Preludes & Nocturnes or Doll's House? Which came first?

Preludes and Nocturnes.

It sets up the whole framework for the rest of the series.

- Cho

It doesn't give anything away, does it?

Thanks.

::EDIT:: Let me come at it from another angle. This is going to be the only Sandman volume that I'm going to be getting for the next year (really), so which is the best introductory volume that's still going ot keep me satisfied. Should I try and get P&N and Doll's House, is their something better?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Abberantdown,

P & N is the beginning of everything so, no, it doesn't spoil any of the later plots. If you get any of the later books, those might spoil P & N.

quote:

Originally posted by Dweller in Darkness:
P & N is the beginning of everything so, no, it doesn't spoil any of the later plots. If you get any of the later books, those might spoil P & N.

Gotcha, but I've been reading the "only one Sandman volume as a gift" thread, and somebody said that P & N isn't enough of a story by itself. I want something that's a great way to get into the story, and satisfying enough that it will tide me over for a while. Should I still go with P&N, or is there a better one to go for, or is their a combination of two that I should do?

Oh, hey, that was me, maybe! Don't get me wrong, I like P&N a lot, and it is a pretty self-contained arc, so it's not like you'll be left hanging at the end. And it does have some nice stories in it. But it's not my favorite, and if I were trying to Wow someone, I'd be more inclined to use one of the books of stand-alone stories, like Dream Country or Fables & Recollections.

Starting with P&N has the obvious benefit that you can be sure nothing gets spoiled, and you get to see the story unfold as it was intended to. It's been too long since I've read Dream Country to know what it might spoil in the earlier books, although I don't recall it giving away any major surprises.

It's really just a matter of taste. I doubt you'll be disappointed either way.

I started with Preludes and Nocturnes, and I ejoyed it a lot, and got me hooked into wanting to read more. I read it llike 10 times while I was getting the cash together to get Doll's House. So it's a great place to start with, I think.

However, once you've read the whole series, you realise the Sandman has loads of story archs, loads of cool characters, stories big and litle, loads of themes and plots interconnecting throughout the series... And, in this light, P&N might seem a bit of a lesser work, coz it's a very straitghtforward story (it has a beginning, a middle and an end, and, although some of the events in it have repercussions later, it is a self-sustained sotry and everything is resolved within the volume).

Doll's House, on the other hand, is a story that takes place after the events in P&N. You don't need to read P&N to understand it, as it is explained there anyway, but it's a much more complex story. It has different perspectives, different locations, different stories happening at the same time that are somehow connected. And its repercussions last volumes.

After reading the first volume Iw a shooked, and after reading Doll's House I was blown away coz it took me to unexpected places. A friend of mine, however, read P&N and was kind of blah about it. There were bits she liked but the story didn't do much for her as a whole (she was not into any kind of fantasy at the moment, I have to say), but Doll's House really gripped her. So it's also a matter of taste.

Well, nothing better than the first to start with!

Preludes and Nocturnes may not be the "best story" but it is the beginning of it all.

Though, The Doll's house is, up to now, my second favourite (after Season of Mists, fist volume I ever read, and in Italian!) followed by, at the same place, Preludes and Nocturnes and Dream Country. Not in the charts is Endless Nights (Manara... ), as it is something wonderful, but completely different from the storyline.

This is up to now: in a month or two's time I'll be getting the other volumes, and I will let you know.

(Hey, it's my first message on the board!)

quote:

Originally posted by Royko:
It's been too long since I've read Dream Country to know what it might spoil in the earlier books, although I don't recall it giving away any major surprises.

I've just re-read Dream Country, and the only thing it mentions from P&N and TDH, is Dream's deal with William Shakespeare, which is set up in the Robert Gadling story. But there's nothing of any real significance.

I'd also agree with cloverheart that The Doll's House is better than Preludes and Nocturnes. P&N is more of a conventional quest story, and I think that The Sound of Her Wings gives a much better idea of the overall "feel" of the subsequent books.

So what's the unanimous verdict? Should I do P&N?

Also, let me say again that this is the only Sandman book that I'll have for at least a year. I've been living in South America for about half a year now, and my sister is coming down from the States in December, so I have a chance to get a book down here. It'll be the only one for a while, so I'll also need to take in account of which book would keep me satisfied.

Get the 1st volume of Absolute Sandman. Kill the birds with a big stone.

quote:

Originally posted by Ubiq:
Get the 1st volume of Absolute Sandman. Kill the birds with a big stone.

Can't I just throw pebbles? I can afford those.

Better to save up and play a nice game of hopskotch.

I'd certainly recommend reading Dream Country first. It doesn't contain any major spoilers that I recall, although it does contain the secret of life, if you look carefully enough.

If I were feeling really subversive, I might even recommend reading Season of Mists before you start the earlier volumes. It will give you a better feel for the tone, and the quality, of the series, and most of the spoilers are pretty minor.

quote:

Originally posted by Daniel:
I'd certainly recommend reading Dream Country first. It doesn't contain any major spoilers that I recall, although it does contain the secret of life, if you look carefully enough.

If I were feeling really subversive, I might even recommend reading Season of Mists before you start the earlier volumes. It will give you a better feel for the tone, and the quality, of the series, and most of the spoilers are pretty minor.

Alright, so which one should I get? Start at the beginning or get one of the stand alone volumes?