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The Sandman: Act III  By  cover art

The Sandman: Act III

By: Neil Gaiman, Dirk Maggs
Narrated by: Neil Gaiman, James McAvoy, K.J. Apa, Kat Dennings, Shruti Haasan, David Harewood, Regé-Jean Page, Kristen Schaal, Wil Wheaton
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Publisher's summary

The groundbreaking audio production of what Los Angeles Times Magazine called “the greatest epic in the history of comic books” continues. Leading perhaps the best cast ever assembled in audio, James McAvoy returns to voice Morpheus, the Lord of Dreams, in The Sandman: Act III, the third installment of the New York Times best-selling audio saga. Award-winning audio trailblazer Dirk Maggs adapts the blockbuster DC graphic novel series written by Neil Gaiman (Good Omens) into another fully immersive listening experience, presented for the first time in breathtaking 3D audio.

In Act III, we follow Morpheus on a grand journey to take care of family business. He visits with his son Orpheus (Bridgerton’s Regé-Jean Page), an act that brings with it profound consequences. Accompanied by Delirium (Kristen Schaal, Bob’s Burgers), he tracks down their estranged brother, Destruction (David Harewood, Supergirl), the only member of the Endless ever to abandon their post. And at an inn at the intersection of all worlds, a group of travelers are forced together by a storm that threatens to destroy reality itself, with grave repercussions for Morpheus and the rest of the Endless.

All the original cast returns, including Kat Dennings as Death, Aidan Turner as Cluracan, and Neil Gaiman himself as The Narrator, joined by Harewood and other new cast members Wil Wheaton (Star Trek: The Next Generation), KJ Apa (Riverdale), Shruti Haasan (Race Gurram), and more.

It’s time to close your eyes and listen. Once again.

Please note: This content is not for kids. It is for mature audiences only. Just like the original graphic novels, this audio adaptation contains explicit language and graphic violence, as well as strong sexual content and themes. Discretion is advised.

Now available in Dolby Atmos on Audible.

©2022 DC. All Rights Reserved. DC logo, The Sandman, and all related characters and elements © & ™ DC. (P)2022 DC and Audible

All Roads lead to Destruction

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About Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman is The New York Times best-selling author and creator of books, graphic novels, short stories, film, and television for all ages, including Norse Mythology, Neverwhere, Coraline, The Graveyard Book, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, The View from the Cheap Seats, and The Sandman comic series published by DC. His fiction has received Newbery, Carnegie, Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, and Will Eisner Awards. Gaiman was the writer and showrunner for the Emmy-nominated mini-series adaptation of Good Omens, based on the book he co-authored with Sir Terry Pratchett; his novel American Gods, has also been adapted to a critically acclaimed, Emmy-nominated TV series. His audiobooks have won five Audie Awards and frequently appear on The NYT Audio Bestseller List. In 2017, he became a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.

About Dirk Maggs

Dirk Maggs writes and directs immersive, densely layered audio stories that fire the imagination. At the BBC, his groundbreaking 'audio movies' featuring DC Comics' Superman and Batman dazzled Douglas Adams, who asked Dirk to bring The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy back to its original home, BBC Radio. In the last decade, Dirk has worked closely with his friend Neil Gaiman to adapt and direct prestige BBC versions of Neverwhere, Stardust, and Neil and Terry Pratchett's Good Omens. For Audible, Dirk adapted and produced The X-Files, starring Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny, and four epic audio adventures set in the Alien universe. Dirk's many awards include Audies, Writers Guild, Sonys, Talkies, British Fantasy Society, and two New York Festivals Gold Medals. Dirk is an Honorary fellow of the University of Winchester, and he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in the Arts by Bournemouth University.

About James Hannigan

Known for his emotionally driven and memorable scores, BAFTA award winning composer and sound designer James Hannigan has created music for virtually all forms of media, including major video game franchises ( Harry Potter), TV ( Primeval), radio (Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere and Good Omens), and The #1 New York Times best-selling audio adaptation of The Sandman. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, James is also a creator and founder of two sold-out London Southbank based conferences. He has worked with several world class orchestras, including The Philharmonia, The Chamber Orchestra of London, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, The Skywalker Symphony Orchestra and the Slovak Symphony Orchestra. His awards include an IFMCA (International Film Music Critics Association) Award for the score of EA’s Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in 2010, and in 2012 he was made a subject of BAFTA’s Conversations with Composers series held at the Royal Albert Hall.

Featured Article: Best of the Year—The 12 Best Fantasy Listens of 2022


Between film, television, literature, and audio—2022 could easily be proclaimed the Year of the Fantasy, much to the delight of fans among us. But when it came to picking the best of the best, the glut of fantastic content also significantly increased the CR (challenge rating). This year’s winner edged ahead of the rest thanks to its atmospheric, suck-you-in (pun intended) audio experience, but every performance on this list transported us.

Discover The Sandman Series
and More From Neil Gaiman

What listeners say about The Sandman: Act III

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    1 out of 5 stars

A collection of short stories

This is a collection of short and unrelated stories. Morpheus is not a central character and often doesn't even appear. The reviews and ratings that call this epic with 5 stars, most likely did not even read it. Act 1 was phenomenal. Act 2 started good and fizzled out. This Act 3 fizzled out after only 1 hour. I had expected/hoped that this would be a production centered around Morpheus. It started with his son, which was a good start and then ended after 1 hour. What follows is just short stories, like Act 2. If you like a bunch of disconnected short stories for 10 hours, then you'll like this. I had to stop listening. I was a real story with character arcs and stuff. I don't recommend any Sandman except Act 1.

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21 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Bit too disconnected. Didn't feel epic, bit boring

So, I know this series is usually a bunch of short stories but previous entries always had some sort way to connect several of these stories into one larger picture story that felt really epic.

This never quite went anywhere and that epic larger picture story or something to sorta connect all these short stories never really came, or at least to me, maybe the stories felt a bit too loosely attached to eachother that I just didn't recognize it.

I really never got anything that felt particularly epic and the stories that were delivered felt like the quality went down severely. None of these stories really felt like there was enough time for any tension to build up and none of the characters particularly stood out.

What I did like about this book was one of the short stories. The only one that stood out as something that was good enough to remember was the story about Moroheus's son and his attempted rescue of his wife. I liked the production I think more then the plot thread as the use of sound effects and a singer was really really well done. The plot was alright, felt weirdly similar to what we've already seen but I think the production really made that stand out more then the rest. I didn't like how his sons character was written off though, that felt lazy and out of nowhere.

Other then that single plot thread, everything else sorta was forgettable. I really just didn't have a very good time with this. I wish some of these plots had a higher impact or something particularly shocking would have happened. The writing style just feels so different from the first season of these books.

Weird to say but the first season of this series was so memorable that I could legit gush about particular threads of plot and can get into the nitty gritty details about what I loved. I just can't do that here, there were fun moments, but nothing so wildly conceptual that it'd stick with me for years like the first season of this series managed to do.

I honestly think I'm done with this series point forward, the quality dips are just getting worse and worse that it's totally lost my interest now.

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19 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • T
  • 09-28-22

Truly Epic!!!

These are all amazing and I literally jumped with joy with the announcement of this one. I'm not at all disappointed and it's just as awesome as the others. These have ruined all other audio books. I need them all to be this epic!

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16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Disconnected

Fantastic production and voice acting as usual. The actual meat of this book though is a different story. Yes, the original is a collection of short stories but this book felt like more of a set up for what's to come based on the actions of a few individuals. At least the previous books masterfully wove the short stories to all connect in some way but this book did not give off that feel and felt rather disconnected.

Overall some interesting bits if you listened to the previous two but otherwise was just boring and in the grand scheme of things not alot of things in the universe moved forward. World's end was just 4 hours of drivel that could be completely cut out and you wouldn't feel like you missed a thing.

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12 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Just amazing

I’ve enjoyed all 3 of the Sandman Audiobooks, but I think this one is my favorite! Love the full immersion through sound effects, music, and all the voice actors are fantastic!

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8 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Dream comes true & the best so far

Another Gaiman's Dream (book) brought to life. The stories are fantastic, the performance superb, and the sound effects dramatic. I think this one is the best in the series so far, and here's why.

First, each character is clearly indicated when he/she speaks, and there's little guessing who's talking. I found most of the mulit-cast audible books hard to follow because I can't tell one character from another easily. Each Sandman book does it better than the previous one. Not only each character has his/her distinct voice, the narrator or the story identifies the person clearly. In this book, I need to guess very little.

Second, I know the characters better, care about them deeper, and thus enjoy their journey more. The characters are well designed and act in consistent ways, with the storyline pushing the character development naturally.

Third, the dramatic and realistic sound effects help tell the story clearer and push the story's emotion higher. For example, the rapid splashing sound tells me that the character is in the water and probably struggling. One thing this book has more than before is music and songs, not just dramatic sound effects. Orpheus definitely lives up to his reputation as the god of music, and his performance is dreamy (Dream is also dreamy, so I guess it runs in the family.)

Lastly, the individual tales are all great and contribute to the overarching storyline and character development. The stories are engaging and full of imagination, dramas, and surprises. Even on the rare occasion I know how the plot will end, the journey there is still deeply enjoyable.

Gaiman is a master in building fantasies, and this one is another dream comes true.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

A little disappointing

I found the first two Acts much more engaging. The primary storyline in Act III has its moments of excitement, but I felt like the conclusion was rushed. The Worlds End storyline seems completely unnecessary. If you are already committed to finishing the trilogy…nothing is going to stop you…the polish and production value is still off the charts.

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6 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I like it.

Got this with my audible credit. Pretty good stuff. I give it two thumbs up. (=•D)

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6 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Disappointed Disconnection

The story of Morpheus fell apart, devolviing into short stories that didn't seem to connect to any moan overarching plot. The Lord of Dreams seldom makes an appearance in this act. It started out strong but quick fizzled out. I had a hard time finishing this ACT.

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4 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

No actual story

If you’re looking for a listen that has high production quality but poor story telling this is the book for you… pretty disappointed in this 3rd act, the 1st sandman was great… the 2nd was meh… and this 3rd one just seemed random with no real story to follow… very underwhelming

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3 people found this helpful