“Good Signs” [1] ( English Good Omens , in other translations - “Good omens”) is a novel by English writers Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman in the genre of humorous urban fantasy . For Neil Gaiman, the book was the first major literary work. The novel, sustained in a subtle manner of English humor , tells of an angel and a demon trying to prevent the biblical Apocalypse . The book contains a large number of allusions, quotes and references to modern mass culture, in particular to the film " Omen ". The Russian translation of the book was published in November 2012 by Eksmo Publishing House, and the translator was Margarita Yurkan [2] . There are also translations of Vadim Filippov and Victor Verbitsky. The Russian edition of the book was published in the black cover of the series “under Terry Pratchett” [3] .
| Good signs | |
|---|---|
| Good mens | |
| Genre | humorous fantasy |
| Author | Terry Pratchett Neil Gaiman |
| Original language | English |
| Date of first publication | |
| Publishing house | Eksmo |
In 2019, the mini-series Good Signs was released.
Story
Demon Crowley is tasked with replacing the Antichrist with the son of an American cultural relations attache, who is about to be born in a small hospital at the monastery of the Satanic Talkative Order of St. Beryls. Crowley and the angel Azirafel understand that the end of the world does not promise them anything good, regardless of the outcome of the last battle. Upon reflection, they decide that the Antichrist is not evil in itself, only the possibility of evil, as well as the possibility of good, and therefore the end of the world will not happen if you do not let him bow to either side. Both are trying in various ways to participate in the education of the future Antichrist. That's just the son of an American diplomat is actually an ordinary boy, and he was not the only one born that night in that hospital ...
Reviews and ratings
The book received generally positive reviews from critics. The novel was nominated for the World Fantasy Award and the prize of the magazine " Locus ". In Russia, he received a special prize of the World of Fantasy as the Most Long-awaited Book and won the poll of the Laboratory of Fantasy for Best Translation Book 2012.
In the magazine World of Fantasy , Alexander Gaginsky noted that the style of the book is more similar to Pratchettian than to Gaiman's, recalling the recognition of the co-authors [4] that Pratchett wrote most of the book. “The World of Fantasy” praised the book for post-modern play on images from the Bible and mystical works, humanistic morality (“The fate of the Earth should not be decided by higher forces, but those who live on it. People”) and satire on modern society, but noted such a flaw as the abundance of secondary characters that are useless for the plot [3] . Maria Ginzburg in the Darker webzine considers the Good Signs primarily as a variation of the story from the movie Omen , noting that Gaiman and Pratchett “managed to tell her in a new way, filling the plot of the confrontation between Light and Darkness with a completely different, bright and sad meaning " [5] . Vasily Vladimirsky in the newspaper “ Book Review ” spoke more negatively about the book: in his opinion, the authors could not decide on the target audience, therefore the moral of the book is too straightforward, and “the scale of events is poorly correlated with the main message” [6] .
Screen version
At the end of 1999, British director and screenwriter Terry Gilliam began working on an adaptation of the film [7] . When writing the script, certain difficulties arose, primarily due to the limited time of the film, but in 2002 the work on the script was completely completed. In March 2002, the cast was determined. The filming began on April of that year . The film was never shot, although Terry Gilliam himself, even in 2008, did not lose hope of a successful completion of the project.
In August 2012, Terry Pratchett's daughter, Rihanna, announced the creation of a new company, Narrativia, which, among other projects, will produce a TV film based on Good Signs [8] [9] .
In 2017, Amazon Originals announced the eponymous mini-series , which was shown on May 31, 2019. Starring David Tennant and Michael Sheen [10] .
Theatrical version
In March 2013, the Scottish Cult Classic Theater in Glasgow, with the consent of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, adapted the Good Signs adaptation of Amy Hoff [11] [12] .
Notes
- ↑ "Good Signs" by Pratchett and Gaiman will be released in October (inaccessible link) . "The world of fiction ." Date of treatment September 19, 2012. Archived on October 7, 2012.
- ↑ Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman. Good signs. - Eksmo, 2012. - 512 p. - 13,500 copies. - ISBN 978-5-699-59223-4 .
- ↑ 1 2 Alexander Gaginsky. Review of “Good Signs” (Russian) // “ World of Fantasy ”: magazine. - December 2012. - No. 112 .
- ↑ L Space - Words from the Master .
- ↑ Maria Ginzburg. The childhood of the Antichrist (Rus.) // "Darker": magazine. - February 20, 2013. - No. 2 .
- ↑ Vasily Vladimirsky. Gift to the Apocalypse (Rus.) // “ Book Review ”: newspaper. - October 23, 2012. - No. 2 .
- ↑ Dreams: Good Omens . Date of appeal September 23, 2013.
- ↑ Pratchett, Rhianna . Announcing the birth of Narrativia - a production company run by myself, Rod Brown & @terryandrob. First up are Good Omens & The Watch. (August 27, 2012). Date of treatment September 9, 2012.
- ↑ Pratchett, Rhianna . @thebitterguy @terryandrob Good Omens will be a TV movie & The Watch is planned as a 13-part TV series. (August 29, 2012). Date of treatment September 9, 2012.
- ↑ Michael Sheen and David Tennant to star in Gaiman and Pratchett's 'Good Omens' on Amazon Prime (English) , critical popcorn (August 16, 2017). Date of appeal September 16, 2017.
- ↑ GOOD OMENS to be perfomed by the Cult Classic Theater in Glasgow | | Terry Pratchett Terry Pratchett
- ↑ Glasgow International Comedy Festival Blog: Amy Hoff: Good Omens