Good Omens

What Good Omens is about

Aziraphale is an angel who once guarded the Eastern Gate of Eden. Crowley is a demon, and the serpent who tempted Eve. Both have lived on Earth since the beginning, and they have grown rather fond of humanity and their comfortable life in England. So when the end of the world is scheduled, neither is keen on seeing it through.

Then a mix-up at a small country hospital sends the Antichrist to the wrong family. Adam Young grows up in Lower Tadfield with three friends, Pepper, Wensleydale and Brian, and without knowing who he is, he bends reality in odd ways, from raising Atlantis to summoning UFOs. Meanwhile the Four Horsemen gather in modern guises, Anathema Device studies the cryptic but perfectly accurate prophecies of her ancestor Agnes Nutter, and Newton Pulsifer joins Sergeant Shadwell's tiny Witchfinder Army.

Pratchett and Gaiman's 1990 comic novel pokes fun at prophecy and the apocalypse, while asking whether upbringing or destiny shapes a person. It is witty, satirical and warm toward its mismatched heroes.

Questions about Good Omens

When was Good Omens published?

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett was first published in 1990.

Was Good Omens one of the best books of 1990?

Good Omens is #1 on BookWard's Best Books of 1990, out of 39 1990 books that cleared our data bar. 1,323 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.4 out of 5 (90 ratings); 75 are reading it right now.

Why is Good Omens on the Best Books of 1990 list?

1,323 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.4 out of 5 (90 ratings); 75 are reading it right now.

More of the best books of 1990

• Jurassic Park Michael Crichton, #2
• The Eye of the World Robert Jordan, #3
• The Witching Hour Anne Rice, #4
• Flow Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, #5
• The Things They Carried Tim O'Brien, #6
• Little Girl Lost Drew Barrymore, #7

See the full Best Books of 1990, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.