Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

Welcome to the paperback trails. On our 7th trailstop, we have a book penned down by two of the most illustrious fiction writers of our times - Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Good Omens is a book which boasts of a very interesting plot, some extremely quirky and memorable characters and what's more is that it's been adapted into a really amazing Amazon Special by the same name (we'll talk about that too soon enough).

So before we begin with Good Omens, let us meet the two giants who co-authored this book. We have already come across Neil Gaiman once on our previous trail-stop when we talked about Norse Mythologies. (check out my thoughts on the same here). As far as Sir Terry Pratchett goes, he is most famous for his iconic Discworld Series. Terry Pratchett was one of the most prolific authors in the genre of fantasy. His books bore a characteristic Pratchett stamp, which included a bevvy of memorable characters and lots of humour. Terry Pratchett also helped Alzheimer's Research and was an active patron of mental health awareness and research. Sir Pratchett too was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and died in 2015. With his death, the world of literature lost one of it's most iconic and lovable fantasy authors. 

To understand Good Omens let us answer our 3 perennial questions of Why What and How. 

Why did I pick this book up? : Not a lot of books can boast of being authored by two giants of English literature Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Having read both of them extensively, Good Omens was a natural choice to pick up over a weekend. Add to this the fact that the book has a very fresh plot and was then slated to be adapted into an Amazon show (which premiered just a couple of days back) made this book a very interesting prospect to read. 

What is this book all about? : The book's rubric says Good Omens - The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter Witch and the prophecy is exactly what forms the premise of the story. Agnes Nutter an ancient witch prophesied Armageddon(the end of the world) and it's here. Good and Evil are supposed to face off one last time before the final curtain is drawn on the world. Amidst this cosmic plan, an angel Aziraphale and a demon Crowley, who have taken an eventual fancy to Earth and its way of life, after having spent millennia on it. The Armageddon throws a sort of spanner in their life and the two team up to prevent doomsday. This unlikely pairing of an angel and a demon turns out to be earth's best chance of survival. The antichrist, who is supposed to be the harbinger of Armageddon is born on earth and then as fate would have it, is misplaced as a baby. The Antichrist (named Adam by his earth parents) grows up as a regular kid with both Crowly and Aziraphale surreptitiously trying to tutor the child so that he might, you know, decide against bringing forth the end of the world (just regular school things I guess). The entire book chronicles the adventures of Crowley and Aziraphale as they manage their respective teams (heaven and hell) and try to avert Armageddon. Apart from these, the book has loads of other characters including a hell hound, 4 horsemen of the apocalypse now having taken earthly roles, an amateur witch, bumbling witch hunters, a Kraken and a courier boy. Does the apocalypse happen, or does this motley crew of misfits avert the tragedy is what I leave upon you to find out. 

How was this book to read? :  The book has been praised ever since it's release in 1990 and upon reading it you find, for good reason too. The creative genius of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett is visible and if you've been an avid reader of them, you will be able to make out which parts were written by whom. The book's characters are memorable and have an air of eccentricity around them. Crowley the demon, is the perfect antithesis of Aziraphale the angel and that is what makes their pairing so interesting. Owing to the biblical themes in the book, a veneer of mystique covers the storytelling and makes it even more fun to read along. A note of caution, don't expect the book to be a laugh a minute caper, it is essentially a fantasy adventure book which is bound to make you smile and keep you engrossed if not make you go LOL at every page. It' unique style of prose is because of it's joint authorship, however, the rhythm of the book is lucid and nowhere does it get jarring. Yes, some parts of the book were a little less pacy as compared to others (I found the witch-hunter's characters to be slightly boring), but overall the book was fun to read. The indubitable wit of both Gaiman and Pratchett is visible all across the book

"Most books on witchcraft will tell you that witches work naked. This is because most books on
witchcraft are written by men"

 "God moves in extremely mysterious, not to say, circuitous ways. God does not play
dice with the universe; He plays an ineffable game of His own devising,[..]
a complex version 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[...] Secondly the Earth is a Libra"

Can this be your first book ?: While I would have not gone with Good Omens as my first book, the fact that there is an Amazon Live Action Adaptation live right now, makes good omens a very good first read. The presence of a well-done live action adaptation gives a good incentive to pick up a book and revel in the entire experience of reading a book and watching your favourite characters come alive on screen. Conversely, if you have already watched the TV show, and are looking to get your reading in order, a book version of the TV series is always a safe bet to begin (like so many did after the success of the Harry Potter and Narnia franchise)

You might not like this book: If you are not someone who is into comic-fantasy as a genre. For a lot of people, fantasy entails a magnum-opus with stories of valour, heroes, wars of epic proportions etc. Well, this book while about Armageddon doesn't really have a lot of LOTR or The Darktower-ish vibes to it. It is a light-hearted book which although has your fair share of demons and angels and monsters, the way they have been incorporated in the book is a little different from your regular fantasy novel. 

With this, we come to the end of our 7th trail-stop. Hope you will pick up the book and have as much fun embarking on an adventure with Aziraphale and Crowley as I did. Until then, keep reading, keep recommending and keep sharing, for more the people on the paperback trails, more the fun.