Today I am recommending Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett. The story (subtitled The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch) follows approximately three main characters: the angel Aziraphale, the demon Crowley, and the Anti-Christ aptly named Adam. Crowley has been tasked with ensuring the Anti-Christ is raised to accomplish what he was born to do. However, Crowley has grown quite fond of Earth and humans and decidedly isn’t 100% behind Armageddon. Neither is Aziraphale, who has also grown quite fond of Earth and humans as well. Crowley and Aziraphale have both been on Earth since its beginning and long ago came to an agreement not to prevent the other from doing their jobs. An agreement that would make them something close to friends. The result is a delightfully humorous book about the end of the world.

This book is technically the first book of fiction I’ve read by Terry Pratchett (I’ve read many of Neil Gaiman’s books). I have yet to read any of his Discworld books and have only read one collection of non-fiction that came out shortly after he passed away, but I’ve always known Terry as a fantasy-comedy writer and he does not disappoint in this collaboration.

I was recently lucky enough to see Neil Gaiman in person where he read an excerpt of this book and talked about how it was written and the agreements he made with Terry regarding the adaptation of the book into film. You can tell that Neil misses him terribly as any good friend would miss another good friend. The book came out in 1990 and has been adapted into a television series scheduled to premiere later this year, so I’m sure you will be seeing more about it in the future.

The characters of Crowley and Aziraphale were incredibly fun and, though fundamentally at opposition, they make the business of influencing humans toward good and evil extremely entertaining. They have fun and you can’t help but have fun too. Yes, there are some absurd moments, but you must have a little absurdity to have a comical Armageddon. After all, they are discussing the ineffable.

Though I am not a religious man, I am curious about the “powers that be” in the bible and the supernatural elements of the stories it contains. If you like to laugh and aren’t put off by two English guys telling a witty, rapturous story that borders on blasphemy, then you will absolutely enjoy this book. I know I did.

Happy Reading.

Update: I’ve watched the television adaptation of this book and it was incredible. Neil Gaiman wrote the script and therefore it stayed extremely close to the source material while making necessary changes for the new medium. Many changes I thought were improvements. With a stellar cast and great production, the show is a joy to watch. It is the right amount of quirky and absurd. It was produced by Amazon and was released on Amazon Prime. It’s a six-part miniseries. I highly recommend it.