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Science Fiction & Fantasy |
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Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
written by Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett
Studio : HarperTorch
by HarperTorch
Release Date : 2006-11-28
Publisher : HarperTorch
Released : 2006-12-01
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9780060853983
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 522 reviews)
List Price : $7.99
Our Price : $4.04
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Product Description |
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According to The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (the world's only completely accurate book of prophecies, written in 1655, before she exploded), the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. Just before dinner. So the armies of Good and Evil are amassing, Atlantis is rising, frogs are falling, tempers are flaring. Everything appears to be going according to Divine Plan. Except a somewhat fussy angel and a fast-living demon—both of whom have lived amongst Earth's mortals since The Beginning and have grown rather fond of the lifestyle—are not actually looking forward to the coming Rapture. And someone seems to have misplaced the Antichrist . . . |
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Americancivilwar.com Review |
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Pratchett (of Discworld fame) and Gaiman (of Sandman fame) may seem an unlikely combination, but the topic (Armageddon) of this fast-paced novel is old hat to both. Pratchett's wackiness collaborates with Gaiman's morbid humor; the result is a humanist delight to be savored and reread again and again. You see, there was a bit of a mixup when the Antichrist was born, due in part to the machinations of Crowley, who did not so much fall as saunter downwards, and in part to the mysterious ways as manifested in the form of a part-time rare book dealer, an angel named Aziraphale. Like top agents everywhere, they've long had more in common with each other than the sides they represent, or the conflict they are nominally engaged in. The only person who knows how it will all end is Agnes Nutter, a witch whose prophecies all come true, if one can only manage to decipher them. The minor characters along the way (Famine makes an appearance as diet crazes, no-calorie food and anorexia epidemics) are as much fun as the story as a whole, which adds up to one of those rare books which is enormous fun to read the first time, and the second time, and the third time... |
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Good Omens |
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Things do have a connection. Amazing work, it makes you think while you are laughing so hard you wonder how it is all possible!!! Absolutely love this book, not for religious fanatics or feint of heart and soul!!! |
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B+ |
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Featuring the combined writing of two of fantasy's most revered authors, Good Omens had a lot to live up to. Luckily, their styles meshed very well together, providing a narrative that was both sarcastically witty and full of heart. Introducing us to two wonderful characters - an angel and a demon, both of whom are drawn up flawlessly - and a dozen other minor characters, Gaiman and Pratchett give us a humorous take on the apocalypse; an original and highly conceptualized feat that is not altogether perfect. Slow in parts, sometimes meandering to a fault, and images that become monotonous after they are used many times over, the novel is, essentially, a giant wink at pop culture and religion in the modern world. Satire is a strong word, and funny too soft. The authors found that lovely middle ground - a gentle, nudging poke. All of the characters are well formed; the characterization is quite developed. Just don't expect big battles or page-turning adventure...the meditations on good vs. evil, and the other themes of religion-based fiction round out the book to a fine conclusion. |
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Armageddon Has Arrived....and it's Hilarious! |
"God does not play dice with the universe; He plays an ineffable game of His own devising, which might be compared, from the perspective of any of the other players [i.e. everybody], to being involved in an obscure and complex variant of poker in a pitch-dark room, with blank cards, for infinite stakes, with a Dealer who won't tell you the rules, and who smiles all the time."
The end of the world is coming.....what are you going to do? For angel Aziraphale and demon Crowley, that is the question. After spending centuries on Earth, they've become friends....sort of. And they actually LIKE it here. They don't want a war between the "sides". So when the Antichrist is born, the two of them take it upon themselves to "watch" him to see if they can stop him from becoming evil. If they work together, maybe they can keep him from choosing between Good and Evil, and postpone Armageddon. Sounds like a good plan, doesn't it??
But due to a mix up at birth, the son of the American Diplomat is not really the Antichrist. He's just a normal 11-year-old boy. The real Antichrist is named Adam, and he lives in Lower Tadfield, England. Raised by normal English parents, he has friends and a dog (the Hell-Hound has become a normal, little dog that likes to terrorize cats). He doesn't even realize the power he possesses. Can this seemingly normal little boy actually become the purveyor of the end of the world??
All of this has been prophecized by Agnes Nutter, a witch in the seventeenth century. She was the only true prophet that ever lived. She even wrote a book, called The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch. Unfortunately, the book didn't sell very well. In fact, it didn't sell at all. Not that it mattered to Agnes; she just wanted the author copy anyway. And that copy is now in the hands of one of her descendants, Anathema Device, a witch of her accord, who is also trying to stop the end of the world.
There are also the four horseman of the Apocalypse, who have assembled to usher in the end of the world. However, they aren't horseman, but bikers. REAL Hell's Angels to be exact. War, Famine, Death and Pollution (Pestilence had to retire after the discovery of Penicillin). Now the race is on to find the real Antichrist, and depending on your side, either save or end the world!
A satirical look at Armageddon, this book is also kind of parody of the movie, The Omen. When Warlock (the boy everyone THINKS is the Antichrist) is young, his Nanny buys him a tricycle. But she can never get him to ride it in the house! The irony and wit in this book astounds me! A. Crowley (ie Crawley) was the serpent in the Garden of Eden; The tempter. Aleister Crowley, in real life, was the famous Satanist or occultist. Which makes this line even funnier:
"Crowley always found [Satanists] embarrassing. You couldn't actually be rude to them, but you couldn't help feeling about them the same way that, say, a Vietnam veteran would feel about someone who wears combat gear to Neighborhood Watch meetings."
What Pratchett and Gaiman have done with this book is take a horrible, scary, evil happening and make it humorous. But in the midst of all the fun, they make some really valid points:
"There had been times, over the past millennium, when Crowley had felt like sending a message back Below saying, Look, we may as well give up right now, we may as well shut down Dis and Pandemonium and everywhere and move up here,there's nothing we can do to them [humans] that they don't do themselves and they do things we've never even thought of, often involving electrodes."
But in the end, they leave it up the wisdom of an 11-year-old kid, who just happens to be the Antichrist. And I guess this says something for the whole nature vs. nurture debate.
"I don't see what's so triffic about creating people as people and then gettin' upset 'cos they act like people," said Adam severely. "Anyway, if you stopped tellin' people it's all sorted out after they're dead, they might try sorting it all out while they're alive."
I realize I'm kind of all over the place with this review. That's because the book is kind of all over the place. It's not the easiest book to review, that's for sure. But I'll tell you this: This is one fantastic book!! If I didn't already have a total crush on Neil Gaiman, I'd fall in love all over after reading this one. Of course, now I'm totally enamoured with Pratchett too. The end of the world doesn't have to be all doom and gloom. It can be positively hilarious!! Gaiman and Pratchett just proved it!! |
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A very pleasurable read... |
So, I had this book sitting on my shelf forever as I had heard so much about it, as well as both authors. I hadn't ever read anything written by either of them previously, so this gathered dust until I had a real craving for something funny. I had seen someone reading this book on a train one time and they kept busting out laughing so I figured it probably fit the bill.
It most certainly did. That was the number one appeal of this book. It simply just made me laugh and it was often very clever in its description of hows and whys of heaven versus hell, good versus evil and the like. Some of the things Gaiman and Pratchett thought of could even easily be categorized as "ingenious." I really loved how a lot of the book was certainly aimed to make the reader laugh, but at the same time it really did you make you think about certain things, as well. It's a very light and fast read but none of the jokes are cheap shots. You can already tell that a lot of the jokes are going to age really well and remain funny for a long time.
Overall, I really liked it. My only problem is with the ending. It all seemed a little too easy, and for some reason that always turns me off a bit. But, actually, now that I think about it a little more it's actually kind of hilarious because of the whole "ineffable" aspect to the way things just worked out in the end. Haha, good one, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. You got me. Five stars for you. |
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HIlarious and irrenverant novel |
These two authors are terrific in this novel. the book is witty, sarcastic and hilarious. ( first class lurkers, for example as they describe some of the characters!)
i have not read any Prachett books yet, but neil gaiman has been on my shelves for years( not literally, of course!)
If you enjoy absurd fiction with snappy dialogue, this is for you! i recommend it to everyone along with Chris Moore's book, "Lamb" and also, any thing by Jasper Fforde.
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