The Sandman: The Dream Hunters [Hardcover]

Neil Gaiman (Author), Yoshitaka Amano (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1999

Set in ancient Japan, this story is a haunting fable of ill-fated love and dream-eating monsters, told in an illustrated text format, and painted by Japanese artist Yoshitaka Amano.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Sandman fans should feel lucky that master fantasy writer Neil Gaiman discovered the mythical world of Japanese fables while researching his translation of Hayao Miyazaki's film Princess Mononoke. At the same time, while preparing for the Sandman 10th anniversary, he met Yoshitaka Amano, his artist for the 11th Sandman book. Amano is the famed designer of the Final Fantasy game series. The product of Gaiman's immersion in Japanese art, culture, and history, Sandman: Dream Hunters is a classic Japanese tale (adapted from "The Fox, the Monk, and the Mikado of All Night's Dreaming") that he has subtly morphed into his Sandman universe.

Like most fables, the story begins with a wager between two jealous animals, a fox and a badger: which of them can drive a young monk from his solitary temple? The winner will make the temple into a new fox or badger home. But as the fox adopts the form of a woman to woo the monk from his hermitage, she falls in love with him. Meanwhile, in far away Kyoto, the wealthy Master of Yin-Yang, the onmyoji, is plagued by his fears and seeks tranquility in his command of sorcery. He learns of the monk and his inner peace; he dispatches demons to plague the monk in his dreams and eventually kill him to bring his peace to the onmyoji. The fox overhears the demons on their way to the monk and begins her struggle to save the man whom at first she so envied.

Dream Hunters is a beautiful package. From the ink-brush painted endpapers to the luminous page layouts--including Amano's gate-fold painting of Morpheus in a sea of reds, oranges, and violets--this book has been crafted for a sensuous reading experience. Gaiman has developed as a prose stylist in the last several years with novels and stories such as Neverwhere and Stardust, and his narrative rings with a sense of timelessness and magic that gently sustains this adult fairy tale. The only disappointment here is that the book is so brief. One could imagine this creative team being even better suited to a longer story of more epic proportions. On the final page of Dream Hunters, in fact, Amano suggest that he will collaborate further with Mr. Gaiman in the future. Readers of Dream Hunters will hope that Amano's dream comes true. --Patrick O'Kelley

From Library Journal

Gaiman's enormously successful Sandman monthly comic book (1989-96), which won eight Eisner awards in a row for comic book excellence, has been collected in a series of equally successful graphic novels. This book, representing Gaiman's first Sandman story in three years, retells Japanese folk tale "The Fox, the Monk, and the Mikado of All Night's Dreaming." The central characters are the Fox and the Monk, and the Sandman only plays a peripheral role. The book isn't really a graphic novel, as there are roughly 60 pages of typed prose and 60 pages of illustrations. It is an illustrated novel that remains true to both the Japanese tale and the motifs that made the Sandman series so popular. The illustrations are reminiscent of Japanese brush work and gently push the text along. Not the best first Sandman purchase for any library, this book is a necessary purchase if your patrons are Sandman readers, or if your world folk tales collection needs strengthening--Stephen Weiner, Maynard P.L., MA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics / Vertigo; 1st edition (November 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563895730
• ISBN-13: 978-1563895739
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 6.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #316,798 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Excellent Story, November 17, 1999

By 

O. Olson (Kansas City, MO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sandman: The Dream Hunters (Hardcover)

Personally, I was dissapointed that this book was not told in traditional comic fashion (a technique he has not utilized since the Sandman series itself ended several years ago). However, DREAM HUNTERS is an excellent addition to the Sandman mythology; though it is not quite substantial enough to constitute an "Eleveth Volume" of the story (it is more approximate to one comic-sized issue). This is a moving story, which works on several levels; it is complex, with many details all the more exciting when caught, yet is simple, as a folk tale should be. This story reminds of previous Sandman tales, especially "Dream Of A Thousand Cats," "Ramadan," and "The Kindly Ones," sharing several dramatic parallels with each. After reading this story, I found myself immediately turning back the book to page one to begin again. Vintage Gaiman, DREAM HUNTERS should not be missed.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Realm of the Fox, October 18, 2002

By 

Marc Ruby™ "The Noh Hare™" (Warren, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Sandman: The Dream Hunters (Hardcover)

I found this book while searching for Yoshitaka Amano's illustrations. One of the most notable of living Japanese illustrators, he is still much under-represented in American publications. This is truly a shame, for many are completely unaware of the flowing grace and color of his images. He has a great breadth of style, subject and media, including theater design and stained glass work among his many credits. He is equally at home doing echoes of old Japanese and Chinese prints as he is with bright colors and Impressionism. This is part of what makes 'The Dream Hunters' a treasure.

Neil Gaiman, of course, is much better known here, and in Europe. His 'Sandman' series, of which this technically a part, has achieved a certain legendary status among graphic novels, and such novels as 'Nevermore' and 'American Gods' have proven that he was a writer worthy of respect. The story here is a derivative of a little-known Japanese legend called "The Fox, The Monk, and the Mikado of All Night's Dreaming." This Gaiman retells, placing his own creation, Morpheus, as The King of Dreams.

The tale is about a young Monk living in an isolated temple, who makes a great impression on a fox who lives nearby. She gradually comes to love the monk, but always maintains her distance. One night, she overhears a group of creatures discussing the plans of their master to kill the monk in his dreams. Determined that the monk should live, she sets out to save him. The ensuing story is both touching and unique. And Amano's illustrations rest gemlike within it.

The volume is sumptuously printed, and really deserves a slipcase. Suffice it to say, it will occupy a treasured place on my shelves. Both a love story and a teaching fable, it stays in the mind for some time. In the end, you will agree with the King of All Night's Dreaming: "Lessons were learned. Events occurred as it was proper for them to do. I do not perceive that my attention was wasted."

44 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not to be missed, November 22, 1999

By 

A. Chen (San Carlos, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Sandman: The Dream Hunters (Hardcover)

After being disappointed by STARDUST (Gaiman's story, not Vess' beautiful illustrations), I hesitantly bought this new illustrated book. When I first received it, I quickly flipped through Amano's illustrations, and my trepidation increased since on their own, the pictures were somewhat abstract.

However, once I started the book, all my fears vanished. Gaiman has outdone himself with his lyrical retelling of the Japanese folk tale of the fox and the monk. The story retains the serene bittersweetness that often characterizes Asian stories, and Amano's mysterious illustrations lend a depth and elegance that is simply breathtaking. THE DREAM HUNTERS, though a rather short piece, is an outstanding addition to the Sandman oeuvre that is not to be missed.