Waiting for the TV Show! Good Omens book review

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I've been wanting to read this book for years, and I never seemed to be able to decide to walk in Waterstones and buy it. When I finally did it, I found out that there is a TV show coming out very soon, and so I told myself, “this is the time, you MUST read the book before the show comes to the screens”! Knowing my self, I will run and watch the show without waiting a minute, but I also don't want to watch it without having read the book inspiring it first... and so, here I am, ready to talk about this little gem that I just finished to read.

Good Omens is a book written by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman – and this duo alone is a confirmation that the book is good. Very good.

The plot is simple: the everlasting conflict between Good and Evil is close to its climax, AKA the Apocalypse. Leader of this imminent event is the son of Satan himself, who has been sent in disguise on Earth eleven years ago. Aziraphale and Crowley are respectively and Angel and a Demon, they have been known each other since the beginning of time, and they kind of are good friends, despite well, their origin, so to say. Their duty is to bring the above mentioned child on Earth and keep an eye on him for 11 years, making sure he becomes not too good, not too evil, so that when Apocalypse time finally approaches he will be free to chose along with which side stand (and basically determine the end of the world).

There only is one little issue... the nuns in charge of bringing the infant on Earth did a little mess, and swap him with another one... so the child Aziraphale and Crowley have been watching all this time is the wrong one, and they have no idea of where the right one is. If only they could put their hands on the Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, that would be great, because they are the most accurate prophecies ever written... but of course they have no idea of where the book is neither.

As the Apocalypse approaches a bunch of super funny characters group together, to stop it or to support it, and you're going to find yourself laughing alone in tears as you keep on reading.

This book is simply so, so funny. All the ideas Pratchett and Gaiman came up with are just so genial, from the London M25 being described as a hellish circle where drivers are trapped; devils having a particular pleasure in listening to the Queen songs and sending them on radio over and over; Aziraphale popping in and out other characters, not to mention the British humour basically being a constant of the whole book and keeping you smile at every turn of page.

The book is brilliant, funny, actual in a way that makes you think (like the Antichrist starting the Apocalypse because he wishes to change the world for good reasons, avoiding whales to be killed, stopping forests to be destroyed, resurfacing lost ancient treasures, or making nuclear stations disappear), and I think it should be in the Must Read list of everybody.

Very curious to watch the show mow! Among the others, Michael Sheen will be Aziraphale and David Tennant will play Crowley, and I find them both absolutely perfect! Didn't go and look who is going to play the four bikers, want to keep it as a surprise... although, having read the book you will never watch at four bikers together as you used to, I promise!

M.