Published: May 1, 1990
Publisher: William Morrow
Series: Standalone
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 491 (Mass Market Paperback)
My Rating: 4.0/5.0
Synopsis:
‘Armageddon only happens once, you know. They don’t let you go around again until you get it right.’
People have been predicting the end of the world almost from its very beginning, so it’s only natural to be sceptical when a new date is set for Judgement Day. But what if, for once, the predictions are right, and the apocalypse really is due to arrive next Saturday, just after tea?
You could spend the time left drowning your sorrows, giving away all your possessions in preparation for the rapture, or laughing it off as (hopefully) just another hoax. Or you could just try to do something about it.
It’s a predicament that Aziraphale, a somewhat fussy angel, and Crowley, a fast-living demon now finds themselves in. They’ve been living amongst Earth’s mortals since The Beginning and, truth be told, have grown rather fond of the lifestyle and, in all honesty, are not actually looking forward to the coming Apocalypse.
And then there’s the small matter that someone appears to have misplaced the Antichrist…
I was struck with the sudden desire to see what this book was all about after years of being a little curious. It was really quite fun! And now I feel like I can finally check out the tv series without ruining all the fun for myself.
I daresay at this point most folks know of this book – I mean, it has been out for decades at this point and I think I remember seeing it in the library when I was pretty young. Good Omens is a big story of “what if”. What if a demon and an angel sort of teamed up to stop the apocalypse because they think Earth is cool and want to keep enjoying good meals and nice cars? What if the Antichrist was raised as a normal lad, who grew up playing in the woods with his friends? What if the four horsemen of the apocalypse were bikers? You get the point.
This was a very fun read that made me laugh aloud on many occasions. Aziraphale and Crowley were a riot, Adam was a good-hearted kid, and the Witchfinders… wow, what an interesting cast of characters. I did feel that towards the latter quarter of the book I started to get a little bored and wanted things to wrap up and events just kept going on and onnnn. Overall, I think it was quite good and lived up to my expectations very nicely. If you’re not a fan of irreverent humor poked in the direction of religion, then perhaps steer clear. When it gets dreary and cold out this winter I might just check out the tv series to fully appreciate David Tennant as Crowley.
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