Good Omens
The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
by Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman · first published 1990
39% recommend60% neutral1% critical
Why HN recommends it
Very funny comic fantasy about the apocalypse, with a silly, witty tone that fans compare to Douglas Adams; suits readers of Pratchett or Gaiman who want a light read they will reread and gift.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Armageddon only happens once, you know. They don't let you go around again until you get it right. According to the Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch - the world's only totally reliable guide to the future, written in 1655, before she exploded - the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. Just after tea... People have been predicting the end of the world almost from its very beginning, so it's only natural to be sceptical when a new date is set for Judgement Day. This time though, the armies of Good and Evil really do appear to be massing. The four B
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…series: Sir Terry knew our hearts better than most, and sin, young feller, is treatin’ people as things. - If On A Winter’s Night, A Traveler: a perfect joke that you can tell once, plus a love story. - Good Omens: Gaiman and Pratchett team up, what’s not to love? - Moby Dick: And so the universal thump is passed round, and all hands should rub each other’s shoulder-blades, and be content. - Lucky Jim: grad school,…
on “Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?” ↗Fiction, because it is so funny: * Good Omens, by Terry Pratchet and Neil Gaiman [1] I wish Pratchett and Gaiman had written more books together. [1] https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060853980?ref_=sr_1_1&pld...
on “Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?” ↗…the state of the M25 is the result of satanic influences. Two dedicated investigative journalists were required to determine the veracity of this: Neil Gaiman and Sir Terry Pratchett. Their paper: "Good Omens" is well worth reading. They only had to deal with a few decades of shadowy history for a major motorway. Can you imagine the difficulty of dealing with an inconsequential chalk figure which was probably…
on “Archaeologists “flabbergasted” to find Cerne Giant’s origins are medieval” ↗And if you like humour, read Good Omens (by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman). Gaiman's a gem.
on “Neil Gaiman Commencement Speech: Make Great Things. Learn From Failure.” ↗…click, finished. Until they install the next version in a year or two and the process happens all over again as they've forgotten how they did it last time. EDIT: There's a great little idea in the book Good Omens where the devil Crowley sets up projects of small amounts of misery to huge amounts of humans, rather than going after one soul at a time like other, old fashioned, demons. Auto-callers, motorways shaped…
on “Corpus of network communications automatically sent to Apple by Yosemite” ↗What? Really? Well, for a start, the hilarious _Good Omens: the Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, witch._ Co-written with Terry Pratchett, also a great radio serial and a wonderful TV series from about 3 years ago. Secondly, multiple superb novels,…
on “Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy – 30th Anniversary Edition – Free Play Online” ↗…it’s riffing on (Ringworld). Likewise I enjoyed The Dark Side of the Sun, which riffs off a different theme from Known Space (though I don’t recall any of that theme ending as a theme in Discworld). Good Omens was also another fantastic collaboration, between Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.
on “Discworld on Page and Screen, Part 1: Serious Comedy” ↗…Colfer is the best man for the job. He's no Adams by any means, but he's certainly good, and hopefully he'll at least give us a feel for what Adams wanted. Gaiman would have been an excellent pick, too: Good Omens, with Terry Pratchett, is as close to Adams' humor as I've found. But Colfer has a much finer sense of whimsy.
on “New Hitchhiker's author announced” ↗Slightly OT, but if you liked American Gods, might I also suggest "Good Omens", a book he wrote with Terry Pratchett. Easily one of the funniest books I've read, and a brilliant storyline. [Coincidentally, I read a downloaded version of this, and have since bought about 10 copies…
on “The Gaiman Principle: piracy is advertising & why Ramen Music encourages sharing” ↗Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. I'd also strongly recommend Terry P's Going Postal and Making Money. I have a long list of non-fiction books I've read and enjoyed. Most recently, I read Paul Graham's…
on “Ask HN: What is the greatest book you've ever read?” ↗…system of measurement happens to be. http://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2010/may... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unusual_units_of_measur... I like the one suggested in the book Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, of measuring faith in Alps.
on “Death by Inches: The battle over the metric system in America” ↗Good omens co written with gaiman , i've never laughed so hard before reading this book :)
on “Sir Terry Pratchett has died” ↗I'd recommend Neil Gaiman; and definitely read Good Omens, a book that Terry and Neil co-wrote.
on “Sir Terry Pratchett has died” ↗Neil Gaiman. My favorite Pratchett book is actually "Good Omens", his collaboration with Neil Gaiman back before either of them were famous.
on “Sir Terry Pratchett has died” ↗After the Dirk Gently books have a go at Neil Gaiman's Good Omens, co-written with Terry Pratchet. I also highly recommended Robert Rankin's Brentford Triangle "trilogy" (in 9 books).
on “Today is Towel Day” ↗