The wait is over for ‘Good Omens’ fans

Most people know Neil Gaiman for his work on the Sandman graphic novels and for some of his newer, more well-known books such as “American Gods” and “Anansi Boys.” Meanwhile, Terry Pratchett remains renowned among much of Britain and most of the United States for his work on his Discworld series, a fantasy alternate dimension incorporating many likenesses of age-old mythology. In 1990, when they set to work on the collaborative novel “Good Omens,” many were very excited.

People remain excited today as the work is re-released in a beautiful new edition, brought out in hardback for the first time since its initial release. The handsomely bound version includes the original work itself – Neil Gaiman disclosed in his blog that he was not, in fact, becoming George Lucas with the piece, and the book was the same save a few fixed spelling errors – and other interesting pieces, including a new introduction, “frequently asked questions section,” and pieces written by each of the authors on each other.

My only complaint about the new book(s) is that the two covers available to choose from are meant to join together. I picked up the white cover and I have to scowl a bit when there is the longer title along the bottom cut off (“The Nice and Accurate Proph” and “esies of Agnes Nutter,” divided respectively). It seems that even though there is a desire to keep the classic text as it is, there is still a ploy to make money among the hardcore fans.

The book itself is more than worth the price. Gaiman and Pratchett collaborated to write this piece on the dysfunctional, supposed Apocalypse. When a snappily dressed demon, Crowley – “an angel who did not so much fall as saunter vaguely downwards” – mixes up the delivery of the son of Satan, he and his angel friend Aziraphale must join together to try and stop the end of times from coming around. After several centuries, you kind of start getting comfortable in a place, and the idea of a few deities deciding to destroy it is rather harsh.

Readers well-versed in classical texts like “Paradise Lost” and the Bible can enjoy some of the deeper, darkly humorous allusions Pratchett and Gaiman employ into their book, including references to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, all of whom have been keeping themselves very busy causing disasters like the growth of the fast food industry and Chernobyl, just to name a few. There is an obvious play on the movie “The Omen,” as we get a view of the antichrist as a wholly normal, disturbingly mundane British kid. At least for the most part.

Poking fun at Catholics, Satanists and occultists alike, the humor is witty and wry, not unlike much of Pratchett’s work. This would make a great deal of sense, given that Gaiman and Pratchett wrote the novel long before the advent of the Internet, and living in America and Britain respectively, they did most of their correspondence by telephone, with Pratchett writing for the most part.

If the end is coming, I think I would feel more comfortable if things ended up the way they do in this book.