Book – Good Omens

Book – Good Omens : the Nice & accurate prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch

Author: Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett 

Score: 9/10 

Year: 2006 (this edition) ;  (1990 first edition) 

Publisher: Harper Collins 

ISBN 978-0-06--085398-3

Pages : 412* 

Language: English

This fantasy novel, written by 2 friends who wanted to make one another laugh and hadn't anticipated such a success, is indeed very funny and delightfully blasphemous. In this story, set in modern day, the end of the world must occur... next Saturday, just before dinner! 


The chapters follow the days leading to this Armageddon, as foretold in the Nice & accurate prophecies of Agnes Nutter, written in 1655. The armies of Good and Evil are gathering for the ultimate doom. The Antichrist is somewhere on Earth, and should be about 11 years old. Who and where he resides is a matter of conjecture - you see, 11 years ago, when he was a baby, freshly born in hospital, someone was supposed to swap him with another baby, and now, Aziraphael (a book collector who happens to be an Angel), and Crowly (a fast-living demon) both search for the misplaced Antichrist... 

By presenting God, Angels, Demons, and other Divine cohorts, and the Apocalypse as part of the Great Plan as real but mere technicalities and bureaucratic uncertainties, this novel makes a light joke of religion and is highly, delightfully blasphemous. 

I giggled quite often, sometimes I even laughed out, as the narrative is very funny. Situations and dialogues are regularly hilarious, and I loved the characterization, especially the two main characters, Aziraphale and Crowly. I also liked the four horsepersons of Armageddon and the teen gang called The Them. The cultural and geek references used in the latter's philosophical debates, observing the world around them quite interesting and entertaining. 

The flow of the text is quite nice, and one cannot tell which of the authors wrote which part, as they blend really well. 

The chapters are uneven in length, becoming longer and longer, especially the day before the End of the World, and the end is quite unexpected, with even more humour and blasphemy. I enjoyed this book quite a lot, and since there were only a few passages which I disliked, I give it a 9/10 score. 

The un-numbered page 7 full title and subtitle is : 
Good omens: A narrative of certain events occurring in the last eleven years of human history; in strict accordance as shall be shown with : the Nice & accurate prophecies of Agnes Nutter, compiled and edited, with footnotes of an educational nature and precepts for the wise, by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett ; and then, in pages 7-9, it details the character list, including supernatural beings (12 of them), humans (14) and Dog. 

As you can see, there are quite a few characters, but we follow mostly Aziraphale, Crowly, The Theme, Dog, Anathema Device, Newt Pulsifer, and Agnes Nutter's prophecies. 

A series adapting this is announced for 2019 ; Gaiman shall be one of its producers, but, since Pratchett passed away,  there sadly won't be a book sequel to this novel, which had been discussed just a few years ago. 

Prepare yourselves for an unexpected, blasphemous account of the last days of the world as you know it... 

* The novel ends at page 398, followed by a short presentation of the writing process, and each of the authors discussing how they met one another back in 1985. 

Good Omens is my 18th finished book in 2018. I remind you I had a goal to read 20 this entire year, as part of Goodreads reading challenge.