Home > Categories > Books > Fantasy > Good Omens review
There is a hint of Armageddon in the air. According to the Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (recorded, thankfully, in 1655, before she blew up her entire village and all its inhabitants, who had gathered to watch her burn), the world will end on a Saturday.
Next Saturday, in fact.
So the Armies of Good and Evil are massing, the four Bikers of the Apocalypse are revving up their mighty hogs and hitting the road, and the world's last two remaining witchfinders are getting ready to Fight the Good Fight. Atlantis is rising. Frogs are falling. Tempers are flaring, and everything appears to be going to Divine Plan. Except that a somewhat fussy angel and a fast-living demon are not particularly looking forward to the coming Rapture. They've lived amongst Humanity for millennia, and have grown rather fond of the lifestyle. So if Crowley and Aziraphale are going to stop it from happening, they've got to find and kill the AntiChrist (which is a shame, really, as he's a nice kid).
There's just one glitch: someone seems to have misplaced him. Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's brilliantly dark and funny take on mankind's final judgement is back, in a new hardcover edition which includes an introduction by the authors.
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âœ25 And the Lord spake unto the Angel that guarded the eastern gate, saying 'Where is the flaming sword that was given unto thee?' 26 And the Angel said, 'I had it here only a moment ago, I must have put it down some where, forget my own head next.' 27 And the Lord did not ask him again.â
In case you hadn't worked it out by the quote nor the books summary, don't read this book unless you love a good laugh and don't mind it all being about a demon, an angel and pokes now and then at religion (OK, maybe lots of pokes...). I have known of this book for a while now but sadly only picked it up to rad, rather recently, I do wish I had picked it up sooner but am content with the knowledge that this is a book that will be read so much that the spine will fall apart and I shall have to buy a new copy. The end of the world is coming, the book makes it nice and clear when we move onto a new day as we join the final countdown. All the characters were well written and I do so love the relationship built up between Crowley and Aziraphale.
Reading it, there were times when it felt rather heavy and I needed to take a break, it's not to say that I wasn't enjoying it, I feel perhaps it comes down more to the size of the book and feeling squeezed in. What makes this book really good, isn't just the comedy (this book had me laughing more than most comedy films and shows) but that it also has some thought provoking moments (if you haven't already thought of them yourself), such as... "Hell wasn't a major reservoir of evil, any more than Heaven, in Crowley's opinion, was a fountain of goodness; they were just sides in the great cosmic chess game. Where you found the real McCoy, the real grace and the real heart-stopping evil, was right inside the human mind.â
If you like Gaiman or Pratchett, or just want to read a seriously good book, then pick this up, I don't think you'll regret it.
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