Content
There are seven entities, called the Endless. They have existed since the dawn of time and are thought to be among the most powerful beings in the universe.

Listed in their order of “birth”, they are called Destiny, Death, Dream, Destruction, Despair, Desire and Delirium.

Destruction has abandoned his realm, and Delight turned into Delirium. Other than that, they still fulfill their functions, as they have done from the very beginning.

Although all the seven Endless play major parts, Dream - also called Lord Shaper and Morpheus, amongst many other names – is the main protagonist of the series The Sandman, which was written by Neil Gaiman.

Neil Gaiman is among my favourite authors, and other books I would highly recommend are “Neverwhere“, “Good Omens“, “American Gods“, “The Graveyard Book“, “Smoke and Mirrors” and “Fragile Things” (the last two being collections of short stories).

Style
The Sandman consists of ten graphic novels. In every book, he works with around ten different artists. Thus the visual style changes a lot throughout the books.

I don’t like “comics”. The Sandman is not a comic. It’s one of the most inspiring, most creative, most ingenious, mysterious, thoughtful, it’s one of the most intelligent “graphic novel serious” ever written.

As are Neil Gaiman’s other books.

Rating
1+
Must read if you are somehow interested in fantasy, myths, religion, history, psychology or literature.

(Thanks to D. for hosting me for half a year in Norway, for having the books in the shelf, and for working so much that I actually had the time to read all of them)

Quotes

“When you dream, sometimes you remember. When you awake, you always forget.”
– Dream

“Not knowing everything is all that makes it okay, sometimes.”
– Delirium

“The Endless are merely patterns. The Endless are wave functions. The endless ar repeating motifs. The Endless are echoes of darkness, and nothing more.”
– Destruction

“This is the second brother I have lost, whispered Despair in her shadowy voice. I cared for him, very much. He was so wise; he seemed so certain of the rightness of his actions. And I, who do nothing but doubt, admired that in him. He was a creature of hope. For dreams are hopes, and echoes of hopes.”
– Despair

Read the rest of this entry »

“For thought is the shadow of a sensation reflected in men’s solitude.”

– Aldo G. Gargani

– Berlin, October 2008

The Devil’s Dictionary was written in the end of the 19th century, and contains definitions of 1.000 words.

And I have the strong feeling that it was authored by a previous incarnation of Terry Pratchett.

HISTORY, n. An account mostly false, of events mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers mostly knaves, and soldiers mostly fools.

TURKEY, n. A large bird whose flesh when eaten on certain religious anniversaries has the peculiar property of attesting piety and gratitude. Incidentally, it is pretty good eating.

VOTE, n. The instrument and symbol of a freeman’s power to make a fool of himself and a wreck of his country.

CANNIBAL, n. A gastronome of the old school who preserves the simple tastes and adheres to the natural diet of the pre-pork period.

ARMOR, n. The kind of clothing worn by a man whose tailor is a blacksmith.

SAINT, n. A dead sinner revised and edited.

– Dictionary of the Devil (A-Z)

(Thanks to Solveig – business as usual)

“Der Augenblick ist nichts als der wehmütige Punkt zwischen Verlangen und Erinnerung.

– Robert Musil

“Maybe it gets easier to believe once you go somewhere new, once you get to be who you are – instead of who you had to be in order to get by
where you were.”

– Joey Comeau

“The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.”

– Bertrand Russel

“Understanding life is a not conquest, but a slow lesson in appreciation.”

“Ignorance about novelty is at the heart of skepticism about evolution, and resolving its origins is necessary to complete our understanding of Darwin’s theory.”

– Marc W. Kirscher & John C. Gerhart, “The Plausibility of Life”

(with thanks to Ezra for the recommendation!)

“A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything.”

by Friedrich Nietzsche

(with thanks to Kye)

“He who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside awakens.”

by Carl Gustav Jung