Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (Cover may vary) by Neil Gaiman (Epub)

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Ebook Info

  • Published: 2006
  • Number of pages: 512 pages
  • Format: Epub
  • File Size: 0.36 MB
  • Authors: Neil Gaiman

Description

According to The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (the world’s only completely accurate book of prophecies, written in 1655, before she exploded), the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. Just before dinner.

So the armies of Good and Evil are amassing, Atlantis is rising, frogs are falling, tempers are flaring. Everything appears to be going according to Divine Plan. Except a somewhat fussy angel and a fast-living demon—both of whom have lived amongst Earth’s mortals since The Beginning and have grown rather fond of the lifestyle—are not actually looking forward to the coming Rapture.

User’s Reviews

Review “The Apocalypse has never been funnier.” — Clive Barker“Hilariously naughty.” — Kirkus Reviews“Wacky and irreverent.” — Booklist“Reads like the Book of Revelation, rewritten by Monty Python.” — San Francisco Chronicle“Fiendishly funny.” — New Orleans Times-Picayune“From beginning to end, GOOD OMENS is side-splittingly funny . . . a ripping good time.” — Rave Reviews“If you’ve never read [GOOD OMENS], don’t miss it now. Grade: A.” — Rocky Mountain News“It could be called The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Armargeddon.” — Palm Beach Post“[L]ittle asides, quirky observations, simple puns and parody eventually add up to snorts, chortles and outright laughs.” — San Diego Union-Tribune“What’s so funny about Armageddon? More than you’d think . . . GOOD OMENS has arrived just in time.” — Detroit Free Press“Full-bore contemporary lunacy. A steamroller of silliness that made me giggle out loud.” — San Diego Union-Tribune“A direct descendant of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” — New York Times“An utter delight—fresh, exciting, uproariously funny.” — Poul Anderson“Outrageous . . . read it for a riotous good laugh!” — Orlando Sentinel“I whooped . . . I laughed . . . I was in near hysterics.: — New York Review of Science Fiction“A slapstick Apocalypse, a grinning grimoire, a comic Necronomicon, a hitchhiker’s guide to the netherworld.” — James Morrow, author of Only Begotten Daughter“One Hell of a funny book.” — Gene Wolfe“Hilarious!” — Locus“Huge fun.” — Sunday Express (London)“Irreverently funny and unexpectedly wise . . . Highly recommended.” — Library Journal“Something like what would have happened if Thomas Pynchon, Tom Robbins and Don DeLillo had collaborated.” — Washington Post

Reviews from Amazon users, collected at the time the book is getting published on UniedVRG. It can be related to shiping or paper quality instead of the book content:

⭐ This is the third copy of this book I have purchased. My daughter has one and refuses to relinquish it; I don’t blame her. I still have my original copy, a first edition, but it is fairly worn out and holds a place of reverence on a shelf of my all time favorite books by my all time favorite authors. Pratchett and Gaiman happen to head the roster of said authors. When Amazon Prime announced the soon to be released series based on the book, Good Omens, I knew it was time to read the book again even though I had re-read it for the God (or his/hers main opposite) knows how many time quite recently. Unfortunately I was afraid my time-worn, much loved, original might not survive another session. Thus my recent purchase of this latest copy. It is sturdy, well printed, it arrived on time and, after reading it again, I have lent it to my son with a stern warning that I WILL have it back. It is, and always has been, a great read, and such is the Prime Video of the series. Read the book, watch the series, and repeat as often as you wish to be entertained. I still mourn the loss of Terry Pratchett but Neil Gaiman wrote a masterful screen play that absolutely works. Start with the book, though, and I very highly recommend it.

⭐ “It has been said that civilization is twenty-four hours and two meals away from barbarism.”This was quirky and a little on the odd side but totally fun. Heaven and Hell have basically been in a cold war for well forever it seems. Ever since Lucifer “An Angel who did not so much Fall as Saunter Vaguely Downwards.” became the bad guy the final show down has been in the works. But now, finally Satan’s son has been born and the prophecies all say that when he is Eleven the end of the world will finally come about.The humor in this is really incredibly fun and I loved Aziraphale, the Angel who wasn’t necessarily all good, and Crowley the demon who really wasn’t that bad of a guy. Even more I enjoyed the friendship between them and how they worked both together and against each other. “Hell wasn’t a major reservoir of evil, any more then Heaven, in Crowley’s opinion, was a fountain of goodness; they were just sides in the great cosmic chess game. Where you found the real McCoy, the real grace and the real heart-stopping evil, was right inside the human mind.”This had an extensive cast that included the four horsemen (one was a woman) of the apocalypse, a witch or two, some Satanists (they weren’t really bad people), a gang of kids, a witchhunter and a dog.There are a ton of funny little snippets here and there and I really enjoyed the cut and paste together style that had the reader jumping from group of characters to groups of characters as we go through the countdown to the final days.This is supposed to be a tv series soon and it will be interesting to see how that goes. I think it will be a good time and lets face it at the end of the world you might as well have a good time.Perfect for when you just want a good laugh and some ridiculousness in your life.

⭐ ALL THE FOOTNOTES ARE AT THE END which eliminates half the humor. This is one where only the book will do.

⭐ This is my 3rd Neil Gainman book. American Gods was amazing, Anansi Boys was find, but Good Omens let me down. Here’s the thing: the more witticisms and jokes you try to cram in a book the more likely you are, by the law of probability, that most of them will be duds. You are much more likely to succeed if you keep the jokes to a minimum, but make sure those few are really good. As others said, this book tries way too hard to be funny. Don’t write a book with the declared intention of it being “hilarious” or “the funniest book you’ll ever read”, because you only raise expectations to an unrealistic level. Much better to write it as a very good story, and the funny parts will be the icing on the cake.The only characters I enjoyed were the angel and the demon, who happen to be unlikely buddies, and their interaction is usually entertaining. The 4 bikers of the Apocalypse are also a fresh take on the classic horsemen. Other than that, I really didn’t care much about anyone else, with some of the other characters (the witch hunters in particular) being right down obnoxious. I also couldn’t bring myself to care about the end of the world, and if you can’t make me care even a little bit about the most catastrophic event possible, you know you didn’t do it right. In fact, when I start hoping the end does come and wipes out these obnoxious people, you probably missed the mark by a long shot.I think I’ll take a break from Gainman for a bit, since it seems every book I read is worse than the previous.

⭐ Excellent book! I have a separate copy I keep for lending. I love this book. It’s very well written and very tongue in cheek. Two wonderful authors, and the cover is beautiful.

⭐ This is truly the WORST Pritchett book I have ever read. I don’t really adore the Ridcully/suitcase series, but there are still funny bits. But this book is just AWFUL. Just boring and tedious and the characters are uninteresting, and predictable. My son had to read this for a class—when I saw it was Pritchett, I assured him with great confidence he was going to love it. He hated it. When he finished, I read it, thinking maybe he just didn’t appreciate Pratchett’s dry wit or play on words etc. Except there was none; I hated it, too. I can’t understand all the rave reviews.

⭐ Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett’s “Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch” comically examines the idea of the apocalypse, the conflict between good and evil, and humanity’s place in the universe. Gaiman and Pratchett draw upon a deep well of cultural mythology and wit to craft a narrative that makes you laugh at each page while also examining deeper questions about the world. The only work I could compare it to is “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”, but this wouldn’t be fair as Gaiman, Pratchett, and Douglas Adams each have their own authorial voices and delight readers in their own way.The overall plot focuses on the angel Aziraphale and the demon Crowley, who spent thousands of years getting to know each other and, while they may work to encourage the occasional bit of goodness or malfeasance, have overall decided they like the Earth and the creature comforts it offers. When they learn that it is time for the apocalypse, they decide that they must do what they can to stop nuclear war, war between the hosts of heaven and hell, and the Four Horsemen in order to preserve the world as they like it. Simultaneously, the descendant of Agnes Nutter (the only accurate prophet in history) and a pair of Witchfinders who are all that remain of an order which began in the 1600s find themselves drawn into events they don’t fully understand. In the middle of all this, a young boy plays with his friends.Fans of Pratchett or Gaiman will find plenty to enjoy here and discover the other author, though fans of one are likely fans of the other already. Those who want a book to read late into the night will also find that here. Finally, readers will quickly find themselves recommending this to their friends.

⭐ This is one of the funniest books I have ever read. This has been one of the few books that I have enjoyed enough to buy for someone else as a gift. The story is a bit sacrilegious, so I wouldn’t recommend it to a crazy religious relative, but for anyone who has an interest in the occult, but maybe not a serious investment in it.This book is the story of the apocalypse. A demon, named Crowley (an ex-angel who didn’t so much “fall” as saunter vaguely downwards), who actually really loves being on earth, is contacted to play his part in the birth of the Antichrist and to make sure he finds his appropriate home with a diplomat. (Think of the Omen). Unfortunately, Crowley really loves there being an earth and humans to “tempt” and living his (eternal) life. After accidentally misplacing the Antichrist, Crowley and his angel friend, Aziraphale (who owns a bookstore and equally loves living on earth) are on a mission to find him.This book has an amazing cast of characters, including Adam (the Antichrist), his friends (a collective known as “Them”) and his Hellhound (named Dog). The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are joined by the slightly lesser known “Four Bikers of the Apocalypse.” There are Witchfinders and a prophetess.Also, it’s Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.I read this book before I ever watched Supernatural, but I think any fan of Supernatural would enjoy this book. I like the blurred lines between Angel and Demon, and how Crowley and Aziraphale have such an amazing friendship, despite being on opposite sides of the Divine Plan. I like how they’re on a Race Against The Clock, considering that the Rapture will be happening Next Sunday.One last note… In the Forward, Gaiman and Pratchett write that Good Omens is the most repaired book in the world. When I went on vacation to New York City one summer, we had a mix-up with our rooms. I put our train tickets to get back from NYC in my copy of this book and put it in a cabinet. However, when we got back from sight-seeing, we had to move rooms and I forgot that I left this book in a cabinet. Low and behold, they gave our room to someone else who insisted that they didn’t have my book (and our tickets) in there, and the book wasn’t returned to the lost and found. We had to spend $100 to replace our tickets, but to this day, I still wonder who ended up with my copy of this book.

⭐ I read this book in order to prepare for the 1 season/6 episode TV series coming out this year (2019).While the book is consistently funny (while being a “dark comedy” about the end of the world), it always irks me when an author (or two authors in this case) loosely draw on a Christian theme (the end of the world as described by the book of Revelation) then pick and choose and distort the materials for their own benefit. For example, the ineffable God and His angels were pitted against Satan and his demons as equal but opposites which is not how the Bible describes the heavenly and hellish hosts. Even references were God were gross caricatures. Ah, well. I am not their judge and they will stand before Him after the events in Revelation really happen. This is the only reason that I deducted 1 star from my rating.The characters were all distinct and well developed. Adam Young was the Anti-Christ and the leader of The Them, a motley pack of hooligans only slightly more preferable over Greasy Johnson and the Johnsonites. Aziraphale and Crowley, an angel and a demon, respectively, who’ve been on earth too long and identified far too much with its inhabitants (us). Anathema Device, a witch, and Newton Pulsifer, a witchhunter who team up to stop the end of the world; Anathema is an expert on Agnes Nutter’s “The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch”. That book was not a best-seller. There was something about 100% of the prophesies coming true.The story and the humor were consistent all of the way through the book.

⭐ I’m not usually a fan of comedy (film or book), but the upcoming Amazon television series made me curious enough to give the book a go. I’m so glad I did! Good Omens is an excellent blend of satire and parody, with a touch of absurdity. The antiChrist has been born and the end of the world is now only 11 years away. Demon Crowley quite likes Earth, the food! the music! the entertainment!, and he’s not keen on Armageddon. So, he enlists angel Aziraphale to help avert it. Surely an angel is supposed to oppose any action from the other side?The story has hilarious running gags through it, like the tendency of Crowley’s Bentley to turn any music cassette left in for more than two weeks into The Best of Queen, or the nightmare of the M25 highway around London. Some of the references (cassette tapes?!) are obviously dated but can easily be imagined with their modern counterparts so the story hasn’t lost any of its potency. However, as a (lapsed) Roman Catholic, what I enjoyed most was the satirizing of the religious motifs, Bible references and themes. Four Horsemen? Check. Antichist? Check. The Rapture? Sorry, but you got that bit wrong, haven’t you now.I had a couple minor issues that kept me from devouring the book straight through. I put it down a few times to read other things. First, the story sometimes meandered and jumps POVs a lot. I got bored every time the story returned to the kids. Second, the footnotes. The notes are part of the actual story (not explanations to readers such as in The Three Body Problem). They could be skipped, but many times were funny and truly enhanced the reading. However, they were used too often and became a distraction.Overall, this was a delightful surprise and I am truly looking forward to the show. And, I wouldn’t hesitate to read a sequel, if Gaiman every decides to do so.

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