~ Tell us the title: GOOD OMENS
~ Who penned this work?: NEIL GAIMAN & TERRY PRATCHETT
~ How did this piece find it's way to your nightstand?: I DISCOVERED IT HIDING IN THE SHELVES AT BARNES & NOBLE AND REALIZED IT WAS ONE OF NEIL GAIMAN'S BOOKS THAT I DIDN'T ALREADY OWN (VERY RARE)
~ Number of pages: 412
~ Time passed from start to finish?: I READ THIS ONE SLOWLY, SIPPING IT LIKE A NICE WINE. EVEN AT THAT, I'D SAY NO MORE THAN 2 WEEKS
~ Describe the cover: WHITE BACKGROUND WITH RED WRITING, AND A NICE HANDSOME DEMON LOUNGING AROUND.
~ In what section of the bookstore would a reader find this?: SCI-FI, APPARENTLY.
~ Summary of the basic plot: "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. AND SOMEONE SEEMS TO HAVE MISPLACED THE ANTICHRIST..."
~ Background information on the story/author: THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME THESE TWO WROTE A BOOK TOGETHER. TERRY PRATCHETT I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH, BUT HE APPEARS TO BE A MORE HUMOR-INCLINED AUTHOR. I'M CERTAIN HE BROUGHT MANY OF THE LAUGH OUT LOUD MOMENTS TO THE BOOK. COMBINED WITH GAIMAN'S MASTERY OF WORDS, IT WAS AWESOME!
~ What did you think of it? (your general response, what you liked or didn't like, what you learned, anything else you want to share about it): I LOVED IT!! I HAVE YET TO DISLIKE A NEIL GAIMAN BOOK, BUT THIS IS ONE OF THE TOP THREE EASILY (IF YOU CAN COUNT THE INTRODUCTION TO 'FRAGILE THINGS' A BOOK). A PERFECT BALANCE OF HUMOR, WHIMSY, DRAMA, AND THOUGHT-PROVOKING IDEAS.
~ Which page was your favorite? Share why: THIS IS SO HARD! WHEN I READ, IF I FIND A PAGE I LOVE, I EARMARK THE BOTTOM PAGE OF THE BOOK. I CAN HARDLY CLOSE THIS ONE ANYMORE, SINCE NEARLY EVERY PAGE IS FOLDED OVER. I'M GOING TO PICK ONE, AND GO WITH PAGE 56, WHERE CROWLEY IS REMINDING AZIRAPHALE JUST HOW LONG ETERNITY IS IN HEAVEN, (HAVING TO WATCH 'THE SOUND OF MUSIC' FOR ALL OF IT)
~ If the story was made into a movie, who would you cast as the main characters? CROWLEY IS GEORGE CLOONEY. OR MAYBE HUGH LAURIE. AZIRAPHALE IS MATT DAMON? MAYBE (THINKING OF HIM IN THE INFORMANT). ANATHEMA IS BRITTANY MURPHY (SAD, SORRY, BUT SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN GREAT IN THAT ROLE). AND... ADAM I HAVE NO IDEA. NEWT IS SOMEONE LIKE OWEN WILSON PERHAPS.
~ Share a quote that was worth reading twice. Explain why: I'M JUST GOING TO SHARE A FEW I LOVED... AND FOR YOUR SAKE, I'LL GET RID OF THE CAPS (SORRY, IT WAS A BAD IDEA, BUT ONCE I WAS HALFWAY THROUGH THIS REVIEW, I WASN'T GOING TO GO BACK AND CHANGE IT)
"Anathema tried every method of search she could think of. There was the methodical quartering of the ground. There was the slapdash poking at the bracken by the roadside. There was the nonchalant sidling up to it and looking out of the side of her eye. She even tried the one which every romantic nerve in her body insisted should work, which consisted of theatrically giving up, sitting down, and letting her glance fall naturally on a patch of earth which, if she had been in any decent narrative, should have contained the book."
(On Newt Pulsifer's crazy Japanese car, the Wasabi):
"Newt had never actually seen another one on the road, despite his best efforts. For years, and without much conviction, he'd enthused to his friends about its economy and efficiency in the desperate hope that one of them might buy one, because misery loves company.
In vain did he point out its 823cc engine, its three-speed gearbox, its incredible safety devices like the balloons which inflated on dangerous occasions such as when you were doing 45 mph on a straight dry road but were about to crash because a huge safety balloon had just obscured the view. He'd also wax slightly lyrical about the Korean-made radio, which picked up Radio Pyongyang incredibly well, and the simulated electronic voice which warned you about not wearing a seatbelt even when you were; it had been programmed by someone who not only didn't understand English, but didn't understand Japanese either. It was state of the art, he said.
The art in this case was probably pottery."
"As he stared over the top of his map, a door in the saucer slid aside with a satisfying whoosh, revealing a gleaming walkway which extended automatically down to the road. Brilliant blue light shone out, outlining three alien shapes. They walked down the ramp. At least, two of them walked. The one that looked like a pepper pot just skidded down it, and fell over at the bottom."
~ Choose your rating:
- Changed. My. Life.
- I laughed, I cried, I want you to read it
- A definite page-turner
- Good to check out but don't spend the cash.
- Why did I waste my weekend on this?
- A disgrace to paper everywhere
~ Flip to page 2, 22, or 202. Share the 7th sentence on the page."The crowd drew nearer, one or two of its members a little uncertain as to whether they'd done the right thing, now they came to think about it."
