Hogfather
(Discworld Novel 20)
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4.7 • 124 Ratings
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- £5.99
Publisher Description
'Humans need fantasy to be human. To be the place where the falling angel meets the rising ape.'
'Twas the night before Hogswatch and all through the house . . . something was missing.
Superstition makes things work in the Discworld and undermining it can have consequences. When Death realizes that belief in the Hogfather is dangerously low, he decides to take on the job. But it's just not right to find a seven-foot skeleton creeping down your chimney and trying to say 'ho, ho, ho'.
It's the last night of the year, the time is turning, and if Susan, gothic governess and Death's granddaughter, doesn't sort everything out by morning, there won't be a morning. Ever again . . .
'Has the energy of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and the inventiveness of Alice in Wonderland' Sunday Times
Hogfather is the fourth book in the Death series, but you can read the Discworld novels in any order.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The master of humorous fantasy delivers one of his strongest, most conventional books yet. Discworld's equivalent of Santa Claus, the Hogfather (who flies in a sleigh drawn by four gigantic pigs), has been spirited away by a repulsive assassin, Mr. Teatime, acting on behalf of the Auditors who rule the universe and who would prefer that it exhibited no life. Since faith is essential to life, destroying belief in the Hogfather would be a major blow to humanity. It falls to a marvelously depicted Death and his granddaughter Susan to solve the mystery of the disappeared Hogfather, and meanwhile to fill in for him. On the way to the pair's victory, readers encounter children both naughty and nice; gourmet banquets made of old boots and mud; lesser and greater criminals; an overworked and undertrained tooth fairy named Violet; and Bilious, the god of hangovers, among other imaginative concepts. The tone of much of the book is darker than usual for Pratchett--for whom "humorous" has never been synonymous with "silly"--and his satire, too, is more edged than usual. (One scene deftly skewers the Christmas carol "Good King Wenceslas.") Pratchett has now moved beyond the limits of humorous fantasy, and should be recognized as one of the more significant contemporary English-language satirists. U.K. rights: Victor Gollanz, The Cassell Group; trans., first serial, dramatic, audio rights: Ralph Vicinanza.
Customer Reviews
Not for the uninitiated...
A knowledge compound book club choice;
I love Terry Pratchett. I love discworld and I think the 5 stars are reflective of that. Some people HATED the book and while I was reading it again I kind of knew they would. I was assured by forums that you can start anywhere in discworld but actually, the hogfather is a terrible place to start.
It is Discworld turned up to Maximum and then shone through a panto lense. There's so many characters and a fair few storylines to grapple with, so for the uninitiated it is a mess. Some got through it and, like me, loved it. The end ties up neatly and along the way you are gifted with Terrys humour, astute view of the world and social commentary.
It gives us lessons in charity and observations on belief and makes us laugh at how ridiculous humans are as a species. It's Christmas, but not quite as we know it. Familiar enough that you are either nodding along, agreeing that you know people just like the cheerful fairy or perhaps cringing that you too are like Ridcully.
He gets people, he gets life. I love discworld and I get tearful thinking that it's all over now, so maybe I'm projecting too much on to this book. But I loved it.
Nearly everyone who listened to the audible said they think they would have enjoyed it more if they'd have actually read it. The scenes jump around from place to place, which is clear in print but disorienting in voice. And they found the footnotes distracting, whereas in the book I love the footnotes.
So maybe this informs your choice. If you're thinking of dipping in to discworld for the first time then I'd start with the witches probably, which I think 'equal rites' is the first one. Or maybe the actual first ever book is the best place to start. And read it, electronically or on paper but maybe not audio until you're a bit more immersed in the lore etc...
HO HO HO
Beware of Hogswatch
A dark tale about Christmas with the help of death and his granddaughter Susan but can they save Christmas in time for the Hogswatch?
My review
Honestly one of the weirdest book's I've ever read... But it's brilliantly told and it just keeps you guessing! ;)