Hogfather

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Summary: The part of Santa Claus will be played by....Death?!?
Review: Given Pratchett's unswerving ability to lampoon anything and everything, it was only a matter of time before old St. Nick got his share.
Hogfather primarily focuses on two struggles. First, there is Death, who is trying to prevent the Hogfather's demise by keeping the belief in him alive during Hogswatch(the Discworld equivalent of Christmas). This involves him putting on a fake beard and suit, as well as adopting a VERY necessary fake belly, and masquerading as the Hogfather. Second, we have Death's granddaughter, Susan, who is on the trail of the Hogfather's potential assassin, Mr. Teatime. She is joined by The Death of Rats, a talking raven, and Bilious, the "oh god" of Hangovers.
This book, like the best of Pratchett's work, is loaded with humorous scenes. One of my personal favorites is when Death arrives at the Maul (yeah, that is how it's spelled) so that the children can "sit on the Hogfather's lap and tell him what they want". Between Death giving the children, literally, whatever they want/deserve (be it a doll, a real pony, or a giant broadsword) and the children constantly pointing out that Death's pigs have widdled on everything, I rarely stopped laughing.
This is a perfect addition to the Discworld series and one of my personal favorites. Recommended!

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Summary: Wow!
Review: This was the first Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel that I ever completed. I was rather distracted when I first picked up 'Reaper Man' and never actually managed to get all the way through it.

Having read this entire book cover to cover in the course of one afternoon, I can honestly say that it is among my favourites. I have now read it three times within the past two years, and hope to read it again around next Christmastime.

The Hogfather is the Discworld's version of Father Christmas, a big, jolly fat man who rides through a sleigh on Hogswatch Night, the sleigh being pulled by four giant hogs.

The hero of the story is none other than Death himself, and his granddaughter, Susan. Certainly a very cheery vision for Christmastime!

Those readers who are interested in Terry Pratchett's inimitable style and wonderful stories will love this book for everything that the Discworld means. Those of you who love getting deeper into the philosophical meanings of Pratchett's work will also enjoy this story, with it's deeper hints at the meaning of belief and existance.

Certainly a must-read book for any Discworld fan, the Hogfather is one of the best I've ever read.

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Summary: A Good "Christmas" Story -- Discworld Style!
Review: This is a decent story - pretty good. I admit, judging by the pervious books featuring Death's family (not counting Death himself), I expected to be dissapointed, but I wasn't. This is not on a par with "Men at Arms," but it is still good.

Here we have a lot of variety - Death, the Death of Rats, Death's Grandaughter, secret assassins, the Auditors,...

The plot was interesting. The auditors have a nasty plan - get an assassin to kill the Hogfather, the discworld "Santa Claus." The assassin, Mr. Teatime (pronounce the vowels), tries to do that by getting children to disbelieve, thus negating the spirit of Hogswatch. He tries to do that with help from the world of the tooth fairies. Of course, Death takes it upon himself to play "Hogfather" with Albert in tow. And his granddaughter, pretty good at beating up bogeymen and other monsters, has to stop Teatime and foil the auditors.

Most of this story is good. Sto Helit, never really a milktoast like Magrat in the early Lancre books, becomes a fairly aggressive, take charge character. It was fun to watch her wield the fireplace poker against all foes.

Bilious was somewhat funny, and so was the "manifestation syndrome" of objects seemingly appearing when people mentioned them (like the "sock-eating demon elephant"). But after the first one or two times, it got too old. Enough with these insignificant characters adding to the confusion. Also, I know that wizards rarely make sense, but here they waste way too much time talking about non-consequentials - it becomes a big draggy and boring.

The criminals are funny - especially with the brothers who live by what their mother told them. It was funny to watch nursery-rhyme bogeys chasing grown men around screaming, and, while Teatime was not the best bad guy (although pretty good), it was great to see how Death and family finally dealt with him, and how someone finally pronounces Teatime's name correctly at the end.

All in all, a good book, an improvement for several characters. But Death can usually pep up just about any story - he's just such a memorable character. You would never see Death the same way again.

4 well-earned stars.

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Summary: Hogfather
Review: Terry Pratchet's Hogfather is a comedy that deals with what happens when Death has to assume the role of Hogfather (like Santa Clause). The reader is easily drawn into Pratchet's Discworld; a vivid and comical world filled with character that can only make one laugh. Three characters particularly caught my attention, Teatime, Death, and Susan. Their descriptions and quirky traits always brought a smile to my face. Yet it is worth mentioning the background characters, who in turn provide most of the comical relief (in my opinion). Characters such as the Death of Rats, and the guard at the university were really hilarious as their comments were so original that I couldn't help but go and tell others. "The Death of rats nibbled a bit of the pork pie because when you are the personification of the death of small rodents you have to behave in certain ways." Page 49-50.

The theme that I see in this book is that one should accept who you are, this can be clearly seen with Susan and Death both trying to be someone there not. I agree with this theme because I too have dreamed of a different life, one where I am a SWAT team member. Yet due to my poor eyesight this dream is currently nothing but a daydream.

I strongly recommend this book to all readers that want to escape reality by becoming part of another world such as Discworld or J.R.Toliens middle-earth. It is also a book for people who enjoy sophisticated humor.

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Summary: Who's that skeleton in the red and white?
Review: Hogfather, the twentieth Discworld adventure written by Terry Pratchett, is a wonderful tale about the power of belief and what it can bring to humanity. I found myself laughing out loud constantly while reading this book, which is always a good sign, and definitely a step up from Sourcery. It was very pleasurable to be enjoying Pratchett again. It was also very nice to have a good Death book again, after the small bump that was Soul Music

Can anybody not like the idea of a skeletal Death, all decked out in a red and white costume with false beard and false belly, trying to go down chimneys and bring presents to all the good little boys and girls of the world? The idea itself is enough to get me laughing, but Pratchett's implementation of it has to be seen to be believed. Pratchett pulls out all the stops in this one, with laughs as simple as Death trying to figure out how to open a door to let Albert into the house, and as complicated as philosophical discussions about human belief and how it orders the universe (in a way that the Auditors don't like, of course). Death continues to marvel at the ability of humanity to "be untruthful" by "telling the universe it is other than it is." This powerful belief creates beings like the Hogfather, the Tooth Fairy, the Boogeyman (the original!), that sort of thing. That's what makes Death such a wonderful character: his ability to learn, to adapt, and to see both the strengths and weaknesses of humanity, as well as his fascination with how humans do things.

Susan, his granddaughter, just wants to be normal again. It's been two years since Soul Music, and she doesn't want to go back to that life. But while Death can take the Hogfather's place, he can't physically intervene in the events that are occuring, so Susan must. She goes on a journey that takes her to where the Hogfather usually lives, and to the realm of the Tooth Fairy, where Teatime is using the magic of the teeth to erase the belief in the Hogfather. Susan is much more interesting in this book then in Soul Music, mainly because it doesn't take her as long to start getting in on the action. Previously, the entire first part of the book was spent with "recruiting" her to what needed to be done. In Hogfather, it happens much more quickly, which makes the beginning of the book a lot more interesting. The beginning also contains a little bit of foreshadowing. She is governess of two children, whose previous governess constantly reminded them that certain monsters would get them if they did something, and now Susan has to fight them off they are created by the children's belief. I found this very effective, and a good prelude to the philosophical aspect of the story.

The wizards are their usual selves, bumbling along making you wonder how they ever get through life, as well as wondering how they'd ever survive if they weren't in the insular confines of the University. Pratchett does flesh them out a bit, giving them even more personality then they had before. The Archchancellor is remarkably on top of things at times, while at other times he's as dense as a brick. He has the ability to pick up what is happening a lot quicker than you would think. The Bursar is his usual excitable self, downing Dried Frog Pills to make life bearable. I found it hilarious when they would make monsters and fairies appear by speaking aloud their wonderment at various aspects of life. "Supposing some idiot says there must be a god of indigestion, eh?" As usual, Pratchett uses the wizards for two things: to illustrate the effect of what is going on in the story, and as yet another source of comedy. That's why I find the wizards fascinating and very useful to the plot. While on first view their story is completely separate (though they do interact with both Susan and Death), it actually has a lot to do with the what's going on.

Pratchett's talent for wonderful characters continues with everybody else in the book. Teatime's a very creepy person. He's one of the few people who could figure out how to kill somebody like the Hogfather. He's ruthless, willing to kill on a whim, and very determined to get the job done. Then there's the oh god, the God of Hangovers, who is constantly sick and feeling horrible because he take personifies all the effects of drinking. He's miserable, but he plays the faithful companion to Susan on her mission. He's new to the world, but he's willing to learn.

Those are just a few of the great characters, but there are many more. Pratchett's writing is at the top of his form, with hardly a misstep. Susan is still slightly dull, but other than that, everything's a winner. He moves effortlessly from slapstick comedy to serious discussions of the nature of the universe and then back again. His descriptions are both humorous and yet true to life. While you can read the book just for the humour value, it's Pratchett's comments on the nature of belief and how we humans make the world up as we go along that really makes this book a standout. Whether or not you agree with him, the points are interestingly made, but they don't detract from the fun of the book at all. The book is a must read for any Pratchett fan, and it would make a wonderful introduction to the series to a newcomer, as none of the previous Death books are needed to understand this one.

Death is back. Oh how I've missed him.

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Summary: A Book of Susan
Review: This is the 20th in Pratchett's Discworld series. In general, it's a book about Death. But, more correctly, it's a book centering on Susan (Death's granddaughter). As in "Soul Music," she's once again "teamed" with the Death of Rats and the raven to solve a problem while Death is busy elsewhere (though for a very different reason this time). Along with the main plot, Pratchett also does a good bit of development on the Unseen University's Hex. The wizards, too, get a big slice of the book as a "comedy relief" for Susan's "serious" outlook on life. One detail that bothered me, though, was that at the end of "Soul Music," Susan was supposedly getting together with Buddy. He's entirely missing from this book (not just missing -- it's like he never existed at all). But, other than that, a very good book with a very interesting plot and a lot of funny moments.

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Summary: HO HO HO!!!
Review: HO HO HO! Pratchett at his best. Death is one of my two favorite characters, the other being the Luggage, and I must say that this is Death as I've never seen him before. He was funny in Mort, but this book brings out a new side of him (which, I might add, Pratchett also tried to do in Mort, but not as well). The ending is a little bland, but the department store scene was quite possibly the funniest thing I've ever read. HO HO HO!

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Summary: unbelieeeeeeeeeeeeevably funny
Review: this book is, hands down, probably the funnies pratchett book i have read thus far. i am a big fan of the character of Death, and see him as one of the funniest characters in pratchett's series. but i would say that the faculty from unseen university are probably the funniest characters here. they play off of each other real well, and i end up laughing so hard my side hurts during each of their dialogs. as ever, though, pratchett does a good job of keeping the reader guessing, and providing hilarious explanations for all of the mysteries that happen in the story. however, i would recommend reading this after the other ones featuring Death as the main character (mort, reaper man, and soul music) in order to understand better what they mean when they talk about Death's attempts at helping.

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Summary: A great novel
Review: Perhaps one of my favorite Terry Pratchett novels, Susan Sto Helit and her grandfather, Death, are back and play well off each other. Pratchett gives Susan a great deal of rationality, which seems to be something a lot of his characters in this world lack and therefore leads to being a side splitting read.

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Summary: HO HO HO
Review: This was my first Pratchett novel and I don't think that there could be a better introduction to Discworld. It has Susan, Death, Binky, Death of Rats, the oh god of Hangovers, the Wizards...all of the best. Highly recommended.