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latida94's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
At least one of the things at it's core is just being human. That's what the book is about. They're all human. Even Crowley and Aziraphale. I adore the notion that if you spend enough time amongst human beings you become a bit human yourself. And that it's not necessarily a bad thing. Worth preserving the world over, even.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Violence
becksusername's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Misogyny, Bullying, Alcohol, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Homophobia, Gun violence, and Violence
julesadventurezone's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The most delightful thing about this book are Aziraphale and Crowley, who have a lovely relationship and are also both just fun in their own ways.
I was deeply fascinated by how many different ways they found to call Aziraphale gay. Personal favourites include him collecting Oscar Wilde first editions, getting called three different anti-gay slurs, and frequenting discreet Victorian gentleman's clubs.
The book contains some killer quotes and I quite liked the ending.
Unfortunately there's rather a lot of scenes you have to soldier through that are about character that didn't interest me despite their best efforts.
Also, as much as both Anathema and Madam Tracy are boring, they still deserve better boyfriends than the ones they end up with. Those dudes Suck.
The scenes that I hated the most were the ones apparently written mostly by just-Neil or just-Terry, which are the long passages of War and Famine that aged incredibly poorly, and children talking at each other for ages.
There's also a lot of racism in this book, which is either supposed to be satire or just reflecting the way that white British people in 1990 thought about the rest of the world. Doesn't change the fact that it's racist, though.
I was deeply fascinated by how many different ways they found to call Aziraphale gay. Personal favourites include him collecting Oscar Wilde first editions, getting called three different anti-gay slurs, and frequenting discreet Victorian gentleman's clubs.
The book contains some killer quotes and I quite liked the ending.
Unfortunately there's rather a lot of scenes you have to soldier through that are about character that didn't interest me despite their best efforts.
Also, as much as both Anathema and Madam Tracy are boring, they still deserve better boyfriends than the ones they end up with. Those dudes Suck.
The scenes that I hated the most were the ones apparently written mostly by just-Neil or just-Terry, which are the long passages of War and Famine that aged incredibly poorly, and children talking at each other for ages.
There's also a lot of racism in this book, which is either supposed to be satire or just reflecting the way that white British people in 1990 thought about the rest of the world. Doesn't change the fact that it's racist, though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Homophobia, Violence, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Gun violence, Xenophobia, Cursing, Racism, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Ableism, Car accident, and Confinement
mixmousereads's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Xenophobia, and Car accident
Moderate: Gun violence, Misogyny, Body horror, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, War, and Homophobia
Minor: Cursing
withlivjones's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Filled with some very British humour and a matter-of-fact omniscient narration style, this book was a lot of fun to read. Parts of it did drag a little and the prose itself is quite dense and requires quite a bit of concentration, but there’s something so whimsical about this book, even when tackling such macabre topics as the end of the world, that makes it very enjoyable. The authors do a really good job of balancing the many subplots and running gags so that nothing got too confusing.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Gore, and Violence
supremeburrito's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I honestly prefer the book to the Amazon series. The plot is more…at ease amongst the zaniness going on.
It’s perfect as is and ngl unless they tie Warlock into Season 2 with what I interpreted at the end as Warlock having demonic powers like Adam I really don’t understand why they are making a Season 2 at all.
In my opinion, I saw Adam as the main character with everyone else in the plot moving as major characters around him, including Aziraphale and Crowley. Now that I have read the book, I am not saying that the Amazon series is now utter trash and you shouldn’t watch it (because you should). What I’m saying is that the book is my preferred adaptation because Aziraphale and Crowley less limelight in the book than they did in the show, which gave other characters I completely forgot about some small space in the story and more important people got to have room to breathe.
It’s perfect as is and ngl
In my opinion, I saw Adam as the main character with everyone else in the plot moving as major characters around him, including Aziraphale and Crowley. Now that I have read the book, I am not saying that the Amazon series is now utter trash and you shouldn’t watch it (because you should). What I’m saying is that the book is my preferred adaptation because Aziraphale and Crowley less limelight in the book than they did in the show, which gave other characters I completely forgot about some small space in the story and more important people got to have room to breathe.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Car accident, and Alcohol
dodie_sullivan's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, War, and Violence
Minor: Homophobia, Alcohol, Cursing, and Racism
samsays's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence
rachelunabridged's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: War, Gun violence, Car accident, and Violence
Minor: Alcohol and Sexual content
helhas3letters's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I had so much fun reading this. It's a dryly humorous and very British account of the biblical armageddon, as told through the eyes of an angel, a demon, 2 witchfinders, 2 witches, a fraudulent medium, the four horsemen (motorcyclists) of the apocalypse, and an 11-year-old antichrist. It has endearing characters, exciting plot points, and a lovely - actually quite profound - prodding at philosophical concepts of morality.
There were a lot of characters in different settings, so I did have to make a particular effort to concentrate on remembering all the names, who they were, and where we left them. This fortunately had a beautiful payoff when most of the narratives ended up weaving together towards the end. I most enjoyed reading the parts with the angel Aziraphale and the demon Crowley, and the Four (i.e. the four horsemen of the apocalypse).
I found this novel very easy to read. Both authors adapt to each other's writing styles seamlessly; I really couldn't tell if any sections were written by either one of them. I almost wrote here that the end of the book comes about very quickly compared to the first half, but then I realised that that's just because I raced through the final 150-or-so pages in one night. A testament(!) to its readability?
Although it was very definitely written by two white men in the 90s, it's generally a pleasant read, with not many "wow how did this even get printed back then" moments. Most of the important main characters are male and there's not much racial diversity - but I've been told the TV show is decent with regards to the latter. If you can turn off that side of your brain for a bit, it's a great novel.
There were a lot of characters in different settings, so I did have to make a particular effort to concentrate on remembering all the names, who they were, and where we left them. This fortunately had a beautiful payoff when most of the narratives ended up weaving together towards the end. I most enjoyed reading the parts with the angel Aziraphale and the demon Crowley, and the Four (i.e. the four horsemen of the apocalypse).
I found this novel very easy to read. Both authors adapt to each other's writing styles seamlessly; I really couldn't tell if any sections were written by either one of them. I almost wrote here that the end of the book comes about very quickly compared to the first half, but then I realised that that's just because I raced through the final 150-or-so pages in one night. A testament(!) to its readability?
Although it was very definitely written by two white men in the 90s, it's generally a pleasant read, with not many "wow how did this even get printed back then" moments. Most of the important main characters are male and there's not much racial diversity - but I've been told the TV show is decent with regards to the latter. If you can turn off that side of your brain for a bit, it's a great novel.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Death, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Animal death, Homophobia, Police brutality, Torture, and War