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Oct 02, 2023

SFF Reading Recommendations for the Characters of Good Omens

Well, I had such a grand time figuring out what the characters on Ted Lasso would read that I decided to put together another reader’s advisory list This time we’re looking at books for the characters

Well, I had such a grand time figuring out what the characters on Ted Lasso would read that I decided to put together another reader’s advisory list This time we’re looking at books for the characters on season two of Good Omens. I’ve read the original novel by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett several times, and mostly enjoyed the first season. That season two finale had me reeling and if we don’t get a season three I will be smashing everything in my general vicinity. Consider this my way of processing my feels.

A queer antihero who finds herself doing good despite her best intentions to be an asshole? Oh yeah, the Miriam Black series is perfect for Crowley. Miriam can see how a person is going to die by touching them. She’s tried in the past to do what’s right and failed miserably and painfully each time. Now she just wants to get by unscathed. But when she finally decides to help someone, well, no good deed goes unpunished. Crowley would recognize a lot of himself in Miriam for better and for worse. The whole series is about Miriam trying to run away from herself, responsibility, and relationships and learning that she doesn’t actually want to be left alone. And with her harsh attitude and even harsher language, he’d get a kick out of the series for sure.

Since according to the original novel Aziraphale’s proclivities run toward books with “old brown covers and crackling pages,” it’s unlikely his reading habits have ventured into self-published romance. Which is why these two titles are good stretch books for him. Both feature supernatural plots where a gruff man with a troubled background falls for an endearing yet determined man. They’re historical—set in the 1880s and late 1920s/early 1930s, respectively—which works for a guy who barely understands the modern era. They’re also about men learning that the systems they’re part of or want to be part of again cannot be reformed and that attempts to do so will result in both failure and losing yourself in the process. Stainton’s series has plenty of puns that I think Aziraphale would delight in as much as Crowley would be annoyed by. And Charles’ series has enough stifling bureaucracy that he could relate to the main characters’ frustrations.

I know what you’re thinking. Surely Nina should get Legends & Lattes since she actually owns the coffee shop. However, this book is way too soft for someone with as many rough edges as Nina. And since Maggie is in a much different place with regards to romance than Nina, it seemed more appropriate for our little record shop owner. From what we see of Maggie, she seems like the kind of person who would like cozy fantasy with a splash of queer romance. Not least of which a novel involving a rough-and-tumble coffee shop owner with a struggling business drawn into the orbit of a new love interest.

The Hazel Wood is about a young woman trapped in cycles of abuse, negligence, and betrayal. Powerful, dark magic wielded by inexplicable beings push her into situations she’s unprepared for but determined to survive. There’s no big, over-the-top romance, nor is this a fairy tale with a happily ever after. But it does have an ending that satisfies and leaves Alice with the answers she needs to try and move on with her life. By the end of season 2, Nina is in a place of personal growth, having moved through the scariest parts of her story. What comes next is up to her. This book would fit in nicely at this moment in her life.

Gabriel is both a stuffy jerk and a goofy little cinnamon roll, a stick-up-his-arse rule-maker and a guy who just wants to listen to oldies, gaze upon his own reflection, and organize books by the first word in the first sentence. There’s not much going on upstairs, even when he isn’t walking naked through London, so I don’t want to give him anything too hefty. The Nimona graphic novel is perfect for him. It’s about an antihero sidekick and the villain she teams up with to take on the high-and-mighty hero. The plot is complex without being overwhelming, and given how he ends up in the season finale, a story about a good guy who isn’t so good and a bad guy who isn’t so bad would resonate. Knowing how Gabriel struggles to concentrate and pay attention, I’d actually suggest he watch the movie first.

Mild spoilers for this one. This short epistolary novel has a narrative style and plot elements that I think would appeal to our face-swapping leader of Hell. The story is about two baddies on opposite sides of an eternal war finding each other and their own paths forward. It’s bloody and violent, but also emotional and romantic. Beelzebub isn’t what you expect them to be, and not only because their face changed between seasons. This novel would feel eerily familiar to our little demon.

Muriel is given Iain Banks’ The Crow Road to read, but that’s a little too heavy for an angel who has only been on Earth fewer than 24 hours. I’d want to give Muriel something genre-bendy to stay engaged, something about good people doing bad things and bad people doing good things to connect to on a personal level, something with gods navigating their powers in unprecedented ways to better understand Heaven and Hell, and something romantic instead of taking Aziraphale’s weird explanations as truth. I think Muriel would dig this story about reincarnated gods, falling in love, and doing what’s right even when it’s the hard thing and goes against everything you were taught.

Shax is another being who would benefit from a book with a lot of action and quippy phrases but not too dense or overly long. This new YA fantasy about a teen girl who made a deal with a demon and lives to regret it would be a good sneak attack for Shax. At first Shax would side with the demon Fred, who made the original deal with the human Cordelia to kill her father, then side with the other demon who wants to force Cordelia into another even worse deal. But by the end, I think Cordelia would act as a mirror for Shax, particularly her sparky attitude. I also hope Shax learns to see demons from the human point of view and maybe learn a little empathy.

Uriel doesn’t seem like the kind of angel with a lot of patience or time to waste, so I definitely want to pick a novella. Uriel also wouldn’t appreciate lecturing or pandering. This book about a well-respected general dealing with a fractious ruler and allies-turned-enemies would hit home. General Daynja Édo would be very recognizable to Uriel, since they share similar traits. The quick pace of the story, the exciting fight scenes, and the tense narration would definitely hold Uriel’s attention.

Saraqael seems to be the only one of the Heavenly host with any real intellect, a knowledgeable and observant being in a celestial beehive full of drones. It’s tempting to give this angel something sprawling yet intricate, but I’m veering toward short and punchy with Tread of Angels. The premise has angels in it, yes, but they’re nothing like what Saraqael is used to. The Weird West setting mixed with the noir-style murder mystery would be a stretch for sure, but unexpected is something I think Saraqael would be into. If anything, it would make the angel think and push some of Saraqael’s buttons.

I couldn’t let this list end without including the two authors of the original novel. The 31st novel in the Discworld series is all about people living in a conservative nation under the rule of a tyrannical and petty god. Sounds about right for me, an unrepentant ex-Christian raised in a fundamentalist church. And sounds about right for what we’ve seen from Crowley and Aziraphale’s perspectives in Good Omens, especially when it comes to Heaven’s bureaucratic machine. Michael could stand to read a book that challenges preconceived ideas on what a god should be and how (or whether) God’s will should be enforced. Michael, like Gabriel, isn’t the deepest thinker, so the humorous tone and fantasy setting is a good way to sneak in the life lessons like a Trojan horse.

Metatron may not be an actual god, but after working with one long enough, the angel knows how myopic and flighty they can be. Neil Gaiman has written several stories about gods behaving badly, but this one should hopefully inspire Metatron to not repeat the same mistakes. American Gods shows us what happens when powerful people reach for more power than they can handle and the folly of trying to control others. Without getting too into spoilers, there are plenty of lessons in this novel that Metatron needs to learn before season three kicks off.

Alex Brown is a Hugo-nominated and Ignyte award-winning critic who writes about speculative fiction, librarianship, and Black history. Find them on twitter (@QueenOfRats), instagram (@bookjockeyalex), and their blog (bookjockeyalex.com).