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fandomhigh_ooc2007-01-14 12:25 pm
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Spotlight on Fandom: Good Omens
Since my canon is fairly small -- exactly the size of one book although they keep promising a movie -- I'm going to keep this relatively brief so as to avoid too many spoilers, and will happily answer any questions any of you might have. Also, consider anything behind the cut to be potentially spoilery, although the fun of this book isn't so much in reaching the conclusion as it is the insane path you take to get there.
Good Omens is a novel by Neil Gaimen and Terry Pratchett. (Or by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaimen, depending on whether you bought the new hardcover edition with Crowley on the cover, or the one featuring Aziraphale. Or you could be a complete dork, like me, and get both.)
Behold the cast of characters (in no particular order):1
Aziraphale - an angel (specifically, the angel who guarded the Gate to the Garden of Eden)
Crowley - a demon, formerly called 'Crawly' (specifically, the demon who tempted Eve)
Anathema Device - a witch, prophetess, and descendant of Agnes Nutter (of the famed "Nice and Accurate Prophecies")
Newton Pulsifer - private of the Witchfinder Army, computer technician
Shadwell - sergeant of the Witchfinder Army
Madam Tracy - a medium
Adam Young - the Antichrist
Them - collectively, Adam and his three best friends: Pepper, Brian, and Wensleydale
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse - War, Famine, Pollution, and DEATH
And various special guests including Beelzebub, Metatron, and God.
The general plot of Good Omens is, in many ways, a parody of the movie The Omen -- a story of the Apocalypse, only as seen through the eyes of Pratchett and Gaimen. That right there should give you an idea about what to expect.
First, however, a little bit about the three central characters.
Aziraphale:
Probably the most quoted description of Aziraphale (and there isn't much in the way of description given, Aziraphale is something of a cipher as far as appearance goes) is this:
Many people, meeting Aziraphale for the first time, formed three impressions: that he was English, that he was intelligent, and that he was gayer than a tree full of monkeys on nitrous oxide.
And, in regards to his dusty little Soho bookshop:
...men in dark glasses would wander round the shop shaking their heads and saying how inflammable paper was, and what a fire trap he had here. And Aziraphale would nod and smile and say that he'd think about it. And then they'd go away.
And they'd never come back.
Just because you're an angel doesn't mean you have to be a fool.
(I think that despite the brevity, there's a great deal of insight into the character in these two quotes. For me, they really sum him up, and I try to play Aziraphale true to the image portrayed here. You learn a great deal more about the character by his reactions than through expository description -- for instance, you learn that he's woefully behind the times regarding modern slang, has no problem with getting drunk, doesn't really mind guns, and isn't above a little lying or cheating to get what he wants. Also, he thinks tartan is stylish.)
Crowley:
Crowley, on the other hand, receives more in the way of physical description:
Crowley had dark hair, and good cheekbones and he was wearing snakeskin shoes, or at least presumably he was wearing shoes, and he could do really weird thing with his tongue. And whenever he forgot himself, he had a tendency to hiss.
He also didn’t blink much.
Also, a small but revealing take on Aziraphale and Crowley's friendship:
Aziraphale: "I'd just like to say, if we don't get out of this, that ... I'll have known, deep down inside, that there was a spark of goodness in you."
Crowley: "That's right, make my day."
Aziraphale: "Nice knowing you."
Crowley: "Here's to next time. And ... Aziraphale?"
Aziraphale: "Yes."
Crowley: "Just remember I'll have known that, deep down inside, you were just enough of a bastard to be worth liking."
(Crowley also spends a fair amount of time feeling rather smug about the subtle ways he's managed to bring evil into the world, although despite being a demon, he does a fair amount in the way of good deeds throughout the book. After all, he didn't so much fall as "saunter vaguely downward". Also, he grows plants, although admittedly he does this by frightening them silly. And I'm quite convinced the the 'really weird things' he can do with his tongue are, in fact, completely dirty.)
Adam Young:
It was a face that didn't belong in the twentieth century. It was thatched with golden curls which glowed. Michelangelo should have sculpted it. He probably would not have included the battered sneakers, frayed jeans, or grubby T-shirt, though.
And an excellent look at how the Them think:
"I s'pect that's what [aliens] used to do," said Adam. "But now it's different. They all have this bright blue light around 'em and go around doing good. Sort of g'lactic policemen, going round tellin' everyone to live in universal harmony and stuff."
There was a moment's silence while they pondered this waste of perfectly good UFOs.
(Adam is not your typical Antichrist, even by the standards of movies like The Omen which depict the Antichrist as a child. He's a fairly ordinary boy, who enjoys inventing games with his friends and romping with his dog, Dog. He weilds a great deal of power by virtue of being the Son of Satan, and in the end is forced to choose how to use that power, but his decisions are centered very much in the way your average eleven-year-old boy would see the world.)
The Story:
The book follows the exploits of Aziraphale and Crowley, who despite being on opposite sides are obviously long-time friends. In fact, the two of them always seem to be meeting up someplace -- at a cafe for lunch, at the angel's place for drinks, or most frequently at the duck pond in St. James Park. Their relationship is very much modeled on the concept of a pair of Cold War spies, who've worked opposite one another in the field for so long that they've become friends. (And this image is reinforced by the description of the habits of the St. James Park ducks.) Both Aziraphale and Crowley are very much attached to the mortal world, and exhibit a much more human sensibility than the other demons and angels who appear in the book.2
When Crowley is given the task of literally delivering the Antichrist into the world, the two of them decide to try and thwart the impending Apocalypse by working to offset one another's influence. For instance, Crowley provides a devilish nanny, Aziraphale counters with a pacifistic and nature-loving gardener. This plan would work except for one thing: there was a mix-up at the Antichrist's birth, and the pair are focusing their attention on the wrong child. The real Antichrist, Adam Young, is leading a perfectly ordinary childhood -- with the exception that he can exert his will on his surroundings. He and his friends accept this, however, and the Them become, by the end of the book, a force to be reckoned with. Despite being only eleven years old.
Without giving away too much in the way of spoilers, let me just say that a series of somewhat madcap events follows this realization -- including the somewhat botched delivery of a hellhound, rather bad stage magic, a fire in a bookshop, possession of a medium, and encounters with the descendant of Aziraphale's favorite prophet/author and the Witchfinder Army (which numbers exactly two). We even get a glimpse of Agnes Nutter herself, through excerpts from her Prophecies (a book which we discover Aziraphale is dying to get his angelic little hands on).
Interwoven among the scenes relating Aziraphale and Crowley's adventures and the story of Adam and the Them, are snippets presenting each of the Four Horsemen (Pollution has taken over for Plague, who retired after the discovery of penicillen), the two members of the Witchfinder Army, and Anathema Device. Throw in aliens, Elvis, and a demonic vintage Bentley that converts all music that resides in it into Best of Queen, and what you have is probably the crackiest version of the Apocalypse ever conceived.
There is, in fact, so much more I could go into. The book is rich with humor, the stories of the various characters are woven together in unexpected ways, and especially the friendships between Aziraphale and Crowley and among the Them are treated with a depth that makes them more than just caricatures of "Good" and "Evil". And wrapped up in all of this is a nicely palatable philosophy about religion and personal responsibility.
Want to know more without actually reading the book?3
There's a pretty decent Wikipedia entry.
And there's a web site devoted to Crowley that offers some really interesting insight. (Poor Aziraphale doesn't have his own "shrine", but he does get a good essay on Crowley's site.)
Footnotes:
1 Also, possibly the funniest damn thing about the book is that it's footnoted all the way through. The footnotes are hilarious, and absolutely make the book.
2 However, as I am not nearly as clever as Gaimen and Pratchett, this will be the last footnote you get.
3 Do I have to give a warning that these links are very obviously spoilery?4
4 So I lied.
Questions? Observations? Cookies?
Good Omens is a novel by Neil Gaimen and Terry Pratchett. (Or by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaimen, depending on whether you bought the new hardcover edition with Crowley on the cover, or the one featuring Aziraphale. Or you could be a complete dork, like me, and get both.)
Behold the cast of characters (in no particular order):1
Aziraphale - an angel (specifically, the angel who guarded the Gate to the Garden of Eden)
Crowley - a demon, formerly called 'Crawly' (specifically, the demon who tempted Eve)
Anathema Device - a witch, prophetess, and descendant of Agnes Nutter (of the famed "Nice and Accurate Prophecies")
Newton Pulsifer - private of the Witchfinder Army, computer technician
Shadwell - sergeant of the Witchfinder Army
Madam Tracy - a medium
Adam Young - the Antichrist
Them - collectively, Adam and his three best friends: Pepper, Brian, and Wensleydale
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse - War, Famine, Pollution, and DEATH
And various special guests including Beelzebub, Metatron, and God.
The general plot of Good Omens is, in many ways, a parody of the movie The Omen -- a story of the Apocalypse, only as seen through the eyes of Pratchett and Gaimen. That right there should give you an idea about what to expect.
First, however, a little bit about the three central characters.
Aziraphale:
Probably the most quoted description of Aziraphale (and there isn't much in the way of description given, Aziraphale is something of a cipher as far as appearance goes) is this:
Many people, meeting Aziraphale for the first time, formed three impressions: that he was English, that he was intelligent, and that he was gayer than a tree full of monkeys on nitrous oxide.
And, in regards to his dusty little Soho bookshop:
...men in dark glasses would wander round the shop shaking their heads and saying how inflammable paper was, and what a fire trap he had here. And Aziraphale would nod and smile and say that he'd think about it. And then they'd go away.
And they'd never come back.
Just because you're an angel doesn't mean you have to be a fool.
(I think that despite the brevity, there's a great deal of insight into the character in these two quotes. For me, they really sum him up, and I try to play Aziraphale true to the image portrayed here. You learn a great deal more about the character by his reactions than through expository description -- for instance, you learn that he's woefully behind the times regarding modern slang, has no problem with getting drunk, doesn't really mind guns, and isn't above a little lying or cheating to get what he wants. Also, he thinks tartan is stylish.)
Crowley:
Crowley, on the other hand, receives more in the way of physical description:
Crowley had dark hair, and good cheekbones and he was wearing snakeskin shoes, or at least presumably he was wearing shoes, and he could do really weird thing with his tongue. And whenever he forgot himself, he had a tendency to hiss.
He also didn’t blink much.
Also, a small but revealing take on Aziraphale and Crowley's friendship:
Aziraphale: "I'd just like to say, if we don't get out of this, that ... I'll have known, deep down inside, that there was a spark of goodness in you."
Crowley: "That's right, make my day."
Aziraphale: "Nice knowing you."
Crowley: "Here's to next time. And ... Aziraphale?"
Aziraphale: "Yes."
Crowley: "Just remember I'll have known that, deep down inside, you were just enough of a bastard to be worth liking."
(Crowley also spends a fair amount of time feeling rather smug about the subtle ways he's managed to bring evil into the world, although despite being a demon, he does a fair amount in the way of good deeds throughout the book. After all, he didn't so much fall as "saunter vaguely downward". Also, he grows plants, although admittedly he does this by frightening them silly. And I'm quite convinced the the 'really weird things' he can do with his tongue are, in fact, completely dirty.)
Adam Young:
It was a face that didn't belong in the twentieth century. It was thatched with golden curls which glowed. Michelangelo should have sculpted it. He probably would not have included the battered sneakers, frayed jeans, or grubby T-shirt, though.
And an excellent look at how the Them think:
"I s'pect that's what [aliens] used to do," said Adam. "But now it's different. They all have this bright blue light around 'em and go around doing good. Sort of g'lactic policemen, going round tellin' everyone to live in universal harmony and stuff."
There was a moment's silence while they pondered this waste of perfectly good UFOs.
(Adam is not your typical Antichrist, even by the standards of movies like The Omen which depict the Antichrist as a child. He's a fairly ordinary boy, who enjoys inventing games with his friends and romping with his dog, Dog. He weilds a great deal of power by virtue of being the Son of Satan, and in the end is forced to choose how to use that power, but his decisions are centered very much in the way your average eleven-year-old boy would see the world.)
The Story:
The book follows the exploits of Aziraphale and Crowley, who despite being on opposite sides are obviously long-time friends. In fact, the two of them always seem to be meeting up someplace -- at a cafe for lunch, at the angel's place for drinks, or most frequently at the duck pond in St. James Park. Their relationship is very much modeled on the concept of a pair of Cold War spies, who've worked opposite one another in the field for so long that they've become friends. (And this image is reinforced by the description of the habits of the St. James Park ducks.) Both Aziraphale and Crowley are very much attached to the mortal world, and exhibit a much more human sensibility than the other demons and angels who appear in the book.2
When Crowley is given the task of literally delivering the Antichrist into the world, the two of them decide to try and thwart the impending Apocalypse by working to offset one another's influence. For instance, Crowley provides a devilish nanny, Aziraphale counters with a pacifistic and nature-loving gardener. This plan would work except for one thing: there was a mix-up at the Antichrist's birth, and the pair are focusing their attention on the wrong child. The real Antichrist, Adam Young, is leading a perfectly ordinary childhood -- with the exception that he can exert his will on his surroundings. He and his friends accept this, however, and the Them become, by the end of the book, a force to be reckoned with. Despite being only eleven years old.
Without giving away too much in the way of spoilers, let me just say that a series of somewhat madcap events follows this realization -- including the somewhat botched delivery of a hellhound, rather bad stage magic, a fire in a bookshop, possession of a medium, and encounters with the descendant of Aziraphale's favorite prophet/author and the Witchfinder Army (which numbers exactly two). We even get a glimpse of Agnes Nutter herself, through excerpts from her Prophecies (a book which we discover Aziraphale is dying to get his angelic little hands on).
Interwoven among the scenes relating Aziraphale and Crowley's adventures and the story of Adam and the Them, are snippets presenting each of the Four Horsemen (Pollution has taken over for Plague, who retired after the discovery of penicillen), the two members of the Witchfinder Army, and Anathema Device. Throw in aliens, Elvis, and a demonic vintage Bentley that converts all music that resides in it into Best of Queen, and what you have is probably the crackiest version of the Apocalypse ever conceived.
There is, in fact, so much more I could go into. The book is rich with humor, the stories of the various characters are woven together in unexpected ways, and especially the friendships between Aziraphale and Crowley and among the Them are treated with a depth that makes them more than just caricatures of "Good" and "Evil". And wrapped up in all of this is a nicely palatable philosophy about religion and personal responsibility.
Want to know more without actually reading the book?3
There's a pretty decent Wikipedia entry.
And there's a web site devoted to Crowley that offers some really interesting insight. (Poor Aziraphale doesn't have his own "shrine", but he does get a good essay on Crowley's site.)
Footnotes:
1 Also, possibly the funniest damn thing about the book is that it's footnoted all the way through. The footnotes are hilarious, and absolutely make the book.
2 However, as I am not nearly as clever as Gaimen and Pratchett, this will be the last footnote you get.
3 Do I have to give a warning that these links are very obviously spoilery?4
4 So I lied.
Questions? Observations? Cookies?