"Puppets who can see the strings"
Following the promising premise of Preludes and Nocturnes , this second volume became one of my favorite installments. I believe this is the book of The Sandman series that captured not only my heart but my imagination in varying ways I did not expect it could. This is also the first time that Gaiman explored the vitality and freshness of his material and the result was a provocative examination of the unconscious and often catastrophic desires of human beings that are caught up in fulfilling such dangerous things. Before the actual central story begins, the volume opens with Tales of the Sand , a short narrative pertaining to an African queen Nada who falls in love with the Dream king himself. It was considered unlawful for mortals to develop a romantic affiliation with an Endless so she was punished for it. This story able to cast a light on the nature of Nada's significance to Dream (she was first seen in Preludes , trapped in Hell because Dream was unable to forg