A review by joelogsliterature
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett

5.0

I started this book as part of a book club. I've heard much about the lauded authors, but I've only read two Gaimans and no Pratchetts before this experience. My reading of this book was not entirely pure in that sometime during it I also watched the quite good television adaptation---which expands the book to a second season of new content, apparently in accordance to the late Terry Pratchett's desires. In this way, the visual representation I have for each character at least is altered, but the series follows the book closely and I had some initial impressions beforehand from reading the first quarter or so. All that aside, I loved this! While there were substantial lulls at times, the ever-mocking, stylishly irreverent, and supremely witty styling that establishes itself from the very beginning remains delightful throughout. Occasionally, the temptation to be clever supersedes the duty to describe, but this only occurs during subsidiary scenes anyway and so is not detrimental in any way, albeit sometimes a bit distracting. Overall, this may be a five star book, although probably borderline. If you are looking for some light comedic fiction, there are few better books I could recommend.

The following thoughts may contain spoilers.

Spoiler

Crowley and Aziraphale are addictingly entertaining as well as heartwarming in no small measure: so much so that sections focused on other main characters sometimes drug on. Anathema was quite fun and her dynamic with Newton improved his character somewhat in much the same way as Shadwell would not be the same without Madame Tracy, no matter how much he initially feigns detachment. However, Adam and his gang were lowlights for the most part, as others noted, but of course, they also drive the story forward in essential and interesting ways. Not mentioned by as many other reviews is that I also felt the horsemen lacked some refinement. Mysterious descriptions full of references make their introductions enjoyable, but each lack interesting personality beyond their presence as mythological plot devices, mercenaries of Hell, as they were.

In any case, the plot itself leaves little to be desired. While not venturing into any new territory for sure, Good Omens' premise serves as the perfect vessel for the authors' humor and draws the reader in immediately, particularly with the oft indirect presentation. Speaking of presentation, the footnotes are fantastic! On my Kindle, they functioned as endnotes, making them somewhat clunky, but I believe they are footnotes proper in the print editions, and they contain many wonderful nuggets. That aside, the plot is not the focus. One sees the "we are not so different, after all" setup early on and due to it and the tone of the book, probably expects a resolution something like what occurs, but the journey is delightful in the construction of small scenes like the paintball incident or Shadwell's "successful exorcism" to respect the characters deeply while making the reader smile. The internal logic of the plot is also well-maintained, summarized perhaps best by Murphy's law and the ineffability of which Aziraphale is always so fond of reminding his fellow immortals.