There is nothing wrong is reading fiction, but having in mind that real life can be as fascinating, fantastic and almost impossible to believe than fiction. In this sixth volume, Fables & Reflections, you will find an illustrated short story right in the beginning of it, even before the introduction, written by Gene Wolfe (which by the way, no offense, but it’s quite spoiling, so in this ocassion, I recommend that if you still want to read the introduction, it’s better to do it after reading the TPB, to enjoy more the surprises contained here.
Graig Russell, Bryan Talbot, Kent Williams, John Watkiss, Jill Thompson, Duncan Eagleson & Stan Woch The other stories here are all enjoyable too (I particularly liked the lycanthrope grandpa telling his “old country” story to an inattentive granddaughter), and each acknowledges-sometimes grimly, sometimes sweetly-the power of narrative both to distort and to transform the world.Ī priceless journey through history and folklore! Gaiman’s economic method of connecting Orpheus to the Sandman story is ingenious, but the real attraction here is the straightforward telling of the legend of Orpheus itself and the memorable illustrations of the wedding, the palace of Dream, the cottage of Death, the wraiths of Hades, and the rage of the frightful Maenads. In Gaiman’s mythology, Orpheus is the son, not of Apollo, but of Morpheus, and Dream’s entire family, who attends Orpheus’ wedding, are caught up in the tragic events surrounding the death of his wife Eurydice.
The second most powerful story in Fables and Reflections is the life of the poet and musician Orpheus. Gaiman wrote it during Operation Desert Storm, and, although the tale is not only filled with magic but also inked in a marvel of colors suited to the city of the Arabian Nights, it is touched with melancholy and loss rooted in the devastation of war in Iraq. The best of these four-in fact, the best of the entire collection-is the story of the Caliph of Baghdad and the bargain he makes with the Lord of Dreams. Just, Caliph Harun al-Rashid, and San Francisco native Joshua Norton (self-proclaimed Emperor of America)-all of whom led lives profoundly affected by dreams. Still, there are a couple of themes present here: 1) the fate of empires and emperors, and 2) the ways in which narrative-in dream and song-can sustain hope and foster illusion.įour of the stories feature historical rulers-Emperor Caesar Augustus, revolutionary leaders Robespierre and St. The sixth collection-as its title suggests-is a somewhat random grab-bag of tales, only tenuously connected with the Sandman story.
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