Originally written: 25/09/19. Contains spoilers.
The first thing I’ll say is that I loved the way humanity was presented here. Often in works of fiction featuring a race “higher” than humans, the writers can’t resist wanking themselves off to the idea that really, people are all idiots and terrible (except for them, of course). It got boring fast, and it’s a trope I neither understand nor like.
That’s something I found so refreshing in Good Omens. I think Pratchett and Gaiman’s way of portraying humans was great; some of them do bad stuff and some of them do good stuff, but the same can be said of Heaven and Hell, despite them being higher powers.
The final lines, about stealing any apple being worth the trouble it causes, made me grin madly, as did the joke about solemnly somersaulting cows. The classic Pratchett humour is seeped into every chapter of this book, though I have heard that Gaiman really got the style down too.
I loved the Four Bikers of the Apocalypse. They might have been my favourite characters, and their sections of the story the best. Crowley and Aziraphale were the best as well, of course, and Agnes Nutter’s Nice and Accurate Prophecies were incredible. The Them is the best name for a gang, possibly ever, though of all of the POVs in the book I found their sections tended to drag on a bit. It was accurate “kid” dialogue but I thought that just how much they went on at times was a slight detriment to the rest of the book.
I am familiar with both authors, of course, but I have never really read either of them before. Pratchett’s Dodger I have read, but try as I have, I was never really drawn into the rest of his Discworld stuff, despite my being a fan of his generally. Good Omens had me from the first. Maybe I shall have to try reading the Discworld books again one day.
From the advertising and hype of the show, I had expected the book to centre around Crowley and Aziraphale but a surprisingly small portion of the book is hold from their perspectives, actually. Not a bad thing. Though I adored them, the book wouldn’t have felt as complete without the full array of POVs.
So yes. Good book. Would Armageddon again.
The Tea Room 