# Good Omens: more Pratchett or Gaiman? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 16, 2005, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-omens-more-pratchett-or-gaiman/331330 "2005-11-16T16:33:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-omens-more-pratchett-or-gaiman/331330/21 "2005-11-17T04:39:40Z")
> [@betenoir](#): > > I dunno, I’ve always thought the author you should check out if you like Good Omens was Douglas Adams… You sure you want to start that hijack? 'Cause I’m more than willing to take this thread all the way to Cuba. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tarrsk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/97f17d/32.png) [@Tarrsk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarrsk)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-omens-more-pratchett-or-gaiman/331330/22 "2005-11-17T07:17:28Z")
I thought the writing was VERY Pratchett-esque, down to the frequent use of footnotes. Admittedly, I haven’t read much Gaiman (just “American Gods”), but most of the dialogue seemed like classic Pratchett banter to me. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-omens-more-pratchett-or-gaiman/331330/23 "2005-11-17T13:58:56Z")
Minor note: the ending in Good Omens just seemed to fall down, after a top-notch book. What was that all about? It was like a Pratchett ending, but it pretty much collapsed. ---
**Author:** ![Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boulter_s_Canary)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-omens-more-pratchett-or-gaiman/331330/24 "2005-11-17T15:06:34Z")
> [@smiling bandit](#): > > Minor note: the ending in Good Omens just seemed to fall down, after a top-notch book. What was that all about? It was like a Pratchett ending, but it pretty much collapsed. I liked it, especially the ironic quote:- “And there never was an apple, in Adam’s opinion, that wasn’t worth the trouble you got into for eating it.” ---
**Author:** ![athelas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@athelas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/athelas)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-omens-more-pratchett-or-gaiman/331330/25 "2005-11-17T16:15:06Z")
The ending contained a parody of 1984, when he said “if you want to imagine a future, imagine a boot - make that a sneaker” (where in 1984 it described the boot crushing the Teeming Masses of Humanity). ---
**Author:** ![Arien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arien)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-omens-more-pratchett-or-gaiman/331330/26 "2005-11-17T18:10:27Z")
Was the ending different in the American version? I read somewhere that they added a couple things to it. I’d go look but I don’t actually have a copy of Good Omens. Must rectify that soon. I agree the book was more Pratchett in tone than Gaiman. Although I remember reading an interview that said the maggots were all Gaiman. Sorry for not including a link, it was a while ago. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-omens-more-pratchett-or-gaiman/331330/27 "2005-11-17T18:39:38Z")
It wasn’t so much bad as suddenly and wierdly melodramatic. I started to do these -\> :rolleyes: when OUR LITTLE HERO yelled out, “Noooooooooo!” ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-omens-more-pratchett-or-gaiman/331330/28 "2005-11-17T18:57:06Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > You sure you want to start that hijack? 'Cause I’m more than willing to take this thread all the way to Cuba. > > 😃 I’ll back him up. Douglas Addams, \*then \* Terry Pratchett, and \*then \* Neil Gaiman, if at all. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-omens-more-pratchett-or-gaiman/331330/29 "2005-11-17T19:04:31Z")
Gaiman’s writing ain’t the greatest when he doesn’t have pictures to convey the story. His stories are really dry and in my opinion a little on the dull side. I haven’t read Pratchett, but having read a few things by Gaiman, I’d say that there was more of the “un-Gaiman” than Gaiman, because it was lusher and richer than most Gaiman works. Also, quite a bit wittier. A lot of Gaiman’s jokes fall flat, as one can evidence in American Gods. Gaiman is great on concept, weak on prose. Erek ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-omens-more-pratchett-or-gaiman/331330/30 "2005-11-17T21:06:42Z")
> [@Arien](#): > > Was the ending different in the American version? I read somewhere that they added a couple things to it. IIRC, they added a bit about a boy (the kid from the American embassy, that Adam replaced at the nunnery) flying across the Atlantic and thinking about what a fun time he’d have in the US or somesuch. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-omens-more-pratchett-or-gaiman/331330/31 "2005-11-17T21:08:38Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I’ll back him up. Douglas Addams, \*then \* Terry Pratchett, and \*then \* Neil Gaiman, if at all. **Miller** , I got your back on this one. Adams is a hack. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-omens-more-pratchett-or-gaiman/331330.md?page=1)