A review by barnswallow8
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Okay, I have a lot to say here.
Firstly, I have been recommended Good Omens many times, so it’s fair to say I had some expectations coming into it.
(Disclaimer: I did watch the TV adaptation of this book before reading (unusual for me), and only came back to read because I was a bit confused. Apologies is this review centers too much on adaptation comparisons, but that is the frame of mind I went into this book with.)

This is a very charming book. Though not a huge fan of religious satire/commentary usually, this book absolutely dedicated itself to that mission while not isolating me with the amount of occult-adjacent material. While I did like the TV series, I was quite confused about what the tone was supposed to be- and this book clears that up quite well. The writing has such a strong voice and not a single sentence feels out of place or unnecessary. I laughed, and was intrigued, and I had a very good time. That’s the thing though, this book is amazing for the worth of small jokes, details, and charming anecdotes but as a full story it falls flat. The details I loved were such as the “Notes for Americans”, giving directions to the airbase scene, and the fact that all the music in the Bentley turns into Queen (My dream, actually).

However, with all the small things aside, I had a hard time finding a love for the story.

I understand the idea of preventing Armageddon, but the lead up is a bit wishy washy, and if you asked me to give you a concise order of events, I’d be hard pressed. Many of the characters just happen to be involved, and the stakes are so big and comedy so present that it doesn’t like a bad idea to just let it happen. (Yes, I understand nuclear world war is bad, but it’s hard to relate to on a personal level.)
It’s just a lot of bizarre things happening to bizarre people.

Not to mention that out of those bizarre people I felt the ratios of limelight were a little off.
The characters are wildly original, but sorry to say Witchfinder Sergeant Shadwell, Madame Tracy, Newton Pulsifer, and Anathema Device cannot hold a candle to Aziraphale and Crowley. Which is a shame because for all the promoting of their friendship in the book description they spend barely any time together on the page. I was starving for some more conversations between those two. It’s a book about Heaven and Hell and moral dilemma, for goodness sake! They drop off a baby, take a drive, make a few calls, read a book, and then head to Tadfeild for the end finale. (Most of these things were done separately, too.) That’s all there is!

As for the others, Anathema’s identity as a descendant is probably the most interesting conflict
but she’s reduced to a vaguely witchy female as soon as Newton comes Tadfeild.
I didn’t find either Witchhunter remotely captivating, despite the fact the filled up most of the pages in this book. I haven’t mentioned the Them yet either, who take up the other majority.
I like Adam. I like the whole group, actually. They actually talk, act, and think like children (a real skill to write that, by the way), but you can only listen to so many baseless conversations about Atlantis. Pepper was the best of them all— she’s a real boss. Brian was a bit flat,
but him being the one to take down Pollution is ironic in a good way.


I have only one more complaint, and it’s the very few but pretty powerful slurs in this book. I was surprised at them, actually, because they came out of totally nowhere and disappeared just as suddenly. I can’t remember off the top of my head exactly how many times this happened, but it was enough to feel icky about it. I have a more details in this spoiler tag for those that want them:
I won’t use the words here, but there was a one-time usage of both homophobic slurs and ableist slurs and one racial slur that popped up a couple times. 
In many of the Them conversations, some pretty serious issues are thrown around (To name a few: Witch-burning, The Spanish Inquisition, stereotypes and assumptions about people of other nationalities and races, etc.) Unlike the slurs, it’s hard to say if this is a turn-off, because they are kids and probably don’t know much better. I’m aware that one of the authors of this book  is problematic as well, and perhaps there’s other small things that I missed.
I PERSONALLY wouldn’t discount the book on these notes (because their frequency is for the most part, minor), but it felt important to recognize them and let others know before heading in: be prepared.

So, that’s all for Good Omens! My advice, read the book first and watch the series second, but if you get bored, watch and read at the same time. A lot of the fun of this story plays out better in words than on film, but Michael Sheen and David Tennant give phenomenal performances in the adaption.
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