Good Omens

    Good Omens is a slightly different book than the two I've reviewed so far, and it is easily one of my favorites.  Good Omens is a collaborative piece written by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.  Pratchett is an author I've read since my childhood, but this was my first time hearing the name of Neil Gaiman.  I've since several novels by Neil Gaiman, and I can say that the influence between the two authors is very well-balanced in Good Omens, and both authors are excellent in their own right.

    Good Omens, full title Good Omens, The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, tells the story of the Antichrist's birth on this world, and the epic struggle between Heaven and Hell to bring him to their side before the Apocalypse.  Technically.  In actuality, Good Omens is a hilarious book which pokes fun at religion and humanity, but all in the spirit of a good time.  The angels and demons, represented in the novel by the Earth-bound demon Crowley and the angel Aziraphale, seem all-too similar, and both have grown to like the world too much to sit back and watch it be destroyed.  There's a witch hunter, Newton Pulsifer, convinced that witches don't exist but glad to be a part of something nonetheless, and a real witch, Anathema Device, who is trying to prevent the Apocalypse as prophesied by her ancestor Agnes Nutter.  The Antichrist is an eleven-year old boy who isn't aware of what he is.

    It's difficult for me to describe all that happens in Good Omens.  Terry Pratchett consistently writes wacky novels that still manage to satirize aspects of modern-day life, best shown by his Discworld series, a world shaped like a disc that travels through space on the back of four elephants, who are themselves on the back of a giant turtle.  Neil Gaiman tells slightly more serious stories.  From what I've read of his, he usually focuses on a magical underworld to our own, one that is far darker and more serious than the ridiculous worlds Terry Pratchett creates.  The two together tell a story that is at once ridiculously silly and thought-provoking.

    The characters are all clearly defined and created, each having some sort of imperfection in their character that makes them seem more realistic.  None of the characters are the typical cast of protagonists you get from the average fantasy story, but they seem all the more fascinating for it.

    Good Omens is hilarious and fun.  It's an excellent book for fans of either author and for sci-fi/fantasy fans in general.  The religious content is portrayed in a way that I think would be acceptable for atheist and theist alike; it's often poked fun of, but not in a malicious sense.  More in a sense of fun, as if a friend is trying to encourage someone to laugh at their own follies.  If you find you enjoy Good Omens, Terry Pratchett's Small Gods has similar themes of religious satire, and Neil Gaiman's American Gods does the same in a more serious setting.