Good Omens

Good Omens

by
Terry Pratchett

published	July 3rd 1994 by Random House Value Publishing
first published	1990
binding	Hardcover
isbn	0517126648 (isbn13: 9780517126646)
ebook
description	Pratchett (of Discworld fame) and Gaiman (of Sandman fame) may seem an unlikely combination, but the topic (Armageddon) of this fast-paced novel is ol...more [close] Pratchett (of Discworld fame) and Gaiman (of Sandman fame) may seem an unlikely combination, but the topic (Armageddon) of this fast-paced novel is old hat to both. Pratchett's wackiness collaborates with Gaiman's morbid humor; the result is a humanist delight to be savored and reread again and again. You see, there was a bit of a mixup when the Antichrist was born, due in part to the machinations of Crowley, who did not so much fall as saunter downwards, and in part to the mysterious ways as manifested in the form of a part-time rare book dealer, an angel named Aziraphale. Like top agents everywhere, they've long had more in common with each other than the sides they represent, or the conflict they are nominally engaged in. The only person who knows how it will all end is Agnes Nutter, a witch whose prophecies all come true, if one can only manage to decipher them. The minor characters along the way (Famine makes an appearance as diet crazes, no-calorie food and anorexia epidemics) are as much fun as the story as a whole, which adds up to one of those rare books which is enormous fun to read the first time, and the second time, and the third time... [close]
date added	05-22-07 edit book

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Ken rated it:

(review of isbn 0060853972)

08/04/08

Read in August, 2008

It is really hard to write good literary satire. Simple fact is that often satire goes too far over to the side of parody. When it crosses that line, it becomes bad mimicry rather than true satire. Think what This Is Spinal Tap would have been like if Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer just did an impression of the guys from Saxon – it would be funny for five minutes (if you actually knew who Saxon was) but ultimately the joke would get old. Over-parody leads to a stale jok...more

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Zerbe rated it:

(review of isbn 0060853980)

06/04/08

Read in June, 2008

Remember back when funny books were funny? Back before you went to college and found out that Dave Barry and Carl Hiaasen weren't funny after all, but Samuel Beckett and Charles Dickens were hilarious? Remember when the words on the page didn't just make you smile wryly and shake your head in shame for humanity, but actually made you laugh out loud? Well, that's the kind of humor that Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's 1990 release Good Omens brims with, and it is so damn good.

The two British...more Remember back when funny books were funny? Back before you went to college and found out that Dave Barry and Carl Hiaasen weren't funny after all, but Samuel Beckett and Charles Dickens were hilarious? Remember when the words on the page didn't just make you smile wryly and shake your head in shame for humanity, but actually made you laugh out loud? Well, that's the kind of humor that Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's 1990 release Good Omens brims with, and it is so damn good.

The two British authors were both relatively unknown at the time of their partnership, having met when Gaiman (working as a journalist at the time) interviewed Pratchett on the success of his first major novel, The Colour of Magic. The two became quick friends and proceeded to write the 398 pages of the now cult classic novel by sending floppy disks through the mail and calling each other on the phone. Of course, that story is all explained in the appendix, provided you don't pick up an original printing of the book (if you do do that, however, you can probably sell it for quite a bit of change, so don't be discouraged by your lack of author interviews).

But the real story at hand is, of course, the narrative of Good Omens itself--the tale of two friends, a demon named Crowley and an angel named Aziraphale who have spent all of human existence on earth and have rather come to like it, so when it comes time for the Apocalypse, they try to do whatever is in their powers to stop it. The cast of co-stars can only described as "vast," with some characters only popping in long enough for Aziraphale to take over their body or to go on a shooting rampage. The main other characters though, include: the Antichrist himself, a young boy named Adam, and his gang of friends; a witchfinder named Newton Pulsifer and his love interest, Anathema Device, who just happens to be a witch (and one whose ancestor, Agnes Nutter was burned at the stake by Newton's great-great-etc. grandfather, Thou-Shalt-Not-Commit-Adultery Pulsifer.

Perhaps you're beginning to pick up on that sense of humor I mentioned?

That's what makes this book so great. I'm sort of a sucker for religious humor (and religious horror movies), and I've read a lot of books about the End Days. This one has to rank near the top, maybe even as the downright finest. It's humor ranges from simple little comedic bits to social commentary on religion and the human race--but no matter how big or small the joke is, every one of them is attended to equally, and they are all funny because of that. Though some of the British jokes and references flew by me (a problem the authors usually account for in their humorous footnotes), I really did enjoy this book, all the way from the plot down to how it was written. It really is an impressive feat for a co-authored book to feel so seemless (this honestly almost puts shame to the excellent Stephen King/Peter Straub double-ups, The Talisman and Black House).

So let down your guard, pack away that condescension that your professors poured into you Lit class after Lit class, and resist the urge to turn up your nose at any novel you can buy in trade paperback form in airports for $7.99 (but higher in Canada--oh wait, not anymore!). I actually laughed out loud as I read Good Omens. A few times, to be completely honest. And that's pretty impressive for a cynical, jaded old bastard like me....less

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Su Mon rated it:

(review of isbn 0441003257)

08/16/07

Read in August, 2007

recommends it for: Every intelligent human being with a sense of humor

Wow, WHAT a fantastic book! Hilarious, hilarious, hilarious--this is the modern thinking man's (and woman's ^^) absolute book of delights! This book had me laughing my head off from page 1 all the way to the end, and it still had room to give us some worthwhile philosophical ideas.

Gaiman and Pratchett are not just masterful writers with fantastic writing styles and wit like you wouldn't believe, the parodic archetypes they take to be their personae dramatis are both so dead-on perfect and h...more Wow, WHAT a fantastic book! Hilarious, hilarious, hilarious--this is the modern thinking man's (and woman's ^^) absolute book of delights! This book had me laughing my head off from page 1 all the way to the end, and it still had room to give us some worthwhile philosophical ideas.

Gaiman and Pratchett are not just masterful writers with fantastic writing styles and wit like you wouldn't believe, the parodic archetypes they take to be their personae dramatis are both so dead-on perfect and hilarious in their stereotypes and STILL manage to take on a life and shape of their own.

So, the story starts off back in the Garden of Eden, the evening after Adam and Eve's Fall. The serpent, Crawly (who, dissatisfied with Adam's creativity, changes his name to Crowley =P) is chatting with the angelic Guardian of the East Gate, Aziraphale, who is fretting over whether it was all right to give away his flaming sword to the wretched human couple as they were herded out of Eden ("well, they looked so cold, and she's expecting already, so..." ^^). Both are wondering if they've done the right (or, in Crowley's case, the wrong) thing and Crowley, musing about why God would put the tree of forbidden fruit directly in the path of the humans if he truly meant them not to partake of it, says joking, "Wouldn't it be funny if we both got it wrong? Maybe I did the *right* thing and you did the *wrong* thing. Wouldn't that be funny?" To which Aziraphale says stiffly, "No, not really."

So begins a centuries-long friendship(ish) between the demon and angel, who are both assigned the same "beat" on earth (England =P). When 1999 rolls around and they are both summoned to do their parts in the ending of the world at the coming of the Antichrist so that Heaven and Hell can have their final duke-out, both decide they like earth and would rather not destroy it, thank you, and do their best to influence the child (whom Lucifer sends to be raised on earth) to be completely neither good nor bad in hopes that this will lead him to call off the war.

Naturally, due to several comedic intervensions like 3 golden-haired babies being born in the same hospital on the same night, Crowley and Aziraphale end up coaching the wrong child, and it's a mad race for everyone to find the real Antichrist (who is, by then, a rambunctious 11-year-old boy in Lower Tadfield, England) by the Judgment Day. Unsurprisingly, madness of the funniest order ensues. :)

I really take my hat off to our sharp-witted authors for managing to present the gray-toned (and, on ocassion, utterly topsy-turvy) moral make-up of all their characters, despite how connoted figures like angels, devils, and the Antichrist are in our minds. They make use of parodic oxymorons enough to put even a narrower-minded reader at ease in accepting the ultimately good (or perhaps, humanly good) actions of certain "diabolical" characters in the end. ^^

As you can probably guess, I loved this book the way I haven't loved a book in years, and I HIGHLY recommend it to all! ::huggles Crowley and Aziraphale to death:: ^____^...less

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jaye rated it:

(review of isbn 0060853980)

08/17/08

bookshelves: book-club-selection

Read in August, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

This month's read GOOD OMENS: THE NICE & ACCURATE PROPHECIES OF AGNES NUTTER, WITCH by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett was a funny, fantastical pleasure...similar to THE EYRE AFFAIR by Jaspar Fforde. i'd never read anything by either author, but knew of their work and wanted to, so i was really happy when this book was picked.

So many memorable character's in this story it's hard to pick just one favorite, but the two main ones...the angel Aziraphale and the devilish Crowely, were aweso...more

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Amy rated it:

(review of isbn 0060853980)

08/24/08

bookshelves: fiction

Read in August, 2008

recommended to Amy by: Ron

Despite the subject (Armageddon), this was a light and entertaining read. Since it is a rather satirical story about a very serious topic it might be offensive to some people. But I thought there were some very good insights about human nature hidden in all the humor.

The two main characters are Aziraphale (an angel) and Crowley (a demon) who have been left on earth to influence the humans. They've both become rather fond of earth, and very used to each other, almost to the point of friend...more Despite the subject (Armageddon), this was a light and entertaining read. Since it is a rather satirical story about a very serious topic it might be offensive to some people. But I thought there were some very good insights about human nature hidden in all the humor.

The two main characters are Aziraphale (an angel) and Crowley (a demon) who have been left on earth to influence the humans. They've both become rather fond of earth, and very used to each other, almost to the point of friendship. Even during serious moments they are bantering -- when the final battle is at hand, the angel tells the demon "I'd just like to say, if we don't get out of this, that . . . I'll have known, deep down inside, that there was a spark of goodness in you." "That's right," said Crowley bitterly. "Make my day." But he turns it right around and says "Just remember I'll have known that, deep down inside, you were just enough of a bastard to be worth liking."

Although this is a light read, the authors didn't shy away from pondering some deep intellectual/theological questions. Near the end, Aziraphale and Crowley are pondering how things played out, and Crowley says "Maybe it's all part of a great big ineffable plan. All of it. You, me, him, everything. Some great big test to see if what you've built all works properly, eh? You start thinking: it can't be a great cosmic game of chess, it has to be just very complicated Solitaire. And don't bother to answer. If we could understand, we wouldn't be us. Because it's all — all — "
INEFFABLE, said the figure feeding the ducks."

And I should end the review there, but just for fun, here's the part I enjoyed the most (it stands alone very well, and doesn't ruin the story):

"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."

...less

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Jennifer rated it:

(review of isbn 0060853980)

05/05/08

bookshelves: gold-star-award, trt-reviews

Reviewed by Carrie Spellman for TeensReadToo.com

I love this book! The first time I came across it, it was hidden in a corner in a bookstore. It cried out to me. I had to take it home. I laughed so hard that I cried, more than once. I loved it so much I gave it away. Which is an extraordinarily difficult thing for me to do. But it wanted to be shared, and I can't deny a book its destiny. My brain, however, is not so capable of release. I had to buy it again. And read it over and over and over...more Reviewed by Carrie Spellman for TeensReadToo.com

I love this book! The first time I came across it, it was hidden in a corner in a bookstore. It cried out to me. I had to take it home. I laughed so hard that I cried, more than once. I loved it so much I gave it away. Which is an extraordinarily difficult thing for me to do. But it wanted to be shared, and I can't deny a book its destiny. My brain, however, is not so capable of release. I had to buy it again. And read it over and over and over. Until I gave it to my boyfriend, before we were dating. And still, I read it at his house. When he forgot and gave it back to me, I cruelly didn't correct him. (It came back to me! It must be fate!) Now, there's a new edition out, with comments by the authors. I have to go get it.

I'm obsessed. It's unhealthy. I know. Come join me. It's the best apocalypse you'll ever survive.

Crowley and Aziraphale have been locked in the battle between good and evil since, well, at least the beginning of time. In fact, it's been so long that it's become more of a debate then a battle. Actually more of a conversation. Aziraphale is an angel, and part-time rare bookseller. It's a front; he really collects the books for himself. Crowley is sort of a fallen angel; well, as the book says "an angel who did not so much fall as saunter vaguely downward". So he's a demon, ish. Mostly he's an instigator. These two have been enemies for so long that they've become pretty good friends.

But that's all going to end. Everything is going to end. Next Saturday. That's when the apocalypse has been scheduled for. The final battle between good and evil. What's an angel, or demon, to do when it comes time to end the world, but they really don't want to?

The apocalypse is aided and thwarted, alternately, by angels, demons, and an assortment of other ridiculous, hilarious, pitiful characters. Newton Pulsifer, Witchfinder, armed with a stickpin. Anathema Device, Witch and owner of the only accurate book of prophecy to ever be written, until she lost it. Agnes Nutter, author of said book, semi-illiterate, or maybe just a really bad speller, and dead. The Chattering Order of St. Beryl, satanic nuns who really just like to wear black. Dog, who was, or is, or should have been a hellhound. Adam, the anti-christ, depending on how the day goes. There's a lot more, but I don't want to ruin the fun. Let's just say that good, evil, and prophecy are all ideas that leave a lot of room for interpretation. And I'll never leave music in my car for too long again. ...less

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Sam rated it:

(review of isbn 0060853980)

09/07/07

bookshelves: funny-satirical

Read in August, 2007

recommends it for: Everyone except those with no sense of humor or those who take the Book of Revelations seriously

Oh. My. God.

This was one of the funniest books I have ever read. The writing was phenomenal and I could see myself and others I know in many of the quirky characters.

Good and Evil's earthly representatives discover that the time for the Apocalyse has arrived and they're not too happy about it. You see, they've grown to like life on Earth. And besides, Evil (with a capital 'E') itself couldn't possibly do worse things to mankind than what mankind does to itself.

And the antichrist's...more

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Derek rated it:

(review of isbn 0441003257)

02/21/08

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in February, 2008

This book was overall a huge disappointment for me to read. I'd heard so many good things about it and had been meaning to read it for years. When I finally started it, I was about 20 pages into it and I thought, "Yes, this is going to be one of the most entertaining books I've ever read." It was like reading The Hitchhiker's Guide for the first time again. It was witty and fast-paced and had so many brilliant things to say about society and religion. And then about halfway through, I ...more

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Martine rated it:

(review of isbn 0060853980)

12/18/07

bookshelves: british, humour, modern-fiction

Read in January, 2005

recommends it for: Douglas Adams fans

I have to admit I prefer Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett when they're each doing their own thing, but even so this collaborative effort is heaps of fun. It's about Armageddon, or rather the prevention thereof by a fussy angel and a cool demon. Needless to say, the angel and the demon aren't actually supposed to avert Armageddon, but they kind of like living on Earth and don't want to jeopardise their comfy lives, which would probably come to an end if the world itself were to do so. So when they...more

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Amy rated it:

(review of isbn 0060853980)

07/07/08

bookshelves: fantasy, in-zenda

Read in June, 2008

This is one of those books that really needs the half star rating - I gave it 5 stars, but it probably should be a 4.5. I decided to round up...
This is a fun book. Anything that pokes fun at Revelations and Armageddon is right up my alley - I've noticed a lot of comparisons to Douglass Adams, and this was reminiscent of the Hitchhiker's Guide, with quirky British humor and bizarre scenes.
This was very much a character-driven book - and the characters were all balanced in a strange way. ...more

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Keely rated it:

(review of isbn 057504800X)

05/25/07

bookshelves: fantasy, humor, novel

I read this book before I tried to tackle Pratchett on his own merit, so I may have to retroactively skew this review based upon what I now know. The book is enjoyable, but may suffer from the fact that it represents its two authors at what seems to be their most basic states.

There is no question as to the recognizability of both Gaiman's and Pratchett's respective styles here, but neither seems to bring the best out of the other. One of Gaiman's weaknesses is surely his general lack of humo...more

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Juliana rated it:

(review of isbn 0060853980)

03/06/08

bookshelves: ficções, own

Read in March, 2008

recommends it for: ateu e pessoas que se divertem com a idéia do Apocalipse.

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Quando eu não tenho o que fazer e estou esperando alguém no shopping, eu vou para o lugar mais fatal possível para meu cartão de crédito: a livraria mais próxima. Então eu estava esperando o Guilherme dar as caras pra gente ir ver 1408 e parei para ler as primeiras páginas desse livro. Apaixonei.
Sofri uma decepção feia com o Pratchett quando li A Magia de Holy Wood (Moving Pictures): foi muito bobo, superficial e sem a pr...more

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Chris rated it:

(review of isbn 0425132153)

02/09/08

bookshelves: apocolypse, fantasy, gaiman, pratchett, top-shelf

Read in March, 2007

What? You mean you really need me to review this for you? Are you kidding? You mean you haven't read it already?

Jesus, what is the world coming to? *sigh* Okay....

When you read Pratchett and then you read Gaiman in short succession like I did, there's only one thing to do next. Like chocolate and peanut butter, steak and eggs, and Hiro and Ando, when you put two great things together, you get something that's even better.

This book is about the End of the World. It begins with a birth...more

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Kyle rated it:

(review of isbn 0060853980)

03/12/08

Read in January, 2001

recommends it for: anyone who doesn't take their spirituality too seriously

This has got to be one of the funniest satires I've ever read. I suppose the closest comparison I could make is to describe it as a literary sibling to Dogma, but filtered through a distinctly British lense. That description doesn't really do the story justice, but that film definitely hits me in the same place as the book.
The whole premise, and I'm not giving much away here, begins with the accidental "mis-placement" of the infant Antichrist during a complex baby-swappin...more

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Jacob rated it:

(review of isbn 0060853980)

08/21/08

bookshelves: 2008, english-irish-scottish-etc, humor, own, reviewed, with-footnotes-

Read in August, 2008

3 1/2 stars, but until Goodreads allows half-star ratings, I like to round up. Anyway. Good book, funny, witty, charming (its greatest attribute, no doubt), but, in the end, nothing great. It's easy to pick up and get lost in, but it's also just as easy to put down and forget for a few days. Classic Pratchett and Gaiman, and a joy to have both together in one book (and you wonder what might have happened, if these two had kept collaborating on more stories, but with Pratchett's health these ...more

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Beboots rated it:

(review of isbn 0060853980)

08/20/07

Read in April, 2006

recommends it for: Fantasy fans, fans of wit, closet slashers

Good Omens is a comedy about the apocalypse, written by my two fantasy author overlords: Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. It is sheer brilliance; from Mr.Gaiman, we have all the wonderful mythological references and sheer creativity, and from Mr.Pratchett we have all the humour (and humourous footnotes) you could ever want, and even more sheer creativity.
It switches between several groups of people; my favorite of which are The Them (a group of four young children collectively called as such;...more

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Platoeatssouls rated it:

(review of isbn 0060853980)

09/15/07

bookshelves: theboxmarkeddone

Read in September, 2007

recommends it for: anyone who likes to be happy

So, funny story. I was reading this book (re-reading, really) during a recent training session for my job (a fairly tedious process - the training, that is - which involves sitting in front of a computer for long hours listening to boring presentations about the software). The guy who was sitting next to me was reasonably attractive and rather chatty, and he looked over and said, "What are you reading?"

"Good Omens," I said, and seeing that he obviously had no ide...more