Just Finished Reading Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

The satirical novel Good Omens, a collaboration by Neil Gaiman (I recently read his novel Neverwhere) and Terry Pratchett, pokes some fun at the convoluted narrative some Christians like to spin (and, for a few, obsess) about the "Last Days".  This farcical adventure through the apocalypse turns down a different path than the standard tribulation horrors that feature the charismatic and evil Antichrist character.  Instead, the newborn son of Satan gets accidentally switched with another baby at an English hospital...and gets brought up instead in a normal, loving family environment in an English town with the name Adam Young (the boy, not the town).  Meanwhile, the supposed Antichrist, sent (in parody of the Omen movie series) to the American diplomat's household, gets the focus of the fanatical nanny sent to guide him, along with an eventual trip to the Plain of Megiddo in anticipation of the Great Battle. Sensing that something went awry with plans, demon Crowley and angel Aziraphale, mutual friends working on different sides who both have become unduly accustomed to their assignment on Earth among humans, set out to discover where the real Antichrist is and try to get rid of him before he wreaks havoc across the world...

There are several subplots and minor characters in Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (its long title).  For example, it is revealed that any audio cassette left for more than 48 hours in a car transforms itself into The Best of Queen...so there are plenty of references to their songs (some of which I really like).  There are the Four Horsepersons of the Apocalypse (the one representing War is a woman, hence the change), which has Pollution replacing Pestilence.  There is the legacy of Agnes Nutter, a 17th Century witch whose book of prophecies are always true to the last detail and whose descendant Anethema carries the last remaining copy.  And there is the Witchfinder Army, a group led by a hilarious, cantankerous old man named Sgt. Shadwell (my favorite character in the novel) and which includes a technologically inept young man named Newton Pulsifer...

Good Omens is loaded with funny little pieces scattered here and there...there is hardly a spot in it devoid of humor.  But if you have a religious orientation in the Judeo-Christian tradition, you may disagree with the theological assumptions expressed within it.  Just keep in mind that this story is not to be taken literally and analyzed for its flaws.  It is deliberately a farce, understand?  That being said, I can't imagine a similar satire being published about a certain other world religion, one in which some of its adherents go rioting and some on rampages of murderous violence whenever they judge its scripture or prophet to be "insulted"...

One word keeps getting a lot of attention in Good Omens: ineffability.  It is used by Aziraphale to explain away the often confusing decisions God makes...after all, the term refers to anything that is so grand and complex in scope that it is beyond understanding, not to mention the unpronounceable true name of The Lord.  It is the "ultimate" explanation for everything, I suppose...a real discussion-ender...