#168 in Fantasy
The Sandman
- NPR Top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy Books
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Our view
“The Sandman” is dark fantasy that starts with its hero at his weakest: the king of dreams, held captive by a cult. Getting free merely opens the story, which then follows him as he reclaims what was stolen and repairs a realm that fell apart without him. The mood stays sombre and tense throughout, and some who came to it as an audiobook praise that version in particular.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The Sandman is a dark fantasy comic book series written by Neil Gaiman and published by DC Comics. Its artists include Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg, Jill Thompson, Shawn McManus, Marc Hempel, Bryan Talbot, and Michael Zulli, with lettering by Todd Klein and covers by Dave McKean. The original series ran for 75 issues from January 1989 to March 1996. Beginning with issue No. 47, it was placed under DC's Vertigo imprint, and following Vertigo's retirement in 2020, reprints have been published under DC's Black Label imprint.
Reading order · Sandman Audible Original
Full order & progress →- The SandmanThis book
8.48.4 / 10 - The Sandman: Act IIThe Sandman: Act II–Not ranked yet
- The Sandman: Act IIIThe Sandman: Act III–Not ranked yet
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.6 across 239 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 62% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Fantasy average of 8.0. That is how 8.4 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardcover | 8.6 | 239 | 100% |
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Fantasy — with scores between 8.3 and 8.4, closest to this book.
