Buenos Presagios: las buenas y ajustadas profecías de Agnes La Chalada

One of my all-time favorite books is truly a gem.

It is hands down the most entertaining book about the Apocalypse that you will ever come across.

The characters of Crowley and Aziraphale are an absolute delight. Their antics and interactions add a layer of charm and humor to the story.

I have a particular fondness for the quirkiness and absurdity that is interwoven throughout the narrative.

Pratchett and Gaiman have masterfully twisted what we "know" about the commonly preached end of the world.

They take the traditional concepts and turn them on their heads, creating a unique and engaging tale that keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.

This book is a must-read for anyone who enjoys a good laugh and a fresh take on a familiar theme.

So, here's a really funny story.

I was engaged in re-reading a book during a recent training session for my job. Let me tell you, the training was a fairly tedious process. It involved sitting in front of a computer for long hours, listening to those dreadfully boring presentations about the software.

The guy who was seated next to me was reasonably good-looking and quite chatty. He happened to look over and asked, "What are you reading?"

"Good Omens," I replied. Noticing that he clearly had no clue what it was, I elaborated, "It's about the end of the world. It's really funny."

"Cool," he said.

A little while later, I was being rather silly and making myself motion sick by spinning in my chair (yes, because I'm such a grownup). When I got bored with that, I asked him, "So how'd you wind up here?"

"Oh, [company we work for] recruits heavily from my school," he said.

"Where's that?" I inquired.

"Brigham Young University."

At that moment, a sudden realization dawned on me regarding my chances of getting a date. It was like a light bulb going off inside my frontal lobes. But still, I needed to come up with something intelligent to say in response. So I said, "I heard the CIA recruits from there a lot." (I guess this is my idea of being intelligent.)

"Yeah. But you have to travel all over the world for the CIA and I just got married, so I couldn't," he explained.

I nodded as if this all made perfect sense and then went back to my book. Strangely enough, the book is much funnier and yet, in some ways, less surreal than my day-to-day life.

It's time for Sacrilegious Studies class! Today's lesson delves into the real meaning of the book of Revelation. Around 96 CE, John the Elder angered the Roman government by preaching Christianity. Whether this is true or just a martyrdom story made up by early Christians hoping for a nicer mansion in heaven is beyond the scope of this class. Anyway, John bravely stupidly defied the Romans and was exiled to the island of Patmos. Maybe there weren't many people there to proselytize to, or maybe the Romans thought it was a good punishment. We don't know why they chose Patmos, but off John went.

Unfortunately for John, but fortunately for the Roman citizens, TVs hadn't been invented yet, so he couldn't get rich by spreading the Word through that medium. We can only imagine how many people in the ancient world would have not been healed by sending money to John the Televangelist. Stuck on Patmos without internet, TV, or a smartphone, John spent his days looking for fossils and shells on the beach and preaching to the birds. But as we know from that movie with Tom Hanks, humans need other humans to survive and will go insane if they're alone for too long.

That's exactly what happened to John. He tried preaching to the seagulls, but they weren't interested. He grew frustrated and needed an audience. So he found some conch shells and drew emoji-like human faces on them with seagull shit. At first, he knew they weren't real people, but preaching to them took him back to better days when he had crowds listening to him. However, John wasn't the brightest bulb. He placed his audience of shells at the edge of the water and didn't notice the tide coming in. As dusk settled, most of his audience was swallowed by the waves and their seagull-shit faces were gone. John wept and gnashed his teeth, even biting his tongue nearly in half. He ran along the beach until he collapsed and spent the night weeping and wailing.

In the morning, John found a new venue in a cave. He created a new audience of conch shells and spent his days preaching and teaching, going ever more insane. Eventually, all the emoji-smile seashell people had been converted and John despaired. He needed something more. He thought he was special and had a divine purpose to fulfill. After all, one of the shells had morphed into Jesus' emoji-face and talked to him. John asked for hints on what to do and Jesus told him it involved words. Then he said to think about bedtime. John still didn't understand, so Jesus gave him more hints: scrolls, quills, ink. Finally, Jesus shouted that John was meant to write a bedtime story. John liked this idea and decided to write a story for children everywhere.

John knew he had to top the Grimm Brothers, so he looked for Jesus-Emoji Shell for hints. Jesus muttered about having to spell everything out for John. Then John's tummy started rumbling and he went looking for food. He was vegan, so he couldn't hunt. He found some coconut trees but didn't know how to open them. He then came upon a bush full of ripe, red berries. Not realizing they were poisonous, he ate them and his head started spinning. He thought the bushes were on fire and ran back to his cave. Inside, he saw the walls, ground, and ceiling painted in crazy colors and exclaimed, "This is some fucked up shit." His mind swirled with visions and sounds and he had the wackiest dreams of his life. In the morning, he woke up and began writing "The Revelation of John: Bedtime Stories to Scare the Crap Out of Kids."

Thanks to John and his exile and those hallucinogenic berries, children everywhere have been terrified. People misunderstood his words as facts and for the last two millennia, they've thought they were living in the End Times. This has caused a lot of unnecessary worry and fear and stockpiling. But there has also been some good to come of this in the form of Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch. This book is hysterical and full of clever witticisms. It's about the End Times and an angel and demon and the Antichrist and other fun characters. I'm glad I watched the series first because I could picture the actors who played Crowley and Aziraphale. It probably won't be funny to those who believe in a literal End Times and all those other things John wrote about. But for everyone else, it's a fun ride!

The funniest, most clever and enjoyable book I've ever read is truly a masterpiece.

The Phoenix New Times' description, "It reads like the Book of Revelations as penned by Monty Python's Flying Circus," couldn't be more accurate. Pratchett and Gaiman have seamlessly woven their work together.

The main characters, the angel Aziraphale and his fallen angel buddy Crowley (formerly Crawly in the Garden of Eden), are engaging. They team up to prevent the Apocalypse, a task made even more difficult when Crowley accidentally gets the Antichrist mixed up at the hospital.

The book is filled with hilarious moments and a cast of earnest eccentrics and oddballs. It's impossible to overstate how much fun "Good Omens" is to read and reread. I'm currently doing just that in anticipation of the Amazon series, which looks amazing.

Hurry up, Amazon! I'm eagerly waiting to see it.

Update: Yes, the series is indeed awesome and well worth the wait. It has brought the story to life in the most wonderful way.

**Title: A Review of "Buenos presagios"**

"Buenos presagios" is just a normal book, but it's entertaining.

Actually, it's a 3.2.

The end of the world is near. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse have already arrived. The Antichrist dwells among us. Only Saturday remains for the final confrontation between the armies of Good and Evil to begin. Who will win? Who will lose? No one knows, as that doesn't appear in the good and accurate prophecies of Agnes the Chattering Witch. A small detail that has everyone worried...

I would describe "Buenos presagios" as an irreverent book because the authors have decided to play, ironically, with important religious themes. However, I don't think they do it out of disrespect; this is just a humorous book that might appeal to children (in fact, for me, it's a children's book). Still, it's important to note that if you're a very passionate and sensitive reader regarding your beliefs, this book might not be to your liking.

This reading has been, for me, an opportunity to step out of my comfort zone because I don't usually read works where humor is the main axis of the work. Yes, there are many books that make me laugh, but in those cases, it arises naturally thanks to a small joke, an idea, or whatever: not as the main objective. However, in "Buenos presagios," the pillar that supports the work is humor. If we don't like this humor, we'll have a bad time; if we do, we'll have a great time: it's as simple as that. In my case, I've had an ambivalent experience because some scenes seemed funny to me, while others were very ridiculous. It's very difficult to make a criticism about humor, considering that we all laugh at different jokes; but, as my personal calibrator that measures between the great and the ridiculous marks a 60-40 when I think about this book, then I suppose I've had a good experience regarding the humor presented by the writers. I didn't split my sides laughing, but it's not bad.

One thing that I really liked about this work is the way the authors modernize religion by creating a valid and consistent scenario in which the mythical is intertwined with the daily. It's something similar to what Rick Riordan does in his Percy Jackson saga. In addition, they propose interesting symbolisms in which each traditional religious element represents something different in our present. We see this in the names of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse since they represent historical problems of humanity (Death, Hunger, War, and Pollution), the presentation of heaven and hell as if they were human organizations, the characters of Azirafel and Crowley who have always lived on Earth and are adapting to new customs, the relationship of Agnes' prophecies with Nostradamus reminding us that humans have the tendency to believe that the future can be predicted, etc. For me, the symbolism and the intertwining of the mythical-real are, by far, the best aspect of the book.

On the other hand, the prose is what I didn't like about this book because I felt it was forced, chaotic, and disorganized. Here, the problem lies in the fact that two people wrote this work, and unfortunately, their styles don't complement each other. Both writers write very well, but internally, they fight for the spotlight. This detail negatively affects the reading rhythm of this work because you feel interruptions that cause distraction when there are scene changes, confusion due to the participation of new characters, or simply you feel that unexpectedly, your curiosity about the plot that was being formed is blocked. That lack of fluidity in reading tired and bored me at times. Which of the two writers was interrupting the other? I don't know, but it was annoying. If in the future I happen to read a book written by two people again, I think I won't make the decision so lightly and will think about it better. It was a strange experience that I had on this occasion regarding the prose. Sincerely, not very pleasant.

Finally, I want to say that "Buenos presagios" leaves me with the final message that no one is completely bad or good. We are a strange mix of love and hate, envy and gratitude, greed and generosity. We think we know everything when we know nothing. We try to predict the future when we can't even predict the color of our feces. We try to avoid a cataclysm when unconsciously we're not even able to avoid tripping and falling flat on our faces. Is it a humorous book? Yes. Is it a book not to be taken seriously? Yes. However, from every story, we can learn lessons, and in the case of this book, hidden among the humor and irony, we can understand that prophecies are nothing more than banalities created by any subject who believes they are capable of guessing the future. How beautiful it is to live knowing that when a prophecy comes true, it's not by divine revelation but only by the grace and work of chance. How beautiful is the uncertainty of not knowing what will happen because that way, we guarantee to step out of our comfort zone when we have to live through strange situations. How beautiful it is that the destiny is not written. How beautiful it is not to be a prophet. How beautiful!

In summary, a book that guarantees entertainment, if and only if, our type of humor aligns with that provided by the authors. I don't recommend it fervently, but I also don't suggest that you discard it. Read a few pages, explore if the type of humor catches your attention, and make your own decision. My rating is 3.2 because I've been entertained by this reading, but my dislike for the prose and some ridiculous jokes has negatively affected my experience. Nevertheless, I don't rule out reading either of its authors on future occasions. They deserve new opportunities.

A fun and easy-to-read novel.

I was particularly intrigued by the conversations of the main characters when they were as drunk as vats. Their inebriated exchanges added a touch of hilarity and authenticity to the story.

The build-up to the end was also well-crafted, keeping me on the edge of my seat.

However, despite enjoying the book, it didn't quite meet all of my expectations. There were perhaps a few elements that could have been developed further or explored in more depth.

Nonetheless, it has piqued my interest in Neil Gaiman's other works and has also made me eager to start delving into Terry Pratchett's books.

I look forward to seeing what other literary treasures these authors have in store for me.

Overall, this book was a huge disappointment for me.

I’d heard countless good things about it and had been eager to read it for years. When I finally began, around 20 pages in, I thought, “Yes! This is going to be one of the most entertaining books I’ve ever read.” It was like experiencing The Hitchhiker’s Guide anew. It was witty, with a fast pace, and had many brilliant insights into society and religion.

However, about halfway through, I realized I wasn't laughing as much anymore. The story seemed to get stuck with characters that weren't very interesting to me and often annoyed me. Most notably, the 11-year-old Antichrist and his friends seemed out of place. They belonged in a Norman Rockwell painting (or a British equivalent) – a group of kids with slingshots and backyard adventures. I was supposed to find them and their inane conversations entertaining, maybe even cute, but every time they appeared, which was quite often, the book seemed to come to a screeching halt.

Most of the other characters were great fun to read. The demon and the angel and their strange friendship was easily the best part of the book for me. The four horsemen of the apocalypse were also enjoyable, at least most of the time. Overall, the premise was brilliant. What a letdown that it couldn't maintain its quality throughout. The ending seemed forced and the resolution was unsatisfying. I know many people loved this book. I wish I could have enjoyed it as much as they did.

I really loved the humor, irreverence, and sarcasm in this book, as well as the charisma of its protagonists.

Their personalities were so engaging that they made the reading experience truly enjoyable. However, on the other hand, the plot seemed overly simple and cliché to me. It didn't have anything particularly memorable or unique about it.

Despite this, I'm still willing to give the adaptation to a series a chance. Maybe they can bring out the best in the story and add some new elements to make it more exciting.

In the meantime, I'll continue reading other novels by Gaiman. I have high hopes for his other works and believe that he has the talent to create truly remarkable stories.

I'm curious to see what else he has in store for his readers.