Novel: Good Omens

Overview
Good Omens is a comic apocalyptic novel by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, published in 1990. It follows an angel, Aziraphale, and a demon, Crowley, who have grown fond of Earth and form a reluctant alliance to avert the End Times foretold by a formidable book of predictions. Their partnership, equal parts bickering and affection, frames a satire of prophecy, bureaucracy, and destiny.

The Prophecy and the Mix-up
Agnes Nutter’s “Nice and Accurate Prophecies” predict that the Antichrist will trigger Armageddon in late-twentieth-century England. Hell arranges a baby swap in a hospital run by satanic nuns to place the Antichrist with an American diplomat. Crowley oversees the handoff, but a mundane mix-up puts the infernal child into a quiet English home instead, while the ambassador raises an ordinary boy. The real Antichrist, Adam Young, grows up in the village of Tadfield, blissfully unaware of his cosmic role.

Unlikely Allies
For centuries Aziraphale and Crowley have quietly countered each other’s efforts, creating a comfortable equilibrium. Believing the diplomat’s son is the Antichrist, they each try to influence him toward good or evil, largely canceling one another out. When they discover the error, the true boy is nearly eleven and the countdown has begun. Their alliance hardens into gentle rebellion against both Heaven and Hell as they scramble to find Adam and steer fate.

Adam and the Them
Adam leads a gang of friends known as the Them, roaming Tadfield’s woods and lanes. His imaginative sense of justice reshapes reality in small ways, and when Hell sends him a hellhound, it shrinks into a loyal mongrel named Dog, reflecting Adam’s down-to-earth wishes. His worldview, fed by stories and friends rather than theology, proves decisive, especially as strange phenomena ripple outward from the village.

Prophets, Witchfinders, and Mortals
Anathema Device, Agnes Nutter’s descendant, uses the prophecies as a field guide, crossing paths with Newton Pulsifer, a hapless recruit of Witchfinder Sergeant Shadwell, and Madame Tracy, a kindhearted medium. Their fumbling competence anchors the cosmic comedy in human stakes and points toward the place where the world might end: a nearby air base poised to spark global war.

The Four Horsemen Ride
War, Famine, Pollution (who replaces Pestilence in the antibiotic age), and Death gather as leather-clad riders, sowing chaos that nudges nations toward catastrophe. Their road converges on Tadfield as Adam unconsciously tightens his grip on reality and Armageddon’s timetable closes in.

Showdown at the Air Base
All players converge on the base meant to launch nuclear annihilation. Aziraphale and Crowley, singed but steadfast, shepherd the humans into place. Adam confronts the Horsemen and, challenged by his friends, realizes he can choose. He undoes their power, derails the war machinery, and refuses the script that others have written for him, tilting the balance from predestination to choice.

Aftermath
With Armageddon canceled, Heaven and Hell try to punish their wayward agents, but a tangle of identities, rules-lawyering, and a touch of miracle lets Aziraphale and Crowley slip away to their London haunts. Adam quietly reshapes his family life for the better. Anathema receives a new, unopened set of prophecies, hinting at futures that need not be followed.

Themes and Tone
The novel blends apocalyptic stakes with cozy English settings, footnote wit, and a humane skepticism of grand plans. It champions free will over cosmic determinism, satirizes officious institutions on both sides, and centers the friendship between supposed opposites. Its lasting charm lies in the argument that Earth, messy, ordinary, and beloved, is worth keeping.