Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Ace (1996), Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages
Description
Fantasy. Fiction. Science Fiction. Humor (Fiction.) HTML: Winner of the Audiophile Magazine Earphones Award. The classic collaboration from the internationally bestselling authors Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, soon to be an original series starring Michael Sheen and David Tennant. "Good Omens . . . is something like what would have happened if Thomas Pynchon, Tom Robbins and Don DeLillo had collaborated. Lots of literary inventiveness in the plotting and chunks of very good writing and characterization. It's a wow. It would make one hell of a movie. Or a heavenly one. Take your pick."�??Washington PostAccording to The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (the world's only completely accurate book of prophecies, written in 1655, before she exploded), the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. Just before dinner. So the armies of Good and Evil are amassing, Atlantis is rising, frogs are falling, tempers are flaring. Everything appears to be going according to Divine Plan. Except a somewhat fussy angel and a fast-living demon�??both of whom have lived amongst Earth's mortals since The Beginning and have grown rather fond of the lifestyle�??are not actually looking forward to the coming Rapture. And someone seems to have misplaced the Antichrist .… (more)
Media reviews
The book tackles things most science fiction and fantasy writers never think about, much less write. It does it in a straightforward manner. It's about Predestination and Free Will, about chaos and order, about human beings, their technology and their belief systems. When the book is talking about
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the big questions, it's a wow. It leaves room in both the plot and the reader's reactions for the characters to move around in and do unexpected but very human things. Show Less
New York Times
''Good Omens'' is a direct descendant of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,'' a vastly overpraised book or radio program or industry or something that became quite popular in Britain a decade ago when it became apparent that Margaret Thatcher would be in office for some time and that laughs
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were going to be hard to come by...
Obviously, it would be difficult to write a 354-page satirical novel without getting off a few good lines. I counted four... But to get to this material, the reader must wade through reams and reams of undergraduate dreck: recycled science-fiction cliches about using the gift of prophesy to make a killing in the stock market; shopworn jokes about American television programs (would you believe the book includes a joke about ''Have Gun, Will Travel''?); and an infuriating running gag about Queen, a vaudevillian rock group whose hits are buried far in the past and should have been buried sooner. Show Less
Publishers Weekly
When a scatterbrained Satanist nun goofs up a baby-switching scheme and delivers the infant Antichrist to the wrong couple, it's just the beginning of the comic errors in the divine plan for Armageddon which this fast-paced novel by two British writers zanily details... Some humor is strictly
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British, but most will appeal even to Americans "and other aliens." Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member khuggard
Reading this book was like being in a relationship with someone who has it all, but the chemistry just isn't there. On an intellectual level you are attracted to the person: they're good-looking, smart, funny, and motivated. In fact, you can't quite figure out why you don't have an emotional bond.
I so wanted to like this book, but I just couldn't get into it. I made it about half-way through (which is much more of a chance than I give most books) before I finally gave up. Usually when I don't like a book, I think it is because it is poorly written or has some other major flaw. That is not the case here. On the contrary, I think it is probably fair to say that this is a superb book that simply didn't click with me. It was very well written, had a strong premise, and I even laughed at some parts. I could see why other people give it such heavy praise and such strong recommendations. Unfortunately, there was just a basic lack of chemistry between me and this book.
Usually when I don't finish a book I give it a low rating, but I gave this one a middling three. I can see why I should like it, and I can see why other people do. I wish that I experienced that spark, but it just wasn't for me.
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For some reason you just don't click. I so wanted to like this book, but I just couldn't get into it. I made it about half-way through (which is much more of a chance than I give most books) before I finally gave up. Usually when I don't like a book, I think it is because it is poorly written or has some other major flaw. That is not the case here. On the contrary, I think it is probably fair to say that this is a superb book that simply didn't click with me. It was very well written, had a strong premise, and I even laughed at some parts. I could see why other people give it such heavy praise and such strong recommendations. Unfortunately, there was just a basic lack of chemistry between me and this book.
Usually when I don't finish a book I give it a low rating, but I gave this one a middling three. I can see why I should like it, and I can see why other people do. I wish that I experienced that spark, but it just wasn't for me.
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LibraryThing member reading_fox
Quirky satire. Maybe slightly dated now, but still extremely funny in places.
Hell has decided it is time for the Arageddon, and has sent the Antichrist to earth as a human baby. The demon Crowley (crawly the snake in Eden) has been appointed to watch over him, and ensure that he grows up suitably
Unfortunetly the Antichrist baby was mistakenly swapped at birth, and grew up in a middle class family in small village near Tadcaster in central England. Adam Young and his gang of friends (Them) have a perfectly normal childhood until Adam turns 11 and the day of Armageddon looms.
All of this has been predicted by the "Nice and Accurate" prophecies of Agnus Nutter - Witch. Anathema Device is her decendant, and so she too is on hand, along with representatives of the Witchfinder Army.
The plot is as weird as anything you'd expect from Gaiman, and the satire as biting as Terry on his best days. His target this time is very much middle class england. Letter writing villagers, pipe smoking dads, new age mums and althought he word Guardian readers is never mentioned, I'm sure they'll be finding a hat that fits. Religion, as may be expected, also gets battering - whether it's a middle class CoE that's devoutly avoided attending, or the Rapture seeking US version, they're all fair game to Pterry's wit. There are as may well be expected vast amounts of gratuitous puns - just look at the characters names. After all a good pun is it's own re-word.
There are some obvious ideas stolen from the author's other works - DEATH reappears for example, along with other anthromorphic personifications. But in general it is a seemless blend of writing, without disparate breaks or changes in tone.
TBC
Hell has decided it is time for the Arageddon, and has sent the Antichrist to earth as a human baby. The demon Crowley (crawly the snake in Eden) has been appointed to watch over him, and ensure that he grows up suitably
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minded to bring about the final confrontation. Crowley rather likes humannity in the 20th century and isn't best pleased about it's imminant destruction. So he informs his old sparring partner the Angel Arazaphel who's also been on Earth that long, and couldn't bear the loss of bookshops and classical music. Unfortunetly the Antichrist baby was mistakenly swapped at birth, and grew up in a middle class family in small village near Tadcaster in central England. Adam Young and his gang of friends (Them) have a perfectly normal childhood until Adam turns 11 and the day of Armageddon looms.
All of this has been predicted by the "Nice and Accurate" prophecies of Agnus Nutter - Witch. Anathema Device is her decendant, and so she too is on hand, along with representatives of the Witchfinder Army.
The plot is as weird as anything you'd expect from Gaiman, and the satire as biting as Terry on his best days. His target this time is very much middle class england. Letter writing villagers, pipe smoking dads, new age mums and althought he word Guardian readers is never mentioned, I'm sure they'll be finding a hat that fits. Religion, as may be expected, also gets battering - whether it's a middle class CoE that's devoutly avoided attending, or the Rapture seeking US version, they're all fair game to Pterry's wit. There are as may well be expected vast amounts of gratuitous puns - just look at the characters names. After all a good pun is it's own re-word.
There are some obvious ideas stolen from the author's other works - DEATH reappears for example, along with other anthromorphic personifications. But in general it is a seemless blend of writing, without disparate breaks or changes in tone.
TBC
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LibraryThing member xicanti
The Apocalypse is upon us... but absolutely nothing is going according to plan.
I've read this book three times now, and my opinion has changed with every reading. The first time, I found it rather funny but nowhere near as hilarious as everyone made it out to be. The second time, (about a year
My conclusion? This is the sort of book that you've got to be in the mood for, and it doesn't necessarily lend itself to frequent rereads.
Make no mistake, it is good enough to look into, especially if you have any interest in either of the authors. There are some great one-liners, some very entertaining characters and a number of clever twists and turns. Gaiman and Pratchett do good things with the material, covering some deeper ground amidst all the hijinks. Keep in mind, though, that it is most definitely irreverant. If you take the end of days very, very seriously, this is probably not the book for you. If, however, you're interested in things that approach the subject from a more humorous standpoint, you'll probably enjoy this.
I've read this book three times now, and my opinion has changed with every reading. The first time, I found it rather funny but nowhere near as hilarious as everyone made it out to be. The second time, (about a year
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later), I found it tedious. The third time, (roughly five years after that), I found it clever and entertaining.My conclusion? This is the sort of book that you've got to be in the mood for, and it doesn't necessarily lend itself to frequent rereads.
Make no mistake, it is good enough to look into, especially if you have any interest in either of the authors. There are some great one-liners, some very entertaining characters and a number of clever twists and turns. Gaiman and Pratchett do good things with the material, covering some deeper ground amidst all the hijinks. Keep in mind, though, that it is most definitely irreverant. If you take the end of days very, very seriously, this is probably not the book for you. If, however, you're interested in things that approach the subject from a more humorous standpoint, you'll probably enjoy this.
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LibraryThing member thewannabeknight
Quite some time ago, I had only heard of this man called Neil Gaiman in passing. Then some blog I followed mentioned the title "Good Omens" and it went on my to-read list. Then on a whim, I went to the bookstore and found the only copy available of this book.
My world changed. And that is the least
The story follows a demon and an angel trying to prevent the Apocalypse, but it's so much more than that. There are the four horsemen themselves, an Anti-Christ, witchfinders, and ancient prophesies.
Crawley, the demon, is one of my favorite characters of all time. His struggles against Hell's bureaucracy are hilarious.
The narrative voice is genius, and has the magic touch of both Gaiman and Pratchett.
And the way the story comes together all the way to the conclusion is marvelous. If you know what "Apocalypse" literally means, you'll appreciate the ending, along with all of the rest of the toying with the Revelation myth.
My world changed. And that is the least
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I can ask of a good book.The story follows a demon and an angel trying to prevent the Apocalypse, but it's so much more than that. There are the four horsemen themselves, an Anti-Christ, witchfinders, and ancient prophesies.
Crawley, the demon, is one of my favorite characters of all time. His struggles against Hell's bureaucracy are hilarious.
The narrative voice is genius, and has the magic touch of both Gaiman and Pratchett.
And the way the story comes together all the way to the conclusion is marvelous. If you know what "Apocalypse" literally means, you'll appreciate the ending, along with all of the rest of the toying with the Revelation myth.
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LibraryThing member quigui
To quote Book-a-Minute, Five billion people almost DIE, and it is FUNNY.
That's the gist of Good Omens. But let's forget about the five billion almost dying, and focus on the funny. Because it's funny. Brilliantly so. Hilarious, actually.
It may sound obvious, but think about Terry Pratchett and
Good Omens is about the Apocalypse and its Four Horsemen, the Anti-Christ, The Beginning and End of Things, Angels and Demons and everything else that comes with it. But most of all it is a set of stories that all converge into one point. The characters are believable, they are surreal, and you do expect them to pop out in the your street at any time, even if it is The Antichrist.
This book is a favourite of mine. When I need something that will amuse me and provide a good read this is usually the book I pick up. If I am to be found chuckling or even laughing out loud alone, this book is sure to be the cause of it.
That's the gist of Good Omens. But let's forget about the five billion almost dying, and focus on the funny. Because it's funny. Brilliantly so. Hilarious, actually.
It may sound obvious, but think about Terry Pratchett and
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Neil Gaiman, and put them together. Terry Pratchett's humour and Neil Gaiman's knack for surreality. That's all in there, tied together so well, that it is impossible to tell them apart.Good Omens is about the Apocalypse and its Four Horsemen, the Anti-Christ, The Beginning and End of Things, Angels and Demons and everything else that comes with it. But most of all it is a set of stories that all converge into one point. The characters are believable, they are surreal, and you do expect them to pop out in the your street at any time, even if it is The Antichrist.
This book is a favourite of mine. When I need something that will amuse me and provide a good read this is usually the book I pick up. If I am to be found chuckling or even laughing out loud alone, this book is sure to be the cause of it.
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LibraryThing member invisiblelizard
I read this in college at least once (perhaps more often if the dog-eared-ness of my original copy is any indication) which was what originally turned me onto Neil Gaiman, but for some reason I wasn't really in a place to fully appreciate it back then. At the time it seemed (to me) to be little
This recent TV show adaptation that's just come out has brought this back to my mind. It's getting rave reviews, and upon a reinvestigation I found there is quite the cult following for this little book. So I picked it up again and gave it a solid re-read, no skimming, really paying attention (this time?) and savoring the story. It's much richer than I remembered. And the humor, while still somewhat Adams-esque, clearly has a life of its own. And that was probably more Pratchett's doing than Gaimen's, although that's just a guess. At any rate, I thoroughly enjoyed this second (or, rather, let's call it my nth+1 reading).
And now, because I have preserved these lines, let me share a few with you. This passage is from the chapter of "Saturday" on page 254 (in my copy) from a section that starts with the words: "Crowley's London flat..."
In fact the only things in the flat Crowley devoted any personal attention to were the houseplants. They were huge and green and glorious, with shiny, healthy, lustrous leaves.
This was because, once a week, Crowley went around the flat with a green plastic plant mister, spraying the leaves, and talking to the plants.
He had heard about talking to plants in the early seventies, on Radio Four, and thought it an excellent idea. Although talking is perhaps the wrong word for what Crowley did.
What he did was put the fear of God into them.
More precisely, the fear of Crowley.
In addition to which, every couple of months Crowley would pick out a plant that was growing too slowly, or succumbing to leaf-wilt or browning, or just didn't look quite as good as the others, and he would carry it around to all the other plants. "Say goodbye to your friend," he'd say to them. "He just couldn't cut it…"
Then he would leave the flat with the offending plant, and return an hour or so later with a large, empty flower pot, which he would leave somewhere conspicuously around the flat.
The plants were the most luxurious, verdant, and beautiful in London. Also the most terrified.
I just love that.
Here's one more, from the beginning of the book, when explaining that Crowley (an agent of hell, "an angel who did not so much fall as saunter vaguely downwards") didn't really have it in him to be truly evil because he liked to sleep too much, and also eat, and had spent most of the Spanish Inquisition hanging around cantinas ("in the nicer parts") and had mistakenly gotten a commendation from Hell for his work there. So he went to have a look at what was going on and came back and got drunk for a week. The line that followed:
That Hieronymus Bosch. What a weirdo.
Priceless.
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more than a Douglas Adams knock-off. Not a knock-off of Hitchhiker's Guide. More like a knock-off of Dirk Gently. It wasn't the story that reminded me of Adams. It was the humor and the way the "jokes" were presented on the page. I found out years later that the book he wrote immediately before this one was called Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Companion and I figured I'd certainly nailed the rai·son d'ê·tre behind Good Omens and never looked back. Onward and forward through Gaimen's bibliography, and while was initially confused why there wasn't more humor in the rest of his books, I disregarded that and enjoyed (most of) what I read.This recent TV show adaptation that's just come out has brought this back to my mind. It's getting rave reviews, and upon a reinvestigation I found there is quite the cult following for this little book. So I picked it up again and gave it a solid re-read, no skimming, really paying attention (this time?) and savoring the story. It's much richer than I remembered. And the humor, while still somewhat Adams-esque, clearly has a life of its own. And that was probably more Pratchett's doing than Gaimen's, although that's just a guess. At any rate, I thoroughly enjoyed this second (or, rather, let's call it my nth+1 reading).
And now, because I have preserved these lines, let me share a few with you. This passage is from the chapter of "Saturday" on page 254 (in my copy) from a section that starts with the words: "Crowley's London flat..."
In fact the only things in the flat Crowley devoted any personal attention to were the houseplants. They were huge and green and glorious, with shiny, healthy, lustrous leaves.
This was because, once a week, Crowley went around the flat with a green plastic plant mister, spraying the leaves, and talking to the plants.
He had heard about talking to plants in the early seventies, on Radio Four, and thought it an excellent idea. Although talking is perhaps the wrong word for what Crowley did.
What he did was put the fear of God into them.
More precisely, the fear of Crowley.
In addition to which, every couple of months Crowley would pick out a plant that was growing too slowly, or succumbing to leaf-wilt or browning, or just didn't look quite as good as the others, and he would carry it around to all the other plants. "Say goodbye to your friend," he'd say to them. "He just couldn't cut it…"
Then he would leave the flat with the offending plant, and return an hour or so later with a large, empty flower pot, which he would leave somewhere conspicuously around the flat.
The plants were the most luxurious, verdant, and beautiful in London. Also the most terrified.
I just love that.
Here's one more, from the beginning of the book, when explaining that Crowley (an agent of hell, "an angel who did not so much fall as saunter vaguely downwards") didn't really have it in him to be truly evil because he liked to sleep too much, and also eat, and had spent most of the Spanish Inquisition hanging around cantinas ("in the nicer parts") and had mistakenly gotten a commendation from Hell for his work there. So he went to have a look at what was going on and came back and got drunk for a week. The line that followed:
That Hieronymus Bosch. What a weirdo.
Priceless.
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LibraryThing member Homechicken
When I bought this book last week, I was sure that it was new. It had a nice, shiny cover that had a nice, modern design. I had no idea the story was 17 years old! But it surely is ©1990. I guess that comes from not really reading any of Pratchett or Gaiman's works earlier in my life.
I've always
I know now that that's because people hoard these books and don't admit, even to their closest friends, that they have any of these types of books for fear of loaning them out never to see them returned.
Such is the power of a great novel, and Good Omens delivers in spades. With plenty of witty banter and clever jokes, this is the kind of book I will have a tough time loaning out, even to my wife!
Good Omens is about the creation and destruction of the Earth, and about two beings (an angel and a demon) that have lived on it for this whole time and have grown attached to it as a way of life and don't want to see it destroyed. The son of the devil is swapped with the wrong baby in an evil hospital and grows up without the good and evil influences in his life that will try to direct him to one side or the other. He is then forced to make a decision about the fate of the world.
Like I said, it's a great book, and a most highly worthy read. I only found one small part slow throughout the entire story, at a point where there seemed to be just a bit too much dialog between "The Them". Overall I enjoyed it supremely and had to pace myself throughout the day (I was traveling from Spokane WA to Houston TX while reading it) and stop reading so I didn't finish the book before I got in to Houston. I finished just as we were landing.
Immensely pleasurable and often quite funny, I really can't recommend this book forcefully enough—just don't ask for my copy.
I've always
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been a reader of books, and especially love humorous fantasy novels by Robert Asprin and others I can't remember right now. I wish I had known about Good Omens when it was new—it would have turned me on to both Pratchett's Discworld novels and Gaiman's work as well. Alas, I'm in my mid-30's and just starting to read Discworld books. I always knew they were there, just never heard much about them.I know now that that's because people hoard these books and don't admit, even to their closest friends, that they have any of these types of books for fear of loaning them out never to see them returned.
Such is the power of a great novel, and Good Omens delivers in spades. With plenty of witty banter and clever jokes, this is the kind of book I will have a tough time loaning out, even to my wife!
Good Omens is about the creation and destruction of the Earth, and about two beings (an angel and a demon) that have lived on it for this whole time and have grown attached to it as a way of life and don't want to see it destroyed. The son of the devil is swapped with the wrong baby in an evil hospital and grows up without the good and evil influences in his life that will try to direct him to one side or the other. He is then forced to make a decision about the fate of the world.
Like I said, it's a great book, and a most highly worthy read. I only found one small part slow throughout the entire story, at a point where there seemed to be just a bit too much dialog between "The Them". Overall I enjoyed it supremely and had to pace myself throughout the day (I was traveling from Spokane WA to Houston TX while reading it) and stop reading so I didn't finish the book before I got in to Houston. I finished just as we were landing.
Immensely pleasurable and often quite funny, I really can't recommend this book forcefully enough—just don't ask for my copy.
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LibraryThing member SlySionnach
Amazing. But what else would you expect from these two?
Such an innovative take at Angels, Demons, the Apocalypse, God and Satan, as well as the Antichrist. There is no Damien here (but a few references to it!).
The two of them manage to make characters that are unforgettable. Their work flows
From the Chattering Order to the Other Four Riders of the Apocalypse, this will not let you put it down. At all.
if you do, Crowley may have to do something absolutely, wonderfully, evilly terrible.
Such an innovative take at Angels, Demons, the Apocalypse, God and Satan, as well as the Antichrist. There is no Damien here (but a few references to it!).
The two of them manage to make characters that are unforgettable. Their work flows
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together almost seamlessly (almost because I've read so much of either) and DEATH IS JUST AWESOME (to use his favorite mode of speech--caps.)From the Chattering Order to the Other Four Riders of the Apocalypse, this will not let you put it down. At all.
if you do, Crowley may have to do something absolutely, wonderfully, evilly terrible.
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LibraryThing member debherter
Wicked good humor! If you like Monty Python's humor or the absurdity of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy you must read this book.
LibraryThing member deadgirl
I read this one quite late (after reading almost all of Neil Gaiman's other bestsellers), and feel that the style is quite different from his later work, maybe because this one was written with Terry Pratchett. I felt some descriptions were long-winded and boring, and found myself speed-reading
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through. An entertaining story and fresh plot, but still a little dull for me. Show Less
LibraryThing member Niteon
I picked this book up upon the recommendation of a friend whose literary opinions mean a lot to me and I have to say that it will probably go down as one of my favorite books of all time. Prior to this, I'd read one other book by Neil Gaiman (Neverwhere) and I had never even heard of Terry
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Pratchett but tafter reading it, I've become addicted to both of them. This is the kind of literary union that dreams are made of. With their combined wit and wonderfully imaginative ideas on the battle between good and evil, I found myself laughing out loud on more (many more) than one occasion. This book, brimming over with all its genius, leaves me constantly wishing that they would join forces over and over again. Show Less
LibraryThing member LeslitGS
Aziraphale and Crowly have been around since the beginning of the earth, though on opposite sides. Through proximity and immortality, both have become rather comfortable with a sort of friendly coexistance with both each other and the world around them. So when the big guys [upstairs and downstairs
Yes, this is both Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. Yes, I have read and reviewed this before. No, I'm not going to bother to do it again, as I am sadly finding that my love for it, while not diminished, is somewhat cooled. Also, I mean, come on, why bother reviewing it when I can just link to it. Seriously.
Or at least that's what I would have said, had I actually ever written a review that I could find of Good Omens. So here we go.
As my poorly concieved blurb says, Aziraphale and Crowly have been around from the beginning and want to stop the end. However, they are not the only important characters in this book. Like so many wonderfully contrived and complex texts, this book tells the story of the end of the earth from several different perspectives. In fact, toward the end, you could almost anticipate it being a sort of TV movie shown in episodes [the only way, really, justice could be done], and the second-to-last episode ends with dynamic shots of the different groups all traveling for the same point--one group riding their way through the streets of London, one barrelling down a high way, one pedalling down a lane, one sort of hanging out where they need to be...you get the idea, right? Hilarious and visually stimulating.
But the authors [both brilliant in their own right and somehow maintaining their brilliance without making the reader's brain explode] as they madly dash between several different perspectives, ranging from the angels [Crowly is, after all, an angel, though fallen] to a pair of witchfinders, a quartet of trouble makers lead by the antichrist, and even a professional descendant who has been following the events of the upcoming end with substantial interest. Oh, and the horsepersons[PC with purpose!]. Can't forget them. Though the perspectives are many and the novel not insubstantial, the gentlemen keep everything clearly delineated.
Unfortunately, it can be a little cumbersome for some readers who are intimidated by length, complexity, humour, British coloquialisms or footnotes. It's also a touch dated, having come out twenty [oh my word, is 1990 really that far away?] years ago. None of this, however, should be enough to stop someone from reading it. True to their styles, these men paint gloriously accurate portraits of humanity and throw the world into contrast.
Admittedly, some fundamentalists might take exception to the overt digs at Christianity, but hey. Spit out the gristle, the book itself is a worthwhile read. It says a lot about humanity.
And hilarity.
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respectively] decide it's time to bring about the apocalypse, neither is particularly thrilled and join forces to figure out just what's happening so that maybe they can stop it. Yes, this is both Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. Yes, I have read and reviewed this before. No, I'm not going to bother to do it again, as I am sadly finding that my love for it, while not diminished, is somewhat cooled. Also, I mean, come on, why bother reviewing it when I can just link to it. Seriously.
Or at least that's what I would have said, had I actually ever written a review that I could find of Good Omens. So here we go.
As my poorly concieved blurb says, Aziraphale and Crowly have been around from the beginning and want to stop the end. However, they are not the only important characters in this book. Like so many wonderfully contrived and complex texts, this book tells the story of the end of the earth from several different perspectives. In fact, toward the end, you could almost anticipate it being a sort of TV movie shown in episodes [the only way, really, justice could be done], and the second-to-last episode ends with dynamic shots of the different groups all traveling for the same point--one group riding their way through the streets of London, one barrelling down a high way, one pedalling down a lane, one sort of hanging out where they need to be...you get the idea, right? Hilarious and visually stimulating.
But the authors [both brilliant in their own right and somehow maintaining their brilliance without making the reader's brain explode] as they madly dash between several different perspectives, ranging from the angels [Crowly is, after all, an angel, though fallen] to a pair of witchfinders, a quartet of trouble makers lead by the antichrist, and even a professional descendant who has been following the events of the upcoming end with substantial interest. Oh, and the horsepersons[PC with purpose!]. Can't forget them. Though the perspectives are many and the novel not insubstantial, the gentlemen keep everything clearly delineated.
Unfortunately, it can be a little cumbersome for some readers who are intimidated by length, complexity, humour, British coloquialisms or footnotes. It's also a touch dated, having come out twenty [oh my word, is 1990 really that far away?] years ago. None of this, however, should be enough to stop someone from reading it. True to their styles, these men paint gloriously accurate portraits of humanity and throw the world into contrast.
Admittedly, some fundamentalists might take exception to the overt digs at Christianity, but hey. Spit out the gristle, the book itself is a worthwhile read. It says a lot about humanity.
And hilarity.
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LibraryThing member JessicaCapelle
Amazing book. Just amazing. So original and funny and smartly written. I love both Pratchett and Gaiman separately, so I knew this book could be great, but it's beyond that. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys satire. It's a unique and fun book that keeps me interested and amused. I've read
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it over and over and keep losing my copy because I give it to someone! Just bought another copy and will hold on to this one... until I push it on the next person! Show Less
LibraryThing member Wombat
Great beach reading.
The end of the world is scheduled for this Saturday. A demon and an angel who have lived on the Earth since the time of Adam and Eve have gone native. They decide that they rather like the Earth,and think life here is better than an eternity in Heaven (or Hell). So they set out
This book is a lot of fun. It has some good laughs and an interesting interpretation of Revelations playing out in modern-day England. It is also something of a meditation on the nature of free will in the struggle of Heaven vs. Hell.
This was co-authored by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, but early in their careers, before either was widely known. The book includes an interesting retrospective by the authors about how the book came to happen and how their collaboration happened.
I've read a lot of Terry Pratchett, but this is the first thing I've read by Gaiman. To me, it read like some that Pratchett could have written 100% of, leaving me wondering where Gaiman's writing came into it. So I was amused to discover another reviewer (I can't remember whether it was on this site or another and I'm too lazy to hunt it down again) expressing the opposite opinion. He/she had read lots of Gaiman and no Pratchett, and thought this was 100% Gaiman!
The end of the world is scheduled for this Saturday. A demon and an angel who have lived on the Earth since the time of Adam and Eve have gone native. They decide that they rather like the Earth,and think life here is better than an eternity in Heaven (or Hell). So they set out
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to avert the apocalypse. The only problem is that someone has misplaced the Antichrist... This book is a lot of fun. It has some good laughs and an interesting interpretation of Revelations playing out in modern-day England. It is also something of a meditation on the nature of free will in the struggle of Heaven vs. Hell.
This was co-authored by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, but early in their careers, before either was widely known. The book includes an interesting retrospective by the authors about how the book came to happen and how their collaboration happened.
I've read a lot of Terry Pratchett, but this is the first thing I've read by Gaiman. To me, it read like some that Pratchett could have written 100% of, leaving me wondering where Gaiman's writing came into it. So I was amused to discover another reviewer (I can't remember whether it was on this site or another and I'm too lazy to hunt it down again) expressing the opposite opinion. He/she had read lots of Gaiman and no Pratchett, and thought this was 100% Gaiman!
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LibraryThing member kaelirenee
There's been a huge mistake. Two babies have been switched at birth. Now, a normal little boy is being raised to lead the hounds of Hell and the Antichrist is trying to get his suburbian friends to help him rule the world. Through all of this, angles, demons, and the decendant of a prophet try to
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preven the end of the world--and succeed in getting me to fall off my chair laughing more than once. This is the first book I read by either author and turned me quickly to their other writings. I'm in love. Show Less
LibraryThing member figre
I expected quite a bit from this book. Two main reasons. The first was that, while I have never read any of Pratchett’s work, I have heard many great things. The second was that the blurbs and quotes and even the introduction indicated that this was a book that people raved about, that changed
Now, having read the book, I can understand why people like Pratchett’s work. (Side note: to date, I am not a big fan of Gaiman’s. He is a good writer, but not to my taste. But there are many parts of the book that I would wager small amounts on the fact that Pratchett wrote them.) The dry, English humor is evident, and it is indeed fun and humorous.
However, the book is only good. Greatest thing since sliced newspapers? That I don’t get. It is a story of the end of the world. A demon and an angel are working together to try and make sure that doesn’t happen. An “Omen”-child has been born (the mix-up on that one is pretty good) and it is time for he and his hell-hound (who is much more a rambunctious dog than hell-hound) to take control and destroy everything. Interspersed are some witch-hunters and a witch (who is one of the few who has a chance of understanding the nice and accurate prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch – for whom the book is subtitled) and a mixed-up collection of characters that every British farce needs.
All of this is a rollicking good time and worth the effort to read. But, again, greatest book in the world? Not so much. Maybe it was groundbreaking for the time (I don’t think so.) Maybe what moves people is all the psycho-babble about God and his immutable plans at the end of the book. But to elevate this nice book to anything more is a bit much.
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their lives, that made them buy copy after copy.Now, having read the book, I can understand why people like Pratchett’s work. (Side note: to date, I am not a big fan of Gaiman’s. He is a good writer, but not to my taste. But there are many parts of the book that I would wager small amounts on the fact that Pratchett wrote them.) The dry, English humor is evident, and it is indeed fun and humorous.
However, the book is only good. Greatest thing since sliced newspapers? That I don’t get. It is a story of the end of the world. A demon and an angel are working together to try and make sure that doesn’t happen. An “Omen”-child has been born (the mix-up on that one is pretty good) and it is time for he and his hell-hound (who is much more a rambunctious dog than hell-hound) to take control and destroy everything. Interspersed are some witch-hunters and a witch (who is one of the few who has a chance of understanding the nice and accurate prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch – for whom the book is subtitled) and a mixed-up collection of characters that every British farce needs.
All of this is a rollicking good time and worth the effort to read. But, again, greatest book in the world? Not so much. Maybe it was groundbreaking for the time (I don’t think so.) Maybe what moves people is all the psycho-babble about God and his immutable plans at the end of the book. But to elevate this nice book to anything more is a bit much.
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LibraryThing member HavingFaith
If you’ve never heard of this book before now, you probably will do very soon because Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman has been filmed as a television series and is due to be released this year (with David Tennant of Doctor
Good Omens is an undisguised parody of The Omen (with the child anti-Christ Damien Thorn) but has also been influenced by Milton’s Paradise Lost (the usurper angel thrown out of heaven establishing his dominion on Earth), then strangely tips its lid to an ancient British television show for children called Stig of The Dump. It is also a golden event in the history of entertainment fiction, a “Dr Livingstone, I presume?” moment or “In this decade we choose to go to the Moon and do the other things” – Well, in that decade Pratchett and Gaiman chose to actually work together.
When I read this unusual alloy of good and bad, contrasting jolly tongue-in-cheek humour (Pratchett) and elements of degraded horror (Gaiman – with his cloud of flies screaming down the phone line and defleshing you), I guessed pretty quickly which ideas were from Terry Pratchett and which came from Neil Gaiman. They both did their thing and both stuck to their previous style, foregoing the middle ground. That’s the correct way to write this book when it is intended to capture a deliberate contrast of inharmonious sides like good and bad, heaven and hell, music and discord, but the price of applying this is it comes across as disjointed, where the flow will stop and start and stop. You can’t achieve A without B, so this is impossible to criticise.
Absolute good and bad are relative abstract concepts that never compromise, so personifications of those two things (angels and devils) shouldn’t compromise either. Several of the kookier moments in this story are when those ideal representations have been affected by close proximity to humanity (we’ve come of age and corrupted them) as the Arch-Angel and Demon reached work-arounds of their own. This is all done in the spirit of Graham Greene’s Our Man in Havana, in which a spy living far from home starts sending invented reports to his employer to justify his expenses, and also Joseph Heller’s Catch 22, in which a US Airforce officer in a war zone makes an arrangement with the enemy that they’ll both bomb their own airfields because that would have to happen anyway and it’s much safer and more efficient not to fly into enemy airspace. The practicalities of an angel and a devil carrying out each other’s temptations and miracles, e.g. “If you’re up in the North of England anyway, could you do one of mine?” are logical but hint God isn’t omnipotent or there’d be hell to pay. Alternatively, maybe the divine entity is amused by the thought that everyone develops their own renegade personality if given enough freedom, even those who are created with invulnerable minds (a design flaw?). It’s reassuring to think human nature will infect and overcome these grand presumptions. Black and white? No. It’s all endless shades of grey – and probably about time the supernatural authorities realised it.
The other cultural reference I think has been reinvented in Good Omens is a Peter Cook & Dudley Moore film from the 1960s called Bedazzled. In this, a devil stuck on Earth and very bored with his lot amuses himself by degrading people’s quality of life by such acts as scratching their LP records and making sure that plastic bottles of brown sauce in nasty transport cafés squirt sideways onto people’s clothes. This is a beautiful way to spend eternity and I think the prospect of endless inventive fun is quite worth being corrupted for.
It isn’t Pratchett’s best book and it isn’t Gaiman’s either, but it is a joining of both worlds and that fumbling makes it something special. You can see they had ridiculous fun, although it could also be the case that their ‘cooperation’ might have involved writing their own sequences on opposite ends of the planet. It was worth it though. This was never meant to be high-end entertainment, just funny and imaginative, an intention achieved sublimely. If you had to pick a senior and junior partner in craft (at the time of writing, published 1990), the accolade would have to go to Terry Pratchett because the inclusion of a prophetic witch of the Middle Ages who came up such gems as “Do notte Buye Betamax” is an outstanding piece of invention. No one in her family understands these prophecies until their time in the cultural record comes about. That character, Agnes Nutter, has overtones of Esme Weatherwax but is a comedy classic invention in her own right. I can see that Pratchett had a physical malleable history idea before, when he wrote a preface which spoke of miners who found a coal seam with a fossil of a tyrannosaurus in it, holding a silver dollar. He said that kind of anomalous history isn’t reported because it undermines out sense of control over reality.
Good Omens is not supposed to be critically dissected and taken seriously or to have its success evaluated by publishing accountants because it represents a pair of important writers with richly creative minds meeting up and having fun. They’re entertaining themselves, enjoying the glow of working in each other’s company. If it makes the reader’s day as well, that’s great, but I get the sense we are voyeuristically gazing through the window here into Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett’s private party.
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Who, Miranda Richardson of Blackadder II and Michael Sheen of everything else).Good Omens is an undisguised parody of The Omen (with the child anti-Christ Damien Thorn) but has also been influenced by Milton’s Paradise Lost (the usurper angel thrown out of heaven establishing his dominion on Earth), then strangely tips its lid to an ancient British television show for children called Stig of The Dump. It is also a golden event in the history of entertainment fiction, a “Dr Livingstone, I presume?” moment or “In this decade we choose to go to the Moon and do the other things” – Well, in that decade Pratchett and Gaiman chose to actually work together.
When I read this unusual alloy of good and bad, contrasting jolly tongue-in-cheek humour (Pratchett) and elements of degraded horror (Gaiman – with his cloud of flies screaming down the phone line and defleshing you), I guessed pretty quickly which ideas were from Terry Pratchett and which came from Neil Gaiman. They both did their thing and both stuck to their previous style, foregoing the middle ground. That’s the correct way to write this book when it is intended to capture a deliberate contrast of inharmonious sides like good and bad, heaven and hell, music and discord, but the price of applying this is it comes across as disjointed, where the flow will stop and start and stop. You can’t achieve A without B, so this is impossible to criticise.
Absolute good and bad are relative abstract concepts that never compromise, so personifications of those two things (angels and devils) shouldn’t compromise either. Several of the kookier moments in this story are when those ideal representations have been affected by close proximity to humanity (we’ve come of age and corrupted them) as the Arch-Angel and Demon reached work-arounds of their own. This is all done in the spirit of Graham Greene’s Our Man in Havana, in which a spy living far from home starts sending invented reports to his employer to justify his expenses, and also Joseph Heller’s Catch 22, in which a US Airforce officer in a war zone makes an arrangement with the enemy that they’ll both bomb their own airfields because that would have to happen anyway and it’s much safer and more efficient not to fly into enemy airspace. The practicalities of an angel and a devil carrying out each other’s temptations and miracles, e.g. “If you’re up in the North of England anyway, could you do one of mine?” are logical but hint God isn’t omnipotent or there’d be hell to pay. Alternatively, maybe the divine entity is amused by the thought that everyone develops their own renegade personality if given enough freedom, even those who are created with invulnerable minds (a design flaw?). It’s reassuring to think human nature will infect and overcome these grand presumptions. Black and white? No. It’s all endless shades of grey – and probably about time the supernatural authorities realised it.
The other cultural reference I think has been reinvented in Good Omens is a Peter Cook & Dudley Moore film from the 1960s called Bedazzled. In this, a devil stuck on Earth and very bored with his lot amuses himself by degrading people’s quality of life by such acts as scratching their LP records and making sure that plastic bottles of brown sauce in nasty transport cafés squirt sideways onto people’s clothes. This is a beautiful way to spend eternity and I think the prospect of endless inventive fun is quite worth being corrupted for.
It isn’t Pratchett’s best book and it isn’t Gaiman’s either, but it is a joining of both worlds and that fumbling makes it something special. You can see they had ridiculous fun, although it could also be the case that their ‘cooperation’ might have involved writing their own sequences on opposite ends of the planet. It was worth it though. This was never meant to be high-end entertainment, just funny and imaginative, an intention achieved sublimely. If you had to pick a senior and junior partner in craft (at the time of writing, published 1990), the accolade would have to go to Terry Pratchett because the inclusion of a prophetic witch of the Middle Ages who came up such gems as “Do notte Buye Betamax” is an outstanding piece of invention. No one in her family understands these prophecies until their time in the cultural record comes about. That character, Agnes Nutter, has overtones of Esme Weatherwax but is a comedy classic invention in her own right. I can see that Pratchett had a physical malleable history idea before, when he wrote a preface which spoke of miners who found a coal seam with a fossil of a tyrannosaurus in it, holding a silver dollar. He said that kind of anomalous history isn’t reported because it undermines out sense of control over reality.
Good Omens is not supposed to be critically dissected and taken seriously or to have its success evaluated by publishing accountants because it represents a pair of important writers with richly creative minds meeting up and having fun. They’re entertaining themselves, enjoying the glow of working in each other’s company. If it makes the reader’s day as well, that’s great, but I get the sense we are voyeuristically gazing through the window here into Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett’s private party.
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LibraryThing member ahappybooker
I loved this book. An interesting perspective on the book of Revelations. A lot of laughs, great characters.
LibraryThing member RobertDay
Two wierd minds contributed to this book. As a result, the finished article is completely mad, and the lunacy is of such a high order that the joins between the two author's work is seamless. The Anti-CVhrist gets swapped at birth with another child by accident. Part of this book (probably
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Pratchett's) is a Richmal Crompton 'Just William' pastiche; other parts are just lunatic, such as the prophecies of the sub-title, which are unique for being totally accurate, and therefore incomprehensible except under very special circumstances. What, after all, would anyone make of a 16th Century prophecy that simply said "Don't buy Betamaxx"? Show Less
LibraryThing member KLmesoftly
The fact that this book is so humorous and imaginatively-conceived (and passably-well written, as well) more than makes up for whatever offense my religious sensibilities suffered. I had never read Neil Gaiman or Terry Pratchett before, though I was aware of the cult following these two authors
This book is clever, thought-provoking, and amusing enough to make a commute that much shorter. I'd definitely recommend this to my more liberal friends.
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have, and I was prepared to be disappointed by another overhyped work I would've more enjoyed in middle school--but I was very pleasantly surprised. This book is clever, thought-provoking, and amusing enough to make a commute that much shorter. I'd definitely recommend this to my more liberal friends.
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LibraryThing member melydia
The Apocalypse is nearing, but the Antichrist has been misplaced, and an angel and demon that have been around since Creation are realizing that they're rather fond of the world and would prefer if it didn't end just now. This is a funny book. The bizarre asides, reminiscent of The Hitchhiker's
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Guide to the Galaxy, are really the best part. I can see now why this book is so popular among fans of humorous fantasy: it's wonderful. It's one of the rare books I could see myself reading multiple times. Show Less
LibraryThing member bookworm12
Two angels, one fallen (Crowley), one not (Aziraphale), have formed a friendship of sorts over the millennium. When they discover that Armageddon is rapidly approaching, they decide to work together to attempt to avert it. Toss in the Anti-Christ, the four horsemen, a scatterbrained nun and a dog
The book is one part The Omen (the film) and one part Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (the book), combining a wry British sense of humor with an account of the End Times. I can’t stress enough how funny this book is. If you like Douglas Adams, Monty Python and comedy along that line (which I definitely do) I think you’d love it.
Gaiman and Pratchett make a brilliant team. There was a lengthy interview section at the end of my copy and both men say it’s almost impossible for them to separate who did what on this book. It was truly a combined effort and the results speak for themselves.
Here’s an example of their sense of humor. In on particularly funny scene, the four horsemen of the apocalypse allow a few Hell’s Angels to tag along with them. The Hell’s Angels decide to rename themselves so they’re more intimidating and they try to pick the worst things they can think of, they came up with…”Grievous Bodily Harm, Cruelty to Animals, Things Not Working Properly Even After You've Given Them A Good Thumping But Secretly No Alcohol Lager, and Really Cool People.” That may not seem hilarious taken out of context, but trust me, it is.
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named Dog and you’ve got a hilarious book. The book is one part The Omen (the film) and one part Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (the book), combining a wry British sense of humor with an account of the End Times. I can’t stress enough how funny this book is. If you like Douglas Adams, Monty Python and comedy along that line (which I definitely do) I think you’d love it.
Gaiman and Pratchett make a brilliant team. There was a lengthy interview section at the end of my copy and both men say it’s almost impossible for them to separate who did what on this book. It was truly a combined effort and the results speak for themselves.
Here’s an example of their sense of humor. In on particularly funny scene, the four horsemen of the apocalypse allow a few Hell’s Angels to tag along with them. The Hell’s Angels decide to rename themselves so they’re more intimidating and they try to pick the worst things they can think of, they came up with…”Grievous Bodily Harm, Cruelty to Animals, Things Not Working Properly Even After You've Given Them A Good Thumping But Secretly No Alcohol Lager, and Really Cool People.” That may not seem hilarious taken out of context, but trust me, it is.
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LibraryThing member CaribouKai
I first read this some time in the early '00s. I remember enjoying it.
I still enjoyed it this time around. But holy shit, I didn't remember the random bits of racism and bigotry. Never lingered long, just would come out of nowhere and you'd have relaxed again by the time the next bit came around.
I still enjoyed it this time around. But holy shit, I didn't remember the random bits of racism and bigotry. Never lingered long, just would come out of nowhere and you'd have relaxed again by the time the next bit came around.
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Yikes. Show Less
LibraryThing member avilas
Good Omens is a very enjoyable book, though it begins better than it ends. This doesn't surprise me since the extra material at the end said Gaiman was more responsible for the beginning and Pratchett for the end. Additionally, the bits with Adam were some of my least favorite parts (I just got
Crowley and Aziraphale were by far the best characters and they got sort of shunted to the side as the book went on. Overall, however, a very worthwhile and highly recommended read. If you can get over the irreverence of course.
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sort of bored. They were going for To Kill a Mockingbird-style childhood romanticism and it didn't work that well) and again, that's supposedly Pratchett. And, speaking of the ending, for a book that spends the whole bulk setting up the end of the world, the ending was pretty disappointing--not nearly as clever as it could have been. Crowley and Aziraphale were by far the best characters and they got sort of shunted to the side as the book went on. Overall, however, a very worthwhile and highly recommended read. If you can get over the irreverence of course.
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LibraryThing member gilroy
I fail to see the draw this book creates. If it had been just Mr. Pratchett's work, the underlying humor would be stronger, the chapters longer, the characters better built. Maybe my eyes are colored by the writer I can't stand. Don't know.
The more I read the book. the more I found the Pratchett
It took getting me past the set up and the drawn out slow stuff, for the book to start to improve. The fact that I can put the book down and walk away for weeks at a time is NOT a good sign. I really should just give up, but I keep forcing myself forward to see if I can find something redeemable. I fear I really don't find what I seek.
Finished it, only 8 months after starting, because I kept hoping for improvement. The activity picked up, the story seemed to start to move. Probably about the point that Terry Pratchett took over finishing the manuscript. Sadly, it didn't fix the problems I found in the book.
So while others can say this is a great book, I'll mark it as MEH and move to the next one in my pile.
The more I read the book. the more I found the Pratchett
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influence that I'd admit drew me to the text, so it's allowing me to read it more. It's slow going, though, because I continue to fight my dislike of the other author. Oh and +1/4 star for musical reference. :)It took getting me past the set up and the drawn out slow stuff, for the book to start to improve. The fact that I can put the book down and walk away for weeks at a time is NOT a good sign. I really should just give up, but I keep forcing myself forward to see if I can find something redeemable. I fear I really don't find what I seek.
Finished it, only 8 months after starting, because I kept hoping for improvement. The activity picked up, the story seemed to start to move. Probably about the point that Terry Pratchett took over finishing the manuscript. Sadly, it didn't fix the problems I found in the book.
So while others can say this is a great book, I'll mark it as MEH and move to the next one in my pile.
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Subjects
Awards
Audie Award (Finalist — Fantasy — 2023)
Locus Award (Nominee — Fantasy Novel — 1991)
World Fantasy Award (Nominee — Novel — 1991)
IBBY Honour Book (2012)
Best Fiction for Young Adults (Selection — 1992)
Language
Original publication date
1990-05-10
Physical description
384 p.; 6.6 inches
ISBN
0441003257 / 9780441003259