I recently finished a book I have been reading on and off for almost a year. I really enjoyed writing the last book review of Sleeping Beauties by Stephen and Owen King and so I decided to give you my impression of Good Omens as well. I hope you enjoy it and I hope it is helpful for those of you who are thinking about reading the book or looking for a new read.

… because the human brain was not built in a way which would allow it to see Pollution, War, Famine, and Death if they didn’t want to be seen. It got so good at it that it wouldn’t see them even if they were everywhere around it.

One thing I adore about the work of Terry Pratchett is his relaxing and entertaining way of storytelling which suddenly introduces quotes like the one above that strike you unexpectedly. So subtle yet powerful way of mixing serious topics from the real world in an entertaining and humorous novel about magic. Good Omens is not an exception from the signature style of Terry Pratchett and is filled with moments like this until the very end. What makes the book different is that it is a collaboration with another British master novelist and storyteller – Neil Gaiman. I have read some of his work and I am familiar with his style and I can definitely see why they decided to collaborate on this particular novel. Gaiman is the expert when it comes to stories about magic and mythology. Combined with the skills of Terry Pratchett in the area of magic, witches, humor, and satire the result is without a doubt the funniest and most entertaining story about the Apocalypse you will ever read and experience.

I have said it in my last book blog – I am not usually a fan of collaboration books. So you could say that Good Omens was another one of my attempts to give those types of books a chance and grasp their beauty (and I also fell in love with the idea when I read the preview + Gaiman and Pratchett… How could I skip that). I can say that I definitely do see the beauty of collaborative books but there are still things that I don’t like about them and reasons why I prefer books by one author only. In any case, Good Omens is an astonishing piece of literature which is worth the time and will, without a doubt, entertain you and make you see the Second Coming in a new light.

The review is spoiler free. The goal is to show you what I think about the book in general and give you an idea of whether you should consider it or not in case you are in doubt.

Those two covers are just eye candy!

As you would expect after looking at the names of the authors the genres of the book include fantasy, fiction, and comedy and I have to say it really represents them well. The story of the book follows an angel and a demon living on Earth who are given the tasks to prepare for the Apocalypse and the final battle between good and evil. They have to keep an eye on the Antichrist (who will set the start of the final battle) and make sure that Heaven and Hell are well-prepared for the fateful day where the world shall be reborn. The thing is that those particular angel and demon are good friends and they like the world as it so they don’t want to destroy and rebuild it – it’s too much work. Needless to say, they make a huge mess and the intervening of some real and not-so-real witches and witch hunters, prophecies, and mediums makes the story even more intense and more amusing.

The highs and lows

What I loved

• The story is extremely funny and the humor is on top-level. There is no way you will not laugh out loud at the hilarious characters and unexpected development.
• There is a great balance between being funny and being serious. Typically for Pratchett, the book is the perfect mix of an entertaining, satiric story and a serious novel exposing real-life topics.
• The novel is filled with references towards various subjects from politics to cultural differences, pollution, human nature, etc. all common and relevant. This shows the research and thought put into the book and that the authors have done their best to make it as enjoyable and as relevant as possible.
• I loved the characters – extremely unique and different from all I have seen so far with great development in their personality and behavior. Despite most of them being supernatural beings they had characteristics of normal humans and exposed lots of common behaviors and mindsets which we possess.
• The story had interesting development and it was completed well which I highly value.
• The perspective of the different characters and their points of view and evaluations were presented really well which made the book more interesting and thought-provoking.
• The use of lots of archaic and old style words which fit really well to the concept of the book. It is very well-thought in terms of structure.

What I didn’t like

• The development of the story was a bit hard to follow. The perspective and chronological order of events were often changed without warning and this made it hard to navigate what exactly is happening and which part of the story we are supposed to follow. There were also lots of characters in different situations and it was a bit confusing to keep track of the main storyline.
• Once again, it was obvious the book is a collaboration since the novel was not very coherent and consistent. There were lots of parts where the narrative didn’t flow smoothly.
• The story was written in a way which was slightly confusing and hard to understand. The authors have a different way of expression and flow of speech and I am inclined to believe this is the reason the narrative changed its pace so often.

Should you read it?

The short answer to the questions is definitely yes!

There are only a few negative points in the book (which is unavoidable I think) and I believe most of the negative feelings I have are coming from my prejudiced opinion about collaborative books. However, the story is extremely good and shows a unique perspective of the Apocalypse with lots of things going wrong and lots of humorous and satiric elements. There are tones of references to human behavior and mindsets, cultural differences, and prejudice which will leave you with moral lessons and though food. Needless to say, the storytelling is on the highest level and the whole story develops in a great and entertaining way. The best thing is definitely the characters who make the book a must read, I guarantee you will fall in love with at least a few of the characters and develop strong feelings towards the rest. A slight romance story is added to make the novel complete and suit the taste of romantics as well because even during the Apocalypse love must dominate.

By the way, Good Omens is being turned into a series by Prime and I am super excited! Have a look at the awesome trailer. Looks like a decent adaption but let’s see how it goes.

I hope you enjoyed this review of Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, check the book out if you are into the fantasy and fiction genre and you also like comedy. Thanks a lot for reading!

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