Hogfather: A Novel of Discworld by Terry Pratchett (MOBI)

Description

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, Hogswatchnight, when the Hogfather himself dons his red suit and climbs in his sleigh pulled by—of course—eight hogs, to shower gifts across Discworld. But when the fat man goes missing, someone has to sit in. It’s up to Death to take up the reigns—otherwise the sun won’t shine tomorrow . . . or ever again.Who would want to harm Discworld’s most beloved icon? Very few things are held sacred in this twisted, corrupt, heartless—and oddly familiar—universe, but the Hogfather is one of them. Yet here it is, Hogswatchnight, that most joyous and acquisitive of times, and the jolly, old, red-suited gift-giver has vanished without a trace. And there’s something shady going on involving an uncommonly psychotic member of the Assassins’ Guild and certain representatives of Ankh-Morpork’s rather extensive criminal element. Suddenly Discworld’s entire myth system is unraveling at an alarming rate. Drastic measures must be taken, which is why Death himself is taking up the reins of the fat man’s vacated sleigh . . . which, in turn, has Death’s level-headed granddaughter, Susan, racing to unravel the nasty, humbuggian mess before the holiday season goes straight to hell and takes everyone along with it.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐This was such an interesting one for me. It is a bit of a holiday blend with Christmas near the center. With a dangerous assassin, a child like giant, death and his granddaughter and new gods. Does death have a new job? Susan is such a central character with a new vocation. Belief is important for gods and the like to exist. Like all of these it was a fun read to finish around the holidays.

⭐Densely wrapped satire cleverly tucked in around a holiday plot loaf of good cheer, and baked with a robust premise which is both refreshingly poignant and wildly genius—it’s an important Hogswatch on the Disc this season—mind the bells—Glingleglingleglingle!!!Do you believe in the Hogfather?! It’s rather important. Belief is the foundation of this carefully woven satire with an in-world holiday that closely resembles a common tradition on our own world. Pratchett pulls out all the stops in this layered tale that explores both the importance and meaning of belief.The story is strong right out of the gate. Within very few pages I found myself laughing out loud, pulling my head out of the book, and wondering how on the Disc he could cover so much ground so quickly. That’s Pratchett for you.Death personified plays a strong part in this book stepping into an unusual role when some bothersome forces have decided to finance a rather dark conspiracy for this season’s holiday. These meddlesome figures have ordered the end of the Hogfather and have the money to make this seemingly impossible task happen. In earth-speak, there’s a hit out on Santa Claus.As in other yarns told by this master storyteller characters abound on the page and stack up at a steady pace. He jumps from heroes to villains, from foibles to set pieces and back again. The point of view shifts continuously and all without the benefit of chapter breaks (which is nothing new for a Discworld book). Never too worry, you’re in good hands and the narrative progresses expertly and always forward. It’s all part of the fun with a Pratchett novel. You get so many unique and distinct voices that it’s nearly impossible to get caught up in the chaos which the characters themselves are embroiled. All the thread lines of plot work in parallel and compliment each other keeping you well invested with the trials and tribulations of the chief protagonist (Susan) who’s investigating why her grandfather (Death – no less) has taken it upon himself to play the role of the Hogfather this year. Something’s gone all too wrong.We get a better appreciation for what’s at stake on the greater Disc by chumming along with the bumbling wizards of the Unseen University as their preparations for the holiday turn into misadventures and existential explorations, which lead to the invention of a true-to-life artificial contraption in the form of the Disc’s first computer: Hex (another fun character).Pratchett also has us following the baddies as they go about their business of mucking things up for everyone (intentionally and not so intentionally). We get a range of interesting characters here from the indolent bruiser, Banjo, and his overly clever brother, Medium Dave, to the straight up psychopathic killer, Teatime. Their journey is fascinating and you can’t help but feel curious to see where they’ll end up. Pratchett manages to tread some very interesting notes with these antagonists by deftly committing wonderful comedy for the reader, while at the same time intruding with real and actual disturbing acts that remind us that these chaps are playing for keeps and it’s not all fun and games. Yet, the author holds that line never managing to descend into pointless violence and depravity for its own purpose—whatever the motives of the characters. The other side of the coin is always lurking there on the backside to reveal the absurdity of things.Death’s granddaughter (who’s a sort Merry Poppins character on steroids) reminds us that there is much good left on the Disc—especially for those kind-hearted folks who just want a bit of normal now and again, and when the chips are down, by gosh, they’re ready to fight for it! Her cunning and persistence lead the way as she explores the unraveling mystery which is threatening the general order of things on the Disc (whatever order means on a flat Disc-shaped planet). She knows something isn’t right and it has to do with the supernatural. Her inner conflict with this is oddly humanist. She’s related to Death himself and just wants to be left alone (everyone has a relative of some sort that sometimes they’d rather not see), but she won’t give in to isolationism when it gets right down to it. So, she becomes a sort of sleuth and adventurer looking for the clues that will help her discover what has really gone wrong.All the while that things are getting upended—the characters have to wonder what’s behind the curtain of belief. Even, Susan, the protagonist who’s related to Death and knows he is real, has trouble believing that something like the Hogfather is real and what role he could possibly have on the Disc besides living in the hearts and minds of children.Well, Pratchett gets to the center of all this nonsense in his sort of philosophical and satirical way and leaves you with those thoughts you usually get when you read something particularly good. And, of course, the story underscores this all. Perhaps it’s the sort of thing you might expect from a fantasy writer, but perhaps it’s more than that—or, exactly that? Pratchett’s wisdom seems to cut right to the core of life and what it means to be alive. This novel really gets at that.Podcast: If you enjoy my review (or this topic) this book and the movie based on it were further discussed/debated in a lively discussion on my podcast: “No Deodorant In Outer Space”. The podcast is available on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Tune-In Radio, Stitcher, Google Play Music, YouTube or our website.

⭐Another tale of good versus evil with unusual characters, lots of laughs and thought provoking questions. DEATH fills in for the missing Hogfather on Hogs Watch while DEATH’S granddaughter and oh god, the god of hangovers, battle the forces of evil to return the Hogfather to action so belief in him will not fade. “IT IS THE THINGS YOU BELIEVE WHICH MAKE YOU HUMAN. GOOD THINGS AND BAD THINGS, IT’S ALL THE SAME.” Along the way, philosopher Pratchett gently satarizes the commercialization of holidays, academics, pretentious restaurants, among other targets.

⭐If you are into fantasy, mythology, and humor this book is a great choice for you! This is the story that first introduced me to the creative, eccentric, and hilarious adventures in the Discworld. The auditors are on a mission to change the world but are their changes for the best? A band of thieves and criminals find themselves involved in their most dangerous heist yet. Join Death, Susan, the wizards of the unseen university and others on this hilarious, enchanting, and exciting adventure. This is one of my favorite Terry Pratchett books.

⭐This is my first Terry Pratchett book and I loved it. It reminds me of a book that is Monty Python meets Charles dickens, maybe with Douglas Adams writing the footnotes. Irreverent humor, puns galore, and a fun holiday storyline. Highly recommended

⭐Because after the second or third book they all start to sound as if they’d been written from a formula. Not these books. Each book in the disc world series can stand on its own but read together they are a delight. Disc world is near enough to earth to be familiar and far enough from earth to be different.I love the idea of Death saving the world by playing the Hog father. The story itself is entertaining and kept my interest to the end. Fantastic!

⭐I stumbled upon the CD movie version of Hogfather at Blockbusters a few years ago and decided to rent it. I enjoyed it a great deal. A few weeks ago I had some down time and I decided to order the ebook version for my Kindle. I’m enjoying the story all over again. I’ve also just ordered a copy of the CD from Amazon so I can watch the movie version again. It’s a clever and entertaining story. Sort of like Harry Potter for grownups or philsophy majors.

⭐Classic Pratchett sarcasm and social critique. Read a few of the earlier novels with Death as the main character to get the nuances.

⭐It’s some years since I read this book and at that time it was out of sequence as I was dipping into Discworld hap hazardly. Having during the coronavirus lockdown decided to undertake to re read all Sir Terrys discworld novels in sequence, I have enjoyed this book far more and appreciated the many subtleties of its subject matter and comparisons with our own traditions and beliefs and their murky, blood soaked roots. As usual very funny, great characterizations, Death continues to expand his great personality, there are some extremely scary psychological moments, a very nasty villain and a genuinely heart rendingly poignant and triumphant moment for Nobby….whose ever hoping child within that scabby little body is recognised at last by The Hogfather. A claasic.

⭐One of my favourite Terry Pratchett books, and I always read it near Christmas.My paper back copy fell to bits so I brought this one, and I am so pleased I did.The book is hardback with a cloth texture cover which is nice to the touch, and I love the graphic on it.The story is about Hogfather which is the Discworld Father Christmas and what happens when he goes missing.I wont say more because I don’t want to spoil the story, but it’s well worth the ride.I will certainly buy more in this particular imprint as they made a nice collection, and at approximatly £10 each they are not expensive.

⭐Which part of Christmas do you prefer? The gift giving? The mysterious Santa? The religious aspect? Terry Pratchett has put it all in this book, only, being Pratchett, expect to be entertained, to laugh out loud, to recoil in mock horror, to explore the metaphysical side of the holiday, and to finally put the book down with a sigh of satisfied relief. With a combined cast of Wizards, Death and his nearest relative, an opportunistic raven, and a maniacal assassin, you won’t want to put this down.Ok, I admit it. For me, Pratchett can do no wrong. And he doesn’t here, either. Why only 4 stars? It should have been longer.

⭐The unthinkable has happened: the Hogfather is gone on Hogswatch night. But it’s not just the spirit of the celebration that is at risk, maybe all humanity is at risk…This may be my favourite of all the Discworld books. It’s the only one I’ve read more than once (so far) and it’s just so filled with wisdom that sometimes it reads like poetry. It is also extremely funny and quotable. I particularly enjoy the fast pace and the way we keep jumping between characters in the same timeline, but it may be confusing to some. This book is and will always be a Christmas treasure to me.

⭐I am a huge fan of Terry Pratchett and the Discworld series and Hogfather is one of his best books. I have the Kindle version but I really had to get the hardback as well. For the last 3-4 years I’ve been reading Hogfather in the run up to Christmas. It captures the spirit of the season perfectly while being humorous and at times very heartfelt.Highly recommended!

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