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A review by ravenousbibliophile
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett
4.0
“It is said that the Devil has all the best tunes. This is broadly true. But Heaven has the best choreographers” - Good Omens
The 'tune' in this case would be the arrival of the Anti-Christ (a.k.a the Adversary, Destroyer of Kings, Angel of the Bottomless Pit, Great Beast that is called Dragon, Prince of This World, Father of Lies, Spawn of Satan and Lord of Darkness). The 'choreography' in this case is the chain of events which culminates into the Great War between Heaven and Hell.
It is written that within 11 years of the arrival of Anti-Christ (a.k.a the Adversary, Destroyer of Kings, Angel of the Bottomless Pit, Great Beast that is called Dragon, Prince of This World, Father of Lies, Spawn of Satan and Lord of Darkness) , the Earth is to be consumed by hellfire and brimstone. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse shall herald the end of days, and the forces of Heaven and Hell shall engage in a conflict that shall end all conflicts. Forever. Everything was going according to the ineffable plan, when something went wrong. The Anti-Christ was delivered to the wrong house, and after 11 years of living in the town of Lower Tadfield, his views on bringing about the destruction of Earth are... novel to say the least.
Good Omens is a book that manages to balance the abstract beauty of Gaiman along with the dark comedy of Pratchett. In my opinion, while Gaiman may have the edge in terms of imagining the abstract and ethereal, it is Pratchett who succeeds in writing idiosyncratic characters that posses a subcutaneous layer of darkness. For certain, this story flies in the face of religious fervor. And not just modern religious fervor but across the face of religious fervor since Adam (the original one) decided to keep his doctor away. The characters (in particular Crowley and Aziraphale), all serve to act as appropriate examples of the human, the divine and the insane and one ponders at the end of this story the question:
"Is the purpose of humanity to pursue being good? evil? or just human?"
The 'tune' in this case would be the arrival of the Anti-Christ (a.k.a the Adversary, Destroyer of Kings, Angel of the Bottomless Pit, Great Beast that is called Dragon, Prince of This World, Father of Lies, Spawn of Satan and Lord of Darkness). The 'choreography' in this case is the chain of events which culminates into the Great War between Heaven and Hell.
It is written that within 11 years of the arrival of Anti-Christ (a.k.a the Adversary, Destroyer of Kings, Angel of the Bottomless Pit, Great Beast that is called Dragon, Prince of This World, Father of Lies, Spawn of Satan and Lord of Darkness) , the Earth is to be consumed by hellfire and brimstone. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse shall herald the end of days, and the forces of Heaven and Hell shall engage in a conflict that shall end all conflicts. Forever. Everything was going according to the ineffable plan, when something went wrong. The Anti-Christ was delivered to the wrong house, and after 11 years of living in the town of Lower Tadfield, his views on bringing about the destruction of Earth are... novel to say the least.
Good Omens is a book that manages to balance the abstract beauty of Gaiman along with the dark comedy of Pratchett. In my opinion, while Gaiman may have the edge in terms of imagining the abstract and ethereal, it is Pratchett who succeeds in writing idiosyncratic characters that posses a subcutaneous layer of darkness. For certain, this story flies in the face of religious fervor. And not just modern religious fervor but across the face of religious fervor since Adam (the original one) decided to keep his doctor away. The characters (in particular Crowley and Aziraphale), all serve to act as appropriate examples of the human, the divine and the insane and one ponders at the end of this story the question:
"Is the purpose of humanity to pursue being good? evil? or just human?"