This book is fabulous. It is witty, sarcastic, fun, and full of twists and jumps that keep you on your toes, and giggling the entire time you are perched there. Gaiman wrote the book with fellow author Terry Pratchett (Author of the Disc World books). With that pair at the helm, this was a sure thing. There are too many humorous pieces to give you a good sample, but the opening of the book is the two beings discussing what God's plan really was for the garden of Eden & the apple tree.The novel is a lose play on the film "The Omen" Where the end of the world is at hand, the Antichrist has been born, and events are set in motion to bring about the Apocalypse. However our main characters, an angel and demon, have become comfortable with Earth(and with each other), and don't want to give it up. They work together to stop the greater beings (Satan & God) from bringing about the end of times.
“You’ve got to admit it’s a bit of a pantomime, though,” said Crawly. “I mean, pointing out the Tree and saying ‘Don’t Touch’ in big letters. Not very subtle, is it? I mean, why not put it on top of a high mountain or a long way off? Makes you wonder what He’s really planning.”Another subplot involves the gathering of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, War, Famine, Death,and Pollution (Pestilence having retired in 1936 following the discovery of penicillin.)
A couple more great quotes:
"Well, Hell was worse, of course, by definition. But Crowley remembered what Heaven was like, and it had quite a few things in common with Hell. You couldn’t get a decent drink in either of them, for a start. And the boredom you got in Heaven was almost as bad as the excitement you got in Hell. "
"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,* to being involved in an obscure and complex version 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.
*i.e., everybody."
Read it.Read it.Read it.Read it.Read it.
