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Title | The Power Divided
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Author | Nalo Hopkinson, Neil Gaiman
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Illustrator | Dominike Stanton
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Publisher | Vertigo - 2019
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First Printing | Vertigo - 2018
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Title | Ananse
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Author | Nalo Hopkinson, Neil Gaiman
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Illustrator | Dominike Stanton
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Publisher | Vertigo - 2020
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First Printing | Vertigo - 2020
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Title | Watching the Watchers
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Illustrator | Nalo Hopkinson, Neil Gaiman
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Cover Art | Dominike Stanton
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Publisher | Vertigo - 2020
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First Printing | Vertigo - 2020
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Category | Graphic Novel
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Warnings | ---
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Main Characters | Erzulie, Maggie, Latoya, Shakpana, Uncle Monday, Ananse, and many cameos from the Sandman universe
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Main Elements | Gods, demons
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Website | ---
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 The Power Divided
One of four books expanding Neil Gaiman's acclaimed Sandman Universe. Welcome to the House of Dahomey, the houseboat of Erzulie Freda, where the souls of Voodoo followers go when they sleep but even the fearsome Erzulie is powerless when her dream river turns sour, tossing her house from one realm and into another.. the Dreaming!
From her bayou, Erzulie scries upon the mortal realm and sees four human girls open a mysterious and magical journal filled with whispers and rumors that, if they spread, could cause a pandemic unlike any the Earth has seen, with the power to release Shakpana, the loa lord of infectious disease and nephew to Erzulie, who is currently banned from the human plane. Meanwhile, a mysterious infection doctors are calling "Cotard's Delusion" spreads, trapping countless souls in the Dreaming and leaving their physical bodies yearning for death.
Written by Nalo Hopkinson, award-winning author of Brown Girl in the Ring and Midnight Robber, and Dominike "Domo" Stanton, artist of the acclaimed Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.
The Sandman Universe is a new series of books curated by Neil Gaiman for DC Vertigo. Conjuring epic storytelling and immersing readers into the evolving world of the Dreaming, The Sandman Universe begins anew with four new ongoing series, existing in a shared universe, building upon Gaiman's New York Times best-selling series that lyrically weaved together stories of dreams and magic.
Collects House of Whispers #1-6 and Sandman Universe Special #1
Ananse
The pandemic is spreading, and Erzulie is calling upon all her distant contacts to aid her in stopping Shakpana and his infection.
The souls trapped in the Dreaming are restless, seeking any help they can attain to escape from their "predeceased" state. Erzulie calls upon the spider-god of stories, Anansi, to assist her in unraveling the truth behind her own history. But can Anansi be trusted with any truths he finds?
Written by Nalo Hopkinson, award-winning author of Brown Girl in the Ring and Midnight Robber, and Dominike "DOMO" Stanton, artist of the acclaimed Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.
The Sandman Universe is a new series of books curated by Neil Gaiman for DC Vertigo. Conjuring epic storytelling and immersing readers in the evolving world of the Dreaming, the Sandman Universe begins anew with four new ongoing series, existing in a shared universe, building upon Gaiman's New York Times best-selling series that lyrically weaved together stories of dreams and magic.
Collects House of Whispers #7-12.
Watching the Watchers
The goddess Erzulie is grieving the loss of one of her husbands, while her remaining spouses are asking themselves if they can remain by her side. But in the darkness, the Corinthian has his eyes on Erzulie's place. Erzulie will need allies-including Papa Midnite, the dangerous immortal on whom everyone in the afterlife has sworn revenge!
Collects House of Whispers #13-22
I'm working my way through the Sandman universe books. I enjoyed House of Whispers enormously. It focuses on the Voodoo mythology, of which I know little and learned a lot. It's fascinating where you have deities like Shakpana, of pestilence and disease, but he's also science and guides humans to find cures for his creations (at least when he isn't driven mad by an unintended trip to the Dreaming!). Uncle Monday is an alligator deity, but while his origins are in darkness, he also represented good. Erzulie has three facets and three husbands, one of which is a two-headed snake, another a ship captain that ferried those who drowned in the crossing of the slave trade. A religions with roots in Africa, but modified through the experience of slavery in the American south.
We cover a lot of ground in these three books. From the treatment of blacks by the white men, of illegal immigrants put into cells to suffer and die, children abducted and used as slave labour, they gay and transgendered society. And don't forget the Corinthian is running amok (man...the animals with human eyeballs dream...argh), getting himself, and a lot of other people, into trouble.
While dark, there were moments of triumph and joy as well, and there's even a happy ending, even if it isn't quite what one expects. It's about books that have never been written, the whispered cries for help and solace, and the power of stories and dreams.
And there's a cat-thing, which turns into a bull sometimes and....yeah, cat-thing...
It overlaps with The Dreaming quartet of novels, since Daniel is AWOL and the Dreaming is falling apart, but aside for some cameos of some fan favorites, its very much its own story and I think that's why I liked it more than I liked The Dreaming books.
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