The Sandman: Brief Lives by Neil Gaiman and various artists

 

(pb; 1992-3, 2011: graphic novel, collects issues 41-9 of the comic book The Sandman. “Afterword” by Peter Straub. Eighth book in the thirteen-book Sandman graphic novel series.)

Overall review:

Lives is one of the more focused Sandman story arcs, making it one of the best in its in graphic novel oeuvre. This is excellent and memorable, one worth owning.

Again, the artists, letterers and colorists who bring Gaiman’s transcend-the-genre writing to vivid, distinctive representation are top-notch and genre-defining. Worth owning, this. Followed by The Sandman: Worlds' End.

Review, issue by issue

Caveat: possible─if you prefer not to know anything about what you’re about to read─minor spoilers for those who have not read these Sandman comics.

“Brief Lives, Chapter 1” (#41): An old man (Andros), keeping with family tradition, helps guard the grave of Johanna Constantine (1760-1859, ancestor of John Constantine) and Orpheus’s living head.

Elsewhere, Delirium─sad, disturbed─looks for her eldest Endless brother.

 

“Brief Lives, Chapter 2” (#42): Delirium visits Morpheus in the Dreaming, asks him to aid her in her quest to find their eldest brother.

 

“Brief Lives, Chapter 3” (#43): Morpheus and Delirium make travel arrangements in the Waking World via Pharamond (a.k.a. Mr. Farrell), a Babylonian god-turned-businessman.

Etain, a young woman, barely escapes an early morning disaster in her apartment.

 

“Brief Lives, Chapter 4” (#44): Delirium, Morpheus and Ruby Elisabeth DeLonge (their human driver, in Mr. Farrell’s employ) try to visit a lawyer (Bernard Capax) who─for unexplained reasons─might know the whereabouts of the Endless sibling’s brother.

Also: Morpheus thinks about a meeting with the sibling they seek, a long-ago memory where the Corinthian is shown.

 

“Brief Lives, Chapter 5” (#45): Morpheus and Delirium, with Matthew’s help, locate the next person on Delirium’s list: a “dancing woman” (Ishtar, a.k.a. Astarte) and friend to fellow stripper, Tiffany.

Conversations, death and destruction ensue. Desire makes an important appearance in this issue.

 

“Brief Lives, Chapter 6” (#46): Delirium and Morpheus part ways for a time. Morpheus visits Lady Bast, whom he has not seen in two years. Death pays Morpheus a visit.

 

“Brief Lives, Chapter 7” (#47): Morpheus and Delirium resume their seeking of their eldest Endless brother, Destruction. Morpheus visits Orpheus. Delirium and Morpheus arrive at Destruction’s home, where he lives with a plain-spoken dog named Barnabus.

 

“Brief Lives, Chapter 8” (#48): Morpheus and Delirium attend a dinner with Destruction and Barnabus, speak of why Destruction has absented himself from his family, the world and his ex-lover (Ishtar).

 

Brief Lives, Chapter 9” (#49): Morpheus and Delirium speak with their sister, Despair. Morpheus visits Orpheus again and, in doing so, fulfills a wish Desire made regarding Morpheus. Many of the characters seen in this nine-issue story arc resume their lives, some of them with a different attitudes than they previously held.

Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King by Lisa Rogak

(hb; 2008: biography)

From the inside flap:

"One of the most prolific and popular authors today, Stephen King has become part of pop-culture history. But who is the man behind those tales of horror, grief, and the supernatural? Where do those ideas come from? And what drives him to keep writing at a breakneck pace after a thirty-year career? In this unauthorized biography, Lisa Rogak reveals the troubled background and lifelong fears that inspire one of the twentieth century's most influential authors.

"King's origins were inauspicious at best. His impoverished childhood in rural Maine and early marriage hardly spelled out the likelihood of a blossoming literary career. but his unflagging work ethic and a ceaseless flow of ideas put him on the path to success. It came in a flash, and the side effects of sudden stardom and seemingly unlimited wealth soon threatened to destroy his work and, worse, his life. But he survived and has since continued to write at a level of originality few authors could hope to match.

"Despite his dark and disturbing work, Stephen King has become revered by critics and his countless fans as an all-American voice more akin to Mark Twain than H.P. Lovecraft. Haunted Heart chronicles his story, revealing the character of a man who has created some of the most memorable -- and frightening -- stories found in literature today."

Review

Balanced, entertaining bio about a man whose name is, for many, synonymous with icky terror.

Normally, I'm wary of any bio that's written about an author who's still and alive and publishing, but Rogak, via her facts and interviews, shows King as a flesh-and-zombie-shake man, with demons (father abandonment issues, drug addiction) who still managed -- and manages -- to keep his priorities straight: writing, and taking care of his family (longtime wife Tabitha, daughter Naomi, and sons Joe and Owen).

Notable, portrait-supportive interviews with friends and family include: Peter Straub (who, among his books, co-authored The Talisman and Black House with King), Bev Vincent, and Rick Hautala (a consistently exemplary author and college friend of King's).

Good read, this. I'm not a big fan of most of Stephen King's post-mid-Eighties books. As a reader and writer, I'm a "minimalist," not a "maximalist" (phrases King used in his non-fiction book, On Writing). However, I've long admired what he's done, as a man and a writer, and this confirmed my feelings on the man, and his persona.

Worth checking out.