Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.22 AVERAGE
4.22 AVERAGE
Another wonderful romp, with clever asides, moments of beauty, hilarity, etc. There is a sociopathic character who I found very unnerving.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Better than I expected tbh, Susan was tolerable in this one, but there was a plot hole with Albert’s life timer? Wasn’t it a thing in the last book that he only had so much time left that he could be out of the death realm? Unless they solved that and I forgot.
“IT'S THE EXPRESSION ON THEIR LITTLE FACES I LIKE, said the Hogfather.
'You mean sort of fear and awe and not knowing whether to laugh or cry or wet their pants?'
YES. NOW THAT IS WHAT I CALL BELIEF.”
“YOU HAVE TO START OUT LEARNING TO BELIEVE THE LITTLE LIES.
'So we can believe the big ones?'
YES. JUSTICE. MERCY. DUTY. THAT SORT OF THING.”
This is my favorite Discworld book in quite some time. It's just so good!
It's not as quippy or joke-heavy as some Discworld books, but what it lacks in goofery and wit, it makes up for in plot and character and heart.
Someone wants the Hogfather (Discworld's version of Father Christmas, except with pigs instead of reindeer, and sherry and meat pies instead of cookies and milk, and he may or may not have tusks) dead. Except, how do you kill a personified construct of human belief? How do you kill an immortal? And what happens when you do? Death, that scamp, doesn't want to find out the answer to that last question, so he's taken some questionable steps. While he's running around with a fake beard and a pillow stuffed up his Hogfather costume, practicing his HO HO HO's and making his pixie friend Albert pretend to be the Hogfather's helper, his reluctant granddaughter Susan gets drawn into the whole business against her will. All she wants is to be normal, but she can't seem to manage it.
Of course, we've also got the Wizards running around messing with stuff the whole time. They keep accidentally creating small gods, including Bilious, the God of Hangovers, who decides he's going to help Susan after she temporarily cures him of his always-hungover but never-drunk state of being. They work on tracking down the jerks who've apparently succeeded in killing the Hogfather, while Death rides around in the sleigh having his one-millionth mid-life crisis, handing out presents to everyone he meets in an effort to keep the spirit of the Hogfather alive. He gets a little too into the role, as per the usual.
This is definitely in my top three Discworld books now, so a big thank you to Malin, who gave me my copy of this book in the Cannonball Read annual book exchange last Christmas. Much obliged to you, friend :D
[4.5 stars]
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is one of my favorite Discworld books. I come back to it every year and every time I get reminded why exactly I love it so much. The narration for the audiobook makes it come that much more alive, and I'm so glad I finally dug into the audiobook after all these years of having it.
I foresee a new Christmastime rereading tradition in my future! I loved this. My new favorite Death novel and for sure top 3 overall Discworld novels I've read so far. This was extra fun. Gleeful madness. I had an absolute blast.
Because I think it might be fun, I'm going to try to say what this is about in my own words.
It's a Discworld Christmas! Of sorts... Except in the Discworld, it's Hogswatch Night, and "Santa Claus" is The Hogfather, whose sled is pulled by pigs instead of reindeer. Except this year he's gone missing! The oh so mysterious Auditors have hired the Assassins Guild to do away with him for unknown reasons, and so Death has decided to fill in for him. Which goes about how you'd expect Death masquerading as "Santa Claus" to go.
Death's granddaughter Susan joins us again and leads us on our adventure to solve this conundrum, with her trusty sidekicks: The Death of Rats, a snarky talking Raven, and of course Death's own noble steed Binky (as well as the oh god of hangovers)
Hilarity ensues.
As usual we have brilliant satire, sharp social commentary, and deeper themes about belief and the nature of humanity all wrapped up in a zany and thoroughly entertaining package courtesy of the ingenious Sir Terry Pratchett.
If this doesn't convince you to enter the discworld, I don't know what will.
Because I think it might be fun, I'm going to try to say what this is about in my own words.
It's a Discworld Christmas! Of sorts... Except in the Discworld, it's Hogswatch Night, and "Santa Claus" is The Hogfather, whose sled is pulled by pigs instead of reindeer. Except this year he's gone missing! The oh so mysterious Auditors have hired the Assassins Guild to do away with him for unknown reasons, and so Death has decided to fill in for him. Which goes about how you'd expect Death masquerading as "Santa Claus" to go.
Death's granddaughter Susan joins us again and leads us on our adventure to solve this conundrum, with her trusty sidekicks: The Death of Rats, a snarky talking Raven, and of course Death's own noble steed Binky (as well as the oh god of hangovers)
Hilarity ensues.
As usual we have brilliant satire, sharp social commentary, and deeper themes about belief and the nature of humanity all wrapped up in a zany and thoroughly entertaining package courtesy of the ingenious Sir Terry Pratchett.
If this doesn't convince you to enter the discworld, I don't know what will.
I’ve had Hogfather on my Christmas to-read list for years now and I felt like this was the one to do it.
Unfortunately, I was a little underwhelmed despite finding plenty of parts to love.
I must point out that I did skip Soul Music after finishing Reaper Man in order to read this over Christmas.
Like Reaper Man I felt like Hogfather started off incredibly promisingly and I got a feeling that this would be my favourite one yet. In some ways, it is the best Death book I’ve read but I think it probably gets bonus points for the theme, whereas the plot itself is not the most engaging.
The book starts with Mr. Teatime, an assassin (no his name is NOT pronounced ‘Teatime’!) who seems very interesting (to begin with) taking on a job to kill the Hogfather (Discworld’s Santa Claus). And Death takes on his role, with some brilliant results. This also leads onto the suggestion that if people believe something, it makes it exist… with more mixed results.
Like Reaper Man, I did find Hogfather to get a little lost in the journey after a promising start. It could be me still getting used to Discworld, but this is my 3rd book and I still find myself having to re-read pages and feeling confused and I’m now concerned that I’m just not going to connect with the books. However, both this and Reaper Man have heavily featured the wizards and perhaps it is a wizards thing…
Death is in this less than I’d hoped, and the wizards for me don’t really carry the story enough here. Susan, who is the protagonist really rather than Death, just isn’t interesting or likeable enough to carry it.
There were of course some brilliant parts. Death not understanding the right times to say “HO HO HO” was an amusing highlight as was the whole shopping mall section where Death, as the Hogfather, gives out gifts. All the parts actually featuring Death in these books, I love! I just wish there were more Death parts and less wizards and (in this book) Tooth Fairy, ‘oh-God’ – yes I thought ‘oh god’ when the ‘oh god’ was on the page – and confusing musings from other characters. I’d like to think I’m intelligent and am capable of ‘getting it’ – but I just still feel like I don’t connect with the Wizards humour or that of some of the side characters.
The Watch were in this a little and it was one of my favourite parts. And I find the Death sections easy to follow and enjoyable. I can see the potential and the skill and warmth within these books. Perhaps I just need a different sub-series to appreciate it more?
Things I loved:
Initial introduction and sections featuring of Mr. Teatime.
Festive vibes.
All the Death parts.
Things I didn’t:
Potential of the character of Mr. Teatime fell a bit flat.
Just found some parts of the book hard to follow and a little messy.
Humour is hit and miss – LOVE some of it. Other parts feel like a Christmas cracker joke.
Death not in it enough.
A bit too long for what actually happens in the story.
• Susan as a main character.
Unfortunately, I was a little underwhelmed despite finding plenty of parts to love.
I must point out that I did skip Soul Music after finishing Reaper Man in order to read this over Christmas.
Like Reaper Man I felt like Hogfather started off incredibly promisingly and I got a feeling that this would be my favourite one yet. In some ways, it is the best Death book I’ve read but I think it probably gets bonus points for the theme, whereas the plot itself is not the most engaging.
The book starts with Mr. Teatime, an assassin (no his name is NOT pronounced ‘Teatime’!) who seems very interesting (to begin with) taking on a job to kill the Hogfather (Discworld’s Santa Claus). And Death takes on his role, with some brilliant results. This also leads onto the suggestion that if people believe something, it makes it exist… with more mixed results.
Like Reaper Man, I did find Hogfather to get a little lost in the journey after a promising start. It could be me still getting used to Discworld, but this is my 3rd book and I still find myself having to re-read pages and feeling confused and I’m now concerned that I’m just not going to connect with the books. However, both this and Reaper Man have heavily featured the wizards and perhaps it is a wizards thing…
Death is in this less than I’d hoped, and the wizards for me don’t really carry the story enough here. Susan, who is the protagonist really rather than Death, just isn’t interesting or likeable enough to carry it.
There were of course some brilliant parts. Death not understanding the right times to say “HO HO HO” was an amusing highlight as was the whole shopping mall section where Death, as the Hogfather, gives out gifts. All the parts actually featuring Death in these books, I love! I just wish there were more Death parts and less wizards and (in this book) Tooth Fairy, ‘oh-God’ – yes I thought ‘oh god’ when the ‘oh god’ was on the page – and confusing musings from other characters. I’d like to think I’m intelligent and am capable of ‘getting it’ – but I just still feel like I don’t connect with the Wizards humour or that of some of the side characters.
The Watch were in this a little and it was one of my favourite parts. And I find the Death sections easy to follow and enjoyable. I can see the potential and the skill and warmth within these books. Perhaps I just need a different sub-series to appreciate it more?
Things I loved:
Initial introduction and sections featuring of Mr. Teatime.
Festive vibes.
All the Death parts.
Things I didn’t:
Potential of the character of Mr. Teatime fell a bit flat.
Just found some parts of the book hard to follow and a little messy.
Humour is hit and miss – LOVE some of it. Other parts feel like a Christmas cracker joke.
Death not in it enough.
A bit too long for what actually happens in the story.
• Susan as a main character.
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No