While it never came up in the episode, one of the people sent to rescue Delirium is based on Henry Darger, and finding that out led me to watch In the Realms of the Unreal, which I highly recommend.
It's been a while since I read Endless Nights. Listening to this episode, I realized that there were only four stories that I could actually remember - Death, Desire, Dream and Destiny. I'm not sure why I didn't remember the Destruction story, because, when I reread it, I found that I liked it.
But, having reread the entire OGN, I can see why the Delirium and Despair stories never really stuck in my mind. While their format is pretty fitting for their respective Endless, the Despair story was a bit too dense and prodding, and Delirium story was a bit hard to follow. Which, again, is fitting, but doesn't mean the results are necessarily my cup of tea.
Another thing that occurred to me while listening to this episode is... Throughout the entire series, Gaiman drew quite a bit on DC's existing mythology/continuity - even the superhero parts. Yet so many of his stories exist in the mundane world where superheroes don't really exist and fantastic things don't really happen. Which is not a bad thing - one of the things that makes Sandman work is the contrast between the mundane and the fantastic, and the way the fantastic seeps into the mundane. But it's still interesting how, with this series, Gaiman winds up having his cake and eating it, too. And it works.
It's been a while since I read Endless Nights. Listening to this episode, I realized that there were only four stories that I could actually remember - Death, Desire, Dream and Destiny. I'm not sure why I didn't remember the Destruction story, because, when I reread it, I found that I liked it.
ReplyDeleteBut, having reread the entire OGN, I can see why the Delirium and Despair stories never really stuck in my mind. While their format is pretty fitting for their respective Endless, the Despair story was a bit too dense and prodding, and Delirium story was a bit hard to follow. Which, again, is fitting, but doesn't mean the results are necessarily my cup of tea.
Another thing that occurred to me while listening to this episode is... Throughout the entire series, Gaiman drew quite a bit on DC's existing mythology/continuity - even the superhero parts. Yet so many of his stories exist in the mundane world where superheroes don't really exist and fantastic things don't really happen. Which is not a bad thing - one of the things that makes Sandman work is the contrast between the mundane and the fantastic, and the way the fantastic seeps into the mundane. But it's still interesting how, with this series, Gaiman winds up having his cake and eating it, too. And it works.