Hogfather by Terry Pratchett Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Hogfather
Book Review: "There's Always Time For Another Last Minute..."
Summary: 5 Stars
Depending on how you look at this you may find Hogfather delightfully funny or disturbingly serious. Pratchett has made no secret of his non-practicing atheism, and it has never occurred to me to fault him for his (lack of) beliefs. Since he spoofs everyone equally there's no reason to have hard feelings. And Hogfather isn't really about religion, it's about the nature and power of belief. Or, to put it more practically, it's about what happens when the auditors of the universe (who have no tolerance for human foibles) take out a contract on Hogfather - Discworld's answer to Santa Claus.
The assassin in question, Teatime, decides to carry out his task by using an old fantasy concept - that god's are powerful in direct proportion to the amount of belief in them. But Teatime has no intention of settling for making Santa a wuss. Once the old gift giver is wobbly, then the toy factory is shut down and there is a sudden rush of unemployed elves. And next under the axe is the tooth fairy. Recognizing that this is a serious matter, Death steps in to take Hogfather's place and goes flying from house to house drawn by four magic pigs. One thing for sure, Death is not going to get stuck in the chimney.
The more serious theme arrives as Susan, Death's granddaughter, gets drawn into the complications. Susan hates the fact that she has special powers, what she wants most of all to life a normal, productive life, but somehow that option eludes her. What is so hard about being human? Maybe the problem is not knowing what human really is. Death has spent many moments puzzling this out and failed, but Susan is still trying, and may try forever.
Soon everyone is on a quest to put belief back where it is supposed to be. Death, Susan, all the wizards un the Unseen University, even the homeless on the streets of Ankh-Morpork all join in somehow to stop a resurgence of ever newer and more peculiar legends and put superstition back the way it's supposed to be.
If the Hogfather dies, Death tells Susan, the sun will not rise. Or more precisely, whatever does rise, it won't be our sun. And that's the point, if belief goes out of the world then it won't be the same world any longer. And, just maybe, that might not be a good thing. I don't know what the right answer is, but I like all my old superstitions and beliefs - there's nothing wrong with a world where things have meanings. And so, while writing a genuinely funny story, Pratchett has reminded us that being human takes a bit more than getting fat watching the telly. Think about it.
Book Review: A Book About Belief
Summary: 5 Stars
More than any of his other books, Terry Pratchett may be guilty of literature in Hogfather. And the result is wonderful, perhaps the best of all the Discworld books. The book has its hilarious moments, as you would expect. Not the least of them a new character, Bilious, the Oh-God of Hangovers. There's even bathroom humor. But while the humor sugar-coats the story, there's a great deal more here. From the opening pages, when Susan Sto Helit, Death's granddaughter, has to deal with a monster in the cellars, to Death's comments on the final pages, this is a book about belief and the power of belief. On the Discworld, of course, the power of belief is transcendant, but like all of the Discworld books, Pratchett uses the fun house mirror of the Disc to teach us a great deal about our own world.
You can read this book with a great deal of pleasure by just relaxing and enjoying the ride. The laughs are all there, the jokes and parody as wonderful as ever. But the second or third of tenth time through, think a bit about what it might mean, and might be happening on a different level.
One of Pratchett's many gifts is be wildly, hysterically funny, while at the same time sliding a knife of hard truth into your ribs. The Hogfather's holiday sled may be pulled by pigs and not reindeer, but the pigs and the reindeer are all powered by the same thing: belief. It's what makes us human. And in Pratchett's skillful hands, that simple truth takes on whole new meanings.
I may not be able to meet Death's challenge and show him, in the whole universe, a single grain of justice, but I can point to some insight and truth. Read this book and see if I'm not right.
Book Review: A Book of Susan
Summary: 4 Stars
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. Specifically, it's the 4th in the Death/Mort/Susan subseries ("Mort," "Reaper Man," "Soul Music," "Hogfather," and "Thief of Time"). As in "Soul Music," Susan is 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. I rate it at 4 stars out of 5.Book Review: A Good "Christmas" Story -- Discworld Style!
Summary: 4 Stars
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. Yopu would never see Death the same way again.
4 well-earned stars.
Book Review: A Good "Christmas" Story -- Discworld Style!
Summary: 4 Stars
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.