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4.22 AVERAGE
4.22 AVERAGE
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
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
fast-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
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
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
adventurous
funny
hopeful
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
A fun palette cleanser of a read, will read more discworld in the future.
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes