Good Omens (by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman)

(Amazon UK link)

I first read ‘Good Omens’ by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman back in the mid-1990s. I then read it aloud to my sons, who were teenagers at the time, in 2000, and we all enjoyed it very much. Since then it had sat on our shelves, borrowed several times by various friends, but not something I felt like rereading again.

Then, a few months ago, we watched the excellent adaptation of ‘Good Omens’ with David Tennant as the demon Crowley, and Michael Sheen as the angel Aziraphale. As far as I could recall, it kept very close to the book, although with a twenty-five year gap I couldn’t be certain. So I decided I should read the book again.

Due to the popularity of the series (which aired on BBC 2 as well as Amazon Prime video), the plot is probably well-known. There are several different strands to the story, as was common with Pratchett’s writing, and it’s a bit confusing, at first, working out what’s going on. It starts with a mix-up in a hospital - the baby destined to become the antichrist is given to a random British couple, who call him Adam. Their baby is given to an American diplomat and his wife. This section was followed very closely in the TV series.

We meet Crowley and Aziraphale and get some idea of their off-on friendship/rivalry, but without the different scenes over the millennia that the series was able to do. I’m not sure I ever had much of an idea of what either of them would look like when I first read the book, but although I’m not a visual person, I was definitely imagining David Tennant and Michael Sheen in all their scenes. Both the angel and the demon are unaware that the babies have been switched, and don’t realise their problem until eleven years later, supposedly a week before Armageddon, when a hound dog from hell is supposed to find his master…

Then there’s Anathema Device, an American witch who is descended from another witch called Agnes who wrote a book of extensive prophecies. These prophecies are called ‘nice and accurate’, and - when understood in more up-to-date situations - have all come true. Anathema has followed guidance in these prophecies to move to the UK. She has rented a cottage in the village where Adam and his family live, as that’s where she was guided, though she has no idea that he is supposedly a foul fiend. 

Finally there are four ‘horsemen’ - or, since it’s the 20th century, motorbike riders - who appear now and again. War is an angry woman, who travels around inciting anger and violence, though nobody realises that she is responsible. Famine looks like a sleek businessman, and has built up quite a business in junk and ultra-processed foods that make people obese without nourishing them. He also offers popular diet plans. The third rider, Pollution, has replaced the classic Pestilence, and revels in ordinary dirty and rubbish. And the fourth rider is familiar to Discworld readers. 

Adam, without either demonic or angelic prompting, has grown up to be an ordinary, creative and sometimes badly-behaved boy with a strong leadership ability. He has three close friends, and is the recognised (though unofficial) chief. This is mainly because he has the best ideas and the most persuasive arguments. He’s also kind, with a strong sense of justice. He’s very keen on ecology and saving whales, and other good causes. 

The book takes us slowly through the last week as the end of the world approaches. It’s clear that this is going to be a battle between the angels and the demons, primarily, although neither Aziraphale nor Crowley are keen for it to happen. They’ve both become quite fond of the earth in the millennia where they have been there, living in human form, and neither wants to see a lot of violence.

I knew, of course, that everything would be averted at the last minute; that Adam would surprise all concerned by his plans, if he were to rule the world. Having seen the TV series recently, I recalled quite a bit of the plot and some of the details. But I enjoyed rereading it again, perhaps understanding some of the complex scenes a bit better for having watched the adaptation.  There are some extra scenes in the TV series which were not in the book, and I can see why they were included, but the book is complete in itself.  

There are, as was typical with Terry Pratchett, several subtle (and not-so-subtle) references to literature or history, or similar; I smiled a few times, and almost laughed aloud at an unexpected reference to an old nursery rhyme. I appreciated the odd humorous moment in what was, at times, quite a tense book. 

Of course it's not to be taken seriously - this is essentially science fiction, after all. But there are Biblical references amongst the other literary ones, and the authors evidently had at least some understanding of the book of Revelation. While it might seem, at first glance, to make something of a mockery of it, there are some important and thought-provoking aspects for anyone wanting to look more deeply at the book. 

Definitely recommended. 'Good Omens' has been reprinted several times, and can often be found lurking in second-hand bookshops. 

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