Sunday, July 4, 2010

100. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

When I set up the different categories of books to read for the project, I decided to give Colin one pick. He could choose any book and I would have to read it. It didn't take him long at all to choose this one, so I've known for almost a year that I would eventually be reading Good Omens. I haven't read any of Neil Gaiman's work before, but I have seen two movie adaptations -- Stardust (yay!) and Coraline (nay!). So it seemed to me there was a 50-50 chance that I would like this book.

We hear the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. Just before dinner. Unfortunately, Sister Mary Loquacious of the Chattering Order has just misplaced the Antichrist. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse ride motorcycles. And the representatives from Heaven and Hell have decided they actually like the human race...

Plot summary taken from the paperback back cover.

After I finished The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Colin said he felt a little bad that I'd be reading both that and Good Omens in the same week because they were somewhat similar. As you can see from the quote on the front cover, "A direct descendant of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." -- New York Times, he wasn't the only one to think so. I happened to like Good Omens more. I found it to be a little more accessible and I thought it was slightly more witty. The religious aspect made it more entertaining for me somehow, and I was pleased with what I found to be the overall message. My favorite characters were Crowley and Aziraphale, I would totally watch a buddy cop show starring the two of them. I thought the book could have been trimmed down about 50 pages but that's hardly a major complaint. Overall, a great recommendation from Colin. I may have to take a closer look at his bookshelf.

2 comments:

Ryan said...

Interesting. I can't wait to read this.

Congratulations on hitting 100!

Adriana said...

Maggie, I have been wondering if you made your goal of 100 books this month, so when I checked my google reader, I was happy to see that I had 24 new posts of your to read. I haven't gotten through all of them, but I'm looking forward to reading them. I want you to know that you're an inspiration to me to try and review every book I read, even if only a little bit. It is hard work and time consuming! I am so impressed you made it. Congratulations. :)