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Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett

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Good Omens is a fantasy tale written in collaboration between Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman about the coming Armageddon or the end of the world. This is my first Terry Pratchett book and one of the many of Neil Gaiman's work. As Terry Pratchett told in an interview about 60% of the idea and the book itself was written by him, with Gaiman contributing through hours of phone conversation.

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The book centers around an angel Aziraphale and a demon Crowley ( probably the most lovable Demon ), as they try to avert the incoming End of the World as we know it.

Playing a large role in the incoming end of the world is the so called "Anti-Christ" or the Son of Satan.

Despite being on the opposite side of the spectrum, one representing Good, the other one Evil, Aziraphale and Crowley decided to join forces and work together to track down the Son of Satan.

But after a mistake in the switch-up at birth, the perceived Anti-Christ was in fact a normal 11 year old boy, while the real Anti-Christ grows up unsupervised by the followers of hell, in the person of Adam.

Adam is the 11 year old decided leader of a group of kids who called themselves as "Them". Unconscious of his powers he unknowingly sets of a chain of events that eventually started the incoming Apocalypse ( rise of the Atlantis, typhoons, and the 4 horsemen of the Apocalypse ).

When Aziraphale discovered the real identity of the Anti-Christ with the help of the book "the Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter" He and Crowley then gather themselves together in a race against time to try and avert the End of Days. That is amidst all witch hunters, other Duke of Hells who want to make sure that the Final war between Heaven and Hell takes place on Earth pronto!.

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If this is the end of the world, then what a way to go, laughing our asses off. Pratchett and Gaiman succeeded in creating a funny, not so serious yet with serious implications kind of story.

The novel is complete with equally hilarious footnotes ( i suggest you read all of it ), sympathetic characters who in their own way endear themselves to readers alike.

Reading it, i had nothing but love to all characters even Ligur and Hastur makes a fun duo as the Duke of Hell who are after Crowley.

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Good Omens is a book about good and evil, and the order of things. But most of all, it is a book written by authors who clearly know all the weird and wacky things in the world and most importantly knows how to write them and put it all together in one great novel.

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The Light Fantastic - Terry Pratchett

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The Light Fantastic is the 2nd book of the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. It's a fantasy tale set in a world consisting of a slightly convex disc atop on the backs of four huge elephants which are in turn standing on the back of an enormous turtle, named Great A'Tuin.


The novel starts where the very first Discworld book "Colour Of Magic" ended, with bumbling wizard Rincewind and the Discworld's first ever tourist Twoflower setting adrift, falling over the edge of the world.

But as the wizards in the Unseen University found out about an impending doom that will cause by the Great A'Tuin walking towards a collosal star, which will set the whole Discworld on fire, the only remaining solution to the end of Discworld lies on one of the so called "eight most powerful spells from the octavo" which turns out to be locked inside the head of Rincewind.

With the help of the magic book, Octavo, Rincewind and Twoflower were saved and found themselves back in Discworld, amid talking trees and giant rocks and being tracked by other wizards led by Rincewind's former classmate Trymon.

They encountered countless close brushes with death (whom Rincewind met face to face in Death's domain) Rincewind, Twoflower with the help of aging superhero Cohen The Barbarian, and the girl they saved from a sacrificial ritual named Bethan and Twoflower's luggage who has a mind of its own described as "half suitcase, half homicidal maniac" and was able to save the duo  in a few occasions.

They all set out for a wonderful and entertaining adventure that only Terry Pratchett and a few writers can provide and as the Great A Tuin gets closer to the burning star, triggering panics by the inhabitants of the Discworld who thinks that the only solution would be for all wizards to die and have their spells and magic completely dissappear.

Rincewind will need to remember the spell and say aloud the great eight spell in order to save the Discworld from a head on collision with the burning star..

It's a short and entertaining read, with lots of Terry Pratchett's trademark humor and lovable characters. It's a must read for everybody.

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Equal Rites - Terry Pratchett

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Equal Rites is the 3rd book of the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett (don't worry you can read the book even in random). Discworld being "a flat world balanced on the backs of four elephants which are in turn standing on the back of a giant turtle, the Great A'Tuin".


The story starts with a dying wizard Drum Billet wandering in a small town called "Bad Ass", with the intent of passing his staff on a successor. Which at that time he believes as the "eighth son of an eighth son" who is about to be born.

Believing the new born child is a boy, it was learned later by Drum Billet that it was indeed a female child, the mistake cannot be corrected anymore as the staff was already passed into her.

And in Discworld, a female wizard is completely non existent.

As the female wizard grew up to become a nine year old Esk (full name Eskarina Smith), it was obvious that she possesses uncontrollable powers, unaware of all her powers and the effect that it may to people around her. Local witch Granny Weatherwax decided she should keep eye on the young girl. At first Granny tries to persuade her from being a wizard instead offers to help her become a witch.

Eventually, Granny Weatherwax decided that if Esk would become a wizard and practice her powers, she should learn doing so by enrolling her into the school of the Wizards, which is at the so called "Unseen University" in Ankh-Morpork.

Knowing that the Unseen University don't accept female students, mainly because it is against their lore that women can become wizards, indeed it will be quite a challenge for both Granny Weatherwax and Esk to prove that there is indeed a room in Discworld for a female wizard.

With Terry Pratchett describing keenly a magical world full of entertaining characters that keeps popping in along Esk's journey with Granny Weatherwax, it was said that Pratchett had written the concept or idea of "Wizard School" ten years at least, earlier than JK Rowling, will make readers wonder maybe Terry Pratchett's Discworld series really lay the foundation for Rowling's own Harry Potter series.

Well, i did enjoy this book. Not really my kind of genre, i'm kind of new to the fantasy world ( hell i haven't even read Harry Potter, just saw the movies ), And i'm sure that i will read more Terry Pratchett novels in the future, his humor is really something, had me laughing a handful of times while reading this book. How i wish i had my hands on these kinds of books when i was so much younger. But thankfully, better late than never i'm glad that i had discovered it now.

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