The Sandman returns to his kingdom of the Dreaming after nearly a century of imprisonment, finding several things out of place; most importantly, an anomaly called a dream vortex has manifested itself in the form of a young girl who unknowingly threatens to rip apart the Dreaming. And there's the smaller matter of a few nightmares having escaped. Among them is Gaiman's creepiest creation: the Corinthian, a serial killer with a miniature set of teeth in each eye socket. Because later volumes concentrate so much on human relationships with Gaiman's signature fair for fantasy and mythology, it is sometimes easy to forget that the Sandman series started out as a horror comic. This book grabs you and doesn't let you forget that so easily. --Jim Pascoe

Product Description
This volume of Neil Gaiman's THE SANDMAN book series features the first appearance of Death, the Sandman's older sister. As Clive Barker says in his Introduction, ". . . there is a wonderful willful quality to this mix . . .slapstick comedy, mystical musings, and the grimmest collection of serial killers this side of Death Row." Eighth printing. Graphic novel format. Mature readers.

The Doll's House, Sandman's second volume, presents Neil Gaiman's first attempt at a large-scale story arc (The series' first eight issues, collected in Preludes and Nocturnes, were interconnected but were, for the most part, individual episodes). Like most Sandman story arcs, The Doll's House is quite multifaceted. Later, Gaiman would master the art of unfolding intricate story arcs with masterful precision, but on The Doll's House, he has yet to reach his peak. Thus, this is not a great story arc but a cumbersome one that has occasional moments of greatness.

It is difficult to recap the plot of The Doll's House, as it is a messy one that slowly unveils itself as the story moves along. The least one must know before delving into any Sandman volume is that the series focuses on the "realm of dreams," and its ruler, Morpheus, a God-like being with the attitude of a morose 20-something. The Doll's House finds the dream king tracking down several inhabitants of his dominion who fled during the decades he was imprisoned by a sorcerer (see Preludes and Nocturnes) and also dealing with a "dream vortex" that has manifested itself in a punk-ish young woman named Rose Walker. Rose is searching for her lost brother, Jed, who is locked in the cellar of his abusive aunt and uncle. Given his connection to the dream vortex, it is no coincidence that Jed is experiencing strange dreams involving The Fury and The Silver Scarab of the superhero team, Infinity Inc.

Although the larger story of The Doll's House does not quite succeed, two episodes that stand somewhat independently of it do. One is "Collectors," in which Rose's search somehow brings her to a trade convention for serial killers. This tale is ingenious; a horror story that is somehow funny, terrifying and wholly original at the same time. The other is the prelude, "Tales in the Sand," in which an African tribesman indoctrinates his grandson into manhood by telling him the legend a queen and her tragic love affair with Morpheus. This chapter first demonstrated Gaiman's appreciation of indigenous folklore and his remarkable ability to weave it into the Sandman mythos. It is moments like these in which one can see Sandman shaping into something wonderful. However, when the focus is on the Walker siblings, the missing denizens of the dream world, a couple of obscure superheroes and the confusing connections between them, The Doll's House is a frustrating read at best.


The best arc of the decade's best series   April 13, 1999
 17 out of 18 found this review helpful

THE DOLL'S HOUSE is the arc that Gaiman himself says is where he realised what he wanted to do with the characters and where he wanted to go with the SANDMAN story. This edition begins with two stories that both stand apart from the rest of the series, but that also both have significant influence on THE DOLL'S HOUSE storyline and beyond. The first, "The Sound of Her Wings" introduces Dream's big sister in a profound and moving tale about the value of spending a day with Death as she goes about her business sending people to their next life. The next tale introduces Nada, Dream's doomed mortal love, who will play a significant part in a later arc, SEASONS OF MISTS. Then, THE DOLL'S HOUSE begins, a tale involving escaped dreams and nightmares, a human vortex and her granmother who had spent the bulk of her life asleep (see the previous PRELUDES AND NOCTURNS), and Dream's quest to prevent the dissolution of his kingdom. What makes Gaiman's writing so unique is that not only does he reject the comic book obligatory of big fist-fights to SAVE THE WORLD (and all that), but that Dream is not even the central character in these stories. Instead, Rose Walker is. It is she, not Dream, who is threatened and who goes on the emotional roller-coaster and it is to find out what happens to her that the reader keeps reading. In fact, Dream - the "hero" of this title - at what point nearly kills her to save his kingdom! Magnificent writing, magical artistry, this story is an absolute must. Buy it. Buy several. It makes a great gift.


The vortex, immortality and "cereal"   June 26, 2001
 15 out of 17 found this review helpful

In the second Sandman collection, the reader starts to realize that Gaiman has some long range plans for this series. The tale of Rose Walker, the dream vortex who must be killed to save The Dreaming, is a complex one. The Doll House introduces the reader to many of the characters who would have a major effect on Gaiman's plans for the series. Particularly excellent is the tale of Hob Gadling, who becomes Dream's friend when he becomes the man "Death will not touch." Their meetings each century are little history lessons so well executed they make you wish for more. The "Cereal" convention, with special guest lecturer the Corinthian, is a scary look at the fascination with serial killers and the final twist involving Desire gives the reader some insight into the relationship of Dream with his siblings. This book really shows what a truly original creation The Sandman is.


...indescribable...   January 15, 2000
 10 out of 10 found this review helpful

Second in the Sandman comic book series, The Doll's House is much better than its predecessor, Preludes and Nocturnes. I find that with most Sandman stories, you read the whole thing just going "wow, this is really cool"...and then just when you thought it couldn't get better, at the end Neil Gaiman suddenly ties it together and leaves you absolutely breathless.

The Doll's House is probably the most disturbing Sandman, along with P&N, but it's also one of the most beautiful, one of the best. It features the first appearance of Dream's sister/brother Desire, and the story of Dream and Nada, and this guy called the Corinthian who's going to a Cereal Convention. There's something kinda weird about his eyes. You'll see...


Dream me a dream   November 12, 2004
 7 out of 9 found this review helpful

I belong to that great unwashed mass of people who have not yet read every Sandman comic collection in existence. I came to the series only recently, and as such I decided to systematically work my way through each chapter in the Sandman Chronicles. Thus far, I have finished two (count `em) two collections of the series. The first was the well-known and regarded "Preludes and Nocturnes". The second is the less regarded, "Doll's House". Before I picked up this collection I was informed by my husband that with this collection he no longer felt the necessity to read any more Sandman comics. Something in this book turned him off the series for good. Bearing that in mind I went into "The Doll's House" with some trepidation. It is a difficult book at times, and probably has a small flaw here and there. Nonetheless, I found it just as enticing and well-written (better illustrated even) than its predecessor. "The Doll's House" does not, contrary to the opinion of some, disappoint.

The last chapter in "Preludes and Nocturnes" is included at the beginning of this book, allowing people who skipped the first to still understand the second. And if THAT wasn't enough then Neil Gaiman himself has included a helpful introduction that sums up everything that has come before. The first official story of this collection is a little bleaker. An elder African man tells a story to a younger of the only woman the Sandman ever loved and the consequences that arose from that loving. It is a good way to telling the reader right off the bat that our hero is not, at times, much in the way of a good guy. In fact, he can be downright evil and petty. Other stories are less disturbing (in that particular way). We meet Rose and view her adventures as she attempts to locate a long lost little brother. We find that the Sandman, while he was imprisoned for so many years, has lost four of his major arcana dreams and he must personally track them down. As he does so, his destiny and the destiny of Rose herself become intertwined.

Gaiman does a couple things with this book that I highly approved of. For one thing, he finally makes a direct reference to the great "Little Nemo" comics of Winsor McCay. You would think the greatest dreaming comic strip (until "The Sandman", of course) would have earned itself a mention before now. As it is, Gaiman does a spot-on imitation of McCay's style. Other elements in the collection are especially good. There is a storyline about a man who wishes to never die, and who meets with Morpheus in a pub every one hundred years throughout the centuries. There's a rather amusing convention of serial killers who tell the hotel hosting them that they are a cereal convention. And then there's the fact that Gaiman is constantly bringing elements from previous plots into current ones. The dreams in this book are remarkably similar to those you've had in your sleep. His nightmares, however, are worse. Much worse than anything you might conjure up from your own unconscious.

I don't think this collection is quite as strong as its predecessor, but it doesn't have to be. It's just a well-written exciting fantasy about a nicely mysterious protagonist. It's amazing how Gaiman can take a hero who basically has all the powers of the world at his command and still keep the plotline interesting. It's also not every graphic novel that ends with you mentally pleading for the hero NOT to kill someone. A nice touch. Overall, a strong companion to previous Sandman efforts.