Hogfather
A Discworld Novel
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4.7 • 213 Ratings
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
“Pratchett’s writing is a constant delight. No one mixes the fantastical and mundane to better comic effect or offers sharper insights into the absurdities of human endeavour.”—Daily Mail
When the guy in the red suit goes missing the night before the Discworld’s favorite holiday, it falls on Death to take up the sleigh reigns in this wonderfully irreverent holiday fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Terry Pratchett.
Very few things are held sacred in the twisted, corrupt, heartless—and oddly familiar—universe of the Discworld, but the Hogfather is one of them. Each year at this most joyous of times, Hogswatchnight, the jolly, red-suited Hogfather hops into his hog-drawn sleigh. But this year, the old gift giver has vanished without a trace.
Could it be that belief in the Hogfather is dangerously low among the cynical citizens of the Discworld, a place where superstition makes things work? That’s why Death decides to stand in. But it’s just not right to find a seven-foot skeleton creeping down your chimney bellowing “ho, ho, ho.”
On this last night of the year, as the time is turning, it’s up to levelheaded Susan, gothic governess and Death’s granddaughter, to sort everything out by morning—or there won’t be a morning. Ever again . . .
The Discworld novels can be read in any order, but Hogfather is the fourth book in the Death series. The full collection includes:
MortReaper ManSoul MusicHogfatherThief of Time
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
Happy Hogswatch!!!
I loved the social commentary about Christmas, consumerism, and social inequality. I also loved the commentary on human belief and mythology. I know neither was the point of the book, but I enjoyed it all the same. I also enjoyed the story. What’s not to love about Death filling in for - and saving - the Hogfather (Santa)? I also liked how Death didn’t care about the rules and made sure kids got what was on their lists, no matter how much everyone told him he couldn’t.
Discworld
If you’re new to Terry Pratchette , the wizard of Discworld, this is a great starter book. Sci-fi can be snarky fun and DEATH steals the show.
Snarky fun
Am reading this after having seen the BBC video a couple of years ago, and having read only the Tiffany Aching quintet before this novel.
I snickered a lot reading this. A Yank, I’d never heard of Wow-Wow sauce, and now I’m curious.
There are parts of this book that resonate too strongly with current societal situations, bordering on omniscient and—I hope not—timeless. There are discussions about charity that need to be jammed into a few heads.
Perception and choices are threads wound through the plot. You can choose to read this as another Terry Pratchett experience, a seasonally apt book, winter fun, an anthropological study, a philosophical debate, any or all of the above, or in a completely different light.
I think, by whichever perceptual lens you read it, you’ll be happy you did.