by Eden
The Wake doesn’t really need to do that much — it mostly feels and operates like an epilogue — but it provides Neil Gaiman with the opportunity he needed to close out the story of this incarnation of Dream and look to the next one.
The Kindly Ones is dense. It’s the longest volume of The Sandman, collecting 13 issues (plus one small story from Vertigo Jam). It’s confident, it’s powerful, and mostly, it’s just satisfying that all of this has been leading to this point.
Worlds’ End is the quiet before the storm. Or, well, in the context of the collection, it’s the quiet during the storm, since it’s about several travelers who are stuck in the titular inn telling each other stories while they wait out a “reality storm” (it’s The Sandman so just go with it).
In some ways, Brief Lives is the best of The Sandman volumes. It tells a complete, fairly straightforward story with an actual conclusion. It’s the most consistent artistically. It’s charming, although it’s maybe a bit too precious in places. It’s probably the volume I’ve read the most.
Fables & Reflection is an odd one. While it is just a collection of short stories, the issues aren’t presented in order. Three of the issues were published before the A Game of You and “Ramadan,” issue #50, was published after the next story arc. There’s also a brief story that appeared in Vertigo Preview #1 and Sandman Special from 1991. If this seems like it’s all over the place, you’d be right.