Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

Whispers of the Story 

Aziraphale, the angel, and Crowley, the demon, have been hanging around on Earth since, well, forever. They’ve been doing their respective jobs for Heaven and Hell. Over the eons, they’ve grown quite fond of the human way of life and have sort of become friends.

When the baby Antichrist is delivered the beginning of the world is set in motion. Aziraphale and Crowley decide to intervene under the radar and stop Armageddon, so they don’t lose their precious humans and their friendship. Through a series of misfortunate events (or maybe divine intervention) the Antichrist is raised by the wrong family — and grows up into a kind, curious boy instead of a destroyer of worlds. 

As Armageddon approaches new characters appear in the picture such as a witch, a witch hunter and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse – Death, War, Famine, and Pestilence (rebranded as Pollution). Angels and demons gear up for war. Heaven and Hell are ready. Aziraphale and Crowley break every rule. But then the boy makes his own decision — and maybe, just maybe, the world doesn’t have to end after all.

God’s ineffable plan? Free will? Or just one big cosmic accident?

Review of the Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of  Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchet 

I loved this book from the first page till the last. It is fun, engaging, full of suspense, and the characters are extraordinary. The main plot is the coming of the Antichrist and the Armageddon, brought in a modern view with a funny twist. The whole book seems to me to be based on “What if…” moments.  Crowley has to take the child Antichrist and swipe him with a human one, but what if the child ends up with the wrong family? What if the child grows up being good and kind? What if he refuses to bring Armageddon? What if the Great Plan is not infallible? What if the battle between the army of angels and the army of demons does not happen?

It is a marvellous read with a lot of suspense, witty dialogues, and tons of small lessons to learn. The story unfolds with each page creating more suspense to see if the end of the world will happen in a small village in England. The central part of the story is the upbringing of Adam, and what he learns from people around him that in the end shapes him to be a good person. But in parallel, we see glimpses of the interaction between Aziraphale and Crowley over the humanity timeline and how they become close friends and rely on each other. There are also other side stories about the characters in the book, some information about their background to justify their behaviour in the last few days before Armageddon and what happens to them after everything goes back to normal.

A hidden theme in the story is friendship. Aziraphale and Crowley have a beautiful friendship forged in millennials despite them trying to not get along because of standards imposed by their superiors. They are not only watching over humanity but also tasting its pleasures such as fine art, food and drinks, books, a house, etc. They also end up caring too much for the people that’s why they decided to stop the End of Time. Adam Young learns a lot from his friends. Though he acts like the leader and sometimes forces his friends to do his bidding, like any young boy who wants to have control over the game, he learns that he is hurting them and that friendship is more important than anything else. With their help, he learns many valuable lessons, such as respect, kindness, acceptance, and the importance of forgiving. From his friendship with Anathema, Adam learns about the wrongdoing of humans over nature and the need to protect this world.

Another important aspect is how the evil is perceived in this novel. Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett wonderfully present the idea that absolute evil does not exist. While Aziraphale is the definition of supreme good, Crowley is a demon who is supposed to do vile acts, but he doesn’t hurt anyone directly, on the contrary, he makes sure everyone is alright. Crowley reports back to Hell some heinous acts he did that only provoked chaos, but nobody was hurt intentionally, or he takes credit for vile acts provoked by humans. He even suggested that humans do such horrible deeds that his intervention is not even needed. In the years spent with his friend, he also becomes more inclined to do good deeds. Adam Young is another example. Though he is the son of Satan, he is brought up in a good, loving family and friends who teach him the values of life and most importantly, to be good. He even transforms the Great Hound from Hell into just a normal dog. Nurture over nature!

In conclusion, it is a very interesting read. It will make you devour the novel as soon as possible laughing all the way. It is full of suspense and thrilling, plus it gives an interesting new perspective on important aspects of life. The relationship between Aziraphale and Crowley is incredible, I personally could read about their interaction all day long, it is therapeutic in some way. There is also a TV show, Good Omens which follows in the first season the events of the novel accurately. The second season is also available so you can see more of the interaction between Aziraphale and Crowley and how angels and demons are not infallible.

Happy reading!