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erebus53's review against another edition
dark
funny
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I read this book when it first came out and I don't know if I finished it, but it was a looong time ago so I thought it was worth revisiting. This is unashamedly Pratchett having a go at his own rendition of A Nightmare Before Christmas swapping in Death as the spooky stand-in for the missing gift giver.
Mysterious forces have engaged the Assassins' Guild to annul the Hogfather; a feat that has only ever been contemplated by the curly brained Assassin, Teatime. Susan has to cover for her grandfather who is of gallivanting in a SLAY er.. sleigh, and she is none too happy about it. The longer she spends in her role as ever-being, the less like the Sensible governess she seems.
As an audiobook I do like the style of having multiple narrators. Having a woman telling much of the story it makes the DEATH scenes a lot of fun by contrast. The only thing that irked me was that I felt like the narrator was continually mispronouncing Teatime's name... which is understandable considering it's really a text based joke. when reading it I always reflexively pronounce it the way the man refers to himself, unless it's being mispronounced by another character.
<blockquote>It's pronounced Teh-ah-tim-eh, sir, said Teatime</blockquote>
Yes.. I'm a bit weird. When I first heard it said in the audiobook, I thought
"'ere 'ang on? isn't it said Te-ah-ti-meh?"
I thought it was interesting looking at some of the underlying social constructs that it talks about. For one, there is the difference in gifts you get compared to your family means. DEATH in his typical hyper-literal fashion assumes that a mall Santa.. er.. Hogfather, HO..HO..<i>ho?</i> is supposed to give the children what they ask for. Those of us who have lived this tradition know that this is a practice of getting used to the lies we tell children, and learning to adjust one's expectations to fit family income. It is also an exercise in not asking for gifts that require a huge capital outlay or ongoing care (no ponies!), and learning the finesse of keeping your own head down and not bragging about something you got, because those who got more will laugh at you, and those who got less will be upset, or commit some just retribution by breaking or nicking your stuff, or taking violent revenge.
The story also discusses the practice of charity at Christmas and the power disparity of those who Bestow gifts on those who never asked for anything. If Pratchett left it at that I'd be irritated but he follows through with the concept of providing the supports that people actually need and can do something with, in ways that protect their dignity, by first knowing them and not expecting them to fawn in gratitude.
One of the primary supporting characters of the story is slow witted. He's loyal to his brother and a bit of a prick to others. It's cool having a nuanced character that people try to take advantage of but who is both protected and exploited by his brother. It feels real.. if not very nice, and I appreciate that this character gets better luck and more autonomy as the story progresses.
Chock full of puns, a familiar cast of Discworld characters and a few other bit characters, I think it's a solid 4 and a not-bad Christmas read.
Mysterious forces have engaged the Assassins' Guild to annul the Hogfather; a feat that has only ever been contemplated by the curly brained Assassin, Teatime. Susan has to cover for her grandfather who is of gallivanting in a SLAY er.. sleigh, and she is none too happy about it. The longer she spends in her role as ever-being, the less like the Sensible governess she seems.
As an audiobook I do like the style of having multiple narrators. Having a woman telling much of the story it makes the DEATH scenes a lot of fun by contrast. The only thing that irked me was that I felt like the narrator was continually mispronouncing Teatime's name... which is understandable considering it's really a text based joke. when reading it I always reflexively pronounce it the way the man refers to himself, unless it's being mispronounced by another character.
<blockquote>It's pronounced Teh-ah-tim-eh, sir, said Teatime</blockquote>
Yes.. I'm a bit weird. When I first heard it said in the audiobook, I thought
"'ere 'ang on? isn't it said Te-ah-ti-meh?"
I thought it was interesting looking at some of the underlying social constructs that it talks about. For one, there is the difference in gifts you get compared to your family means. DEATH in his typical hyper-literal fashion assumes that a mall Santa.. er.. Hogfather, HO..HO..<i>ho?</i> is supposed to give the children what they ask for. Those of us who have lived this tradition know that this is a practice of getting used to the lies we tell children, and learning to adjust one's expectations to fit family income. It is also an exercise in not asking for gifts that require a huge capital outlay or ongoing care (no ponies!), and learning the finesse of keeping your own head down and not bragging about something you got, because those who got more will laugh at you, and those who got less will be upset, or commit some just retribution by breaking or nicking your stuff, or taking violent revenge.
The story also discusses the practice of charity at Christmas and the power disparity of those who Bestow gifts on those who never asked for anything. If Pratchett left it at that I'd be irritated but he follows through with the concept of providing the supports that people actually need and can do something with, in ways that protect their dignity, by first knowing them and not expecting them to fawn in gratitude.
One of the primary supporting characters of the story is slow witted. He's loyal to his brother and a bit of a prick to others. It's cool having a nuanced character that people try to take advantage of but who is both protected and exploited by his brother. It feels real.. if not very nice, and I appreciate that this character gets better luck and more autonomy as the story progresses.
Chock full of puns, a familiar cast of Discworld characters and a few other bit characters, I think it's a solid 4 and a not-bad Christmas read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Death, and Classism
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Alcohol
indieandajean's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcohol, Murder, Death, Animal death, Kidnapping, Sexism, Mental illness, and Violence
woweewhoa's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Death, and Misogyny
vaguely_pink's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Animal death, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Sexism, Kidnapping, and Alcoholism
Minor: Police brutality, Alcohol, Blood, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Body shaming, Confinement, Drug use, Fatphobia, Torture, and Cursing
nialiversuch's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Vomit, and Alcohol
Moderate: Death
rorikae's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
'Hogfather' by Terry Pratchett is a fun and deeply reflective installment in the Discworld series that delves into belief and the Hogswatch holiday.
The Auditors want to disrupt humanity and to do this, they employ an assassin to kill the Hogfather. But when their plan goes awry, Death steps in to take up the mantle and make sure everyone receives their presents on Hogswatch night. As he travels around the world, his granddaughter Susan is pulled in to help figure out what is happening and how it can be stopped.
Like all of the Discworld books, 'Hogfather' is infused with wit and heart in equal measure. I love the premise of Death having to take over the job of who is essentially the Discworld version of Santa Claus. Where this book fell flat for me was in the middle section. The beginning was engaging and the ending had a lot to say about how humans use belief and the purpose that folklore holds in our lives. The middle was unfortunately a huge slog. I think this story is hurt by the number of perspectives we are jumping frantically between. We follow multiple different characters (at least 4 at a time if not more) and these sections take up only a few pages before we are hurtled along to the next piece. This made the story feel somewhat jumbled and we never spend enough time with one plotline for it to fully feel fleshed out. This is really unfortunate because the story points and the larger pieces that Pratchett is musing on are really interesting and his commentary makes you think.
The ending did save it for me in some respects but it was a lot to get through to get there. I love the ultimate message of this story and what it has to say about belief and the stories that humans tell themselves. This is also the first Discworld book that I've read out of order so I wonder if that had any part in why it was a little bit less enjoyable for me. I will definitely be going back to reading in order after this experience.
I hope to return to this book in the future around the holidays and potentially to check out the adaptation. I wouldn't recommend this as a first experience with Discworld but I do feel that it plays an important part in the wider story (at least as I can see so far).
The Auditors want to disrupt humanity and to do this, they employ an assassin to kill the Hogfather. But when their plan goes awry, Death steps in to take up the mantle and make sure everyone receives their presents on Hogswatch night. As he travels around the world, his granddaughter Susan is pulled in to help figure out what is happening and how it can be stopped.
Like all of the Discworld books, 'Hogfather' is infused with wit and heart in equal measure. I love the premise of Death having to take over the job of who is essentially the Discworld version of Santa Claus. Where this book fell flat for me was in the middle section. The beginning was engaging and the ending had a lot to say about how humans use belief and the purpose that folklore holds in our lives. The middle was unfortunately a huge slog. I think this story is hurt by the number of perspectives we are jumping frantically between. We follow multiple different characters (at least 4 at a time if not more) and these sections take up only a few pages before we are hurtled along to the next piece. This made the story feel somewhat jumbled and we never spend enough time with one plotline for it to fully feel fleshed out. This is really unfortunate because the story points and the larger pieces that Pratchett is musing on are really interesting and his commentary makes you think.
The ending did save it for me in some respects but it was a lot to get through to get there. I love the ultimate message of this story and what it has to say about belief and the stories that humans tell themselves. This is also the first Discworld book that I've read out of order so I wonder if that had any part in why it was a little bit less enjoyable for me. I will definitely be going back to reading in order after this experience.
I hope to return to this book in the future around the holidays and potentially to check out the adaptation. I wouldn't recommend this as a first experience with Discworld but I do feel that it plays an important part in the wider story (at least as I can see so far).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Animal death, Alcohol, and Death
Moderate: Kidnapping
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