Good Omens, by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

[keilexandra]

End of my booklog-spam; let all rejoice!

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
412 pages (paperback)
Genre: Fiction/Fantasy

This has been on my to-read list, but it probably would have languished there for a while longer if I hadn't happened to spot it on A.'s bookshelf (due also to, I'll be reading A Great and Terrible Beauty soon). Bias calibration: out of Gaiman's works, I've only read Stardust; I adore Pratchett. That said, I'll be seeking out Gaiman's other novels that I've previously avoided because their descriptions didn't interest me.

The plot of Good Omens is extremely scatterbrained, but everything clicks together in the end. Be prepared to do some rifling (or better yet, rereading) for full understanding of the authors' genius. Some books are made to read only once; this one can and ought to be read hundreds of times. There are some absolutely hilarious lines, which I won't spoil by quoting out of context. I love Aziraphale and Crowley equally--fitting, isn't it? Death here, named Azrael, is similar to but different from Pratchett's Discworld Death.

I'm sure one can find fanatical fans; I'm not quite to that level, but I do wish they had made this into a movie instead of Stardust. Like Douglas Adams's A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, this is a true cult classic and deserves the visual interpretation. (For the record, I haven't seen the film versions of either and could not finish the complete Hitchhiker's Guide without skimming.)

Comments

[ww2b.livejournal.com]

The Hitchhiker's series sort of jumped between novels, it was rather alarming. But funny nevertheless.

[keilexandra]

I dunno, a lot of the humor was lost on me. There's a certain line where hilarious becomes pointless, and Adams crossed the line a lot.

[beteio.livejournal.com]

Also, more than half a year late on this reply, but I think I am definitely reaching that fanatical level of Good Omens worship. (However, I still need to buy another copy for actual reading and/or lending; I'm too scared to lend out my two existing copies, but when I do, I constantly check up on that person, which mostly involves yelling frantically, "You're not bending the spine, are you?" and "Remember never to dog-ear the pages!")

[keilexandra]

...Yeah, you're fanatical.

[sarahbrand.livejournal.com]

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is amazing. Each sequel is a bit less entertaining than the one that proceeded it. So, while I appreciate the idea of a Hitchhiker omnibus, I don't think it's quite fair to lump Hitchhiker proper in with Mostly Harmless. (Does that change your view at all, looking at them as separate novels? Did you notice enjoying the first more than the second and so on?)

I do wish they had made this into a movie

IMO, the Hitchhiker movie was disappointing. I suspect a Good Omens movie might also fall flat for the same reason... much of the humor is in the narration, and it's almost impossible to translate that to the screen.

I didn't much like A Great and Terrible Beauty... there is a word I am looking for that describes it perfectly, but I can't think of the word at all. So I guess I'll just let you read it and come to your own conclusions. XP

[keilexandra]

I definitely found the first novel more interesting and the others progressively less so. XD

[cachinna.livejournal.com]

Kumquat to Hitchhiker being better the earlier you go. I personally am a bit of a worshipper, though, especially of the first book.

As for Good Omens -- I'm closer to that fanatical level you mention not quite reaching. I too love Terry Pratchett, and quite enjoyed Stardust when I read it recently.

I have not seen any of the movie adaptations (except a bit of the cartoon they made of Soul Music by Pratchett, which was disappointing), but I think a great deal of the brilliance in Good Omens, Terry Pratchett, and Hitchhiker's Guide comes from the narration, outside of the dialogue, which makes it translate badly to the screen.