Well, hello there!

I know, I know. It’s been a really long while. I’d say sorry, but the shit that snowed me under for six months is really important and needed to be done, so I’ll say I’ve missed you and leave it at that. If it’s any consolation, I haven’t actually done anything bookish worth reporting!

What I did manage to do, however, was finally get around to reading Good Omens. And before you ask: no, I still haven’t been able to watch the TV show, though I’ve heard it is absolutely amazing. I’m looking forward to it, but I just don’t have the time to devote to it right now.

And, in the interests of honesty and full disclosure:

I listened to the audiobook instead of reading the hard copy, which I do have in my possession. Working with computers and doing readings as much as I do for my research, I usually end the day with enough of a headache that I can’t bring myself to read anything that isn’t absolutely necessary. I wanted to read Good Omens so badly though, so my solution was the audiobook and that worked out really well for me.

Let me be the (possibly last) person to tell you: Good Omens is amazing. Hilarious, and touching, and political, and amazing.

I don’t want to spoil anything, though at this point I’m not entirely certain how you could have missed at least the basic plot points, as GO has been pretty much everywhere on social media since the show debuted in May (and with good reason). I hadn’t realized what I was getting myself into: I thought it would be a good, quick fantasy read that would likely translate well to the screen. I was both right and wrong, and still don’t have a personal answer to the screen thing. Good Omens is a good read, it didn’t take me long to get through, and I suppose it is considered fantasy literature. But none of that in any way means that the book is simple. In fact, there are layers upon layers inside puzzles topped by political propaganda and outright activism. It is absolutely amazing, and I can genuinely say I never expected to say that about a book with religious themes. I mean, I like the Left Behind series well enough (LaHaye and Jenkins, for anyone that hasn’t read them), but Good Omens is brilliant. Ineffably brilliant.

I was thinking about this book for days after I finished it, and I can already tell it isn’t going to be long before I read it again: hard copy this time, so that I can really soak it in. Obviously, I don’t know when this will happen (see: workload and headaches) but I am very much looking forward to it.

Five star read, people.

Categories: 2019 Reading Challenges, Book Reviews, Fantasy

Tags: Australian Author, Australian Book Reviewer, Aziraphale, book review, book reviewer, Bookstagram, bookstagrammer, Crowley, Good Omens, Ineffable Husbands, Ineffable Plan, Neil Gaiman, Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett, Terry Pratchett