Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett Review

Fiction

413 pages

According to The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (the world's only completely accurate book of prophecies, written in 1655, before she exploded), the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. Just before dinner.

So the armies of Good and Evil are amassing, Atlantis is rising, frogs are falling, tempers are flaring. Everything appears to be going according to Divine Plan. Except a somewhat fussy angel and a fast-living demon—both of whom have lived amongst Earth's mortals since The Beginning and have grown rather fond of the lifestyle—are not actually looking forward to the coming Rapture.

And someone seems to have misplaced the Antichrist . . .

Completion: B+
Writing/Style: D-
Characters: C-
Plot/Pacing: D-
World-building/Atmosphere: D-
Sub-genres (Romance, Humor, Mystery, etc.): F

Final Grade: D- At Your Own Risk

This book bummed me out so much. I wanted to like it so much, but instead it was a chore to read. Between the ridiculous quirkiness and constantly changing point of view, there was no tension in the plot or emotional investment in the characters. Even though things do happen in the book, the pace just feels like it always meanders on detours to try to be funny or quirky. Some of the characters had potential, but they never become anything more than quirky, shallow stereotypes. Since there was such a drive for everyone and everything to be quirky, no one seemed to react naturally or believably which really reduced the possible tension to next to nothing. It just felt as if this book was built on some great philosophical ideas that never grew into an organic story and was trying to mask it with humor that’s just not my cup of tea. In fact, this book was written as if it was the funniest thing in the world, and every line was a big joke. Instead, I just felt left out of the joke. I laughed only once and it took to page 83 (the hellhound naming scene, for those who have read the book) for even that. I had always heard that Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett were gods of writing, but I was very disappointed in this book. Sad to say, but I wouldn't have even finished it if I didn’t have this book blog to think about. However, I think what disappoints me the most is the glimmers of a good book (or at least some good lines and ideas) that popped up every now and again. One line toward the end brings up the idea that the conflict of the world is less like chess and more like God playing Solitaire which I thought was brilliant. And the ending held some strong lines and imagery that created a surge of nostalgia which was equally surprising as it was refreshing since most of the book left me dead and dull. This is the second book of Gaiman's I've read so I'm starting to come to the conclusion his books just might not be for me. Le sigh...on to the next book.