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A review by beaconatnight
Ein gutes Omen: Die freundlichen und zutreffenden Prophezeiungen der Hexe Agnes Spinner by Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett
3.0
I'm not sure if it's because of the somewhat clumsy German translation or because of the story itself, but I struggled to love it as much as I wanted to. Don't get me wrong, it certainly is very entertaining. However, I cannot say that reading the book excited me much.
The story is about the upcoming final battle between Heaven and Hell, which is expected to come about now that the son of Satan, the so-called Antichrist, is born. However, there are forces involved which make it less certain that the end of the world really is imminent. First of all, there are angel Aziraphale and demon Crowley, who have for all intents and purposes been friends for centuries, really took a liking in their life on Earth and would rather prefer if their time there didn't yet have to end. In fact, there is a prophecy book which foretells exactly how things will turn out - if only we were able to interpret its auguries. So, in addition to the cosmic forces, there are also numerous human characters lead by this book and/or other metaphysical or earthly ideologies. Finally, the world below is summoning personifications of human scourges, which are to appear as the Four Horsemen when the Apocalypse comes. If Heaven and Hell have been somewhat quiet lately, they are really cranking it up for these final hours!
What surprised me the most is that I actually thought that this was funny. Not in the sense of having gags that will make you laugh out loud, but rather by its thick description of a truly absurd world. Pratchett and Gaiman take all the religious shenanigans to liven up what for most people in this secular age is a boringly profane world. With every single paragraph, the authors inexhaustibly work away on one aspect of the creed after another, to create a truly fascinating, if incredibly ridiculous, world of fantasy. This will make you smirk like an idiot for the entire ride.
I have to admit that I would have preferred a more conventional plot structure. From the start it is obvious that the story will culminate in the End of the World (or the prevention thereof). Things just seem to happen to the protagonists, without them having much of a say in anything. I get it, everything has been foretold, so that the different subplots move forward as if on rails. Actually, I liked the feeling of confusion that some scenes invoke in the reader, making you gradually figure out how the pieces fit together (while ultimately the Great Plan really is ineffable, as a character in the book is impishly pointing out). However, philosophically this doesn't actually preclude the characters from having their own agendas and motivations - and having this would have made it a more interesting read for me.
Now I really wonder: Is there more purpose to the Discworld novels?
Rating: 3/5
The story is about the upcoming final battle between Heaven and Hell, which is expected to come about now that the son of Satan, the so-called Antichrist, is born. However, there are forces involved which make it less certain that the end of the world really is imminent. First of all, there are angel Aziraphale and demon Crowley, who have for all intents and purposes been friends for centuries, really took a liking in their life on Earth and would rather prefer if their time there didn't yet have to end. In fact, there is a prophecy book which foretells exactly how things will turn out - if only we were able to interpret its auguries. So, in addition to the cosmic forces, there are also numerous human characters lead by this book and/or other metaphysical or earthly ideologies. Finally, the world below is summoning personifications of human scourges, which are to appear as the Four Horsemen when the Apocalypse comes. If Heaven and Hell have been somewhat quiet lately, they are really cranking it up for these final hours!
What surprised me the most is that I actually thought that this was funny. Not in the sense of having gags that will make you laugh out loud, but rather by its thick description of a truly absurd world. Pratchett and Gaiman take all the religious shenanigans to liven up what for most people in this secular age is a boringly profane world. With every single paragraph, the authors inexhaustibly work away on one aspect of the creed after another, to create a truly fascinating, if incredibly ridiculous, world of fantasy. This will make you smirk like an idiot for the entire ride.
I have to admit that I would have preferred a more conventional plot structure. From the start it is obvious that the story will culminate in the End of the World (or the prevention thereof). Things just seem to happen to the protagonists, without them having much of a say in anything. I get it, everything has been foretold, so that the different subplots move forward as if on rails. Actually, I liked the feeling of confusion that some scenes invoke in the reader, making you gradually figure out how the pieces fit together (while ultimately the Great Plan really is ineffable, as a character in the book is impishly pointing out). However, philosophically this doesn't actually preclude the characters from having their own agendas and motivations - and having this would have made it a more interesting read for me.
Now I really wonder: Is there more purpose to the Discworld novels?
Rating: 3/5