Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett | Book Review

The end of the world is nigh, but it is isn’t coming along as smoothly as Good and Evil would have liked. The Antichrist has gone missing, for a start. But they’d have known that if they’d have managed to grab a copy of the Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, which is the only reliable guide to the future written by a witch in 1655, just before she exploded. As Judgement Day draws near, a vast cast of weird and wonderful characters try to figure out their role in the end of the world – if it ever happens, that is.

Good Omens is endlessly funny and incredibly clever, but I never expected anything less from Pratchett and Gaiman. It follows the stories of far too many characters to count (including an angel and a demon, the Antichrist himself, a fake Antichrist, a hell hound, the four bikers of the apocalypse, a modern day witch and a mental old witch-hunter) and the plot jumps around all over the place. However, the warm and witty storytelling style ensured that I didn’t get fed up even when I was totally confused as to what was going on.

One thing about Good Omens that I really loved is how very silly and shambolic and British it all is. Of all the places in all the world, the apocalypse centres around a quaint village in the English countryside, which gives plenty of scope for bizarre rural happenings and eccentric characters. I particularly enjoyed the Them – a gang of young kids which is inadvertently headed up the 11-year-old Antichrist – as they roamed about the countryside philosophising about the world and getting up to no good.

All in all, Good Omens is a truly charming and very funny fantasy tale that will show you there isn’t that much difference between Good and Evil after all.