Helpful Score: 13
I can not express how much I love this book or what effect it has had on my life. I found it in a neighbors trash as a teenager and it was my first exposure to both Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. Searching for other works by Gaiman got me interested in Graphic Novels after picking up his Sandman series at the Library. Later I also sought other books by Pratchett and discovered the Discworld series, books that I now count as my all time favorites. I highly recommend this book, I now own several copies, and the original is in tatters because I have passed it around to so many friends.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Helpful Score: 5
This is the first time I have read a book by either author and I'll definitely be reading more of both. Very few books have made me laugh out loud and this was one of them. The style and tone reminded me a little of Douglas Adams.
Helpful Score: 3
Reviewed by Carrie Spellman for TeensReadToo.com
I love this book! The first time I came across it, it was hidden in a corner in a bookstore. It cried out to me. I had to take it home. I laughed so hard that I cried, more than once. I loved it so much I gave it away. Which is an extraordinarily difficult thing for me to do. But it wanted to be shared, and I can't deny a book its destiny. My brain, however, is not so capable of release. I had to buy it again. And read it over and over and over. Until I gave it to my boyfriend, before we were dating. And still, I read it at his house. When he forgot and gave it back to me, I cruelly didn't correct him. (It came back to me! It must be fate!) Now, there's a new edition out, with comments by the authors. I have to go get it.
I'm obsessed. It's unhealthy. I know. Come join me. It's the best apocalypse you'll ever survive.
Crowley and Aziraphale have been locked in the battle between good and evil since, well, at least the beginning of time. In fact, it's been so long that it's become more of a debate then a battle. Actually more of a conversation. Aziraphale is an angel, and part-time rare bookseller. It's a front; he really collects the books for himself. Crowley is sort of a fallen angel; well, as the book says "an angel who did not so much fall as saunter vaguely downward". So he's a demon, ish. Mostly he's an instigator. These two have been enemies for so long that they've become pretty good friends.
But that's all going to end. Everything is going to end. Next Saturday. That's when the apocalypse has been scheduled for. The final battle between good and evil. What's an angel, or demon, to do when it comes time to end the world, but they really don't want to?
The apocalypse is aided and thwarted, alternately, by angels, demons, and an assortment of other ridiculous, hilarious, pitiful characters. Newton Pulsifer, Witchfinder, armed with a stickpin. Anathema Device, Witch and owner of the only accurate book of prophecy to ever be written, until she lost it. Agnes Nutter, author of said book, semi-illiterate, or maybe just a really bad speller, and dead. The Chattering Order of St. Beryl, satanic nuns who really just like to wear black. Dog, who was, or is, or should have been a hellhound. Adam, the anti-christ, depending on how the day goes. There's a lot more, but I don't want to ruin the fun. Let's just say that good, evil, and prophecy are all ideas that leave a lot of room for interpretation. And I'll never leave music in my car for too long again.
I love this book! The first time I came across it, it was hidden in a corner in a bookstore. It cried out to me. I had to take it home. I laughed so hard that I cried, more than once. I loved it so much I gave it away. Which is an extraordinarily difficult thing for me to do. But it wanted to be shared, and I can't deny a book its destiny. My brain, however, is not so capable of release. I had to buy it again. And read it over and over and over. Until I gave it to my boyfriend, before we were dating. And still, I read it at his house. When he forgot and gave it back to me, I cruelly didn't correct him. (It came back to me! It must be fate!) Now, there's a new edition out, with comments by the authors. I have to go get it.
I'm obsessed. It's unhealthy. I know. Come join me. It's the best apocalypse you'll ever survive.
Crowley and Aziraphale have been locked in the battle between good and evil since, well, at least the beginning of time. In fact, it's been so long that it's become more of a debate then a battle. Actually more of a conversation. Aziraphale is an angel, and part-time rare bookseller. It's a front; he really collects the books for himself. Crowley is sort of a fallen angel; well, as the book says "an angel who did not so much fall as saunter vaguely downward". So he's a demon, ish. Mostly he's an instigator. These two have been enemies for so long that they've become pretty good friends.
But that's all going to end. Everything is going to end. Next Saturday. That's when the apocalypse has been scheduled for. The final battle between good and evil. What's an angel, or demon, to do when it comes time to end the world, but they really don't want to?
The apocalypse is aided and thwarted, alternately, by angels, demons, and an assortment of other ridiculous, hilarious, pitiful characters. Newton Pulsifer, Witchfinder, armed with a stickpin. Anathema Device, Witch and owner of the only accurate book of prophecy to ever be written, until she lost it. Agnes Nutter, author of said book, semi-illiterate, or maybe just a really bad speller, and dead. The Chattering Order of St. Beryl, satanic nuns who really just like to wear black. Dog, who was, or is, or should have been a hellhound. Adam, the anti-christ, depending on how the day goes. There's a lot more, but I don't want to ruin the fun. Let's just say that good, evil, and prophecy are all ideas that leave a lot of room for interpretation. And I'll never leave music in my car for too long again.
Helpful Score: 3
"Good Omens" is a funny and irreverent book by renowned storytellers Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Combing the best of dry British humor with increasingly hilarious scenes, the story concerns an angel and a demon as they search for the anti-Christ in order to begin the final Armageddon. The characters in this novel are wittily written and engaging, and the plot itself is original and creative. I'd imagine this would make a splendid, entertaining movie! Lunacy and hilarity rule the day in this apocalyptic chuckler, and no person or group is safe under Pratchett and Gaiman's fanatical gazes! A worthwhile read.
Helpful Score: 2
Off-the-wall comedy about an Armageddon that doesn't quite come off as planned. Pratchett's footprints are all over this one, with its drive-by puns and throwaway commentary on cultural icons from Elvis signtings to Star Wars fandom, propelling Gaiman's story seed of the Antichrist switched at birth with the wrong Human baby.
Helpful Score: 2
Book: Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
Breakdown of personal criteria:
Cohesiveness of the writing of both authors: 5 stars
Content: 5 Stars
Misc. things that I am picky about: 5 stars
This is a wonderful story of choosing your own path and not letting destiny bully you around. Pratchett's and Gaiman's writing blend so well that you rarely know which author wrote which part. They are both literary geniuses that teamed up to make a fantastic tale which holds your attention, to the very end. All of the characters are well developed and there are some truly hilarious moments. While the political correctness of a humorous apocalypse book is questionable, these two authors pull it off. I highly recommend it.
Breakdown of personal criteria:
Cohesiveness of the writing of both authors: 5 stars
Content: 5 Stars
Misc. things that I am picky about: 5 stars
This is a wonderful story of choosing your own path and not letting destiny bully you around. Pratchett's and Gaiman's writing blend so well that you rarely know which author wrote which part. They are both literary geniuses that teamed up to make a fantastic tale which holds your attention, to the very end. All of the characters are well developed and there are some truly hilarious moments. While the political correctness of a humorous apocalypse book is questionable, these two authors pull it off. I highly recommend it.
Helpful Score: 2
The Satanist nuns misplaced the Antichrist a dozen years before the Apocalypse was set to start. The boy they've been preening to fight for Satan turns out to be a normal boy, while the true Antichrist has been brought up by an average couple in England. Hilarity ensues. Pratchett and Gaiman are two of the best writers out there, and combining their talents makes this one of the best books I've ever read. Constant out-loud laughter.
Helpful Score: 1
This book is my first exposure to both Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman and I cannot wait to read more by both of them. The characters are so colorful and the plot so outrageous that I could not put the book down until I finished devouring every word!
Helpful Score: 1
I am a huge Gaiman fan and somehow I had never read this book. I was eager to read it since I used to read Pratchett's Discworld series and enjoyed the humor in that too. Overall this was a good book and fairly humorous. I thought the humor went a bit over the top at points; but overall still liked it. Think of this book as kind of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Apocalypse; it is written in that type of style with lots of footnotes.
When Crowley, original Crawley the serpent from Eden, gets the Antichrist he makes a mistake. The babies are switched out and Crowley and his arch-enemy Azrael spent a good portion of their lives trying to influence the wrong child. All you have to do then is get the Four Horsemen involved, a young woman who is a descendent of Agnes Nutter (the most accurate phophetess history has ever known, and a young man who is a witch hunter in the story and things begin to get out of hand. The real Antichrist, aptly named Adam, is making a bullocks of things using his unholy power to save whales and make nuclear power safer. General chaos ensues, legions of angels and demons prepare for war, and the world as we know it may or may not end.
This was a pretty good book. Given it's cult status I was expected it to be hilarious and to be blown out of the water by it. I really wasn't. The book switches viewpoint a lot, making it a bit hard to keep everything straight in the beginning. There are a ton of footnotes throughout (which I am not a huge fan off because they interrupt the story), and while some of them were funny, some of them were just plain silly and rambled on a bit too much.
The story takes a while to get going and I struggled to stay interested initially; but as events build to the final Apocalyse the pace picks up and the book is much more engaging. The characters are interesting but never really personable because you don't get to spend much time with them. I am thinking this book may be a bit dated and was more unique and original when it was written. To be honest this book reminds me a lot of the movie Dogma and in writing style, of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, books.
In general I have mixed feelings about this book. There are some funny parts and some excellent irony, some very creative ideas and characters. The story takes a bit to get going through and constantly switches viewpoint so it was hard to really engage with any of the characters. The humor got a bit campy at parts and some of the footnotes rambled on way too much. I thought it was missing the wonderful classic story structure and tone that most of Gaiman's books have.
Overall I am glad that I read it but it was not my favorite Gaiman or Pratchett book. It was a bit too campy for me and a bit too scattered. There are some funny parts though and the story itself is very ironic. If you like Christopher Moore or Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxay, or religion spoofs (like the movie Dogma) you will probably enjoy this book.
When Crowley, original Crawley the serpent from Eden, gets the Antichrist he makes a mistake. The babies are switched out and Crowley and his arch-enemy Azrael spent a good portion of their lives trying to influence the wrong child. All you have to do then is get the Four Horsemen involved, a young woman who is a descendent of Agnes Nutter (the most accurate phophetess history has ever known, and a young man who is a witch hunter in the story and things begin to get out of hand. The real Antichrist, aptly named Adam, is making a bullocks of things using his unholy power to save whales and make nuclear power safer. General chaos ensues, legions of angels and demons prepare for war, and the world as we know it may or may not end.
This was a pretty good book. Given it's cult status I was expected it to be hilarious and to be blown out of the water by it. I really wasn't. The book switches viewpoint a lot, making it a bit hard to keep everything straight in the beginning. There are a ton of footnotes throughout (which I am not a huge fan off because they interrupt the story), and while some of them were funny, some of them were just plain silly and rambled on a bit too much.
The story takes a while to get going and I struggled to stay interested initially; but as events build to the final Apocalyse the pace picks up and the book is much more engaging. The characters are interesting but never really personable because you don't get to spend much time with them. I am thinking this book may be a bit dated and was more unique and original when it was written. To be honest this book reminds me a lot of the movie Dogma and in writing style, of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, books.
In general I have mixed feelings about this book. There are some funny parts and some excellent irony, some very creative ideas and characters. The story takes a bit to get going through and constantly switches viewpoint so it was hard to really engage with any of the characters. The humor got a bit campy at parts and some of the footnotes rambled on way too much. I thought it was missing the wonderful classic story structure and tone that most of Gaiman's books have.
Overall I am glad that I read it but it was not my favorite Gaiman or Pratchett book. It was a bit too campy for me and a bit too scattered. There are some funny parts though and the story itself is very ironic. If you like Christopher Moore or Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxay, or religion spoofs (like the movie Dogma) you will probably enjoy this book.
Helpful Score: 1
This was a fantastic book. It turned me on to Neil Gaiman. I highly recommend this book, very fun!!! I loved the bikers and the confused hound from hell! Great stuff!
Helpful Score: 1
An angel and a devil are sent from you-know-where to watch the devil's son as he grows up in rural England. But nothing is going according to plan - or is it?! A very funny one.
I tried to get into this book twice, and got further the 2nd time, but it just couldn't hold my interest. I thought that the premise was interesting and did enjoy what i had read, but my interest just wasn't there. i'll most likely try to pick this one up again, but i have since passed it on for others to enjoy
Great book with a great take on the end of the world!
Hilarious book, full of laugh-out-loud absurdities such as Sister Mary Loquacious of the Chattering Order and a Monty Python-esque Spanish Inquisition.
If you are a Pratchett Discworld fan or have enjoyed the whimsy of Gaiman's Sandman comics or American Gods, you will love this funny, light-hearted adventure. It's a spoof in part of the Damien Omen books and movies, which sounds kind of grim but they make it world with hilarious results.
I loved this book. A fast, fun, thought provoking read.
A good but not great book that was mildly amusing, but not hilariously funny. To get the most out of the book, you really have to read it closely with lots of attention to the details. The humor is usually subtle and occasionally obscure. The book felt more like a Terry Pratchett novel than one by Neil Gaiman, not that it matters, just that it was interesting to analyze because so few books are written in teams.
I read this book months ago and I cant not remember much about it except the end. Which I do not want to spoil. There were funny things about about the book like, when the Antichrist wishes for his hell-hound and it turns out to be a small and tiny dog because that is what he wishes for.
What is left that I remember is not that great, which could be because of the subject matter. I dont usually read Apocalyptic stuff even if it is tongue in cheek but read this on recommendation of my husband. I just did not find this one remember-able. I find similar problems with American Gods as well but enjoyed some of Pratchetts work alone.
I think if you like British humor and Monty Python you might grasp the humor better then I did.
What is left that I remember is not that great, which could be because of the subject matter. I dont usually read Apocalyptic stuff even if it is tongue in cheek but read this on recommendation of my husband. I just did not find this one remember-able. I find similar problems with American Gods as well but enjoyed some of Pratchetts work alone.
I think if you like British humor and Monty Python you might grasp the humor better then I did.
A clever and entertaining read.
I don't recall dreaming about a book I was reading until I picked this one up. It's so funny I found myself laughing out loud and I woke up reading pages from this book!
Put two unlikely characters together such as a fussy angel and a demon who loves the fast life and you can't help but be entertained. The two who have been together since the beginning rather like this world of ours and the life they live in it. Forget the roles they are to play on this old earth.
Then there is the book, The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, in which she fortells the future. And, now Armageddon as predicted by the witch is fast approaching. The four horsemen ride motorcycles and and speed toward the site where it will occur.
This is not a slow read. This reader found it important to mull over the pages, chuckle and move on to the next few pages for more entertainment. Be ready to laugh at the antics of these zany characters.
Put two unlikely characters together such as a fussy angel and a demon who loves the fast life and you can't help but be entertained. The two who have been together since the beginning rather like this world of ours and the life they live in it. Forget the roles they are to play on this old earth.
Then there is the book, The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, in which she fortells the future. And, now Armageddon as predicted by the witch is fast approaching. The four horsemen ride motorcycles and and speed toward the site where it will occur.
This is not a slow read. This reader found it important to mull over the pages, chuckle and move on to the next few pages for more entertainment. Be ready to laugh at the antics of these zany characters.
Not nearly as good as Neverwhere, American Gods, or even Stardust, Good Omens is rambling in the extreme and I have to admit, many of the British jokes made no sense to me.
"According to the Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter--the world's only totally reliable guide to the future--the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. Just before dinner."
Terry Pratchett is an awesome author, and so apparently is Neil Gaiman. This collaboration was worthy of its several awards!
Terry Pratchett is an awesome author, and so apparently is Neil Gaiman. This collaboration was worthy of its several awards!
I loved this book - nice depiction of good and evil, along with how natural abilities, gifts and talent can make good people do bad things. It also depicts nicely how most people have good and bad in them. And the humor! I love it! A keeper & re-read!
I laughed so much reading this book, A very unique take on the Apocalypse. I would definitely recommend reading it.
Irreverent and funny. If you are a Neil Gaiman fan you will love this book. I had never read Terry Pratchett before but I intend to start.
Very funny look at the apocalypse. The end is drawing near, but it's not turning out as planned. The Antichrist is temporarily misplaced and an angel and demon are working together. But, of course Agnes Nutter could've told you this would happen four hundred years ago.
This book is so full of wit and sacrilege that you just know that Gaiman and Pratchett had fun writing it.
This book is so full of wit and sacrilege that you just know that Gaiman and Pratchett had fun writing it.
Funny. Written like a very long Monty Python sketch.
This was funny!
This was a wonderfully irreverent and humorous take on the end of the world, ala the Book of Revelation, and how it can be oh-so-utterly confounded when the Antichrist is switched at birth with the wrong child and none of Satan's Horde figured it out.
The book is all about a set of about six characters, some human, some not, and how they fumble about and learn that being human is a far grander thing than anything else. The interplay of these characters is the book's strong point, and the authors have done a great job here.
Gaiman and Pratchett have written a fun tale. This was highly enjoyed.
5 of 5 stars.
The book is all about a set of about six characters, some human, some not, and how they fumble about and learn that being human is a far grander thing than anything else. The interplay of these characters is the book's strong point, and the authors have done a great job here.
Gaiman and Pratchett have written a fun tale. This was highly enjoyed.
5 of 5 stars.
Absolutely hysterical! I laughed out loud.
A hilarious book about the fight between good and evil for the end of the world.
From the back cover"So the armies of Good anEvil are amassing. Atlantis is rising. Frogs are falling, tempers are flaring. Eferythig apperas to be going according to Divine Plan. Except a somewhat fussy angel and a fast living Demon-both of whom have lived amongst Earth's lifestyle-are not acutally looking forward to the coming Rapture. And somehton seems to have misplaced the Antichrist....." Great Fun, I read it in three days!
From the back cover"So the armies of Good anEvil are amassing. Atlantis is rising. Frogs are falling, tempers are flaring. Eferythig apperas to be going according to Divine Plan. Except a somewhat fussy angel and a fast living Demon-both of whom have lived amongst Earth's lifestyle-are not acutally looking forward to the coming Rapture. And somehton seems to have misplaced the Antichrist....." Great Fun, I read it in three days!
Very clever and very funny.... definitley not offensive!
Aptly likened to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in all the blurbs on the cover, Good Omens is one big heh and hee! from cover to cover.
This entertaining and comic take on the end of the world is definitely worth reading. Good and evil have set in motion a series of events that should lead to the birth of the anti-Christ and the Apocalypse. Instead things begin to get very mixed up, messed up and funny.
The forces of good and evil are hopelessly intertwined as well as confused. The descendant of Agnes Nutter has her prophecies but sometimes they aren't as clear as one would hope. The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse ride motorcycles and now have followers. And the anti-Christ seems to have been misplaced. The resulting confusion makes the Apocalypse unlikely and offers some hope for this sometimes seemingly hopeless world.
It's a witty and yet thought-provoking romp that pokes fun at a lot of sacred cows. If you've got a great sense of humor about religions, you'll enjoy this.
The forces of good and evil are hopelessly intertwined as well as confused. The descendant of Agnes Nutter has her prophecies but sometimes they aren't as clear as one would hope. The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse ride motorcycles and now have followers. And the anti-Christ seems to have been misplaced. The resulting confusion makes the Apocalypse unlikely and offers some hope for this sometimes seemingly hopeless world.
It's a witty and yet thought-provoking romp that pokes fun at a lot of sacred cows. If you've got a great sense of humor about religions, you'll enjoy this.
First off, I am not one who really enjoys humorous fiction. Or for that matter most comedies - sometimes I think I'm humor-challenged. I made it through Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, smiling a few times, I grinned now and again during Galaxy Quest, you get the idea. For some reason I decided to watch Amazon's mini-series of Good Omens. And I just howled through most of the series, don't know why it tickled me so much, but then I figured I had to read the book.
I enjoyed it quite a lot, but like a baby duck the thing I saw first is what I like the best, so the mini-series will always be my favorite. The book has so many great little jokes in it, all that deadpan humor, and I expect even more of it went over my head as I'm not British. In the book, I liked The Them the most. I think if I hadn't seen the series I wouldn't really have understood what Adam did at the end, though, it didn't really come clear to me. This may not be a book I re-read over and over again, but it's definitely going in my collection.
I enjoyed it quite a lot, but like a baby duck the thing I saw first is what I like the best, so the mini-series will always be my favorite. The book has so many great little jokes in it, all that deadpan humor, and I expect even more of it went over my head as I'm not British. In the book, I liked The Them the most. I think if I hadn't seen the series I wouldn't really have understood what Adam did at the end, though, it didn't really come clear to me. This may not be a book I re-read over and over again, but it's definitely going in my collection.
This is one of my new favorite books. It was smart and funny. I definitely recommend it.
I laughed out loud while reading this take on Armageddon. The progression of the Four Horsemen is impressive and the friendship between the angel and the demon is a delight.
This one should be on the summer reading lists of every teenager in the world. Hilarious, but with some subtle points to ponder woven nicely in. And there's nothing quite like a pint-sized hell hound!
"and on one memorable occasion, fork..." I loved this book! My very first introduction to Terry and Neil.
