All Good Omens come to those who wait... (Good Omens - Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman)

Member Name: a-true-ben

Product:	Good Omens - Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman
Date:	01/07/01 (124 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Funny and absorbing read, quite clever too

Disadvantages: Maybe a bit too clever?, not everyone's taste

Many will be familiar with Pratchett for his Discworld series. This book, first published in 1990, is a collaboration with comic-writer Neil Gaiman, but very in keeping with Pratchett’s work. In my opinion, it’s certainly up with the best of the Discworld novels, and it’s also free from the need to know recurring characters and what happened before, being a standalone book. The humour, however, is typical Pratchett, and those who don’t appreciate it probably won’t like this book either. According to the authors’ biographies, the book was written in the four or five hours a day when they are both actually awake simultaneously but, if you listen to that, you might as well send Pratchett some banana daiquiris now!

The main premise behind events is the end of the world, Armageddon; brought about by the culmination of the eternal battle between heaven and hell. The events are quite surreal in places, an astonishing account of the endtimes, as described by the Nice and Accurate Prophesies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (‘nice’ in this case meaning ‘precise’). The story fleshed out by a full dramatis personae of supernaturals, ordinary people and a “Full Chorus of Tibetans, Aliens, Americans, Atlanteans and other rare and strange Creatures of the Last Days.” As is usual for Pratchett, there seem to be several disparate storylines going on at once; but, as normal, they converge, making it all clear at the end.

The main character in bringing about the end of the world is Adam, a young boy of eleven who also happens to be an Anti-Christ, but bereft of supernatural guidance after a mix up at the infirmary that led to him going to the wrong parents. He hangs out with his gang (known to the adults as ‘Them’); Wensleydale, Pepper, Brian and his Dog. Through no fault of their own, they get caught up in all sorts of mischief; particularly when Adam’s inherent powers begin to manifest
figments of his over-active imagination, such as tunnelling Tibetans and alien spacecraft.

The other principal agents are Aziraphale (an angel) and Crowley (a former angel, who did not so much fall as saunter vaguely downwards). These two were supposed to be over seeing the battle between good and evil on Earth, but after a few millennia of conflict, realised they have more in common with each other than their distant superiors, and reached an Agreement around 1020. Now, faced with the boredom of eternal heaven/hell, they’re desperately trying to avert the forth-coming Apocalypse, having become quite attached to mankind.

Added to this is a full supporting cast of other insane characters. There’s Anathema Device, occultist and descendent of Agnes Nutter, who is trying to prevent the end of the world, following the prophetic advice of her ancestor. Somehow, she becomes involved with Newton Pulsifer, one of the last remaining witchfinders, also out to combat the forces of Armageddon. Plus, of course, there are the four horsemen/bikers: War, Famine (responsible for nouvelle cuisine, diet plans and nutrition-free fast food), Pollution (who has replaced Pestilence) and a welcome cameo from Death. On top of this, are the other four (Hell’s Angels; who name themselves GBH, Cruelty to Animals, Things Not Working Properly Even After You’ve Given Them A Good Thumping and Really Cool People) and many more, not forgetting Elvis, serving in a burger chain.

Personally, I think this is a very funny book. It verges, at times, on ‘comedy of the absurd’ (like the Tibetans) but also has Pratchett’s normal deeper observations – explaining, for example, just why the M25 is so evil. Also, we find that, while Crowley was solely responsible for Manchester and Glasgow, and Aziraphale for Shropshire and Edinburgh, both claimed Milton Keynes as a success. (One of several ‘notes for Americans’ explains that
“Milton Keynes is a new city approximately half way between London and Birmingham. It was built to be modern, efficient, healthy, and, all in all, a pleasant place to live. Many Britons find this amusing.”) The footnotes, this being Pratchett (mainly it seems) are fairly frequent and often amusing digressions from the main plot.

To understand everything, some basic Biblical knowledge may be helpful (I don’t really have this myself, but there are a few references to Revelations and a joke about Gomorrah I’m sure I don’t get). This is all just part of the wry observational comedy and satire though, the book being littered with references to ansaphones, computer warranties, transformers, the cold war, etc (some points slightly outdated now; remember, published 1990, but a child of the c1980 should be ideally placed to appreciate it all). Several of the jokes have become in-jokes amongst my friends (several of whom borrowed the book, and enjoyed it) – such as what happens to cassette tapes left in cars (they turn in to Best of Queen). Not all the social comments are so irrelevant either, for example, the ludicrous war between the pro-Turkish Liberation faction, pro-Greek Territorial Brigade and Italo-Maltese Freedom Fighters over an insignificant Mediterranean island. In fact, the book says quite a lot about good and evil and the world from child’s eyes; and it has enough in it to be studiable (new word!) at A-level if that’s what you like in books!

In fact, there are a myriad of references, including other books, films, music, etc so you may not fully appreciate the odd joke if you’ve never, for example, seen The Omen or ET, but most work on two levels anyway (you’ll probably think a levitating moped pretty funny anyway). The plot itself can be quite complex too; the way different threads are brought together is typically Pratchett-esque, but you may miss cross-references the first time ̵
1; I’ve read this several times and I still have revelations (‘oh, so that explains why…’). On the other hand, I may just be dense, because there’s nothing too obscure here, and missing one clever play doesn’t spoil your enjoyment of the rest (I’m sure I haven’t noticed everything, but I’m not even aware of most of what I’ve missed).

Despite Gaiman’s input, this is pretty typical for Pratchett, and probably unlikely to convert his critics. If you’re a fan, you may be interested to know that this is his humour at its best, yet fresher – lacking the repetition that seems to have crept into the Discworld and, no doubt, helped by Gaiman. Pratchett aficionados will love it, and be used to his style and the basic ideas that seem to have arrived here from elsewhere (such as witches and Death). If you’re new to Pratchett though, this may be an ideal introduction, what with the Discworld becoming increasingly serialised, rather than standalone. It’s certainly refreshing, either way, to read an original, one-off novel without having to consider it part of a whole series. I would definitely recommend this to a friend; many of my friends have read it, and all I think enjoyed it, but I would again warn that if you don’t like Pratchett, this probably won’t change your opinion.

ISBN 0-552-13703-0
Publisher: Corgi

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