Sandman fanfic recs

These are my absolute favourite Sandman fanfics. Or favourite Dreamling fanfics, because these are all Dream/Hob. I was head over heels in love with this universe around 2022-2023. I loved the show, but it was all the great fics I read after that made me properly obsessed. 

Like with my Doctor Who fanfic recs post, I'm posting this some time after I was "in" the fandom. But I'm a fan of documenting my favourites, both for others to find, and so that I can come back and experience them all over again if the spark ever ignites again. 

Please check the ratings and tags of each fic on AO3 before reading.

Complete

• The Uses of Adversity by MonstrousRegiment
• The one everyone recommends. The top Sandman fic on AO3 if you sort by kudos or bookmarks. A bit different to canon in tone and characterisation for both Dream (who's a bit more Eldritch/otherworldly) and Hob, but so incredibly creative and entertaining. I found this one very early after the show first aired, while it was still in progress, and it was super exiting to follow in real time.
• And in the waking world we wait and want by qqueenofhades
• Hob's life through the years, between the centennial meetings, in great detail. Looong, amazing slow burn. The moment they finally meet up again in present day was so satisfying, when I finally got there. This author is so, so good. Her Dream is fantastic. Her Hob is a fascinating and charming. I also have love this author's apparent extensive research into everything she writes about. Whether it's historical or about tube lines in London.
• The Playwright's stranger by slythernim
• "Hob writes a play. (Calliope helps, a little.) Then Dream shows up and his entire theatre company is immediately like HEY, WAIT A SEC -" Slythernim's writing is excellence in "crack treated seriously".
• A Complete Account of Hob Gadling's Relationship With God, the Catholic Church, and the Concept of the Devil, by slythernim
• A slightly "unhinged" version of Hob is having a bit of an existential/religious crisis. This is sort crazy in tone, but so good. 
• Spite (Is As Good A Reason As Any) by Blue_Sunshine
• "Ten years before Paul Maguire either finally loses his nerve (or gains it, perhaps), Hob Gadling and Johanna Constantine become unlikely partners on a seemingly ill-fated search for an immortal man who never actually gave his only friend his name."
• Cling Fast by Losyark
• Hob takes the job as the "pet history expert on a BBC documentary about Gadlen House. Another great "crack treated seriously" story. I was still at the high of my Sandman obsession when this was being posted, and reading a new chapter in the morning on the bus on the way to work was so lovely.

Complete, but I haven't finished reading

I had a list of 70+ fics that I was following at one point, and struggled to keep up with all the different ones, and had to take a break. And then I lost the Sandman "spark", and have so far not managed to kick my brain into the right gear to continue. These below were particularly good though, and I hope to finish them one day.

• Hounds by Xx_vergil_xX
• Amazing, grand, epic, and insanely well written. The author covered Dream's – everything – so well that it got almost stressful to read at times. I took a break from reading after part one, to wait until it was complete. And it finally completed in early 2024. 
• Bolt in the Blue by sanyumi
• Rockband AU. Not just a fantastic read, but it also introduced me to a genre of music that I didn't know I'd like so much, and a bunch of new favourite songs. It stopped updating back in 2023-ish (?), and finally finished in december 2025.

Incomplete

These are so good that they need to go on here even though they aren't finished, and might never be. But you never know. I once got an update email for a fic 9 (!) years later.

• Of my misery make thy use by qqueenofhades
• Another fantastic one from the same author that wrote "And in the waking world...". Super interesting twist on the Dream/Hob relationship, made possible by writing Dream excellently as an absolute ass (pre-captivity). 
• The Kindness of Strangers by ravenlore
• Dream escapes Fawney Rig with neither his tools nor his memories. I love how amnesiac Dream in this fic doesn't automatically think he's human. Why would he, just because he looks human? He's never been human. He instead falls back on some baseline "Dreamness" without actually remembering what he is. Amnesia in Sandman fics usually results in Dream getting super OOC, but this fic does it right. Have reread this one many times. 
• Friends In Strange Places by keelywolfe
• Super charming "after the New Inn reunion" fic where Dream comes and goes in Hob's life.
• The end of all things by ranchdiip
• Another one of those great "Hob is super interesting in his own right" fics. Obsessed with this take on Hob where he's just a bit old, tired and not quite giving a fuck anymore.
• This Rough Magic by Avelera
• Hob learns magic to try and get in touch with the Stranger again, which brings him to the attention of Roderick Burgess. Very interesting rescue fic. Too bad it stopped updating before they got to the rescue part!
• Proving Faith by Anonymous
• Dream is a bit aloof and "difficult" with Hob in this fic, but that doesn't feel out of character at all. It's one thing that captivity changes Dream, but it's nice to read a fic where he isn't instantly "human" with Hob, and it's so nice to follow their relationship developing. I love how this version of Dream obviously likes Hob, and wants to spend time with him, but is unwilling to "slack off work" any more for the sake of something as "unimportant" as hanging out with friends. I also love how Hob manages to convince him anyway. And I love how Dream is kind of testing the waters with Hob. Trying to figure him out, trying to work out if he can trust him, and what their relationship is becoming. And meanwhile, Hob as well is treading very, very carefully, which also makes 100% sense for him. All around, one of my absolute favourite Sandman fanfics, and it got left at 16/18 chapters! So close!
• Turn your face toward the sun by wytch-lyghts (flight_on_broken_wings)
• Another "after the reunion"-fic where Dream doesn't instantly trust Hob right away. Great characterisation for both Dream and Hob. Found this one through a clever "recommend me fanfics based on another fanfic" tool someone had created, and used Proving Faith as the basis. 
• Not, Technically, Late by Slythernim
• "Dream escapes the fishbowl at exactly 11:59 on New Years Eve. Technically, it's still 1989, so he's not late if he teleports directly to wherever Hob is, right?"