Search advanced search
 
Books
Search:
x dismiss this message

Did you know you can edit this page?

Good Omens
  • Rated 0 stars
Read Good Omens

Good Omens (1990) (edit title/settings)

The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch

by Terry Pratchett (Author), Neil Gaiman (Author) (edit contributors)

Share this book on:
see page history

Description edit see section history

There is a distinct hint of Armageddon in the air. According to The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (recorded, thankfully, in 1655, before she blew up her entire village and all its inhabitants, who had gathered to watch her burn), the world will end on a Saturday. Next... read more

Summary edit see section history

Good Omens is the story of an angel and a demon who are both trying to do their jobs that are part of the Great Plan. Although Aziraphale and Crowley are adversaries by nature and profession, their relationship develops into a friendship merely because of the time spent together over thousands... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

Good Omens is the story of an angel and a demon who are both trying to do their jobs that are part of the Great Plan. Although Aziraphale and Crowley are adversaries by nature and profession, their relationship develops into a friendship merely because of the time spent together over thousands of years. In this unlikely pairing, compromises are made between the two of them so that they can both appear to be accomplishing their missions without overcoming the other too much. When the birth of the Antichrist occurs, they agree to work together and try to see if their influences on the child have any effect. By the time they locate the correct child, it is almost too late as Armageddon is about to begin. Events unfold and the world is saved.

Characters edit see section history

Show all 78 characters
Popular Covers

Loading covers…

Choose your book’s cover

Quotes edit see section history

  • “(...) the whole point was that the Devil hardly ever made anyone do anything. He didn't have to. That was what some humans found hard to understand. <Hell and Heaven> were just sides in the great cosmic chess game. Where you found the real grace, and the real heart-stopping evil, was right inside the human mind.”
  • “God does not play dice with the universe: He plays an ineffable game of His own devising, which might be compared, from the perspective of any of the other players <i.e. everybody>, to being involved in an obscure and complex variant of poker in a pitch-dark room, with blank cards, for infinite stakes, with a Dealer who won't tell you the rules, and who smiles all the time.”
  • “It may help to understand human affairs to be clear that most of the great triumphs and tragedies of history are caused, not by people being fundamentally good or fundamentally bad, but by people being fundamentally people.”
  • “The book was commonly known as the Buggre Alle This Bible. The lengthy compositor's error, if such it may be called, occurs in the book of Ezekiel, chapter 48, verse five:2. And bye the border of Dan, fromme the east side to the west side, a portion for Afher.3. And bye the border of Afhter, fromme the east side even untoe the west side, a portion for Naphtali.4. And bye the border of Naphtali, from the east side untoe the west side, a portion for Manaffeh.5. Buggre all this for a Larke. I amme sick to mye Hart of typefettinge. Master Biltonn if no Gentelmann, and Master Scagges noe more than a tighte fisted Southwarke Knobbefticke. I telle you, onne a daye laike thif Ennywone half an oz. of Sense should bee oute in the Sunneshain, ane nott Stucke here alle the liuelong daie inn thif mowldey olde By-Our-Lady Workefhoppe. @*"Æ@;!*6. And bye the border of Ephraim, from the east fide even untoe the west fide, a portion for Reuben.”
  • “Sometimes human beings are very much like bees. Bees are fiercely protective of their hive, provided you are outside it. Once you're in, the workers sort of assume that it must have been cleared by management and take no notice; various freeloading insects have evolved a mellifluous existence because of this very fact. Humans act the same way.”
  • “That's how it goes, you think you're on top of the world, and suddenly they spring Armageddon on you.”
  • “It would take a lot to faze a copper from the Met. It would take, for example, a huge, battered car that was nothing more nor less a fireball, a blazing, roaring, twisted metal lemon from Hell, driven by a grinning lunatic in sunglasses, sitting amid the flames, trailing thick black smoke, coming straight at them through the lashing rain and the wind at eighty miles per hour. That would do it every time.”
  • “"Yes, Mom, I am normatively in England, Mom, protecting democratism, Mom, sir," said Sgt. Thomas A. Deisenburger. "That's nice, hon," said his mother. <...> "Mom, if any throughput eventuates premising to interface with Sgt. Thomas A. Deisenburger telephonically, Mom, sir, this individual will be-" "Sorry, Tommy?" Tom Deisenburger hung his gun on the wall, above his father's battered old rifle. "I said, if anyone calls, Mom, I'll be down in the Big Field with Pop and Chester and Ted."”
    Sgt. Thomas A. Deisenburger
  • “<...> if the shores of the seas of night had deckchairs, they'd open up something like that.”
  • “It has been said that civilization is twenty-four hours and two meals away from barbarism.”
  • “"Your fate will be whispered by mothers in dark places to frighten their young"”
  • “DON'T THINK OF IT AS DYING, JUST THINK OF IT AS LEAVING EARLY TO AVOID THE RUSH”
    Death
  • “You do know you could find yourself charged with being a dominant species while under the influence of impulse-driven consumerism, don't you?”
    alien
  • “For Go-, for Sa-, for somebody's sake!”
    Crowley
  • “It'd be a funny old world, he reflected, if demons went round trusting one another.”
  • “Kids! Bringing about Armageddon can be dangerous. Do not attempt it in your home.”
  • “Hell is empty, and all the devils are here.”
  • “The lower you start, the more opportunities you have.”
    Aziraphale
  • “Evil never sleeps, and virtue is ever-vigilant.”
    Aziraphale
Show all 19 quotes from this book

Setting & Locations edit see section history

Organizations edit see section history

First Sentence edit see section history

Current theories on the creation of the Universe state that, if it was created at all and didn't just start, as it were, unofficially, it came into being between ten and twenty thousand million years ago.

Table of Contents edit see section history

In The Beginning
Eleven Years Ago
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday (The first day of the rest of their lives.)

Specific to the (c) 2006 edition:

Foreword
Good Omens, The Facts (or, at least, lies that have been hallowed by time)
Neil Gaiman on Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett on Neil Gaiman

Glossary edit see section history

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 30 of 40 in SFBC 50th Anniversary Collection. (publisher edition list)
This book is in World Book Night 2012. (authoritative list)
This book is in 100 Fantabulous Book Challenge. (community list)
This is book 30 of 159 in Fantasy Book Review Top 100 fantasy books of all time. (community list)
This is book 68 of 82 in BBC "Big Read" Top 100 Novels. (authoritative list)
This is book 69 of 200 in BBC 'Big Read' Top 200 Novels, 2003. (authoritative list)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Terry Pratchett (Author)
  2. Neil Gaiman (Author)

Other Contributors:

  1. Boštjan Gorenc (Translator) - prevod v slovenščino

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Gollancz
Country: United Kingdom
Publication Date: May 1, 1990
ISBN: 057504800x
Page Count: 288

Awards edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: PR6057.A319 G6 1990
  • Dewey: 828'.914

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Young Adults

Mild sexual content not described in detail, mild language, dark themes

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • The Colour of Magic / The Light Fantastic
  • The Stupidest Angel
  • Fated

Books That Influenced This Book edit see section history

   
  • Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

We’re hiding the errata, movie connections, books influenced by this book, books that cite this book and books cited by this book sections. If you would like to add content to them, you must first make them visible.

© 2006-2013 Shelfari | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Copyright Policy

Close