If you look up Good Omens on AO3, you’ll find almost 24,000 works, and yet more are added every day. One might wonder why a book that just turned 30 years old continues to have a massive fanbase and inspire so many fanworks. It’s because Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman remains relevant and very, very close to reality even today, and is evidently one of those classics that have aged well.
The story is about two enemies turned reluctant acquaintances turned something like best friends. Aziraphale is an angel, Crowley is a demon. They have been on Earth and in each other’s orbits since the beginning, and have grown quite fond of the place and the people on it. As their superiors say, they’ve ‘gone native’. So when the Antichrist appears on earth and the distant threat of the apocalypse (the genuine one) becomes very real indeed, they team up to do everything they can to prevent it. The only problem is, somehow the Antichrist has been misplaced and nobody knows where the child is now…
If you haven’t read Good Omens yet or are looking for reasons to revisit it, here are five that might convince you to do so:
1. Everything About It Promises A Good Time!
A lot of us turn to light and funny reads to cope in dark times, and Good Omens is a book that might help. Despite the story being about the literal end of the world, the blend of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman’s writing styles give the narrative a quirky, sarcastic tone, full of dry and dark (and heavily British) humour. There’s a huge cast of mostly likeable characters, including witches, witch-finders, and kids who turn out to be the only sensible and sane people around. The plot will keep you engaged and you’ll keep snort-laughing as you read, so go ahead and give it a try!
2. Crowley and Aziraphale
Readers over the years have suspiciously googled ‘Are Aziraphale and Crowley in love?’ and have met with chaos and confusion in answer. The thing is, canonically it’s never stated (but if you ask me or any reader who has gone through the book obsessively and specialises in reading between the lines, it’s pretty obvious, really). However, what is canon and inarguably the best thing about the book is their lovely friendship, and the adoration they have for each other.
They are both incredible as individual characters: Aziraphale has a pleasant and somewhat awkward presence, but he isn’t exactly the definition of ‘good’; Crowley pretends to be obnoxious, wears sunglasses even in the absence of the sun and overall does his best to look the part of a demon, but deep down inside is a cinnamon roll who cares deeply. They get together frequently and are closer to each other than the sides they work for; as Crowley puts it, Aziraphale is ‘an enemy for six thousand years now, which made him a sort of friend.’ Their personalities play off each other really well, and it’s amazing seeing this unlikely duo scheming and plotting and doing everything in their capacity to stick together and protect the earth they’ve both come to love.
3. Adam Young and His Group of Friends
Adam is the Antichrist charged with heralding the Armageddon, but he’s not aware of it. So he grows up to be nothing like what you’d expect from Satan’s son. Him and his friends’ thoughts on everything ranging from authority and power to the banishment of witches to the hidden existence of Atlantis are both insightful and comical, and they’re some of the best parts of the book!
4. Discusses Quite A Few Difficult Topics
Despite being a comedy and relatively short in length, Good Omens is a deep and contemplative discussion of good and evil, of religion, morality, fate, and free will, and what being human actually means. Crowley is correct in his assessment when he says “Hell wasn’t a major reservoir of evil, any more than Heaven 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.” So is Adam when confronted with his destiny, “I don’t see why it matters what is written. Not when it’s about people. It can always be crossed out.”
5. The Good Omens TV Mini-Series
As readers, we know soul-crushingly disappointing or downright bad screen adaptations to be occupational hazards. We live in constant fear of our favourite books being turned into steaming piles of hot mess. Very rarely comes an adaptation that utterly satisfies our nitpicky reader hearts, and thankfully, Good Omens is one of those. It stays faithful to the book throughout, the only difference is that in the book, Crowley and Aziraphale were parts of the ensemble cast, but in the show they take the center stage. Their love for each other is the driving force behind the plot, their absolute refusal to let each other go is what leads them to stop the Apocalypse.
The casting is spot-on, especially David Tennant and Michael Sheen as Crowley and Aziraphale respectively. Fans have always had great faith in Tennant (he can do no wrong) and he more than delivers, of course, and Sheen is an absolute delight as the fussy Aziraphale. The show also gets rid of quite a few problematic aspects in the original work, so yes, I’d urge you to read the book ASAP so that you can feast your eyes on this gem of a TV series!
To sum it all up, Good Omens is an ineffably fun ride, so hurry up and read it!
