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The book is a ], concerning the birth of the son of ], the coming of the ] and the attempts of the ] ] and the ] ] to avert them, having become accustomed to their comfortable postings in the human world. A subplot features the gathering of the ] — War, Famine, Pollution (Pestilence having retired upon the invention of penicillin), and Death — the last of whom is characterised in a manner reminiscent of the ] in Pratchett's '']'' novels and calls himself ] before his final exit. The book is a ], concerning the birth of the son of ], the coming of the ] and the attempts of the ] ] and the ] ] to avert them, having become accustomed to their comfortable postings in the human world. A subplot features the gathering of the ] — War, Famine, Pollution (Pestilence having retired upon the invention of penicillin), and Death — the last of whom is characterised in a manner reminiscent of the ] in Pratchett's '']'' novels and calls himself ] before his final exit.


As Pratchett and Gaiman were living in different countries at the time, and as the writing of the book predated widespread use of the ], the collaboration took place largely over the telephone, with Pratchett (the more experienced novelist) doing the majority of the actual writing. As Pratchett and Gaiman were living in different countries at the time, and as the writing of the book predated widespread use of the ], the collaboration took place largely over the telephone, with Pratchett doing the majority of the actual writing.


==Quotes== ==Quotes==

Revision as of 14:24, 23 January 2006

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (1990) is a fantasy novel written in collaboration between Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. Due to the different status of the two authors in the United States and the United Kingdom, American editions credit Gaiman before Pratchett, while British editions credit Pratchett before Gaiman.

File:0441008615.jpg
One of the many styles of the book

The book is a comedy, concerning the birth of the son of Satan, the coming of the End Times and the attempts of the angel Aziraphale and the demon Crowley to avert them, having become accustomed to their comfortable postings in the human world. A subplot features the gathering of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse — War, Famine, Pollution (Pestilence having retired upon the invention of penicillin), and Death — the last of whom is characterised in a manner reminiscent of the personification of Death in Pratchett's Discworld novels and calls himself Azrael before his final exit.

As Pratchett and Gaiman were living in different countries at the time, and as the writing of the book predated widespread use of the Internet, the collaboration took place largely over the telephone, with Pratchett doing the majority of the actual writing.

Quotes

  • "Have a nice doomsday."
  • "Kids! Bringing about Armageddon can be dangerous. Do not attempt it in your home."
  • "Shadwell hated all southerners and, by inference, was standing at the North Pole."
  • "'?' he said."
  • "Voodoun is a very interesting religion for the whole family, even those members of it who are dead"
  • "'You're Hells Angels, then? What chapter are you from?' — 'REVELATIONS, CHAPTER SIX.'"
  • "It wasn't a dark and stormy night. It should have been, but there's the weather for you. For every mad scientist who's had a convenient thunderstorm just on the night his Great Work is complete and lying on the slab, there have been dozens who've sat around aimlessly under the peaceful stars while Igor clocks up the overtime."
  • "Many people, meeting Aziraphale for the first time, formed three impressions: that he was English, that he was intelligent, and that he was gayer than a tree full of monkeys on nitrous oxide."
  • Aziraphale was the first angel ever to own a computer. It was a cheap, slow, plasticky one, much touted as ideal for the small businessman. Aziraphale used it religiously for doing his accounts, which were so scrupulously accurate that the tax authorities had inspected him five times in the deep belief that he was getting away with murder somewhere.
  • "Hoor of Babylon!" — Shadwell
  • "Crowley, An Angel who did not so much Fall as Saunter Vaguely Downwards."
  • "Okay, so Hell was down on him. So the world was ending. So the Cold War was over and the Great War was starting for real. So the odds against him were higher than a vanload of hippies on a blotterful of Owsley's Old Original. There was still a chance."
  • "Plutonium may give you grief for thousands of years, but arsenic is forever." - Pollution
  • "25 And the Lord spake unto the Angel that guarded the eastern gate, saying Where is the flaming sword which was given unto thee?"
  • "26 And the Angel said, I had it here only a moment ago, I must have put it down some where, forget my own head next."
  • "27 And the Lord did not ask him again."
  • "Tartan is stylish."
  • "Ngk."

Trivia

The Dutch translation of Good Omens contains an ironic preface by the translator wherein he asserts that no extra footnotes were added to clarify matters that might be unclear to a modern audience — annotated with footnotes explaining omen and Crowley.

Film version

A film is in the works, under the direction of Terry Gilliam. However funding has been slow to appear so Gilliam has moved on to other projects. However Gilliam still hopes to make the film with its already completed script.

The tedious history of this project and similar experiences with projected films of various of Gaiman's other works (including The Sandman series) have led to his cynical view of the Hollywood process, a view which occasionally surfaces in his weblog and in some of his short fiction.

Translations

External links

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