The second tale "Calliope" is much better, but is still missing that Gaiman magic. It does however, introduce us to one of Sandman's great loves and mother of his only child. It's a good story, but it's unoriginal.

The third tale is the real treat. "A Midsummer Night's Dream" takes off from a chapter in "Doll's House" where Dream tells William Shakespeare to write 2 plays for him. Shakespeare and his troop of actors perform Midsummer Night's Dream on a grassy hill in the English Countryside for the actual fairies that are represented in the play. It's a wonderful story and the art is just breathtaking.

The last one, "Facade", doesn't include Dream. Instead it focuses on an obscure super-heroine of the 60's and how she longs for a normal life which is granted by Death. It's a moving story, the kind of super-hero tale that only Neil could write. Super powers may be great, but being a normal person would be much more appealing sometimes.

All in all, Dream Country is not the best collection of Sandman stories, but "Midsummer Night's Dream" is the single best Sandman issue and actually won a slew of awards. It's worth checking out for that tale alone.


Great introduction to the series...   July 3, 2002
 17 out of 18 found this review helpful

Yeah, I know it's not the first volume in the series. But I don't think Neil Gaiman really hit his stride until Dream Country. As this collection is a bunch of stand alone short stories, I think it makes an excellent book get people hooked on the Sandman.

There's Calliope, a one-hit novelist's muse really is one of the muses. He rapes and abuses his muse -- bad news when her ex comes to the rescue. Creepy, creepy story. Best of all, the collection includes the script to this story.

A Dream of A Thousand Cats... A charming tale that shows what cats dream of, and why those dreams will never be reality.

A Midsummer Night's Dream .. The real Oberon, Titania and Puck (and other fairies) attend the first performance of Shakespeare's classic play. Simply magical with superb art by Charles Vess.

Facades ... The life of a has-been superheroine. It takes a silly and forgotten character and makes her painfully human.

All of these stories are must-reads -- each told with different styles. What a wonderful way to sample what comics can be.


Work in the Reader's Head   October 5, 1996
 7 out of 7 found this review helpful

This collection contains two of Gaiman's best short stories. "Dream of a Thousand Cats," with its gorgeous artwork by Kelley Jones and Malcolm Jones III, is one of the great ironic cat stories. And "A Midsummer Night's Dream," which actually won a World Fantasy Award. The Award committee was so chagrined by the notion of a comic book winning the prize that they changed the rules to prevent such an abomination from ever happening again. Ah, what fools these mortals be. The collection also includes, as a bonus, a copy of Gaiman's script for another story, "Calliope," in which the magician shows us how the illusion is created. In one of his panel descriptions we see the key to his method: "NOW I WANT TO GET ACROSS THE RAPE, AND THE HORROR AND THE DOMINANCE, FAIRLY SUBTLY, DOING ALL THE WORK IN THE READER'S HEAD." Yes, indeed. That's where Gaiman always does his best work. In the reader's head


Must-read Sandman short stories   December 29, 2003
 7 out of 8 found this review helpful

The earliest two Sandman collections are good but the third, Dream Country, is great. The book features four single-issue stories in which the saga's title character, the mystical king of dreams, moves to the background (he is not even in one tale). His preeminence will not be missed, however because one cannot read stories this smart, imaginative, creepy and all around superb and feel that anything is lacking.

The first story is "Calliope," in which a one-hit novelist enslaves an actual muse and becomes as productive and popular as Stephen King. The author is not a cruel person, but he cannot set her free if he wants his flow of ideas to continue. Gaiman provides a thoroughly creepy dissertation on the madness of writers and Kelly Jones' darkly astounding drawings of attics, faces and shadows perfectly complements the tale.

The second is "Dream of a Thousand Cats," in which a feline prophetess shares her vision of a cat-ruled world; one that is open to her brethren if they only believe. Gaiman creates a religious outlook perfect for these slinky, self-satisfied animals and, just as in "Calliope," Jones' art is a major asset. Personality and mystique are translated wonderfully in his cat eyes and cat body language. This is Dream Country's best story and one of the best issues of a comic book series I have ever read.

The third, "A Midsummer Night's Dream," famously won the World Fantasy Award for best short story, the first and only time a comic book has done so. In that tale, Shakespeare and his troupe perform the title play in front of the fairy creatures it is based upon. It is a wonderful parody/tribute to the renowned playwright.

The fourth, "Facade," is one of two times the use of a superhero in a Sandman story works (The other is the story acrh The Kindly Ones, which practically stars Lyta Hall, formerly The Fury). The hero is Element Girl, a sidekick to Metamorpho who vanished in the late 1960s without much notice. "Facade" tells of how her super-powers turned on her, how she became a tormented agoraphobe and how she finally found release.

Dream Country is Sandman at its best; an intelligent and unique series that not only represents comic books at their best, but speculative fiction in general. I cannot recommend this volume more highly.


More Stories from the Realms Beyond   April 24, 2004
 7 out of 7 found this review helpful

In between the glorious and groundbreaking story-arcs of `Doll's House' and `Season of Mists', Mr. Gaiman took some time off with four individual one-issue long stories in the Sandman universe; these are collected in `Dream Country'. Technically, it can probably be considered the least important of Sandman collections, and should take second priority to volumes 1, 2, 4 and 5. Still, `Dream Country' is Gaiman at his best, and each of these stories is important and well worth the purchase. If you're a Gaiman fan, it's an essential part of your library.

The stories in `Dream Country' are important in the development of the series because the Sandman himself, Morpheus, Lord of Dreams, plays in them only a background role. That was the foundation for one of the elements that made the series great - that it's not just the story of one hero; the hero can be himself, an active character, but just as often he is simply the essence of something bigger. That is precisely the role Morpheus plays in `Calliope' and `Dream of a Thousand Cats', both with splendid dark artwork by Kelley Jones. `Calliope' is a splendid philosophical tale of urban mythology that shows Gaiman's unique and original attitude towards storytelling and inspiration.

`Dream of a Thousand Cats' Is my favorite in this collection and probably the most underrated story in the Sandman catalogue; though `A Midsummer Night's Dream' is the celebrated story that made history by being the first `comic book' to win the World Fantasy Award (for best short story of the year), I personally find `Dream of a Thousand Cats' to be superior by far. Though it tells a very small tale, and one that is without significance in the greater continuity of the Sandman saga, it's gorgeously written and has a great atmosphere about it. It also gets across Neil's ideas about the importance of dreams and stories better than any of the others. The artwork, to, is brilliant.

`Facade', finally, is probably the weakest story in the collection. It's important, if nothing else, for being the first story in the Sandman series in which Morpheus does not appear at all, even as a guest. Instead, it features his older sister, Death - one of the Endless and one of the most lovable characters in Gaiman's universe, as well as does a great job in resurrecting a forgotten character from DC's history, Element Girl; Neil does as amazingly in rasterizing her as he did with other old comics characters like Lyta Hall AKA The Fury, or the absurd Sandman character from the 60s.

Last but not least, there's a delicious bonus for those who buy `Dream Country' - the complete, original script to `Calliope'. It's rare indeed for a writer to reveal to his readers his work in progress, and this script is fascinating to both fans of Gaiman and aspiring writers of graphic literature, as it gives us a precious glimpse into Neil's precise and masterful scriptwriting process. All this and more reasons for buying `Dream Country', especially if you're hoping for a complete Sandman collection. It's one of the best `comic books' you can find.