The Illustrated Good Omens (Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman)

The Illustrated Good Omens
Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, illustrations by Paul Kidby
Gollancz
Fiction, Fantasy/Humor/Media Tie-In
****+ (Good/Great)

DESCRIPTION: For several thousand years, the world has been ticking along according to God's ineffable plan... but all things must end eventually. The Antichrist has been delivered to an unsuspecting human couple in England, and in eleven years the Apocalypse will arrive, the Four Horsemen will ride, and the forces of Good and Evil will finally hash it out once and for all, all as foretold by innumerable prophets, madmen, and witches. There isn't a demon in Hell or an angel in Heaven who hasn't been waiting for this day since the beginning - but one angel and one demon on Earth aren't so eager for the end.
After thousands of years, the angel Aziraphale and demon Crowley have grown rather fond of the mortal world, if not always of the mortals themselves, and see no reason why it all has to go in the rubbish bin on a cosmic whim. They scheme to exert a little otherworldly influence over the Antichrist's childhood, so maybe the boy will think twice before unleashing total destruction. But the best laid plans of angels and demons inevitably go astray...
This edition of the bestselling novel includes illustrations by Paul Kidby.

REVIEW: I saw the miniseries before I got around to reading the book, and was surprised how faithfully it had been adapted (if with some tweaks), no doubt due to Gaiman overseeing the adaptation. I was also pleasantly surprised that the story lived up to its somewhat larger-than-life reputation. Tackling modern society, Heaven, Hell, and religion in general, not to mention numerous other side-barbs at a broad range of topics, the authors weave a fairly fast-paced story that delivers plenty to laugh with and think about, with some great characters that generally have multiple dimensions. Even the Antichrist isn't all bad, and the relationship between Aziraphale and Crowley forms a nice heart to the tale while demonstrating that both sides in the eternal fight are more alike than they care to admit. The page-sized illustrations, while well done, are unfortunately a weak spot; they appear at random, interrupting the flow of the narrative, and the artist seems to have split the difference between basing likenesses on the book and basing likenesses on the Amazon Prime series casting; the end result evokes David "Crowley" Tennant and Michael "Aziraphale" Sheen for some images, then rolls back to Pratchett's descriptions for other characters that were changed significantly for film. (More diversity was added, for one thing - which, to be honest, was a bit of an improvement, and the actor choices were great.) I understand why, of course, as tying the book to the miniseries no doubt boosts sales of this edition, but for some reason I found it slightly jarring. There were also a few times where the tale wavered on the line between humorous aside and rambling tangent, though it generally stayed on the former side. (Additionally, the Old English font that was used for some of the asides and prophecies was a little difficult to read.) On the whole, however, Good Omens is an enjoyable modern-day classic of fantasy and humor.

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