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4.22 AVERAGE
4.22 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-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
Hogfather (Discworld #20, Death #4)
Written by Terry Pratchett
Read by Bill Nighy, Peter Serafinowicz, and Sian Clifford
Book 28/250
Genre: Fantasy, Satire
Format: Audio
Pages/Time: 354/10hr 18min
Published: 1996
Rating: 9.5/10
Narration: 9/10
“Real stupidity beats artificial intelligence every time.”
“Getting an education was a bit like a communicable sexual disease. It made you unsuitable for a lot of jobs and then you had the urge to pass it on.”
Ho, Ho… HO. It’s the Discworld Christmas Special! And in which, is one of the best Discworld stories I have yet read. From start to finish, Hogfather was a delight to read. Rogue assassins have decided to off the Hogfather, and who else but the personification of Death to fill the position. Pratchett uses this silly concept to tackle complex ideas like belief/faith, humanity, and artificial intelligence. Hogfather is thus far the best of the Death series, and one of the all-around Discworld books yet!
Written by Terry Pratchett
Read by Bill Nighy, Peter Serafinowicz, and Sian Clifford
Book 28/250
Genre: Fantasy, Satire
Format: Audio
Pages/Time: 354/10hr 18min
Published: 1996
Rating: 9.5/10
Narration: 9/10
“Real stupidity beats artificial intelligence every time.”
“Getting an education was a bit like a communicable sexual disease. It made you unsuitable for a lot of jobs and then you had the urge to pass it on.”
Ho, Ho… HO. It’s the Discworld Christmas Special! And in which, is one of the best Discworld stories I have yet read. From start to finish, Hogfather was a delight to read. Rogue assassins have decided to off the Hogfather, and who else but the personification of Death to fill the position. Pratchett uses this silly concept to tackle complex ideas like belief/faith, humanity, and artificial intelligence. Hogfather is thus far the best of the Death series, and one of the all-around Discworld books yet!
Fun, and necessary to get to the last of the Death books, it's narrative has been one of the weakest of the Discworld book's I've read thus far. Still enjoyable, as they all have been.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A bit better the second time around, it still seems to be more of a "let's write another story with Susan, she's a pretty great character." Death strikes out as an analogue to Santa Claus (this is established about 8% of the way into a book, and is not a surprise/reveal. Death's methods, plan, and execution are the surprise. We know that he is the Hogfather (Santa Claus in our universe), but not why or what his ultimate plan is.
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood
Minor: Kidnapping
I read 80 pages of this but I just wasn't invested. I've read about 11 Discworld novels before (because everyone at school loved them) and I never really got it. The lack of chapters makes it difficult to plough through - there's no sense of progress or excitement, and the individual scenes are so short that they're often confusing and never have time to land, events and characters are kept irritatingly vague or mysterious, there's no discernible main character to root for and I'm not that taken with Pratchett's humour. I don't think these books are bad, they're just not my jam. Mostly I just felt bewildered.
Updated: Bumped this up a star on my second read. Definitely better the second time through. I wish there were more books about Susan.
Original Review: Not my favorite Pratchett. Although, it may still find its way into my annual holiday reading pile. A lot happens in the beginning that doesn't make sense until later, and rather than feeling clever or satisfying, it just felt confusing. And the end just kept going. Not as tightly written as some other books in Discworld.
Original Review: Not my favorite Pratchett. Although, it may still find its way into my annual holiday reading pile. A lot happens in the beginning that doesn't make sense until later, and rather than feeling clever or satisfying, it just felt confusing. And the end just kept going. Not as tightly written as some other books in Discworld.
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Good escape and after all the problems they had the next day on Discworld is just about the same as the day before and I think he citizens of the disc like that.