This book was one hundred percent, straight up, delightfully weird. There is no other way to describe the experience and no other books that compare. It was, quite simply, wonderfully odd.
Originally entitled Good Omens, The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Alice Nutter, Witch this book was originally published in 1990. At the time, neither Neil Gaiman nor Terry Pratchett were the major authors that they are today but it is clear from this book that both already had an excellent handle on their craft. In 1985 Neil Gaiman interviewed Terry Pratchett for an article at the beginning of Mr. Pratchett’s career. The two struck up a friendship that has spanned decades and wrote Good Omens together by sending floppy disks back and forth and collaborating over the phone. This was during the time that Gaiman was working on Sandman and I just wish I could get my hands on all those floppy disks….
I really struggled to not highlight the entire book’s often hilarious phrasings. The witty repartee between the Angel Aziraphale and the Demon Crowley was faced paced and had the feel of a life long, or in this case, centuries long friendship. Both beings have lived on Earth for so along and through some of the most difficult phases of humanity but have grown accustomed to the comforts of modern England. When the son of Satan is born on Earth, Crowley and Aziraphale decide that their job is to maintain the balance by interfering. Sadly, due to a mix up with the baby at the hospital they end up watching over the wrong child right up until the moment the Hound of Hell is released. This seems like a simple premise but add in additions layers that include: witch hunters, Alice Nutter’s 17th Century completely accurate prophesies, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and a pack of children straight out of the 1950s and this book really brings the weird in full technicolor.
I can see where some readers have attempted this book and felt confused by the narrative which bounces from character to character with little introduction and no warning. However, fans of Pratchett and Gaiman know this writing trick and the pay off that will be experienced at the culmination of the story. As you see the threads of the stories weave together you cannot help but gasp as the completed tapestry becomes visible. I always feel like applauding as I turn the last page on one of their books.
I will be honest, I didn’t know this book existed until I saw the preview for the new Amazon show. Like most people I love to read books that have been made into television shows or movies. Now that I have read the story I cannot wait to see the characters comes to life on the screen! But, even if you do not plan to watch the show the book is just too much fun to pass up. This is definitely destined to be one of my favorite reads of 2019.
Tell me, please!
What is your favorite wonderfully weird book?
The audiobook is narrated by Eddie Redmayne in the very same clipped manner he gives to the sweet Newt Scamander he plays on film. However, unlike the shy film version of Newt, the audiobook personality is the knowledgable and excited Newt that we see, briefly, when he is talking about his fantastic beasts. Matched with the gorgeously illustrated Fantastic Beasts I sat like a child and listened to the whole book in one sitting.
Only a middle grade book can successfully disguise itself as a spy thriller wrapped in fantasy and still educate its reader about the value of perspective and the importance of cultural awareness. The hilarious (or tragic!) story of The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin pays homage to the famous travel writers of history while poking fun at the experiences of trying to bring your own ideals to a new land.
The Wicked King, the sequel to Holly Black’s fascinating dark faerie tale, debuted just after the New Year but because of my self-imposed 
Thunderhead begins with Rowan illegally donning black voluminous robes and claiming the identity of Scythe Lucifer. He is meting out his own form of justice by targeting Scythes he deems unworthy. Meanwhile, Citra has formed her own style of gleaning, one that has drawn the attention and ire of her peers.
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle is classic fantasy reading on par with The Once and Future King. Here, Beagle tells the tale of a unicorn who lives in the safety of her lilac forest. Death and age cannot touch her and so she has lived a peaceful life since before memory began. But now, she hears whispers that she is the last of her kind. And so she ventures of the safety of her home to find others. Along the way she meets those who would do her harm and two who vow to aid her: the ridiculously inept magician Schmendrick and the unyielding and stalwart Molly Grue. Will the trio be enough to confront the creature that seeks to drive her kind to extinction?
Everyone knows that women aboard pirate ships are unlucky. When I first saw Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller I assumed, erroneously, that the daughter from the title would be another left-behind maiden yearning to travel the sea with her father. I could not have been more wrong.