Heavens Above! (Good Omens - Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman)

Member Name: ariane

Product:	Good Omens - Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman
Date:	27/01/01 (43 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Hilarious, rolling on the floor humour

Disadvantages: Too much of the kids, not enough of the good characters

A huge fan of Pratchett's Discworld novels, I was a bit wary of this collaboration with Gaiman since it wasn't set in that universe and had none of the characters I'm familiar with (I was wrong about that, actually - Death, who TALKS LIKE THAT still manages to crop up). I needn't have worried. Since picking up a copy of this with a book-token I was given as a present, I've read it several dozen times, and it's my favourite Pratchett novel. I really wish the two authors would write a sequel, with more adventures of Aziraphale and Crowley.
The two characters above are an angel and demon, respectively, left on Earth to either aid or tempt humans after the Fall in Eden. Crowley, in the shape of a snake, was directly responsible for that one, which he admits himself 'went down like a lead balloon'. He didn't mean to get humans thrown out of Eden, but then he never meant to be become a demon - he was an angel who didn't so much fall as 'saungter slowly downwards'. Aziraphale was the angel on the Eastern gate, and a thoroughly nice chap to boot. Despite all apparent evidence to the contrary, he's neither English or gay, but he certainly comes across as both. These two nefarious characters have the job of preventing Armageddon - even when both Heaven and Hell are doing their damnedest to get it going. At the centre of the trouble is a young boy named Adam, completely unaware that he's the Antichrist since a mix-up by some satanic nuns sent him to the wrong family. Yes, it really is as strange as it sounds, and when you throw in all the supporting characters, theplot becomes very involved indeed.
My one complaint about this novel is the fact that it stretches across so many characters. There's far too much Just William type stuff with Adam's gang, when I wanted to read more antics from the angel and demon, two of my favourite literary characters of all time. Still, it's very funny and even manages to
be thought-provoking. Beware the Bikers of the Apocalypse!

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