Sandman: Worlds' End

The eighth volume in Neil Gaiman's Sandman series, Worlds' End, is easily my favorite. It's another collection of short stories, but these are connected with a Chaucer-like framework. Several beings, finding themselves caught in various storms, make their way to the Worlds' End Inn. While the storm rages outside, the pass the time telling stories to each other.

The stories are a lot of fun. One concerns the dreams of a city. Another is a fairly standard tale of a girl dressing as a boy so she can live as a sailor. My favorite takes place in an idealized America where a young president is able to unlock the potential of what our country can be.

Between stories we return to the Inn, to see the conversations the characters are having there. And to finally discover the reason for the storm that has driven all of them there. In some ways, this volume represents the end of the series, with the next two volumes delving in to what happened and why and what will happen next. But the real conclusion comes at the end of this volume.

Structurally, I love this volume. There are stories within stories within stories. The narration keeps drilling down and coming back out. It's fun to see how all these tales comment on each other, what they have in common and what makes them unique. I return to this volume again and again to revisit the stories told in it.

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