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4.22 AVERAGE
4.22 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-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:
No
adventurous
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
inspiring
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Yes, it is finally time to start Christmas in July...in June. I've got too much on the Christmas in July TBR to actually read it in July so here we are. I decided to start with Hogfather to kind of get me in the Christmas mood. But since this is about Death taking Hogfather's place since he's struggling with kids no longer believing in him, it felt more Halloween than Christmas for me. But as always I enjoy the social commentary from Pratchett. The character work is always so good as well. I've now read three different Discworld books from three different series (or however you're supposed to say it) and I think I want to continue but have no clue where to really start. I've read Men at Arms, Going Postal, and Hogfather now. (Which I'm sure sounds like an absolutely bananas reading order.)
My favorite characters in this one were Death, Susan, Bilious, and Ponder Stibbons. Death is so understanding of the way the world ACTUALLY works versus what we as humans tell ourselves. The line about humanity learning to believe the little lies so they can believe in the big ones like justice? That smacks you right in the face. Susan is the babysitter we all wanted growing up. She's a take no bullshit kind of authority figure who also has that moment of nodding at the kids saying she gets it. Plus beating up the bogeyman with a poker will always win over the kiddos. Bilious was such a sad pathetic little god. And as someone with chronic migraines I felt for the little guy. Ponder Stibbons was that tech guy who has to dumb everything down for his boss so he can keep working. His Thinking Machine stinks of AI and was such a hard look at our current reality (despite being written in 1996.)
Part of the thing that made the reading experience less fun for me was the formatting of the ebook from my library. No, this doesn't effect my writing, but it had an impact on my reading. It was listed as 263 pages long on ebook but the physical book is 448 pages long which means each ebook page is multiple page turns on the ol' kindle. Plus trying to see if I'm hitting my page goals was more difficult. I truly disliked Mr. Teatime. Which I know is the point, but I wish that Pratchett had done more with his character. Why was he so horrible? And is he actually gone now? I do understand that if Mr. Teatime is in other Discworld novels and I haven't read them then it's on me for not understanding this character better. But I felt like the writing around this character was a little too loose.
Overall, I had a good time with this one. I'm definitely in the mood for a more Christmassy read now.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Lots of good lines, but definitely one of Mr. Pratchett's slowest books.
funny
adventurous
dark
funny
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is one of the Discworld novels I actually knew the plot of already. Still, I wanted to read it, and it turned out more or less how I expected. It has all the usual social commentary and humor that I'm coming to expect from Discworld. I admit it was a little strange that this book didn't have any chapter breaks, but it didn't diminish the reading experience. Maybe just a little disappointing, since the chapter titles in other books were usually packed with bits of humor and commentary.
One great thing about Discworld is its timeless quality. This was written decades ago, but what it's saying about the commercialization and hypocrisy of Christmas (Hogswatchnight) is still very relevant today. I really enjoyed Death struggling to work through the rules of the Hogfather, and how Death didn't understand why Death couldn't just give things to people. I also liked Susan and her own struggles against her heritage.
It's also cool how belief works in this world. It makes a lot of sense: if enough people believe in a thing, it becomes real. But once people stop believing in it, the thing becomes weaker or could disappear forever. And I can see how other authors might have gotten inspiration from this idea. It was enjoyable and I liked getting a cameo from Nobby of the Watch. Death was a great character and I would gladly read more featuring Death.
One great thing about Discworld is its timeless quality. This was written decades ago, but what it's saying about the commercialization and hypocrisy of Christmas (Hogswatchnight) is still very relevant today. I really enjoyed Death struggling to work through the rules of the Hogfather, and how Death didn't understand why Death couldn't just give things to people. I also liked Susan and her own struggles against her heritage.
It's also cool how belief works in this world. It makes a lot of sense: if enough people believe in a thing, it becomes real. But once people stop believing in it, the thing becomes weaker or could disappear forever. And I can see how other authors might have gotten inspiration from this idea. It was enjoyable and I liked getting a cameo from Nobby of the Watch. Death was a great character and I would gladly read more featuring Death.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Oh I do love a bit of Christmassy Terry Pratchett. Or any Terry Pratchett really.