Good Omens Celebrates 30th Anniversary With Official Fanfiction

This May sees the thirtieth anniversary of the publication of Good Omens, Neil Gaiman and Sir Terry’s Pratchett’s end of the world novel which has been enjoying massive renewed popularity, thanks to the release of the Amazon Prime TV show last summer. Many fans of the book were delighted by the adaptation – a rare phenomenon – and the TV show thoroughly deserved it’s success.

The thirtieth anniversary of the novel is a bittersweet celebration for many, as Sir Terry isn’t here to join in, but Gaiman has surprised the fans by releasing official lockdown fanfiction in the form of a short video exploring how fan favourites Aziraphale and Crowley are coping in lockdown.

What makes it even more special, especially for those who came to the story from the TV show, is that Michael Sheen and David Tennant reprise their roles to voice the angel and the demon’s phone call. Sheen and Gaiman have been very engaged with their hardcore fans but Tennant tends to step back and stay out of the limelight, so it is a real joy to have him on board for something so frivolous and delightfully silly.

The phone call between Aziraphale and Crowley, scripted by Gaiman, reveals that whilst Crowley is so bored he’s contemplating taking a nap and setting his alarm for June, Aziraphale has fallen into the habit a lot of us seem to have taken up and is baking non-stop. I won’t go into detail because you really have to hear it to enjoy it properly.

It is hard to tell if we weren’t in lockdown whether this video would exist at all, but nevertheless, it is a real treat for fans of the show and the book, and a really lovely way to kick off the anniversary month. If you’ve seen the show but never read the book, now could be the perfect time to get hold of a copy and give it a whirl. A fan pleasing video is really nice, but I can’t think of any better way to honour Sir Terry’s memory than to celebrate with a copy of the book itself.