :-) I have PMed Appelsiini for her address, so that I can send the book to her.

Journal Entry 23 by winglunaciawing at Hammerfest, Finnmark fylke Norway on Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Released 13 yrs ago (1/26/2011 UTC) at Hammerfest, Finnmark fylke Norway

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Sent to Appelsiini morning of 26 January 2011.

Journal Entry 24 by Appelsiini at Valkeakoski, Pirkanmaa / Birkaland Finland on Wednesday, February 2, 2011
It's here! I'll be quick with this!

Journal Entry 25 by Appelsiini at Valkeakoski, Pirkanmaa / Birkaland Finland on Thursday, February 10, 2011
I have never been so into graphic novels, but I have heard so much about Neil Gaiman so I had to see what's going on. And I'm quite happy that I did. I liked the story, not so scary but weird in an interesting way. Well, actually it is really scaring thought about the whole world getting messed up and nobody really knows why, but when I saw the cover of the book, I was afraid it would be really violent or in someway creepy or discusting. But it turned out beautifully drawn, so that's good :) I'm really looking forward for the next part!

Journal Entry 26 by Appelsiini at Valkeakoski, Pirkanmaa / Birkaland Finland on Thursday, February 10, 2011

Released 13 yrs ago (2/10/2011 UTC) at Valkeakoski, Pirkanmaa / Birkaland Finland

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On its way to vedranaster!

Journal Entry 27 by vedranaster at Zagreb: Donji grad (city centre), Zagreb City Croatia on Thursday, February 17, 2011

Yay! The book (well, graphic novel really) arrived this morning!
And it looks wonderfully Gaimanly weird. This'll be a real treat!

Thank you Appelsiini for sending the book over, and a HUUUUUGE thank you to you LilyKlip for letting me join this fabulous ring so late in the game. :)


Journal Entry 28 by vedranaster at Zagreb: Donji grad (city centre), Zagreb City Croatia on Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Finished reading the book this morning.
I didn't want to rush through it, I savoured it all the way through.

I love the narrative parts because I can hear Gaiman's voice in them. If you've ever heard Neil read excerpts from his works you'll know what I mean. He has a very specific way of reading his narratives, making many pauses and stressing certain words, etc. The short and to the point sentences in the narrative of the comic fit perfectly with that voice. So much so that I can actually hear his voice reading it in my head.

This being the beginning of the Sandman story and Gaiman still looking for his voice, for Dream's voice, there were parts which felt "constructed" and which did not flow as much as I expected, but by the end of the book, I could really feel Gaiman growing into the story and the characters. And at the end of Vol. 1 Gaiman actually confirms this, confirms what I felt reading this first book in the series.

So I guess, the best is yet to come. Hooray!
I am now hooked and am seriously looking forward to Sandman books still ahead of me. :)

LilyKlip, thank you so much for sharing this!


Journal Entry 29 by vedranaster at Zagreb, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- Croatia on Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Released 13 yrs ago (3/8/2011 UTC) at Zagreb, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- Croatia

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The book is now on its way back home, looking forward to reuniting with LilyKlip. :)


Journal Entry 30 by LilyKlip at Leipzig, Sachsen Germany on Tuesday, March 15, 2011
The Sandman has returned to Leipzig.

Thank you everyone for treating the book with so much care. It doesn't look any different from when I sent it out!

Vedranaster: thanks again for your message and your concern. The book is fine and was well wrapped ;)

I will send Volume 3 out this week as book 2 has already passed the halfway line.

Hope you keep enjoying them!

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