Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

Good Omens is, for obvious reasons, one of my favorite novels of all time. It's about the End of the World as we know it, vaguely reminiscent of the movie, The Omen. Besides being absolutely hilarious (to anyone familiar with the Book of Revelations in the Bible, anyways), it is a very hip and umm... educational treatment of an otherwise very serious subject, the Apocalypse.

As someone who pretended to be very studious about the Bible, I read Good Omens over and over again because I find something new to laugh about each time. My favorite characters are definitely that comedic duo of devil and angel, Crowley and Aziraphale. The entire cast is quirky, the plot fast-paced and full of "fracas" or "rumpus." My only complaint may be the fact that there is only one book, and there can be only one. Also, the Britishisms take a while to translate and fully appreciate if you're unfortunate enough to be an American.

I hear rumors of a movie all the time, and hope against hope that Johnny Depp plays Crowley. Even if it is only half as funny as the book, that is funny enough.

the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett

The Discworld novels are a brilliant and satiric parody of fantasy elements and humanity's foible foibles. If you are even slightly into humor, fantasy, mystery and action and comedic romance, you can't go wrong with Pratchett. Trust me. If for some reason, you did go wrong, then it is you who is wrong, and not Pratchett!

Several of his books can be read alone, although the full impact of characterization and plot can optimally be enjoyed if you read certain arcs in order, namely the Watch arc and perhaps the Witches arc. There are a few novels that I don't enjoy as much as the rest, but I enjoy them far far more than any other series ever written, so that's not saying much.

My personal favorites, which I would review if I could come up with something other than "THIS BOOK IS SO AWESOME!" to say. In no particular order...

1. Soul Music: About sex, drugs and rock and roll. Okay, just rock and roll.
2. The Truth: About Ankh Morpork's newspaper that tells the "truth."
3. Going Postal: About Ankh Morpork's revived postal service.
4. Science of Discworld: About the science of Earth, as explained by the magic of Discworld.
5. The Last Hero: About Cohen the Barbarian, the last hero of Discworld.
6. Men at Arms: About the City Watch's brush with the deadly gonne.
7. Hogfather: About the legendary holiday figure of goodwill and bloodshed.

My favorite characters...
1. Death
2. Librarian (duh)
3. Susan Sto Helit
4. Vetinari
5. Captain Vimes
6. Leonard Da Quirm
7. Moist von Lipwig

Links to visit:
L-space: has more information than you ever wanted to know about Terry Pratchett and Discworld.

Favorite quote of all time - oh wait, maybe not:
"One day I'll be dead and THEN you'll all be sorry."
-- (Terry Pratchett, alt.fan.pratchett)