The unease at how close we all are to the twightlight of the soul, etc., and how we willingly jump into that every night was priceless, though, of course. I ain't breaking new ground when I say this is an excellent series with a consistent dark tone that makes what could so easily turn into a teenage goth's view of the supernatural into something infinitely more nuanced, with immortals who are benevolent but within their own bounds, human in their restlessness and questions, and weary at having to try to answer what they haven't figured out themselves.
Death once again makes but a brief cameo but is still my favorite so far, especially in this context of trying to no-nonsense her brother the Sandman out of his funk.
I liked that these two volumes had more self-continuity than 3; there were still stand-alone stories but they all contributed to the central theme and Sandman's wanderings. Another favorite, which you might recognize as part of the theme Sandman Needs Other People Even If It's Just Once a Millineum Or So To Keep Him From Plunging Into the Sad Bastard Uncanny Valley, is when he grants a guy life until the guy says he wants no more and the two meet up in the same place (more or less) every hundred years. No matter what he's gone through, the guy never wants to give up his life, and this baffles the Sandman.
But there are some creepy people in this place, and the Sandman rushes in to save a young woman and her travel companion when they accidentally happen upon an entire hotel convention of serial killers, so you know dude's got a heart.
These are both of course totally going on my bookshelf, and what I might do in a few months is see where I can find the rest of the set used but still good but still cheap.
...you all know where I'll probably end up, and it doesn't make me happy except when it works, so stay tuned.
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