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A review by naveenpiedy
Hogfather by Terry Pratchett
5.0
Original post: https://www.npiedy.com/hogfather-books-i-love/
What I liked?
One of the things I like is that fact the author doesn't with hold or hide information just for the sake of mystery. I always hate it when the reader is kept in the dark. Instead, half through the book, I got a fair sense of where the book is heading towards. But this never diminished my enjoyment of the story. There is a good flow to the story which makes it easier to read despite the lack of chapters.
Did I mention how funny this book is? The humor enhances the quirkiness of the world without undercutting other emotions. Anything that involved the thinking machine called Hex and the wizards was particularly relatable to me as a professional software engineer, and I found myself chuckling through those parts. The humor is dry and satirical, but there is a certain sincerity to it. One of my favorite moments, reading, is when Death pretending to be Santa is in a mall handing out presents.
Another thing I appreciate is that, how the author fleshes out even the minor characters and the world. I was astonished on how familiar and how much I ended up liking the cast. The world building never felt out of place and despite the premise on the outside being silly, the internal logic surprisingly is solid. Things don't just happen because the author wants it to happen or has cornered himself to writing it. Everything that happens, feels natural and consistent within the world. At the same time, the world created doesn't alienate the readers. Instead, it juxtaposes and gets philosophical, makes you think. The book does all this without losing the humor.
Susan (Death's granddaughter) and Death are the two that stand out. And Susan is a low-key badass without coming off as a Mary Sue.
Why it is one of my all-time favorites?
Over the years, as time passed, I could sense how I changed. As I age, my priorities have shifted. I could go on to even say, I have become jaded over the years. I have stopped believing in a lot of things in the name of self-preservation, and this book holds a mirror to it. There is a fascinating conversation between Death and his granddaughter on the importance of belief and how it is tied to humanity towards the end. It resonated with me and made me take a hard look at how nihilistic and apathetic I have become (as one usually does).
I am not going to claim that this book helped me change overnight. But it made me laugh, gave me the warm fuzzy feeling and helped me introspect. What more can I ask?
What I liked?
One of the things I like is that fact the author doesn't with hold or hide information just for the sake of mystery. I always hate it when the reader is kept in the dark. Instead, half through the book, I got a fair sense of where the book is heading towards. But this never diminished my enjoyment of the story. There is a good flow to the story which makes it easier to read despite the lack of chapters.
Did I mention how funny this book is? The humor enhances the quirkiness of the world without undercutting other emotions. Anything that involved the thinking machine called Hex and the wizards was particularly relatable to me as a professional software engineer, and I found myself chuckling through those parts. The humor is dry and satirical, but there is a certain sincerity to it. One of my favorite moments, reading, is when Death pretending to be Santa is in a mall handing out presents.
Another thing I appreciate is that, how the author fleshes out even the minor characters and the world. I was astonished on how familiar and how much I ended up liking the cast. The world building never felt out of place and despite the premise on the outside being silly, the internal logic surprisingly is solid. Things don't just happen because the author wants it to happen or has cornered himself to writing it. Everything that happens, feels natural and consistent within the world. At the same time, the world created doesn't alienate the readers. Instead, it juxtaposes and gets philosophical, makes you think. The book does all this without losing the humor.
Susan (Death's granddaughter) and Death are the two that stand out. And Susan is a low-key badass without coming off as a Mary Sue.
Why it is one of my all-time favorites?
Over the years, as time passed, I could sense how I changed. As I age, my priorities have shifted. I could go on to even say, I have become jaded over the years. I have stopped believing in a lot of things in the name of self-preservation, and this book holds a mirror to it. There is a fascinating conversation between Death and his granddaughter on the importance of belief and how it is tied to humanity towards the end. It resonated with me and made me take a hard look at how nihilistic and apathetic I have become (as one usually does).
I am not going to claim that this book helped me change overnight. But it made me laugh, gave me the warm fuzzy feeling and helped me introspect. What more can I ask?