GO: My brain is giving up...

[David]

Tried getting into this book a few times now. It just isn't getting its hooks in me. I think I am going back to the last book, which I missed. Anyone else having trouble with this one?

[Mlybrand]

If it weren't an audiobook I listen to on my run, I would have given up a while ago. I am afraid I am just not a Pratchett or a Gaiman fan.

[Goldesam]

I was into the whole Crowley and Azeirophale thing. Then we didn't hear from them for a while and I lost interest.

[Sandi]

I actually like the parts with Adam and his friends as much as the ones Crowley/Aziraphale. Adam is just so normal and you can't help but think, "This is supposed to be the Antichrist." I especially love Dog.

This is my second go-round with this book and I love it just as much the second time. What I have found is that it takes a great deal of familiarity with Revelation (I had to re-read it.), with end times theology, and with Seventies books/movies like The Omen and Rosemary's Baby. I'm Lutheran and we don't take the book of Revelation literally, but I had read The Late Great Planet Earth when I was a teenager, so I had some familiarity there. I don't know if I would have been able to understand or follow this book without that prior knowledge.

[Tamahome]

*tamahome applies a cortical stimulant to David's brain*

[Brad Theado]

Its rare that I cant finish a book, but I couldnt complete this one. I tried three times and my list of want to reads just pushed it off my kindle forcibly,

[Brew]

I also read this one via audiobook and I am fairly certain the talent of the narrator kept me into the book as much as the writing did. Jarvis' portrayal of Crowley and Azeirophale (sp? again, audiobook so I adopted the spelling from this thread that looked the coolest) was, in my opinion, outstanding. I remember one scene in particular, the one where Azeirophale gets banished by accident, had me laughing for quite a while based in great part to Jarvis' inflections while performing Azeirophale.

I guess that was a long way of saying that after listening to the audiobook, and liking it immensely, I am not sure I would have come away with the same experience if I had just Kindled it.

[Kate]

Mark wrote: "You can totally tell when it is Pratchett doing the writing because the book becomes almost impossible to follow..."

When you say impossibly to follow do you mean boring or doing you mean confusing? (I'd disagree on either count but I'm interested nonetheless).

[Curt]

Mark wrote: "My only complaint is that the writing contributions of Gaiman and Pratchett seems a little disjointed. You can totally tell when it is Pratchett doing the writing because the book becomes almost im..."
I tend to blame Gaimen for those parts. I think it suffers from two different styles that don't mesh all that well but I have problems reading Gaimen's fiction that I didn't have with his comics work.

[Tina]

I read a few pages and just couldn't get into it. I might try the audiobook eventually, but right now I'm #60 on the Holds list, so it might be awhile...

[Josh]

I could easily see two distinct styles in the novel at some points, but the effect was not distracting from the book at all. This may have been because I am new to both Pratchett and Gaiman, so I have no preconceived notions as to their respective styles. However based on reputation alone I would say this book does a very good job of mixing the two authors together.

[Andrew]

I have been a huge fan of Gaiman for years now, so I cannot tell if my noticing of his writing style is because I have read most of his published novels.

[Kate]

Mark wrote: "Maybe it is just a more British style or something, but I get lost so easily when reading Terry Pratchett. I find myself having to keep flipping back a few pages and re-reading sections to figure out exactly what he was saying. I only seem to experience this anomaly with Pratchett. His writing is pretty distinctive.
"

Strange, maybe it's because I've been reading Pratchett since I was 11 but I've always found his prose crystal clear. Though I'll admit to sometimes not being sure what Gaiman's going on about.

[Luis]

Understanding their writing takes some getting use too. I'm hanging in there, I'm half way done. But it is different. When It jumps around I sometimes say "WTF!!" but just keep going.

[John]

I spent a great deal of time listening to this book trying to figure out what I find off-putting about the book (and other disc world books I've read). It's not that I don't like the books. I do. Mostly. I often laugh out loud and sometimes find myself eagerly chewing through page after page. However, I think it's telling that my mind wanders while listening pondering why my mind is wandering. And I think I've puzzled it out. When the humor serves to support the story, no matter how outlandish, it can be genuinely laugh out loud funny. But when the humor is there just to be funny, it lays flat, too precious and obvious. And that happens often in the few I've read. For instance, I found lots of the dialog and interaction between the Them to be hilarious and genuine but in an insanely off beat way. The bit about chattering nuns, however, not so funny. A great deal of time is spent on a minor character's background in what feels like an attempt to be funny. It just doesn't work for me. Whenever the humor steps off the path of the story I find it less interesting, and mostly annoying. Anyone else feel this way or am I just bitter that my writing isn't as funny?