4.22 AVERAGE

inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

I'm really glad my reading of this book coincided exactly with the holiday season and the new year.

Pratchett explores the origin of modern-day myths, including the "Hogfather" (Santa Claus) and... the Tooth Fairy(s). This one is even better than "Small Gods," and that's one of my favorites.

Not my favorite of the Death series from Discworld, but still an entertaining read. Death's grandaughter is another great character, if only as a good foil for Death. I'm waiting for my 11yo to read it so we can watch the movie!
adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced
Loveable characters: Yes

The movie based on this book is my very favorite, and I was delighted to find that the flow and feel of the movie is authentic to the source material! Even the order of the scenes follows the same way. Lots of fun! Very biased review.

The Assassin Guild blir kontaktade för ett uppdrag: att döda Hogfather. Och dessutom förinta alla människor tro på honom, så att hela hans existens försvinner.
Uppdraget går till mr Teatime som tar hjälp av ett gäng skurkar som inte drar sig för att göra saker bara de får betalt för det.
Death menar att så här kan vi inte ha det och vikarierar för Hogfather under natten mot Hogwatch: far runt i en släde dragen av galtar, klättrar ner i skorstenar för att dricka sherry och leverera presenter och av och till stämma upp i ett HO HO HO. Allt medan hans assistent Albert försöker hålla ordning på honom och samtidigt ge sken av att vara en av Hogfathers alver.
Deaths sondotter Susan försöker å sin sida lösa problemet konkret. Tillsammans med Baksmällornas gud.
***
När vi skulle välja bokcirkelbok denna gång kom vi överens om att det behövdes något lättsamt. Så det blev en “julbok” som utspelar sig i Pratchetts Discworld - så långt från allvar och tungsinne man kan komma (även om tanken på att avlägsna all tro på julen - eller Hogwatch - kanske inte är så lättsam egentligen
adventurous funny lighthearted reflective 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

This is my 2nd read. It is a fantastic book. It questions the idea of tradition and myth and the human need for myth.


After two relatively good but also not particularly exceptional novels, I'm glad to say that Hogfather blew my socks off. I mean, I enjoy all the Death novels, and ones that involve Susan even more so. But the ideas in this one are so clever that I found myself grinning at reveal after reveal. Ideas relating to belief, and literalizing what comes out of it is such a fun concept that Pratchett clearly enjoyed to no end.

The denouement in this one also ranks among the greats, as well as the last bit of action which really got my blood pumping.
adventurous funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

For the most part, I really like the Death sub-series. Death's attempts to participate in human activities (while still remaining Death) are always good for a laugh, and I quite enjoy Susan's striving to be human and her no-nonsense approach to otherworldly phenomenon. The theme of this book is the nature and necessity of belief, which seems like a particularly relevant topic given the "alternative facts" of the new U.S. presidential administration. While the Discworld books are known for their lighthearted nature, Pratchett can be surprisingly philosophical and insightful at times, and Death's dialogue about belief towards the end of the book was rather deep and even a little moving. I do wish I had read this book around Christmas time (Hogfather is basically the Discworld version of Father Christmas), but alas I didn't think that far ahead.