"One Doomsday to go, please?"
Crowley is
in trouble.
With Neil
and Terry at the steering wheel, Good Omens is an interesting collaboration
between two of my favorite writers. There are prophecies, the big guys up and
below – and for some reason, butterflies and UFOs.
And in the
midst of all this, are two frenemies – the angel Aziraphale and the demon Crowley.
Since the dawn of time till the current day, these two have been at the core of
crucial historical events. And now history is coming to a close.
On the other
side, is Agnes Nutter. The witch who knew it all. And how her descendant is
trying to find the antichrist to stop the world ending.
Even as they
all search for the reckoning in the wrong places, the boy himself slowly learns
of the struggle he has inherited but learns to take it in stride through the
help of a few good friends. But not before bringing the forces of Heaven and
Hell and Beyond to the battlefield.
With rich
characters and an interesting premise, this could have been a beautiful
journey. But the meandering nature of the story and a problematic juggling of
the extended cast lead to some difficult tidings – not to mention how crudely the
different plotlines come together for the finale, which were clever in
isolation.
You can see
the clever touches from Pratchett on the follies of character even as Gaiman
makes a wonderful overarching story that is brilliant and clever in plan. But
that’s where the meld ends, and it becomes a struggle to become invested in
anything but the duo at the periphery of this entire event.
One of the
biggest concerns is the Antichrist, who is a complete letdown when you think of
what a child who is supposed to be evil but chooses to be…himself. It’s a good
character trait, but the execution leaves you wanting especially given his
supporting cast is one of the blandest child groupies in literature. When you
think that those prove pivotal to the resolution – makes it very hard to be
invested in it.
So, I give
it 6 out of 10.
+Rich
central characters
+The wit is
wonderful
+Overarching
story excellent
-Poor
melding of various plot points
-Under
developed central conflict
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