The second audio instalment of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, the mind-bending DC series deemed “a comic strip for intellectuals” by Norman Mailer, is as close to an audiobook blockbuster as they come, and wisely arrives ahead of next year’s Netflix series. Listeners are once again plunged into the Dreaming to get reacquainted with the goth-tastic Morpheus, AKA the Lord of Dreams (James McAvoy), who is rebuilding his nocturnal kingdom after a period of incarceration.
He is joined by a stellar cast including Andy Serkis as Matthew the Raven; Brian Cox as Augustus; Kat Dennings as Death; Emma Corrin as Thessaly; and Regé-Jean Page as Orpheus. Gaiman, who has adapted the comics with the help of audio supremo Dirk Maggs, takes on the role of Narrator, his voice drifting between menace and glee.
The first chapter opens with a vision of the Garden of Destiny, a place “distinct from time and space where the potential becomes the actual”. With great solemnity, Morpheus announces he must abandon his motley subjects in order to return to hell to rescue a queen, Nada, who he cruelly consigned to thousands of years of imprisonment. In doing so he will come face to face with his arch enemy, Lucifer, voiced with suitable relish by Michael Sheen. As the story unfolds, new realms are revealed and scores of new characters arrive played variously by Aidan Turner, Adrian Lester, Paterson Joseph and Siân Phillips. This is a spectacular ensemble piece that, aided by smart sound design and an atmospheric soundtrack, will truly occupy your dreams.
• The Sandman: Act II is available on Audible, 13hr 47min.
Further Listening
A Carnival of Snackery
David Sedaris, Hachette Audio, 17hr 8min
The American essayist deploys his customary dark humour and comic timing in the audio version of his second book of diaries.
Apples Never Fall
Liane Moriarty, Penguin Audio, 18hr 4min
The Australian actor Caroline Lee reads the latest mystery from the Big Little Lies author in which a woman goes missing, prompting her family to unravel.
