The plot is fairly straightforward. The prophecies of the
witch Agnes Nutter state when and where the world is going to end. The
Antichrist will summon the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, who will ride forth
and wreak havoc on humankind; this will be followed by a celestial war between
Heaven and Hell, of which there can only be one ultimate victor.
That’s what is supposed
to happen; but the ineffable Plan suffers from a few alterations along the way.
For a start, due to a mix-up in the local hospital eleven years previously, the
Antichrist is not who people think he is; and due to the incompetence of the
demon Crowley (who drives a Bentley, wears sunglasses even when it’s dark, and just
happens to be the original Serpent, formerly known as Crawly) and the angel
Aziraphale (who had a flaming sword but lost it, and now owns a used bookstore
in London) this is not discovered by either side until Armageddon is almost
upon them. What follows is the tale of various characters – Aziraphale,
Crowley, the witch Anathema Device, the Witchfinders Shadwell and Newt, Adam the
Antichrist, and Madame Tracy the Psychic/’shameless hoor’ – as they all try to
prevent the end of the world.
It’s a good story, and one of the highlights is the casual
bickering friendship between the demon Crowley and the angel Aziraphale. They
both recognise that neither of them are entirely good or evil, and after
thousands of years have struck up a truce. They like the way things are, and as
such are keen to try and save the world and maintain the natural balance of
things.
The authors, as well as writing a funny story,
are also trying to get a message across about humanity, namely that they are
capable of much worse things than any sort of evil demon, whether real or
imagined, but also of moments of goodness that would make any angel jealous. For
instance, Crowley receives a commendation for the creation of the Spanish
Inquisition (he happened to be on the continent at the time, and so they just
assumed it was his idea), when in fact he knew nothing about it: when he looked
into it, it made him feel rather ill (he’s much more proud of creating the M25,
door-to-door salesmen, and answering machines).
I personally love the sense of humour – it’s typical Pratchett, dry
British humour, and there are so many jokes and references that only a Brit
would really understand. It’s fun to feel like you’re sharing a private joke
with the author, though I imagine this may alienate readers from other parts of
the world. I did enjoy the few aspects of the book that I recognised from Pratchett’s
Discworld novels. An example of this is the character of Death and the other
Horsemen of the Apocalypse, although they’re a bit different here: they ride
motorbikes instead of horses (well, they are the original Hell’s Angels after
all), and they have a new member, Pollution (Pestilence retired shortly after
the discovery of penicillin in 1936).
The book does have a few flaws. Like many other Pratchett
novels I’ve read it can be a little self-indulgent in places, sacrificing plot
and relevance for humorous anecdotes that occasionally take over the story.
However, it made me laugh – sometimes out loud, to the astonishment of those
around me (luckily just the cats) – and it also made me want to read more books
by both Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, so I think it deserves a decent score.
My rating: 4/5
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