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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Crowley: An angel who didn't so much fall, as saunter vaguely downwards, 21 July 2006
If I had a favourite book, it would be this one. Yes, I am a fan of Pratchett's (and Gaiman's) other work, but this one really stands out as something a bit different, and hopefully might appeal to the many people who dismiss his work as being all about wizards, witches, dragons and all that rubbish - they are missing the point, as what his books are really about is people and the stupid (and not so stupid) things they do, but never mind.
I would imagine that if you were the kind of person who found Monty Python's Life of Brian offensive, then your reaction would be similar to Good Omens, as it does poke fun at a lot of the notions of the Chistian religion (and astrology, and satanists, and Americans, and McDonalds, and Milton Keynes, and, well pretty much everything really). On the other hand, if you like that kind of humour, then I think you would enjoy Good Omens.
The basic plot is that the Antichrist has arrived on earth, but owing to a mess up at the hospital, ends up in Tadfield, a small town in England, instead of being brought up as the son of the American Cultural Attache. Crowley (a demon - fallen angel - hence the title of the review, for those who didn't get it) and Aziraphale (an angel), are searching for him, in order to avert the end of the world, having decided that they quite like people, and, whether Heaven or Hell wins the last battle, things are going to be pretty boring afterwards.
But really the plot (which hangs together extremely well, especially considering the many excursions from the point) is just an excuse for a lot of excellent humrous writing, combined with a number of the insightful comments about human nature which Pratchett does so well.
One of the joys of reading a Pratchett book is the sheer number of references which he manages to pack in, and Good Omens is no exception. THe book of revelations is a big target (the 4 horsemen of the appocalyse have been replaced by the four bikers, and Pestillance has retired muttering about penicillin, to make way for Pollution), but he also manges to include references to the Just William books (the reviewer who complained about the Them sections being twee was seriously missing the point), The Omen, spy films, Queen songs, and the Mona Lisa among others.
Add to that a wide range of humour, from some painful puns, such as hairdressers' shops named Curl Up and Dye, and A Cut Above the Rest, to Sister Mary Loquacious's wittering about the baby Antichrist ("does he look like his daddy then? I bet he does. Does oo look like your daddy then?"), to televangelist songs like 'Jesus is the telephone repairman on the switchboard of my life' to Crowley and Aziraphale's odd-couple bantering, to an explanation of what evil really lies behind the M25 motorway, and many other things too numrous (and bizarre) to mention.
If you're looking for a serious book, a literary book, or standard fantasy fiction, then this isn't what you're after, but if you want to have a laugh, with some serious points thrown in, then I would definitely recommend Good Omens.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Peerless, 8 Mar 2007
If I were to say that, even now, nearly 15 years after I first read it, this book is still one of my favourite reads ever, you will probably get some idea of the direction this review will go. Just imagine, if William Friedkin had made a film of the Just William books - that's what this book is like.
The mix of Pratchett and Gaiman is pretty much flawless, with all the sparky wordplay and fun of the former mixed with the mordant, grim wit of the latter. Put together they spark, like Crowley and Aziriphale, even though they really shouldn't.
The highlights are too numerous and fine to count, but it's a good sign when there's a laugh on almost every page and even the footnotes are a riot; the beginning of the book is a prime example, the Earth's a Libra indeed...
I think this is probably one of those books that everyone should read at some point or other and one that is filled with a great deal of love and a sense of fun about the genre and characters it parodies so relentlessly.
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Nice ande Verry Accurate Prophesie, 25 Jun 2001
By A Customer
"Good Omens"... The title says it all, doesn't it? If you haven't read this tome of magnificence, do so on the double. You won't regret it. If you're an avid fan of the pragmatic comic fantasy and sci-fi genre (as am I), into Douglas Adams, Tom Holt, Spike Milligan, the Goons, Monty Python, Red Dwarf, and just about everything else, you'll absolutely and undeniably enjoy this novel. It's co-authored by the infintesimally gifted Neil Gaiman, but is more of a scintillating rip-snorting effort of Pratchettian humour. It isn't Pterry's best, contrary to popular belief, that much coveted award has to be given to "Small Gods" (see my review of it), but "Good Omens" is nevertheless a refreshing, hilarious, insightful, cynical look at life, the universe, everything, and quite appropriately, witchfinding. "Good Omens" is...well, let's put it like this: it is a novel that, as Terry Gilliam says, is a children's story, and it's about the Antichrist. Funnily enough, the Antichrist is a nice comic-book dwelling young man named Adam, who has been displaced on planet Earth, Tadfield, to bring about the much-prepared Apocalypse. Unfortunately, Adam doesn't particularly enthuse upon this concept. He's not demonic, he's not angelic, he's only human, and that's the way it is. Meanwhile, Aziraphale the bookshop-proprietor and angel on the side, and Crowley, the serpent of the Garden of Eden and anti-Freddy Mercury enthusist, are having too good a time of it to let the world see its end, and so they go about relocating the Antichrist, and halt the Day of Reckoning after they finish off a round of pints. Meanwhile, Anathema Device, great granddaughter of Agnes Nutter, the only truly accurate prophet to the wavering future, is attempting to decipher her ancestor's prophesies...but she loses the book. Ah-oh. Meanwhile, Newton Pulsifer (Latin derivative: PULSION = the act or action of pushing, eg. giving, and PULSIFY = leguminous vegetable, eg. peas; literally the 'Giver of Peas/Peace')has been employed as a Witchfinder, meets the lovable rogue Shadwell, and Madame Tracy, and all these characters start the ball rolling... "Good Omens" is saturated in hilarious gags, frequently funny footnotes, eccentric characterisations, and brilliant satiric observations of how humanity has not got to grips on reality. "Good Omens" is a very funny, theological and philosophical book exploiting the reader to our only Salvation. It does not poke fun at Jesus, nor God, but merely the closed train of thought that Heaven and Hell are as disorganized as this or any other world. "Good Omens" is a riot. Some of the lines are so utterly brilliant and memorable they simply adhere to your head ("What?" <"I said we burn faggots." <"Alright!")And some of the scenes are so hysteric and historic, they will never die ("I want to be Really Cool People" for example). It's certainly a good thing that "Good Omens" is going to be filmed by Terry Gilliam, because I have no doubt that if he does it accurately, it will be his greatest work yet. Lovely stuff!
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