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Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett
26 reviews
basil_touche's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
I think this is a rare case of the adaptation being better than the original book. I had seen the TV series before reading this and I'm honestly surprised at how much the show made up considering how long this book is. My biggest issue with this book is that the entire middle part was tedious, mainly focusing on the Them, Anathema, Newt and Shadwell for 120 pages, yet for all these characters it felt like nothing of note was really happening. I was bored and just wanting the narrative to switch back to Crowley and Aziraphale (the latter stuck reading a book for those 120 pages, doing nothing else, just reading and having the narration describing it)
I could forgive it slightly if it was actually funny, but I found myself barely smiling at any jokes. Like this is well written in terms of sentence structure and I would occassionaly, absentmindly go "Oh that's kinda clever", but after a while it became tortuous to read through so much unhumorous descriptions with way, way too many characters. Many of whom are only there for a page or two and take away from the main cast. Even most of the main cast I didn't care for (I can see why the show focused more on Aziraphale and Crowley as they are the best characters who really work well off each other). The show added way more things that were actually interesting to the themes (Heaven and Hell having way more of a presence, Aziraphale and Crowley being shown through the ages - it's honestly shocking how little time they interact in the book compared to everyone else) that the book just feels so hollow in comparison.
Another thing that caught me off guard was the amount of racism, misogyny, ableism, fatphobia and homophobia (I was aware of the infamous scene where Aziraphale is called the f slur by a child but not everything else) that is scattered throughout. The parts where it pops up made an already tedious reading experience into an aggravating one. It's strange, I've read a bunch of Pratchett's work and I don't recall coming across anything this bad (I don't know about Gaiman's work and frankly with what's been happening reccently I don't want to buy his books to check).
This is the closest I've ever DNF a book and it came close several times. I've rated this slightly higher due to the ending, which stops trying to crack as many unfunny jokes to actually talk about the themes & characters in a way that makes you reflect. Where was that the rest of the book??
Again, you're better off watching the show and save yourself the trouble.
I could forgive it slightly if it was actually funny, but I found myself barely smiling at any jokes. Like this is well written in terms of sentence structure and I would occassionaly, absentmindly go "Oh that's kinda clever", but after a while it became tortuous to read through so much unhumorous descriptions with way, way too many characters. Many of whom are only there for a page or two and take away from the main cast. Even most of the main cast I didn't care for (I can see why the show focused more on Aziraphale and Crowley as they are the best characters who really work well off each other). The show added way more things that were actually interesting to the themes (Heaven and Hell having way more of a presence, Aziraphale and Crowley being shown through the ages - it's honestly shocking how little time they interact in the book compared to everyone else) that the book just feels so hollow in comparison.
Another thing that caught me off guard was the amount of racism, misogyny, ableism, fatphobia and homophobia (I was aware of the infamous scene where Aziraphale is called the f slur by a child but not everything else) that is scattered throughout. The parts where it pops up made an already tedious reading experience into an aggravating one. It's strange, I've read a bunch of Pratchett's work and I don't recall coming across anything this bad (I don't know about Gaiman's work and frankly with what's been happening reccently I don't want to buy his books to check).
This is the closest I've ever DNF a book and it came close several times. I've rated this slightly higher due to the ending, which stops trying to crack as many unfunny jokes to actually talk about the themes & characters in a way that makes you reflect. Where was that the rest of the book??
Again, you're better off watching the show and save yourself the trouble.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, and War
Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Cultural appropriation
Minor: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Car accident, and Alcohol
pyromastyx's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Homophobia, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, and War
Minor: Religious bigotry
pam_simpson06's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
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? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Eating disorder, Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Moderate: Cursing and Racial slurs
katiewhocanread's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Fire/Fire injury
micareads123's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This book is wonderful. I can’t believe it took me until now to read it.
The story is simultaneously hilarious and asks very important questions about good vs evil, humanity and politics, and it presents some compelling observations about religion.
Aziraphale and Crowley are easily now among my all-time favourite characters, especially as a duo. They play off each other so well. The nuance in their actions is everything.
Having been published in 1990, there are definitely parts of the book that did not age well, and for that reason my stance is that the TV show is better than the book, since it gives us more Aziraphale and Crowley and none of the jarring language.
TW: homophobia, racism, fatphobia
The story is simultaneously hilarious and asks very important questions about good vs evil, humanity and politics, and it presents some compelling observations about religion.
Aziraphale and Crowley are easily now among my all-time favourite characters, especially as a duo. They play off each other so well. The nuance in their actions is everything.
Having been published in 1990, there are definitely parts of the book that did not age well, and for that reason my stance is that the TV show is better than the book, since it gives us more Aziraphale and Crowley and none of the jarring language.
TW: homophobia, racism, fatphobia
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia, Homophobia, Racial slurs, and Racism
hotbitch's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
slow-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Antisemitism, and Cultural appropriation
elysianbud's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Incredibly funny book. Moments of harsh reality pointed out in hilarious ways that sort of gives you whiplash.
Eg. "You do know you could find yourself charged with being a dominant species while under the influence of impulse-driven consumerism, don't you?
Very enjoyable read. So very 90s.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Eating disorder, and Car accident
Minor: Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, Religious bigotry, and War
wispy_reviews's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
My expectation was that one of the two authors on the front was superfluous, one had the idea and the other wrote it. Learning that, in fact, the process of writing Good Omens was a chaotic back-and-forth of Pratchett and Gaiman literally co-writing the same book blew my mind in the best way.
It all flows seamlessly, without forsaking either author’s writing style. It’s hilarious and deeply foreboding when it wants to be, at times simultaneously. And on top of it all, there’s some theological questions thrown in there for good flavor.
It all flows seamlessly, without forsaking either author’s writing style. It’s hilarious and deeply foreboding when it wants to be, at times simultaneously. And on top of it all, there’s some theological questions thrown in there for good flavor.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Racial slurs
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: Death, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Moderate: Cursing, Gun violence, Racism, Xenophobia, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Ableism, Confinement, and Car accident
bi_n_large's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Genocide, and War
Minor: Bullying, Child death, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, and Blood