Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman

Author : Terry Practhett & Neil Gaiman
Title : Good Omens
Published : 1990
Publisher : Corgi
Pages : 416
Genre : Fantasy

     Armageddon only happens once, you know. They don't let you go around again until you get it right. According to the Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch - the world's only totally reliable guide to the future, written in 1655, before she exploded - the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. Just after tea... People have been predicting the end of the world almost from its very beginning, so it's only natural to be skeptical when a new date is set for Judgement Day. This time though, the armies of Good and Evil really do appear to be massing. The four Bikers of the Apocalypse are hitting the road. But both the angels and demons - well, one fast-living demon and a somewhat fussy angel - would quite like the Rapture not to happen. Oh, and someone seems to have misplaced the Antichrist...

     It is to my great shame that I have not read this book before. When I was a teenager I use to love reading Pratchett's book but as I got older I transitioned into Gaiman's. I'm not really sure when it happened it was only when I picked this up that I remembered my love of Pratchett's books. And what may you ask brought me to this point? That would be the forthcoming T.V adaption.  Now I realize that Gaiman is working as the showrunner on it which means that a book I have come to greatly enjoy won't get completely destroyed in the process. But as they say, the book is always the best place to start. 

     When it comes to the Apocalypse it can only be all doom and gloom right. If TV and film have taught us nothing it's that when the end of the world is upon us its best to either repent or bend over and kiss your butt goodbye. But just suppose someone or something had other plans, Maybe they quiet like it here on planet earth. Well, they might just get the notion to do something about it, In this case, an angel and a demon plan to disrupt the final battle, even if that means by hook or by crook.  For two opposing forces, these two seem to be mighty friendly but I suppose when you've known each other since the dawn of time you can't help but like each other just a little bit. Within these two characters, I feel you get the best of both these amazing authors. In Aziraphale, you get the boundless optimism of Pratchett for those who have read his books you know that no matter how bad things get for his characters things will usually work out despite death famine or war. In Crowley, You get to experience the dark world of Gaiman where evil is not always so bad and hey even if things get bad there's always a wisecrack or a flip of the tongue to make you laugh. But it is also through theses to characters that we get a melding of what it means to be human. While the two individuals are somewhat more black and white together they show us what it means to find balance in our lives. 

     This book is one that shows us what it means to fight for something you believe in. That the world may not be perfect by any mean but when push comes to shove it ain't such a bad place to call home. As you would expect this is a book that brings the best works of both authors into a beautiful and amazing ball of chaos and hilarity. It is kind of what I would expect if Monty Python had thought to do a film about the Apocalypse. Just through the very weird lens of these two. What the story hold is an amazing amount of detail and side stories all the while holding true to the adventure of these twos lifetimes. It is a book I feel that could only have been written with a very British viewpoint on the world.  It may be the end of the world but us Brits will be sarcastic till the last tree burns from the face of the earth. It questions what you may think of when it comes to tails of angels and demons. It is that ever-present sense of humor at the expense of religion without being terribly mean about the whole affair that kept me coming back for more.  It is a book that can cheer you up just by its sheer stupidity and brilliance. 

     As you can tell I really liked this book, it's the sort of story that once you've read it reminds you why as bookworms we keep going back time and again to our love of the printed page. If you have never read anything by these two it is most definitely a place to start. It like one of the half and half pizza's you get because you can't quite decide which flavor you're in the mood for. And should you enjoy ether then it can open up a whole new world for you. I'm sure that once it goes live I will sit and binge watch the series just to experience it in a different way, and as I am a huge fan of Gaiman's I put my love for this book into his careful hands.