Good Omens

Rating:
Summary: Humourous and undeniably fun
Review: Reading the Prologue alone would make you laugh out loud. But unfortunately, I found the rest of the book to be not as hiliarious as the Prologue. It did, however, make me chuckle throughout though, with it's clipped humour and absurd imagery.

It's the sort of book you can pick up where you left of over many days and read it in bits and pieces as you wait for the public transport. There's no hurry to finish it as the plot isn't intense, and as (i feel) the entire novel, isn't about the plot. It's just something to make you laugh and perhaps give you a quick insight into certain biblical doctrines and how they might prove to be wrong.

There are some interesting ideas introduced, and i liked how Gaiman and Pratchet shaped the horsemen of the apocalypse.

The narrative is a wonderful and engaging, and the images absurd to the point of being undeniable wonderful. Imagine an Angel and a Demon sitting together over tea, talking about the end of the world. It's absurd, and there's something very pleasant about it all as well.

It did seem to lack an X factor though, something to truly make it entirely satisfying. Maybe it was the way the characters weren't built up well enough. Aziraphale and Crowley were well crafted, no doubt, but Adam, or the antichrist, could have done with a little more devling into his psyche since he happens to be the most psychologically complicated character.

Rating:
Summary: Satanic Nuns and Freddie Mercury? Bloody Brilliant!
Review: This book is a wonderous blend of satire, fantasy and awesome dialog. Though it was originally published in 1990, this fantastic work translates remarkably well to today; including its reference to the musicians on the Titanic that stayed to the end. A demon and an angel join forces to stop the apocalypse when they realize that earth is much more fun of a place to be than heaven or hell. The Antichrist is a boy about as devilish as the average boy his age. The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse (except for Death) function in society as normal people and as they ride to the end, on motorcycles, they wear jackets declaring them as true Hell's Angels.

Good Omens does tend to drag a bit and requires a more mature sense of humor. But if you can appreciate the artistry with which the characters communicate, you'll be laughing every second with this book. The beginning grabs your attention and if you have patience for the slightly less riveting middle, the events leading to the ultimate climax in the book just come one after the other becoming increasingly hilarious. I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys satire, dialog made poetry or just a good laugh and can handle the innumerable sub-plots without getting confused.

Rating:
Summary: The Good, The Bad, and the Antichrist
Review: I recommend this book for anyone who wondered why the heck the world has to end anyways. Also, for those who enjoy a bit of off the wall humor, this is the perfect Armageddon to be at. I loved it! Gaiman has become a favorite of mine, and this book helped with that decision. I read it in a few hours, couldn't put it down. Really makes you think and makes you laugh all at the same time.

Rating:
Summary: The Nice & Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
Review: Bad news. The Apocalypse is coming. Soon. Luckily, Heaven and Hell have left the business with the Anti-Christ in the hands of Crowley and Aziraphale, demon and angel respectively. Now they have misplaced the Anti-Christ and pretty much decided they really like humanity a lot more than their either of their bosses.

In the first edition, the full title of this book was "The Nice & Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch." "Nice," in this context, meaning precisely correct. Agnes saw it all coming, from her being burned alive as a witch to the air force base where Armageddon will begin ("Peas is our professiune."). Agnes, her descendant, Anathema, the Four Horseman - Horsepersons - and the Other Four Horseman (a different chapter of Hell's Angels); it all comes together with the serried ranks of angels and demons gathered overhead.

Yes, this is an hysterically funny book. A satire and a parody, it lampoons everything in sight. From Elvis sightings to televangelists to the destruction of all intelligent life ("nothing left but dust and fundamentalists."), little escapes the scathing wit of Gaiman and Pratchett.

Of course the demon, Crowley, drives a 1926 Bentley. Of course any tape left in its glove box for more than two weeks turns into something by Queen. Of course the flaming sword used by War is delivered to her by International Express.

And what happens to the telephone solicitor, Lisa Morrow? Come on now, you secretly thought all telephone solicitors deserved it, right?

In the tradition of Jonathan Swift and Mark Twain, the satire makes a point. That point may be unpalatable to the religiously inflexible, or to those whose sense of righteousness hampers their sense of humor. Critics of Swift and Twain would find much to criticize in Good Omens. But Pratchett and Gaiman demonstrate that we don't need Heaven or Hell to have Good and Evil in the world; we have all we need in ourselves. It's the humanity of Adam Young, the Adversary, the Angel of the Bottomless Pit, etc., it's his human-ness that ultimately makes all the difference.

Don't read this book in bed; you'll keep your spouse awake, laughing out loud. But there's nothing else bad that can be said about it. Ineffability may be beyond our understanding, but humor, even humor in the face of the End of the World, we can understand.

Try this book. I will predict, with Agnes, you'll like it.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely hysterical, wonderful plot
Review: Most science fiction & fantasy readers will kind of tilt their heads like confused puppies at a pairing such as Gaiman & Pratchett - Gaiman is notoriously dark, and Pratchett equally notoriously light-hearted; however, these two have worked together to create an entirely brilliant piece of work.

As Clive Barker notes on the cover of this book, "The Apocalypse has never been funnier;" he's totally correct in that assessment. The basic plot is that the Antichrist has been misplaced, and the respective minions of heaven and hell actually find themselves liking people in general, and are somewhat reluctant to bring us all to our demise.

There are lines in this book that are so funny, I occasionally had difficulty breathing from laughing too hard; this duo's clever, twisted silliness is just right up my alley. Some of the passages are so wicked, so briliant, they'll leave the reader wiping tears of mirth. Being a fan of much British humor, there was a veritable plethora of chuckles in such references as Milton Keynes, England's highway system, and in the delightful idioms. The idea of heaven and hell being run by beaurocracy is amusing as well.

Devout Christian practioners may find this book to be sacreligious, if they are unable to take their religion lightly. Apart from those folks, I'd imagine that most people will really enjoy this book.

Rating:
Summary: Flaming Bentleys
Review: I believe a very good way to start a review on Good Omens is to tell you that it's a bloody amazing read. Good Omens is funny, clever, and creative. The book is centered around the actual characters just as much or more than the actual events that make up the plot. Which is fantastic because the characters are amazing. Crowley is smart, stylish, clever. Aziraphale is bumbling and a bit stuffy. Shadwell is... well... I believe Shadwell may be much more entertaining if you don't know him ahead of time. He's almost lovable in his fanaticism. No, not almost. He is lovable. When you really get into the book the characters just seem so real. The events are still totally fantastical but the characters just feel so real.

The teaming up of Mr. Gaiman and Mr. Pratchett is brilliant. Their writing styles and characters blend together so seamlessly that you almost can't tell that there's two people writing. At the same time, fans of either author can easily pick out the little bits of their style that stand out (like Mr. Pratchett's footnotes).

All in all... I highly recommend that everyone go out and read this. You won't regret it.

Rating:
Summary: My All-Time Favorite Book
Review: I really wish there were something above five stars that I could give this novel. It is probably my all-time favorite book. It's a collaboration by two of my favorite authors, and combines the best traits of both -- Pratchett's wonderful sense of the absurd in our daily existance, and Gaiman's extremely dark, somewhat twisted sense of humor. The result is a book that made me laugh until my sides hurt, but also gave me a chance to think about the good and evil that are intrinsic parts of humanity.
Someone recommended this to me as "a funny book about the Apocalypse", and I was a little nervous -- I've never read the Bible, so would I not "get" the jokes? But an in-depth insight into religion is not needed; all you need is a sense of humor and a knowledge of the most basic points of Christian theology/culture (angels, devils, nuns, etc.).
The book centers around the actions of Aziraphale, an angel and part-time rare book dealer, and Crowley, a demon who's in love with his black vintage Bentley. Both have been on Earth since "the Beginning," which has produced something of a sense of camaraderie, although their respective supervisors fear that the two are "going native." The Apocolypse is scheduled to begin soon, but, alas, Crowley seems to have misplaced the Antichrist. Armed with little else than "Best of Queen" tapes and a rare book of obtuse prophecies, they race to track down the Antichrist before he gains the use of his powers. Joining in the fight are a witch and a wages clerk/Witchfinder Private. Sound odd? It does to them too. But one thing's for sure: once the Four Bikers (nee Horsepeople -- War's a woman) of the Apocolypse ride out, all is lost...

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful book full of British humour
Review: I've only read two Discworld books, but I've loved Neil Gaiman's Sandman for ages. I had heard great things about Pratchett, though, so I knew this would be a good one. It certainly didn't disappoint, as the book is almost Adams like in its absurdity. You'll laugh out loud from the first couple of pages.

Starting out with a mix-up during the birth of the Anti-Christ, things spiral out of control from there. Crowley and Aziraphale (a demon and an angel) try to stop armageddon from happening because they like living on Earth too much. Of course, Armageddon is already having trouble starting since the Anti-Christ is nowhere to be found. Throw in a couple of witch-finders, the descendent of Agnes Nutter (author of The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch), a gang of school children, and many, many more memorable characters, there's a laugh on almost every page. Even the bit parts are good.

Gaiman's mythological humour makes a good combination with Pratchett's absurdity. Underneath all of the weird situations, you can see Gaiman's knowledge of myth and legend shining through. The dialogue is great, so much so that the most absurd situations seem very real. The reactions of the characters, while really strange when you think about them, seem very proper and realistic.

I have just finished re-reading it, and I had forgotten just how much enjoyment I got out of this book. It's a heavy subject (the end of the world), but done with such a humorous touch that it's not a heavy book. If you've read any of the Discworld books, or Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker books, you'll find the same style of humour in here. If you like this type of humour (and not everybody does), you will love this book. It may offend you if you're a fundamentalist, but that's the only worry.

And whatever you do, don't leave your cassette tapes in your car too long...I'd hate to have to listen to Britney Spears sing "Another One Bites the Dust" or Pavarotti's "We Are the Champions."

Rating:
Summary: One of the best books ever
Review: I don't understand the people who didn't give this book 5 stars. One guy even compared it unfavorably to Neverwhere! I'm sorry but if Neverwhere is one of Gaiman's bests then Pratchett carried him in Good Omens. There is no way a sane person liked Neverwhere and didn't love Good Omens. Unless of course you hate to laugh and have a good time; then I could see it.

Buy this book. (Or better yet, get it from the library.)

Rating:
Summary: Pratchett and Gaiman - Success!
Review: This book is a losely based on the film Omen. You do not have to have seen the film to thoroughly enjoy this book. It describes a very British Armageddon.
At the centre of the story are one good and one fallen angel. The fallen angel was never really convinced about Lucifer in the first case, and the good angel has a skeleton in his closet. The good angel is actually the funniest character in the whole book. For instance, he collects bible with misprints in them - I still chuckle five years after I read the book!
Prattchet supplies the humour and Gaiman the atmosphere, so even the most funny sections have a threatening undercurrent, and the scary parts are subtly funny. I hope they do more collaborations.