Good Omens

I just finished Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett over the weekend. It's actually the 2nd time I've read it. The first time was many years ago, when I started reading Terry Pratchett and wanted to get my hands on anything Pratchett related.

I didn't have that good an impression of Good Omens back then. There are so many plotlines and with the sheer amount of things going on at the same time, I found it rather confusing.

It's good to revisit the book again though. This time, I'm amazed at what a gem of a read Good Omens is.

The book is essentially about the end of the world. The antichrist, then a baby, was supposed to be swapped with the baby of an American diplomat. Instead a bumbling Satanic nun working in the hospital mistook the wrong person, and Adam (the baby antichrist) grew up with a very normal English family in a small village. The angel Aziraphale and the demon Crowley, who are based on earth to do their jobs for Heaven and Hell respectively, have taken a liking to the human race and work together to try and stop the apocalypse. At the same time, Anathema Device(a descendant of a 17th century witch who wrote a book of accurate prophecies) teams up with Newton Pulsifer (a newbie witchfinder) to track down the antichrist as well. Meanwhile, the four horsemen of the Apocalypse meet up and ride motorcycles to usher in the end of the world.

Sounds messy doesn't it?

It is, but it's good messy fun. Have you ever channel surfed on a lazy Sunday afternoon, and stumbled upon a movie that you've never heard before, but find so riveting that you're glued to it till the end? Good Omens is like that.

The multiple plot-lines will probably make you flip back a few pages more than a few times, but it's well worth it. The characters are very likable and the witty jibes at religion and human nature are not only insightful, but more importantly....funny as heck. It makes me wish that the apocalypse will come around again soon.

Ninja score: 8 out of 10 bookmark shurikens