Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
Good Omens (1990)
Author: Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
Genre: Fantasy (Humor)
Plot Summary:
Agnes Nutter, a witch burned at the stake in 1655, holds the twin distinctions of being the lowest-selling and most accurate authoress of prophecy in history. Her book of prophecies, passed down through her descendants, contains information ranging in importance from "Don't buy Betamax" to an account of the place and time of Armageddon itself. The place: Tadfield, a small village in rural England. The time: about a week from now. The bringer of the Apocalypse, the 11-year-old Antichrist (Adam Young to his friends) is surprisingly unaware of his role in the events to come, given the fact that, due to a mix-up at the hospital, we was not switched at birth with the son of an ambassador and raised under the care of dedicated Satanists, but accidentally given to the Youngs, a perfectly normal couple, and raised perfectly normally. Meanwhile, the angel Aziraphale and the demon Crowley are under pressure from their superiors to bring about the End of Days as swiftly and smoothly as possible. Trouble is, having grown accustomed to life on Earth over the millennia, they don't particularly want to. The growing chaos brings the pair, along with other angelic and demonic elements, witches and witchfinders, hellhounds, soldiers, three young pals of the Antichrist, middle-aged fortune tellers, underground Tibetans, and the Four Bikers of the Apocalypse (plus four) together for a dramatic climax that will decide the fate of the world. SPOILER: Adam realizes his true power as supernatural forces converge on Tadfield, and struggles with the temptation to use it. Ultimately, he defies both Heaven and Hell by refusing to begin Armageddon. Aziraphale and Crowley realize that by accidentally allowing the Antichrist to grow up without otherworldly influences, he has become the champion not of Satan or God, but of Humanity. With a wave of his hand, Adam returns the world to normal, with some very minor improvements. Life continues for all involved, just as Agnes Nutter predicted in her second volume of prophecy, which is discovered in the final chapter and almost immediately burned.
Geographical Setting: Tadfield and London
Time Period: Contemporary (1990)
Appeal Characteristics:
Each a hugely successful fantasy author in their own right, this team-up of Gaiman and Pratchett holds a very wide appeal for fans of the genre. Although the subject matter deals with the end of the world, the dry humor and fast-paced action (the events of the main storyline play out over a period of just four days) keep the tone from getting too dark. Surprisingly, characterization does not suffer too much despite the large cast and fast pace. The characters are given enough hilarious personality quirks to keep them distinct in the reader's mind, and the third-person narration gives the audience brief but helpful glimpses into their deeper motivations. This is doubly useful because the focus of the narrative frequently shifts from one character or location to another. Despite the heavy subject matter, the themes and conclusion of the book suggest a belief in the fundamental ability of humanity to decide its own destiny apart from supernatural interference, whether for good or ill.
Read-alikes: For another classic British humor fantasy try Douglas Adam's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Arthur Dent is plucked from his life in England just before Earth is destroyed to make room for an intergalactic freeway. With an assortment of traveling companions he goes in search for the meaning of life. Like in Good Omens, the characters are well rounded with humorous quirks. Readers will enjoy the similar writing style where humor is mixed with a fantastic adventure. Another good fantasy choice is Another Fine Myth by Robert Asprin. Skeeve, a magician's apprentice, and a demon dimension traveler, team up to defend their planet, Clod, from an evil takeover attempt. The sharp and humorous dialoge makes the writing style similar to Good Omens. Also, the odd pairing of the characters of Skeeve and the Demon are good paralells for the good versus evil pairing of Crowley and Aziraphale. For readers who enjoyed the English setting mixed with fantasy try The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde. Here Detective Inspector Jack Spratt and his assistant Mary Mary investigate a murder in England in this amusing mystery that features familiar characters from nursery stories. The humorous interplay between humans and nursery characters is similar to the interactions between the angels and humans in Good Omens. For those who enjoy talking animal characters such as the hell hound, try Fool on the Hill where the campus of Cornell University is the setting for this fantasy. S. T. George, a young writer, fights a dragon with the help of faries and talking cats and dogs in a humorous epic struggle between good and evil. For readers who enjoyed Pratchett's humorous writing style try one of his Discworld novels. In Wyrd Sisters three witch sisters find a royal infant on their doorstep and now must find a place to hide it from the evil king. Royal ghosts and a traveling theater troupe make for great well developed secondary characters similar to the witchfinders and Anathema in Good Omens. Enchanted, Inc. by Shanna Swedson is another humorous fantasy that Pratchett fans might enjoy. Katie moves to New York to build a new life but she gets more than she is expecting with her new job at Magic, Spells and Illusions, Inc., where she finds her value is her immunity to magic. The light tone is a nice match to Good Omens as is the quick pace as Katie is introduced to New York and magic. Individually, the two authors of Good Omens have produced a wealth of material. Pratchett's long-running Discworld series, currently numbering around 35 books, is a treasury of British wit and colorful characterization, using the conventions of fantasy literature to satirize many modern issues. The series consists of several "arcs", and can be entered at multiple points. Guards! Guards! (1989), first book in the City Watch arc is recommended by many fans as an ideal starting point. Gaiman's solo efforts are generally darker and contain stronger elements of suspense and danger. American Gods (2001) also deals with the impending conflict between supernatural forces, in this case the "Old Gods" of the Norse, Egyptian, and other ancient pantheons, versus the "New Gods" of technology and modern philosophy. Parke Godwin takes a more Sci-Fi approach to humorous spiritual conflict with Waiting for the Galactic Bus (1988), which finds the two aliens responsible for Earth's civilization racing to prevent the birth of the child who will destroy it. Readers interested in a more serious look at the role supernatural forces could play in the end of the world may enjoy The Stand (1978) by Stephen King, which tells of a plague that kills 99 percent of America and the growing conflict between two groups of survivors, one led by kindly, mysterious Mother Abigail, the other by the charismatic but cruel Randall Flagg.
Red Flags: Mild profanity, Christian theology played for laughs, Deaths of innocents
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