Good Omens [Import] [Paperback]

Terry Pratchett (Author), Graham Ward (Illustrator)

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Corgi Adult; later printing edition (1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0552137030
• ISBN-13: 978-0552137034
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (640 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #602,608 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

284 of 298 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Nice & Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, September 30, 2000

By 

James D. DeWitt "Alaska Fan" (Fairbanks, AK United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Good Omens (Mass Market Paperback)

Bad news. The Apocalypse is coming. Soon. Luckily, Heaven and Hell have left the business with the Anti-Christ in the hands of Crowley and Aziraphale, demon and angel respectively. Now they have misplaced the Anti-Christ and pretty much decided they really like humanity a lot more than their either of their bosses.

In the first edition, the full title of this book was "The Nice & Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch." "Nice," in this context, meaning precisely correct. Agnes saw it all coming, from her being burned alive as a witch to the air force base where Armageddon will begin ("Peas is our professiune."). Agnes, her descendant, Anathema, the Four Horseman - Horsepersons - and the Other Four Horseman (a different chapter of Hell's Angels); it all comes together with the serried ranks of angels and demons gathered overhead.

Yes, this is an hysterically funny book. A satire and a parody, it lampoons everything in sight. From Elvis sightings to televangelists to the destruction of all intelligent life ("nothing left but dust and fundamentalists."), little escapes the scathing wit of Gaiman and Pratchett.

Of course the demon, Crowley, drives a 1926 Bentley. Of course any tape left in its glove box for more than two weeks turns into something by Queen. Of course the flaming sword used by War is delivered to her by International Express.

And what happens to the telephone solicitor, Lisa Morrow? Come on now, you secretly thought all telephone solicitors deserved it, right?

In the tradition of Jonathan Swift and Mark Twain, the satire makes a point. That point may be unpalatable to the religiously inflexible, or to those whose sense of righteousness hampers their sense of humor. Critics of Swift and Twain would find much to criticize in Good Omens. But Pratchett and Gaiman demonstrate that we don't need Heaven or Hell to have Good and Evil in the world; we have all we need in ourselves. It's the humanity of Adam Young, the Adversary, the Angel of the Bottomless Pit, etc., it's his human-ness that ultimately makes all the difference.

Don't read this book in bed; you'll keep your spouse awake, laughing out loud. But there's nothing else bad that can be said about it. Ineffability may be beyond our understanding, but humor, even humor in the face of the End of the World, we can understand.

Try this book. I will predict, with Agnes, you'll like it.

333 of 363 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Family Vacation Fun, March 27, 2001

By 

Elderbear (Loma Linda, Aztlan) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Good Omens (Mass Market Paperback)

A couple years ago we did a lot of driving during vacation. My wife read this book to me while I drove, and the kids (11 & 6) listened in. (Soon after vacation, we got a second black cat. As we already had one named Aleister, this one got named Aziraphale. She's sitting on my lap, begging for attenion right now!)

This is a comedy of errors about the eschaton, the Antichrist, and Armageddon. My wife & I grew up taking the Apocalypse quite seriously. That served only to make this book funnier. Our children, who couldn't tell an antichrist from an anti-Chrystler, found the book entertaining as well.

Fast read. Lots of fun. If you've read all of Douglas Adams' books and are hungering for more, this is the book for you! You might consider following it with Terry Prachett's Small Gods.

(If you enjoyed this review, please leave positive feedback. To see more of my reviews, click on the "about me" link above. Thanks!)

59 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars James DeWitt said it best, February 7, 2005

By 

Greg Brady "columbusboy" (Capital City) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Good Omens (Mass Market Paperback)

SYNOPSIS:
The Antichrist is coming. The world's about to end. The only problem is the "rank and file" angels and demons (who've begun to enjoy each other's company and understand each other over the eons) aren't so sure they want Armageddon to come.

MY TAKE:
I'll keep this short. I adore Douglas Adams and the twisted wry humour found in both his "Hitchhiker's Trilogy" and the books of the Dirk Gently series. The blurb said it was similar. I gave it a try. It was.

You will especially enjoy this if you have:
1) a DECENT working knowledge of Christianity (to get some of the subtle digs)
2) a knowledge of pop culture depictions of evil (the Exorcist movies and the like)
3) the ability to laugh at your own religious perspectives

I consider myself an evangelical and thought this was laugh out loud outrageous. But if you're of the mindset that God can't take a joke, well, you're probably better off with a different book...